JP2004255529A - Robot device, control method thereof, and movement control system for robot device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To leave a trace and a locus of movement, and to decide a following action on the basis of the information about the left trace and louse. <P>SOLUTION: This robot device 1 is provided with a RFID reading unit (radio tag reading means) 19 for reading information (ID data or the like) of a RFID tag (radio tag) provided in an external body, a RFID writing unit 20 for writing information in a RFID tag, and a RFID processing unit 57 for processing a RFID signal read by the RFID reading unit 19 or a RFID signal written by the RFID writing unit 20. The RFID processing unit 57 receives the condition recognizing information related to the action corresponding to the ID number recognized by an ID recognizing unit 50E, and supplies the received information to an action deciding mechanism unit 52, a feeling/instinct model unit 51 and a sound processing unit 56. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a robot apparatus and a control method thereof, for example, a robot apparatus in which an action appears autonomously and the action is controlled in accordance with externally input information, and a control method of the robot apparatus. And a robot device movement control system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A mechanical device that performs a motion similar to the motion of a human or animal using, for example, an electric or magnetic action is generally called a “robot device”. Robotic devices have begun to spread in Japan since the late 1960s, and many of them have been industrial robotic devices (Industrial) such as manipulators and transfer robotic devices for the purpose of automation and unmanned production work in factories. Robot).
[0003]
A stationary type robot apparatus, such as an arm type robot apparatus, which is installed and used at a specific place, operates only in a fixed and local work space such as an assembly and sorting operation of parts. On the other hand, a mobile robot device can freely move on a predetermined path or a non-path in a non-restricted work space to perform predetermined or arbitrary human work, or perform human or dog or other life A wide variety of services that can replace the body can be provided.
[0004]
There are crawler type and tire type as a means of movement. Among them, a leg type mobile robot device is unstable and makes posture control and walking control difficult.However, climbing up and down stairs and ladders, climbing over obstacles, leveling -It is excellent in that it can realize a flexible walking / running operation without distinguishing between rough terrain.
[0005]
Recently, we have modeled the so-called pet-type robot device that imitates the body mechanism and operation of a four-legged animal such as a dog and cat, or the body mechanism and operation of an animal that walks two-legged upright such as a human. Research and development on legged mobile robots, such as “humanoid robots” designed in the form of “humanoid robots,” are progressing, and expectations for practical use are increasing.
[0006]
In the case of a pet-type robot device for entertainment that imitates pet animals such as dogs and cats, it has a strong property of coherence with life, that is, "symbiosis" with humans. The pet type robot device is not only easier than handling actual animals, but also has higher functions and higher added value than conventional toys.
[0007]
The humanoid robot device coexists with a human in a human living environment and can perform various simple tasks, dangerous tasks, and difficult tasks in industrial activities and production activities. For example, maintenance work in nuclear power plants, thermal power plants, petrochemical plants, transport and assembly of parts in manufacturing factories, cleaning work in high-rise buildings, rescue activities in fire sites and other places, etc. Have been found. The humanoid robot device autonomously moves to a desired site while bipedally walking over or bypassing obstacles, and faithfully performs the instructed work.
[0008]
In the conventional toy machine, the relationship between the user operation and the response operation is fixed, and the user feels unsatisfactory, but the above-described pet-type robot device and the human-type robot device follow the time series model of the motion generation. This time-series model can be changed in response to detecting an external stimulus such as a user operation. That is, since it has a "learning effect", it is possible to provide an operation pattern that does not get tired of the user and matches the user's preference.
[0009]
Such a robot device has an actuator having a predetermined degree of freedom and a mechanical unit in which a sensor or the like for detecting a predetermined physical quantity is arranged at a predetermined position, and a control unit using a microcomputer controls an external device. It is configured to perform a predetermined operation on information (for example, see Patent Document 1). Therefore, it dynamically responds to user input such as “praise”, “play (love)”, “stroke”, “scold”, and “hit”, and “rejoices” A training simulation can be enjoyed by programming to perform emotional actions such as "snail", "scratch", "bark", and "shake the tail". In addition, such a robot device can freely and autonomously move in an operation space while appropriately moving over and bypassing obstacles by walking on two or four legs in a general home as an operation space.
[0010]
As described above, if the robot device can approach the behavior of the actual animal more, the biological feeling of the robot device further increases, and the user feels a closer feeling and satisfaction with the robot device. This also improves the entertainment and amusement properties of the robot device.
[0011]
Although animals such as dogs, bears, pandas, and wolves have seasonal variations, their living spheres are not disorderly, and the range and area of their living space are almost determined by biological habits. The range is sometimes called "Nawabali". In order for an animal to own the area or area of its living space, there are various ways to indicate that area to other animals, but generally when moving the area or area of its own living space, There are known methods of leaving nail marks and footprints as traces, and exudates and their odors. Animals, such as dogs and bears, can secure food from other animals, secure family safety, etc. by possessing their own living space. In addition, finding the traces of your nails and footprints that the animal moved and left in the past again can be used to confirm the trajectory of your movement and is very effective for grasping your own positional information .
[0012]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-154679 A
[0013]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, as a method for leaving traces and trajectories of movement when the above-mentioned various robot devices move autonomously, (1) unevenness (shape) that can be recognized again by physical action (pressure) And (2) a method of leaving a substance having a detectable element such as "smell" or "color".
[0014]
However, when the working space (working space) is made of a hard member, it is difficult to leave irregularities by physical action, and a substance having a detectable element such as “smell” or “color” is used. The method of leaving has a problem that the amount of information of the subject to be examined is small and it is not possible to cope with various kinds of preferences of the user.
[0015]
Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of such a situation, it is possible to leave traces and trajectories of movement, and when encountering traces and trajectories of the past again, referring to these traces and trajectories A robot device that calculates its own position information and can determine the next movement or action, a control method of a robot device that leaves a trace or trajectory and determines the next action with reference to past traces or trajectories, An object of the present invention is to provide a robot device movement control system that controls a robot device so as to determine a next action with reference to traces and trajectories in the past while leaving a trajectory.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, a robot apparatus according to the present invention includes a robot apparatus in which an action appears autonomously according to an internal state and an action is controlled according to external input information. Information acquisition means for acquiring the data, a wireless tag reading means for reading data recorded on the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object, a wireless tag writing means for writing data to the wireless tag, Storage means for storing the acquired information, data read from the wireless tag, and a history of additional information when the wireless tag writing means has written data to the wireless tag, and information and wireless tag reading obtained by the information obtaining means Control means for controlling an action based on the data read by the means and the data stored in the storage means.
[0017]
Here, the additional information includes position information, mileage, writing date and time information, data written to the wireless tag, and information acquired by the information acquiring means at the time of writing.
[0018]
Further, the robot apparatus further includes an expression unit that expresses an action, and a driving unit that drives the expression unit, and the control unit reads the information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the information read by the wireless tag reading unit. It is preferable to control the driving unit based on the data and the data stored in the storage unit.
[0019]
Here, the information acquisition means is a contact detection means for detecting a contact. When the control means detects the contact by the contact detection means, the control means executes the reading operation in the wireless tag reading means for a certain period of time or writes the wireless tag. The writing operation in the means may be performed. The information acquisition means may be a non-contact detection means for detecting an external state by non-contact. When the control means detects the external state by the non-contact detection means, a reading operation by the wireless tag reading means or a radio tag It is also possible to execute a writing operation in the writing means.
[0020]
The data recorded on the wireless tag is an authentication number corresponding to the content of the information, and is stored in the storage unit as a table in which the content of the information is associated with the authentication number.
[0021]
In order to achieve the above-described object, a control method of a robot device according to the present invention includes a method of controlling a robot device in which an action appears autonomously according to an internal state and the action is controlled according to input information from outside. A method for acquiring information from outside in a robot device, a wireless tag reading step of reading data recorded on a wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object, And a history of information acquired from outside, data read from the wireless tag, and additional information when data is written to the wireless tag in the wireless tag writing step. Control the behavior based on the storage step, the information acquired in the information acquisition step, the data read in the wireless tag reading step, and the data stored in the storage means. And having a that control step.
[0022]
Here, the additional information includes position information, mileage, writing date and time information, data written to the wireless tag, and information obtained in the information obtaining step at the time of writing.
[0023]
Further, in the control method of the robot apparatus, a driving step of driving an expression means expressing an action is further provided, and in the control step, information obtained in the information obtaining step and data read in the wireless tag reading step are provided. It is preferable to control the driving of the expression means in the driving step based on the data stored in the storage means.
[0024]
In order to achieve the above object, a robot device movement control system according to the present invention is a robot device movement system in which a robot device moves in a predetermined area, wherein a plurality of wireless tags are installed in the predetermined area, The robot apparatus is characterized in that when moving in a predetermined area and encountering a wireless tag, data is written to or read from the encountered wireless tag.
[0025]
Here, the robot apparatus includes: an information acquisition unit that acquires information from the outside; a wireless tag reading unit that reads data recorded on the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object; and data to the wireless tag. Wireless tag writing means for writing, information obtained from outside, data read from the wireless tag, and storage means for storing a history of additional information when the wireless tag writing means writes data to the wireless tag; A control unit for controlling an action based on the information obtained by the obtaining unit, the data read by the wireless tag reading unit, and the data stored in the storage unit; It is characterized in that data is written to the encountered wireless tag by the wireless tag writing means.
[0026]
The data written by the wireless tag writing means at this time is information on the robot device, such as identification information of the robot device, the date and time of encounter with the wireless tag, and the moving distance and direction from other wireless tags encountered in the past. , The traveling direction, the traveling distance, and the information acquired by the information acquiring means.
[0027]
Also, when the robot device moves in a predetermined area and encounters a wireless tag, the wireless tag reading means reads data recorded on the encountered wireless tag, and the control means obtains the read data and the information by the information obtaining means. Based on the information thus obtained and the data stored in the recording means, calculation of own position information, determination of the next movement target, or calculation of the distance and direction to the next movement target are executed.
[0028]
The additional information includes position information, mileage, writing date and time information, data written to the wireless tag, and information obtained by the information obtaining means at the time of writing.
[0029]
Further, the robot device has an expression unit that expresses an action, and a driving unit that drives the expression unit, and the control unit controls the information acquired by the information acquisition unit and the data read by the wireless tag reading unit. And the driving unit is controlled based on the data stored in the storage unit.
[0030]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a battery-operated mobile robot device that can freely move within an operation range without limitation is obtained by acquiring information from a wireless tag provided within the operation range, and thereby can operate based on this information. It is. In particular, by providing a wireless tag with a writing means for writing information corresponding to "signs", it is possible to indicate its own existence to other robot devices sharing an operation range, and to have a "territory" It is the technology that realized.
[0031]
The present invention can be suitably applied to a mobile robot device that moves only on a specific route. Further, in the specific examples shown below, a four-legged walking robot device is used. However, in addition to the two-legged, four-legged, six-legged, etc., legged walking robot device, The present invention can also be applied to a robot device employing a moving method such as a crawler type or a tire type.
[0032]
Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration example of a robot device shown as a specific example of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration example thereof. This robot device is an autonomous robot device that behaves autonomously according to the surrounding environment (external factors) and the internal state (internal factors). Although it is a pet robot, the form of the robot device is not limited to this, and may be a bipedal walking robot imitating other animal shapes, humans, or the like.
[0033]
In FIG. 1, a robot unit 1 has leg units 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D connected to the front, rear, left, and right of a body unit 2, respectively, and a head unit at a front end and a rear end of the body unit 2, respectively. The unit 4 and the tail unit 5 are connected to each other. In the tail unit 5, the tail 5A is drawn out from a base provided on the upper surface of the body unit 2 so as to bend or swing freely with two degrees of freedom.
[0034]
As shown in FIG. 2, the body unit 2 houses a controller 10 for controlling the entire robot, a battery 11 as a power source of the robot, and an internal sensor unit 14 including a battery sensor 12 and a heat sensor 13. ing.
[0035]
The head unit 4 includes a microphone (microphone) 15 corresponding to “ears” for collecting external sounds, and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera 16 corresponding to “eyes” for visually detecting an external situation. , A touch sensor 17 corresponding to a tactile sense for detecting external pressure and the like, a speaker 18 corresponding to a “mouth” for outputting a voice and the like, and information (ID data etc.) of an RFID tag (wireless tag) provided on an external object. ), And an RFID writer 20 for writing information to the RFID tag are provided at predetermined positions.
[0036]
Here, the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a non-contact type automatic recognition technology, and reads information via a radio wave or the like from a medium such as a tag in which an IC and a small antenna are incorporated, for example. Tags (tags) serving as media are called RFID tags, wireless tags, IC tags, and the like, and have various shapes such as a card shape, a label shape, and a microchip shape. The RFID includes a battery-incorporated type and a battery-less type, and the battery-incorporated type is capable of radio wave oscillation. In addition, there are a type that is used only for reading, a type that can be written only once, and a type that can be written multiple times. For example, a medium frequency band of 125 to 135 KHz, a short wave band of 13.56 MHz, and a microwave band of 2.45 GHz can be selected as the operating frequency according to the operating conditions. RFID identification technology can manage product information by embedding an RFID tag in any product, so it is not only expected to replace barcodes, but also gates and doors, management of passage, delivery management of parcels and packages, etc. Have been proposed.
[0037]
The RFID read unit 19 is for reading data (ID data and the like) stored in such an RFID tag (wireless tag), and the RFID write unit 20 is for writing data to the RFID tag. is there.
[0038]
Note that the information transmission method of the RFID system includes an electromagnetic induction method, an electromagnetic coupling method, a microwave method, an electrostatic coupling method, an optical method, and the like. Information reading means corresponding to the method may be used, or a plurality of methods may be used. Furthermore, these may be configured as a read / write unit having a reading function and a writing function.
[0039]
Joint portions of the leg units 3A to 3D, connecting portions of the leg units 3A to 3D and the body unit 2, connecting portions of the head unit 4 and the body unit 2, and tail units 5 and the body unit. As shown in FIG. 2, actuators 3AA₁To 3AA_K, 3BA₁Or 3BA_K, 3CA₁To 3CA_K, 3DA₁Or 3DA_K, 4A₁To 4A_L, 5A₁And 5A₂Are arranged. Thus, each connecting portion can rotate with a predetermined degree of freedom.
[0040]
The microphone 15 in the head unit 4 collects surrounding sounds (sounds) including utterances from the user, and sends out the obtained sound signals to the controller 10. The CCD camera 16 captures an image of the surrounding situation and sends the obtained image signal to the controller 10. The RFID read unit 19 reads information (ID data or the like) recorded on the RFID tag from an RFID tag provided on a surrounding object by non-contact or contact, and sends the read signal to the controller 10 as an RFID signal. Send out. The RFID writer 20 writes information (such as ID data) from the controller 10 as an RFID signal to an RFID tag provided on a surrounding object in a non-contact or contact manner.
[0041]
The touch sensor 17 is provided, for example, on the upper part of the head unit 4 and detects a pressure received by a physical action such as “stroke” or “hit” from the user, and uses the detection result as a pressure detection signal. Send it to the controller 10.
[0042]
The battery sensor 12 in the body unit 2 detects the remaining amount of the battery 11 and sends the detection result to the controller 10 as a remaining battery amount detection signal. The heat sensor 13 detects the heat inside the robot and sends the detection result to the controller 10 as a heat detection signal.
[0043]
The controller 10 has a built-in CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10A, a memory 10B, and the like. The CPU 10A executes various processes by executing a control program stored in the memory 10B.
[0044]
That is, the controller 10 includes a microphone 15, a CCD camera 16, a touch sensor 17, an RFID read unit 19, a battery sensor 12, and a voice signal, a pressure detection signal, an RFID signal, and a battery remaining amount detection signal supplied from the heat sensor 13. Based on the signal and the heat detection signal, it is determined whether or not there is a surrounding situation, a command from the user, an action from the user, and the like.
[0045]
Further, the controller 10 determines a subsequent action based on the determination result and the like, and based on the determination result, the actuator 3AA₁To 3AA_K, 3BA₁Or 3BA_K, 3CA₁To 3CA_K, 3DA₁Or 3DA_K, 4A₁To 4A_L, 5A₁And 5A₂Of the head unit 4 up and down, left and right, moving the tail unit 5 and driving the leg units 3A to 3D to cause the robot to walk. Let
[0046]
Further, the controller 10 generates a synthesized sound as necessary, and supplies the synthesized sound to the speaker 18 for output. Alternatively, the controller 10 generates RFID write data as necessary, supplies the data to the RFID write unit 20, and supplies the RFID write unit 20 with the external RFID tag. Control to write to. In addition, an unillustrated LED (Light Emitting Diode) provided at the position of the “eye” of the robot is turned on, off, or blinks.
[0047]
Further, the controller 10 performs a read operation of the RFID read unit 19 and a write operation of the RFID write unit 20 based on sound signals, image signals, pressure detection signals, and the like from the microphone 15, the CCD camera 16, the touch sensor 17, and the like. May be controlled. For example, the controller 10 executes the operations of the RFID read unit 19 and the RFID write unit 20 for a certain period of time when detecting a contact based on a detection result from a contact detection unit such as the touch sensor 17 that detects a contact. When the controller 10 detects the presence / absence or state of an object based on an optical detection result from an optical detection unit that optically detects the presence / absence or state of an object such as a CCD camera 16 or an infrared sensor, the controller 10 performs a predetermined operation. During the time, the operations of the RFID read unit 19 and the RFID write unit 20 are executed.
[0048]
As described above, the robot apparatus 1 can act autonomously based on the surrounding conditions and the like, and when encountering an RFID tag, reads data from the RFID tag or writes data to the RFID tag. I can do it.
[0049]
Next, a functional configuration example of the controller 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the functional configuration shown in FIG. 3 is realized by the CPU 10A executing a control program stored in the memory 10B.
[0050]
The controller 10 includes a sensor input processing unit 50 that recognizes a specific external state, an emotion / instinct model unit 51 that accumulates recognition results and the like of the sensor input processing unit 50 and expresses an emotion and an instinct state, and a sensor input processing unit. 50, an action determining mechanism 52 for determining a subsequent action based on the recognition result, etc., a posture transition mechanism 53 for actually causing the robot to perform an action based on the determination result of the action determining mechanism 52, and each actuator 3AA.₁To 5A₁And 5A₂Control unit 54 for driving and controlling the voice signal, a voice synthesizing unit 55 for generating a synthesized voice, an acoustic processing unit 56 for controlling the output of the voice synthesizing unit 55, an RFID signal read by the RFID reading unit 19 or the RFID writing unit 20. And an RFID processing unit 57 that processes an RFID signal to be written.
[0051]
The sensor input processing unit 50 performs a specific external state or a user based on a sound signal, an image signal, a pressure detection signal, an RFID signal, and the like provided from the microphone 15, the CCD camera 16, the touch sensor 17, the RFID reading unit 19, and the like. , And recognizes an instruction from the user, etc., and notifies the emotion / instinct model unit 51 and the action determination mechanism unit 52 of state recognition information representing the recognition result.
[0052]
That is, the sensor input processing unit 50 has a voice recognition unit 50A, and the voice recognition unit 50A performs voice recognition using a voice signal given from the microphone 15 in accordance with control from the action determination mechanism unit 52. . Then, the voice recognition unit 50A uses the emotion / instinct model unit 51 and the action determination as the state recognition information, for example, commands such as “walk”, “down”, “chase the ball” and the like as the voice recognition result. Notify the mechanism unit 52.
[0053]
Further, the sensor input processing unit 50 has an image recognition unit 50B, and the image recognition unit 50B performs an image recognition process using an image signal given from the CCD camera 16. When the image recognition unit 50B detects, for example, a “red round object” or a “plane that is perpendicular to the ground and has a predetermined height or more” as a result of the processing, the “ball exists” or the “wall An image recognition result such as “Yes” is notified to the emotion / instinct model unit 51 and the action determination mechanism unit 52 as state recognition information.
[0054]
Further, the sensor input processing unit 50 has a pressure processing unit 50C. The pressure processing unit 50C processes a pressure detection signal provided from the touch sensor 17. When the pressure processing unit 50C detects a short-time pressure that is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value as a result of the processing, the pressure processing unit 50C recognizes that the pressure processing unit 50C has been “hit (scorched)”, and is less than the predetermined threshold value for a long time. When the pressure is detected, it is recognized as “stroke (praised)”, and the recognition result is notified to the emotion / instinct model unit 51 and the action determination mechanism unit 52 as state recognition information.
[0055]
The sensor input processing unit 50 has an environment recognition unit 50D. The environment recognition unit 50D recognizes an environment in which the robot device is used, such as a distance from the robot device to a user or an object, using an audio signal provided from the microphone 15 or an image signal provided from the CCD camera 16, and recognizes the environment. The recognition result is output to the acoustic processing unit 56 as state recognition information.
[0056]
Further, the sensor input processing unit 50 has an ID recognition unit 50E. The ID recognizing unit 50E performs a process of recognizing a signal recorded in the RFID using the RFID signal provided from the RFID reading unit 19. As a result of the recognition process, for example, the type of an object such as a “ball” or a “vase”, the type of a motion to be expressed, and the like are recognized, and the recognition result is used as state recognition information as an emotion / instinct model unit 51 and an action determination mechanism unit 52 Notify. In particular, when used as an application for regulating behavior, information on a characteristic object or a distance or direction from a characteristic place, information on a place to go to from the present time (the position of an RFID tag), and a trace of a previous visit If it is a place (an RFID tag in which information was previously written), the information left at that time, or if it has been visited several times, its history information, etc., is recognized, and the recognition result is used as state recognition information as an emotion / instinct model unit 51. And the action determination mechanism unit 52 is notified. A configuration example of the ID recognition unit 50E will be described later.
[0057]
Here, the controller 10 controls the operations of the RFID read unit 19 and the ID recognition unit 50E according to the recognition results from the voice recognition unit 50A, the image recognition unit 50B, the pressure recognition unit 50C, and the like of the sensor input processing unit 50. ing. For example, in this specific example, when the image recognition unit 50B recognizes an image signal from the CCD camera 16 and obtains a recognition result of a round thing like a ball, the RFID read unit 19 is operated to “ The RFID tag provided on the "object" is read, and the RFID signal obtained from the RFID reading unit 19 is sent to the ID recognizing unit 50E to perform the recognition process so that the "ball" can be accurately recognized. .
[0058]
Further, for example, information is read from the RFID tag, and further detailed information such as whether or not the tag has been recognized before, that is, whether or not the place has been visited before, or whether or not another robot device has been visited, can be obtained. It has become recognizable. Further, information obtained from the CCD camera 16 and the microphone 15 can be recorded on the RFID tag.
[0059]
The emotion / instinct model unit 51 manages an emotion model and an instinct model expressing the emotion of the robot and the state of the instinct as shown in FIG. The emotion model is composed of, for example, three emotion units 60A, 60B, and 60C. These emotion units 60A to 60C indicate the emotional states (degrees) of “joy”, “sadness”, and “anger” by: For example, each value is represented by a value in the range of 0 to 100, and the value is changed based on state recognition information from the sensor input processing unit 50, elapsed time, or the like. It should be noted that in the emotion model, it is also possible to provide an emotion unit corresponding to "fun" in addition to "joy", "sadness", and "anger".
[0060]
The instinct model is composed of, for example, three instinct units 61A, 61B, and 61C, and these instinct units 61A to 61C each have a state (degree) of instinct of “appetite”, “sleep desire”, and “exercise desire”. Is represented by, for example, a value in a range of 0 to 100, and the value is changed based on state recognition information from the sensor input processing unit 50, elapsed time, or the like.
[0061]
The emotion / instinct model unit 51 converts the emotion state represented by the values of the emotion units 60A to 60C and the instinct state represented by the values of the instinct nits 61A to 61C, which change as described above, into the emotion / instinct state. The information is sent to the sensor input processing unit 50, the action determination mechanism unit 52, and the speech synthesis unit 55 as information.
[0062]
The action determining mechanism unit 52 determines the next action based on the state recognition information from the sensor input processing unit 50, the emotion / instinct state information from the emotion / instinct model unit 51, the passage of time, and the like, and determines the determined action. Is sent to the posture transition mechanism 53 as action command information. That is, as shown in the state transition diagram of FIG. 5, the behavior determination mechanism unit 52 manages a finite state automaton in which a behavior that can be taken by the robot corresponds to a state (state) as a behavior model that defines the behavior of the robot device. The state in the finite state automaton as the behavior model is transitioned based on the state recognition information from the sensor input processing unit 50, the emotion model in the emotion / instinct model unit 51, the value of the instinct model, the passage of time, and the like. The action corresponding to the later state is determined as the action to be taken next.
[0063]
Specifically, for example, in FIG. 5, the state ST3 represents an action of “standing”, the state ST4 represents an action of “sleeping”, and the state ST5 is “chasing the ball”. It represents the action of. For example, in state ST5 of “following the ball”, when state recognition information that “the ball is no longer visible” is supplied, the state transits from state ST5 to ST3. As a result, it is determined that the action of "standing" corresponding to the state ST3 is to be taken next. Further, for example, in the state ST4 of “sleeping”, when the state recognition information of “get up” is supplied, the state transits from the state ST4 to ST3. As a result, it is determined that the action of "standing" corresponding to the state ST3 is to be taken next.
[0064]
Here, when the behavior determining mechanism unit 52 detects that a predetermined trigger has occurred, it changes the state. That is, for example, when the time during which the action corresponding to the current state is being executed has reached a predetermined time, when specific state recognition information is received, the action determining mechanism 52 supplies the action / instinct model 51 When the value of the emotional state (the value of the emotional unit 60A to 60C) or the value of the state of the instinct (the value of the instinct unit 61A to 61C) indicated by the emotion / instinctive state information to be performed becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value or the like. State transition.
[0065]
In addition, as described above, the action determination mechanism unit 52 performs the processing shown in FIG. 5 based on not only the state recognition information from the sensor input processing unit 50 but also the values of the emotion model and the instinct model in the emotion / instinct model unit 51. Since the state in the finite state automaton shown is changed, even if the same state recognition information is input, the destination of the state changes depending on the value of the emotion model or the instinct model (emotion / instinct state information).
[0066]
As a result, the behavior determination mechanism unit 52 indicates, for example, that the emotion / instinct state information is “not angry” and “not hungry”, and the state recognition information is “the palm is presented in front of the eyes. In response to the fact that the palm is put in front of the user, action command information for taking the action of “hand” is generated and sent to the posture transition mechanism unit 53.
[0067]
In addition, the behavior determination mechanism unit 52 indicates, for example, that the emotion / instinct state information indicates “not angry” and “stomach is hungry”, and the state recognition information indicates “the palm has been presented in front of the eyes”. In response to the fact that the palm is presented in front of the user, action command information that causes the user to take an action such as "palm licking the palm" is generated and transmitted to the posture transition mechanism 53. I do.
[0068]
For example, when the emotion / instinct state information indicates “angry” and the state recognition information indicates “the palm is put in front of the eyes”, / Even if the instinct status information indicates that you are hungry or that you are not hungry, generate action command information that allows you to take an action such as "turn to the side" This is sent to the posture transition mechanism 53.
[0069]
Further, the action determining mechanism 52 generates action command information for causing the robot to speak, in addition to the action command information for operating the head and limbs of the robot, as described above. The action command information for causing the robot to speak is supplied to the voice synthesis unit 55, and the action command information supplied to the voice synthesis unit 55 corresponds to the synthesized sound generated by the voice synthesis unit 55. And the like. Upon receiving the action command information from the action determination section 52, the voice synthesis section 55 takes into account the state of emotion and the state of instinct managed by the emotion / instinct model section 51 based on the text included in the action command information. Meanwhile, for example, a synthesized voice is generated by performing a rule voice synthesis or the like, and is supplied to the acoustic processing unit 56.
[0070]
The posture transition mechanism unit 53 generates posture transition information for transitioning the posture of the robot from the current posture to the next posture, based on the behavior command information supplied from the behavior determination mechanism unit 52, and transmits the generated posture transition information to the control mechanism. To the unit 54.
[0071]
Here, the posture that can be changed next from the current posture is, for example, the physical shape of the robot such as the shape and weight of the body, hands and feet, the connection state of each part, and the direction and angle at which the joint bends. Actuator 3AA₁To 5A₁And 5A₂And the mechanism.
[0072]
The next posture includes a posture that can directly transition from the current posture and a posture that cannot directly transition. For example, a four-legged robot can directly transition from lying down with its limbs throwing down to lying down, but cannot directly transition to standing up. It is necessary to perform a two-stage operation of pulling down to a prone position and then standing up. There are also postures that cannot be safely executed. For example, a four-legged robot easily falls down when trying to banzai with both front legs raised from its standing posture.
[0073]
For this reason, the posture transition mechanism unit 53 pre-registers a posture to which a direct transition can be made, and when the behavior command information supplied from the behavior determination mechanism unit 52 indicates a posture to which a direct transition is possible, the behavior command information Is sent to the control mechanism unit 54 as posture transition information. On the other hand, when the action command information indicates a posture that cannot directly make a transition, the posture transition mechanism unit 53 generates posture transition information that makes a transition to a target posture after temporarily making a transition to another posture that can make a transition. And sends it to the control mechanism 54. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation where the robot forcibly executes an untransitionable posture or a situation where the robot falls.
[0074]
That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the posture transition mechanism unit 53 expresses the postures that the robot can take as nodes NODE1 to NODE5, and sets a directed arc ARC1 between the nodes corresponding to the two transitionable postures. The directed graph combined by the ARC 10 is stored, and the above-described posture transition information is generated based on the directed graph.
[0075]
Specifically, when the behavior command information is supplied from the behavior determination mechanism 52, the posture transition mechanism unit 53 corresponds to the node NODE corresponding to the current posture and the next posture indicated by the behavior command information. While searching for a route from the current node NODE to the next node NODE while following the direction of the directed arc ARC so as to connect the node NODE, the posture corresponding to the node NODE on the searched route is taken in order. Is generated.
[0076]
As a result, for example, when the action command information of “close” is supplied when the current attitude is at the node NODE2 indicating the attitude of “down”, the attitude transition mechanism unit 53 performs an action that can directly make a transition. If so, posture transition information is generated and given to the control mechanism unit 54. In the directed graph shown in FIG. 6, since it is possible to make a direct transition from the node NODE2 indicating the posture of “down” to the node NODE5 indicating the posture of “sit”, the posture transition information corresponding to “sit” is generated. This is given to the control mechanism 54.
[0077]
In addition, when the current state is in the node NODE2 indicating the posture of “down” and the action command information of “walking” is supplied, the posture transition mechanism unit 53 changes the node NODE2 of “down” in the directed graph from the node NODE2 of “down”. A route to the node NODE4 of "walk" is searched. In this case, the path of the node NODE2 corresponding to “down”, the path of NODE3 corresponding to “tatsu”, and the path of NODE4 corresponding to “walk” are obtained. Therefore, the posture transition mechanism unit 53 determines the order of “tatsu” and “walk”. Is generated and sent to the control mechanism 54.
[0078]
The control mechanism unit 54 controls the actuator 3AA according to the posture transition information from the posture transition mechanism unit 53.₁To 5A₁And 5A₂And generates a control signal for driving the actuator 3AA.₁To 5A₁And 5A₂To send to. Thereby, the actuator 3AA₁To 5A₁And 5A₂Is driven according to the control signal, and the robot device autonomously acts.
[0079]
On the other hand, the sound processing unit 56 receives the state recognition information output from the environment recognition unit 50D included in the sensor input processing unit 50, and outputs the output of the synthesized sound supplied from the voice synthesis unit 55 based on the state recognition information. Control. That is, the sound processing unit 56 is configured so that the synthesized sound output from the speaker 18 is clearly heard by the user according to the noise in the environment in which the robot is used, the distance from the robot to the user, and the like, and is not annoying. The size (power) and height (frequency) are adjusted and supplied to the speaker 18. As a result, the speaker 18 outputs a synthesized sound having an appropriate size and height adjusted by the sound processing unit 56.
[0080]
The RFID processing unit 57 receives the state recognition information related to the operation corresponding to the ID number recognized by the ID recognition unit 50E, and supplies it to the action determination mechanism unit 52, the emotion / instinct model unit 51, the sound processing unit 56, and the like. In addition, when writing information to the RFID tag, RFID write data is generated and supplied to the RFID write unit 20. The write data is converted to an RFID signal that can be written to an RFID tag. At this time, if the capacity of the write data becomes large, a new ID number corresponding to the content of the information to be written is generated, the content of the information to be written is stored in the corresponding table of the ID table storage unit 42, and the corresponding ID number is stored. To the RFID write unit 20.
[0081]
In addition to the above-described configuration, the robot apparatus 1 includes, for example, a direction detecting unit that can detect north, south, east, and west and a GPS (Global Positioning System) that obtains more detailed position information such as longitude and latitude. Alternatively, information detected and obtained from the above information can be written to its own storage unit together with the RFID tag.
[0082]
FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the ID recognition unit 50E of FIG. The ID collation unit 41 is supplied with an RFID signal output from the RFID read unit 19. The data output from the RFID processing unit 71 (write data of the RFID writer unit 70) is supplied to the ID collation unit 41. The ID collation unit 41 stores, for example, position information, mileage, and time information (writing date and time) as data output from the RFID processing unit 71 and history when the RFID writer unit 70 has written the ID table storage unit. 42 in the ID table. Although not shown in the figure, the ID collation unit 41 stores data acquired from the sensor input processing unit 50 other than the RFID read unit 19 when the RFID writer unit 70 writes the data in the ID table storage unit 42. Can also be stored. As an example of the ID table storage unit 42, an ID number of an RFID tag (wireless tag) registered in advance and a table of state recognition information corresponding to the ID number (hereinafter, referred to as an ID table) are recorded.
[0083]
7 determines whether or not the RFID signal output from the RFID read unit 19 belongs to the information recorded in the ID table of the ID table storage unit 42. When it is determined that the RFID signal output from the RFID reading unit 19 is recorded in the ID table storage unit 42, the ID number of the RFID signal is determined based on the ID table recorded in the ID table storage unit 42. Is notified to the emotion / instinct model unit 51 and the action determination mechanism unit 52. A plurality of pieces of situation recognition information corresponding to the ID number may exist.
[0084]
Here, the format of the RFID signal will be described with reference to FIG. The RFID signal format 70 has a header section 71, an identifier section 72, and a data section 73, and is composed of 128 bits as a whole. In the data section 73, the ID number of the RFID tag is written. The robot device 1 stores the ID number of the RFID tag and the information written in the RFID tag in association with each other as a table. The contents of this storage table will be described later together with the actual RFID tag reading / writing operation of the robot device 1.
[0085]
The RFID tag has a large overall capacity, and has a data area 73 having a ROM (Read Only Memory) area 74 and a write area 75 usable and writable like a RAM (Random Access Memory). There is also a type in which real data such as audio data and audio data can be directly written in ASCII code or MIDI data.
[0086]
In this case, in the ROM area 74, for example, information indicating the type of the RFID tag, a maker code for manufacturing the RFID tag, an ID number of the RFID tag, position information of the RFID tag, and the like are divided into respective addresses and written in advance. It is. When the arrangement relationship of the RFID tags when using these RFID tags is predetermined, information indicating the mutual positional relationship of the RFID tags to be arranged, and positional information such as the distance and direction from a predetermined object. Are also written in the ROM area 74 in advance. The writing area 75 further includes an area 75₁, 75₂, ..., 75_nAddress, and multiple pieces of information can be written. The information to be written here includes the robot ID of the robot device 1, the date and time of writing, the distance and direction from the RFID tag encountered last time, and the positional information such as the direction to proceed in the future.
[0087]
In the latter part, the latter case in which an RFID tag having a writable area is used will be described.
[0088]
In general, since an RFID tag has a larger amount of information that can be stored than a barcode, it has a high object identification capability and can include detailed data of the object. In addition, since RFID can perform information communication in a non-contact manner, it has an advantage in that it has excellent durability and is not affected by dirt, dust, and the like. It is also characterized by a very high recognition ability, such as being able to read even if the lead portion and the RFID tag are relatively moved, and being able to recognize an object even in the dark regardless of the amount of light. Various other formats can be used as the format of the RFID signal.
[0089]
According to the above-described specific example, by providing the RFID read unit 19 in the robot device, it is possible to confirm information of an object and identify an object that was difficult to be detected by a microphone, a camera, and various sensors, and In addition, object recognition can be performed effectively and reliably even when the external environment is dark. Then, according to the recognized result, it is possible to cause the user to take a unique action. Further, by providing the RFID writer 20, information such as a once visited place (recognized tag) can be written in the RFID tag. For example, the robot can recognize the existence of another robot device having space. Further, an action according to the recognized result can be taken.
[0090]
By providing the RFID read unit 19 and the RFID write unit 20 in this way, it is possible to cause the robot apparatus to perform applied operations such as games, sports, restrictions on the range of action, construction of relationships with surroundings, and automatic mounting of parts. .
[0091]
Hereinafter, a case where the robot apparatus 1 moves in a certain operation area to read information from the RFID tag and a case where the robot apparatus 1 writes information to the RFID tag will be described.
[0092]
As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of RFID tags 80_(0,0)~ 80_{(N, n)}Is installed. Here, in the area A, readable and writable RFID tags are arranged at regular intervals (1 meter intervals).
[0093]
In this specific example, the description will be made on the assumption that the RFID tags are arranged in a grid in the area A, and the arrangement positions of the individual RFID tags are determined in advance. The robot apparatus 1 stores the correspondence between the ID numbers of the RFID tags and the position information in the ID table storage unit 42.
[0094]
The robot apparatus 1 is moved in the area by the RFID read unit 19 for reading information of the RFID tag provided in the head unit 4 and the RFID write unit 20 for writing information to the RFID tag, and is installed in the area A. Is read, the information written in the encountered RFID tag is read, and new information is written as necessary. Here, for convenience of explanation, an RFID tag in which information is not recorded in the writing area 75 is indicated by a white square mark, and an RFID tag in which information is written in the writing area 75 is indicated by a black square mark.
[0095]
FIG. 9 shows an example in which the robot apparatus 1 has the RFID tag 80 in the area A._{(A, b)}Walks autonomously while writing information to the RFID tag on the way from the position of_{(K, l)}Shows a state in which it has reached the position of. First, the RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}Nothing is recorded in the writing area 75.
[0096]
First, the robot apparatus 1 uses the RFID reading unit 19 to_{(K, l)}Is read, and information of the RFID tag such as the ID number of the RFID tag and the position information of the RFID tag is stored in a storage area included in the ID table storage unit 42.
[0097]
The ID collation unit 41 reads the RFID tag 80 read by the RFID read unit 19._{(K , L)}The RFID tag 80 is referred to by referring to the information recorded in the_{(K, l)}Is notified to the emotion / instinct model unit 51 and the action determination mechanism unit 52 that no information is recorded. If the type is such that information can be written directly to the RFID tag, the ID collation unit 41 notifies the emotion / instinct model unit 51 and the action determination mechanism unit 52 of the information read as the RFID signal.
[0098]
The action determination mechanism 52 sends the “RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}No information is recorded in the RFID tag 80, and the next action to be executed based on the emotion / instinct state information / time passage from the emotion / instinct model unit 51_{(K, l)}The information of the determined action (“writing of information on the robot apparatus 1”) is sent to the RFID processing unit 57 as action command information.
[0099]
Here, the information related to the robot device 1 indicates a record of an action including an ID number assigned to the robot device 1 and includes information such as a date and time when the RFID tag is encountered and a direction in which the RFID tag moves. Here, hereafter, it is described as history. The RFID processing unit 57 issues an ID number corresponding to the history of the robot device 1 based on the action command information of “writing the history of the robot device 1” supplied from the action determination mechanism unit 52, and RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}And the contents of the history are stored in the ID table in association with the issued ID number.
[0100]
The items of the history of the robot device 1 include the ID of the robot device 1, the date and time of writing to the RFID tag, the moving distance and direction from the RFID tag encountered last time, and the direction to move afterwards. Although not shown, the robot apparatus 1 includes east-west-north-south direction detection means. For example, north is 0 degree, east is 90 degrees, south is 180 degrees, and west is 270 degrees.
[0101]
When data can be written directly to the RFID tag, the RFID processing unit 57 uses the RFID writing unit 20 to, for example, (1) ID, (2) writing date and time, and (3) moving distance from the previously encountered RFID tag. , (4) the direction from the RFID tag encountered last time, and (5) the direction to move in the future._{(K, l)}Write to. Therefore, it is assumed that the ID of the robot device 1 is “1” and the RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}If the date and time of writing to 01:20 on January 1 is “01010120”, if the distance traveled from the RFID tag encountered last time is 1 meter, “1” will be the direction from the RFID tag encountered last time. Data such as "270" is written to the RFID tag in the west, "0" is written to the RFID tag in the future, and "1/01010120/1/270/0" is written to the RFID tag in order. This data is also stored in the ID table. A data string such as “1/01010120/1/270/0” generated here may be used as it is as the ID number.
[0102]
The RFID processing unit 57 outputs the write data “1/01010120/1/270/0” to the ID matching unit 41. The ID collation unit 41 stores the write data “1/01010120/1/270/0” in the ID table.
[0103]
FIG. 11 shows an example of an ID table created in the ID table storage unit 42, and FIG. 12 shows an RFID signal format of the RFID tag.
[0104]
The content of information corresponding to the ID number of each RFID tag is stored in association with the ID table illustrated in FIG. For example, the RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}The ID “1” of the robot device 1 and the RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}The writing date and time “01010120”, the moving distance “1” from the previously encountered RFID tag, the direction “270” from the previously encountered RFID tag, and the direction “90” to be moved in the future are written. When the content of the information can be written directly to the RFID tag, the respective information is written at a predetermined address of the writing area 75 as shown in FIG.
[0105]
RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}After writing into the robot device, the robot device 1 moves freely and autonomously. Here, move north. Thereafter, when the robot apparatus 1 encounters an RFID tag, the robot apparatus 1 repeats the above-described history recording operation.
[0106]
Subsequently, a case where the robot apparatus 1 detects the RFID tag and reads the written information will be described with reference to FIG.
[0107]
When the robot apparatus 1 encounters an RFID tag, the information read from the encountered RFID tag is read by the RFID reading unit 19, and the ID number of the RFID tag is stored in a storage area included in the ID table storage unit 42. The information of the RFID tag such as the position information of the RFID tag is stored.
[0108]
The ID collation unit 41 includes an RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}Is determined to belong to the information stored in the ID table. Alternatively, the ID collating unit 41 reads the actual data directly written on the RFID tag. FIG. 10 shows an RFID tag 80 used for describing the above-described recording operation when the robot apparatus 1 is wandering._{(K, l)}Is again encountered.
[0109]
As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the data is recorded in the ID table storage unit 42, the corresponding data is extracted from the ID table and sent to the emotion / instinct model unit 51 and the structure determination mechanism unit 52 as state recognition information. When the data is directly written on the RFID tag, the ID collation unit 41 uses the data “1/01010120/1/270/0” stored in the ID table as state recognition information, The action decision mechanism 52 is notified. The action determination mechanism unit 52 determines from the data “1/01010120/1/270/0” that the RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}This robot device 1 visits the site at 1:20 on January 1 in the past, and finds a trace that has proceeded further north. At this time, a point 1 meter away from the west (RFID tag 80_{(K + 1, l)}) From this RFID tag 80_{(K, l)}Also know that he has moved to.
[0110]
The action determining mechanism 52 determines the next action as “move west” based on the emotion / instinct state information from the emotion / instinct model section 51, the passage of time, and follows the route that has been taken before. Here, the action determining mechanism unit 52 is not limited to the operation of following the previous route, but may also perform a specific operation expressing the previously visited place, for example, “barking”, “pleasing” or the like. it can. The same applies to the case where a trace of another robot device is detected, and the trace of another robot device can be traced or a specific operation can be performed.
[0111]
The robot apparatus 1 can detect the RFID tag by a method of periodically activating the RFID reading unit 20 to generate a reading radio wave to search for the RFID tag, or a method including a battery and capable of oscillating an active radio wave. A method using an RFID tag is exemplified. In addition, the reading operation and the writing operation of the RFID tag can be executed in accordance with the detection result of another detecting means such as a CCD camera and a contact sensor. For example, when an RFID tag is visually found by a CCD camera, a reading operation or a writing operation of the RFID tag may be executed for a certain period.
[0112]
As described above, the robot device 1 can acquire information from the RFID tag provided in the operation range and operate based on this information. In addition, by writing information corresponding to the "trace" to the RFID tag, it is possible to indicate its own existence to other robot devices sharing the operation range, and it is possible to have "territory".
[0113]
The data that the robot device writes to the RFID tag is not limited to the ID of the robot device, the date and time, the moving distance from the previously encountered RFID tag, the direction from the previously encountered RFID tag, and the direction to move in the future. Various information such as external input information acquired by the sensor unit may be used.
[0114]
In this specific example, the description is made such that the RFID tags are arranged in a lattice shape and the arrangement positions of the individual RFID tags are determined in advance. However, the RFID tags do not need to be arranged in an orderly manner, It may be provided irregularly within the operating range of the device 1. In this case, the position information does not need to be written in the RFID tag in advance. For example, a method in which the robot device 1 reads the RFID tags placed at random from the end and stores the read ID number and the positional relationship of the RFID tags in an ID table, or a method in which the robot device 1 reads the RFID tags in the area. If the arrangement of the tags in the area can be recognized by using the method of directly writing the position information and the like of the RFID tags in order, the above-described specific example can be implemented.
[0115]
In this specific example, the above-described series of processes is performed by causing the CPU 10A to execute a program, but the series of processes may be performed by dedicated hardware. The program is stored in the memory 10B in advance, and may be a flexible disk, a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), a magneto optical disc (MO), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a magnetic disc, a semiconductor memory, or the like. It can be temporarily or permanently stored (recorded) in a removable recording medium. Such a removable recording medium may be provided as so-called package software, and may be installed in a robot (memory 10B).
[0116]
In addition to the method of installing the program from a removable recording medium, the program may be wirelessly transferred from a download site via an artificial satellite for digital satellite broadcasting, or may be wirelessly transferred via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. In the memory 10B. In this case, when the program is upgraded, there is an advantage that the upgraded program can be easily installed in the memory 10B.
[0117]
Processing steps for describing a program for causing the CPU 10A to perform various processes described in this specific example need not be processed in chronological order in the order described in the flowchart, and are executed in parallel or individually. Processing (for example, parallel processing or processing by an object) is also included. Further, the program may be processed by a single CPU, or may be processed in a distributed manner by a plurality of CPUs.
[0118]
The case where the present invention is applied to a pet-like robot device has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is widely applied to various robot devices such as, for example, industrial robots and humanoid robots. it can.
[0119]
Specifically, an example in which the present invention is applied to a humanoid robot device will be described with reference to the drawings. 13 and 14 show the humanoid robot device 200 viewed from the front and the rear, respectively. Further, FIG. 15 schematically shows the configuration of the degrees of freedom of the joints included in the humanoid robot device 200.
[0120]
The humanoid robot device 200 includes left and right lower limbs 201R and 201L performing legged movement, a trunk 202, left and right upper limbs 203R and 203L, and a head 204.
[0121]
Each of the left and right lower limbs 201R, 201L includes a thigh 205R, 205L, a knee joint 206R, 206L, a shin 207R, 207L, an ankle 208R, 208L, and a foot 209R, 209L. The lower part of the trunk 202 is connected to the lowermost part of the trunk 202 by 210L. Each of the left and right upper limbs 203R and 203L includes an upper arm 211R and 211L, an elbow joint 212R and 212L, and a forearm 213R and 213L. Each of the left and right side edges above the trunk 202 by the shoulder joints 214R and 214L. Are linked. Further, the head 204 is connected to the center of the uppermost end of the trunk 202 by a neck joint 255.
[0122]
As shown in FIG. 15, the humanoid robot device 200 has three degrees of freedom of a neck joint yaw axis 302 supporting the head 204, a neck joint pitch axis 303, and a neck joint roll axis 304. The arm joint includes a shoulder joint pitch axis 308, a shoulder joint roll axis 309, an upper arm yaw axis 310, an elbow joint pitch axis 311, a forearm yaw axis 312, a wrist joint pitch axis 313, and a wrist joint roll axis. 314 and a hand 315.
[0123]
The hand part 315 is actually a multi-joint and multi-degree-of-freedom structure including a plurality of fingers. However, since the motion of the hand 315 has little contribution or influence on the posture control and walking control of the humanoid robot device 200, it is assumed in this specification that the degree of freedom is zero. Therefore, each arm has seven degrees of freedom.
[0124]
The trunk has three degrees of freedom: a trunk pitch axis 305, a trunk roll axis 306, and a trunk yaw axis 307.
[0125]
Each leg constituting the lower limb includes a hip joint yaw axis 316, a hip joint pitch axis 317, a hip joint roll axis 318, a knee joint pitch axis 319, an ankle joint pitch axis 320, an ankle joint roll axis 321 and a foot. 322. In this specification, the intersection of the hip joint pitch axis 317 and the hip joint roll axis 318 defines the hip joint position of the humanoid robot device 200. The foot 322 of the human body is actually a structure including a sole with multiple joints and multiple degrees of freedom, but the sole of the humanoid robot device 200 has zero degrees of freedom. Therefore, each leg has six degrees of freedom.
[0126]
Summarizing the above, the entire humanoid robot device 200 has a total of 3 + 7 × 2 + 3 + 6 × 2 = 32 degrees of freedom. However, the humanoid robot device 200 for entertainment is not necessarily limited to 32 degrees of freedom, and this degree of freedom, that is, the number of joints, can be appropriately increased or decreased according to design and production constraints, required specifications, and the like.
[0127]
Each degree of freedom of the humanoid robot device 200 described above is actually implemented using an actuator. Actuators are required to be small and lightweight due to demands such as eliminating extra bulges in appearance and approximating the human body shape, and controlling the posture of unstable structures such as bipedal walking. preferable.
[0128]
FIG. 16 schematically shows a control system configuration of the humanoid robot device 200. As shown in the figure, the humanoid robot device 200 has each of the mechanism units 330, 340, 350R / L, and 360R / L representing human limbs, and adaptive control for realizing a cooperative operation between the mechanism units. (However, each of R and L is a suffix indicating each of right and left. The same applies hereinafter).
[0129]
The operation of the entire humanoid robot device 200 is totally controlled by the control unit 380. The control unit 380 includes a main control unit 381 composed of main circuit components (not shown) such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and data and commands of a power supply circuit and each component of the humanoid robot device 200. It includes a peripheral circuit 382 including an interface (not shown) for transmitting and receiving. The installation place of the control unit 380 is not particularly limited. In FIG. 16, it is mounted on the trunk unit 340, but it may be mounted on the head unit 330. Alternatively, the control unit 380 may be provided outside the humanoid robot device 200 to communicate with the body of the humanoid robot device 200 by wire or wirelessly.
[0130]
Each joint degree of freedom in the humanoid robot device 200 shown in FIG. 15 is realized by the corresponding actuator. That is, the head unit 330 includes a neck joint yaw axis actuator A2, a neck joint pitch axis actuator A3, and a neck joint roll axis actuator A4 representing the neck joint yaw axis 302, the neck joint pitch 303, and the neck joint roll axis 304, respectively. Are arranged.
[0131]
The head unit 330 is provided with a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera for imaging an external situation, a distance sensor for measuring a distance to an object located ahead, and an external sound. A microphone for collecting sound, a speaker for outputting sound, a touch sensor for detecting pressure received by a physical action such as “stroke” and “hit” from the user, and the like are provided. Further, the head unit 330 is provided with an RFID read unit (not shown) and an RFID write unit for reading information from the RFID tag (wireless tag) as described above. The RFID read unit and the RFID write unit may be provided in a part other than the head unit 330, such as a fingertip or a toe.
[0132]
Also, the trunk unit 340 includes a trunk pitch axis actuator A5, a trunk roll axis actuator A6, and a trunk yaw axis actuator that represent each of the trunk pitch axis 305, the trunk roll axis 306, and the trunk yaw axis 307. A7 is provided. The torso unit 340 includes a battery serving as a power source for starting the humanoid robot device 200. This battery is constituted by a chargeable / dischargeable battery.
[0133]
The arm unit 350R / L is subdivided into an upper arm unit 351R / L, an elbow joint unit 352R / L, and a forearm unit 353R / L. The shoulder joint pitch axis 308, the shoulder roll axis 309, and the upper arm A shoulder joint pitch axis actuator A8, a shoulder joint roll axis actuator A9, an upper arm yaw axis actuator A10 expressing each of a yaw axis 310, an elbow joint pitch axis 311, a forearm yaw axis 312, a wrist joint pitch axis 313, and a wrist joint roll axis 314, An elbow joint pitch axis actuator A11, an elbow joint roll axis actuator A12, a wrist joint pitch axis actuator A13, and a wrist joint roll axis actuator A14 are provided.
[0134]
The leg unit 360R / L is subdivided into a thigh unit 361R / L, a knee unit 362R / L, and a shin unit 363R / L, and the hip joint yaw axis 316, the hip joint pitch axis 317, and the hip joint The hip joint yaw axis actuator A16, the hip joint pitch axis actuator A17, the hip joint roll axis actuator A18, and the knee joint pitch axis actuator A19 representing each of the roll axis 318, the knee pitch axis 319, the ankle pitch axis 320, and the ankle roll axis 321. , An ankle joint pitch axis actuator A20 and an ankle joint roll axis actuator A21. The actuators A2, A3,... Used for each joint are more preferably constituted by small AC servo actuators of the type directly connected to a gear and having a single-chip servo control system mounted in a motor unit. Can be.
[0135]
The sub-control units 335, 345, 355R / L, 365R / L of the actuator drive control unit are provided for each mechanism unit such as the head unit 330, the trunk unit 340, the arm unit 350, and each leg unit 360. ing. Further, grounding confirmation sensors 391 and 392 for detecting whether or not the soles of the legs 360R and L have landed are mounted, and a posture sensor 393 for measuring the posture is provided in the trunk unit 340. ing.
[0136]
The ground contact confirmation sensors 391 and 392 are configured by, for example, proximity sensors or micro switches installed on the soles. The posture sensor 393 is configured by, for example, a combination of an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor.
[0137]
Based on the outputs of the ground contact confirmation sensors 391 and 392, it is possible to determine whether each of the left and right legs is currently in a standing or idle state during an operation such as walking or running. Further, the inclination and posture of the trunk can be detected from the output of the posture sensor 393.
[0138]
The main control unit 381 can dynamically correct the control target in response to the output of each of the sensors 391 to 393. More specifically, adaptive control is performed for each of the sub-control units 335, 345, 355R / L, and 365R / L, and the upper limb, the trunk, and the lower limb of the humanoid robot device 200 are driven in cooperation. To achieve a whole-body exercise pattern.
[0139]
As described above, in the humanoid robot device 200, each of the sub-control units 335, 345, and so on interprets the command received from the main control unit 381 and sends a command to each of the actuators A2, A3. And outputs a drive control signal to control the drive of each unit. Accordingly, the humanoid robot device 200 stably transitions to the target posture and can walk in a stable posture.
[0140]
In the control unit 380 of the humanoid robot device 200, in addition to the posture control described above, various sensors such as an acceleration sensor, a touch sensor, and a ground check sensor, image information from a CCD camera, and audio information from a microphone Etc. are managed. In the control unit 380, although not shown, various sensors such as an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a touch sensor, a distance sensor, a microphone, and a speaker, actuators, a CCD camera, and a battery are connected to the main control unit 381 via corresponding hubs. Have been. Although not shown, the RFID read section is also connected to the main control section 381.
[0141]
The main control unit 381 sequentially fetches sensor data, image data, and audio data supplied from each of the above-described sensors, or RFID information from the above-described RFID read unit, and stores these in predetermined positions in the DRAM via the respective internal interfaces. Store sequentially. Further, the main control unit 381 sequentially takes in the battery remaining amount data indicating the battery remaining amount supplied from the battery, and stores the data at a predetermined position in the DRAM. The sensor data, image data, sound data, and remaining battery data stored in the DRAM are used when the main control unit 381 controls the operation of the humanoid robot device 200.
[0142]
The main control unit 381 reads the control program at the initial stage when the power of the humanoid robot device 200 is turned on, and stores the control program in the DRAM. In addition, the main control unit 381 receives information from the user and the surroundings based on the sensor data, image data, audio data, and remaining battery power data sequentially stored in the DRAM from the main control unit 381 as described above. Judge whether or not there is any instruction and action. Further, the main control unit 381 determines an action according to its own situation based on the determination result and the control program stored in the DRAM, and drives a necessary actuator based on the determination result to thereby perform the humanoid robot. The device 200 is caused to take actions such as so-called “gesture” and “hand gesture”.
[0143]
Therefore, the humanoid robot device 200 can determine its own and surrounding conditions based on the control program, and can act autonomously according to instructions and actions from the user.
[0144]
Similarly, even such a humanoid robot device 200 can acquire information from an RFID tag provided within an operation range and operate based on this information. In addition, by writing information corresponding to the "trace" to the RFID tag, it is possible to indicate its own existence to other robot devices sharing the operation range, and it is possible to have "territory".
[0145]
The data that the robot device writes to the RFID tag is not limited to the ID of the robot device, the date and time, the moving distance from the previously encountered RFID tag, the direction from the previously encountered RFID tag, and the direction to move in the future. Various information such as external input information acquired by the sensor unit may be used.
[0146]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, the robot apparatus according to the present invention includes an information acquisition unit that acquires information from outside, and a wireless tag that reads data recorded on the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object. Reading means, wireless tag writing means for writing data to the wireless tag, and information obtained from the outside, data read from the wireless tag, and additional information when the wireless tag writing means writes data to the wireless tag. A storage unit for storing a history; and a control unit for controlling an action based on information acquired by the information acquisition unit, data read by the wireless tag reading unit, and data stored in the storage unit. And can operate based on this information. Also, traces and tracks of movement can be left on the wireless tag. Further, when a trace or trajectory of the robot device detected in the past is encountered again, the next operation can be determined based on the trace or trajectory.
[0147]
Further, by storing a table in which the data read by the wireless tag reading unit and the information corresponding to the data are stored in the storage unit, the amount of information written to the wireless tag can be reduced.
[0148]
Further, according to the control method of the robot apparatus according to the present invention, an information acquiring step of acquiring information from outside, and a wireless tag reading for reading data recorded on the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object A wireless tag writing step of writing data to the wireless tag, and a history of information obtained from outside, data read from the wireless tag, and additional information when the wireless tag writing means writes data to the wireless tag And a control step of controlling an action based on the information obtained in the information obtaining step, the data read in the wireless tag reading step, and the data stored in the storage means. Thus, information can be obtained from the wireless tag, and operation can be performed based on this information. Also, traces and tracks of movement can be left on the wireless tag. Further, when a trace or trajectory of the robot device detected in the past is encountered again, the next operation can be determined based on the trace or trajectory.
[0149]
Further, in the robot device movement control system according to the present invention, in the robot device movement system in which the robot device moves in a predetermined area, a plurality of wireless tags are installed in the predetermined area, and the robot device moves in the predetermined area. If the user encounters a wireless tag, the user can operate based on information from the wireless tag by writing data to or reading data from the encountered wireless tag. Also, traces and tracks of movement can be left on the wireless tag. Further, when a trace or trajectory of the robot device detected in the past is encountered again, the next operation can be determined based on the trace or trajectory.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a robot device shown as a specific example of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the robot device.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a controller in the robot device.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an emotion model and an instinct model managed by an emotion / instinct model unit of the robot apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a state transition diagram illustrating an action model of the robot device.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a directed graph associated with arcs and nodes stored in a posture transition mechanism of the robot apparatus.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram illustrating an ID recognition unit of the robot device.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a format of an RFID signal of an RFID tag used in this specific example.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a case where the robot device reads information from an RFID tag.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a case where the robot device writes information to an RFID tag.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ID table created in an ID table storage unit.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of data directly written to an RFID tag based on an RFID signal format.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a humanoid robot device to which the present invention is applied, as viewed from the front.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a humanoid robot device to which the present invention is applied, as viewed from behind.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a degree of freedom of a joint of the humanoid robot device.
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a control system configuration of the humanoid robot device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 robot apparatus, 10 controller, 11 battery, 12 battery sensor, 13 heat sensor, 14 internal sensor section, 15 microphone (microphone), 16 CCD camera, 17 touch sensor, 18 speaker, 19 RFID read section, 20 RFID write section, Reference Signs List 50 sensor input processing unit, 51 emotion / instinct model unit, 52 action determination mechanism unit, 53 posture transition mechanism unit, 54 control mechanism unit, 55 voice synthesis unit, 56 acoustic processing unit, 57 RFID processing unit, 70 RFID format, 71 Header part, 72 identifier part, 73 data part, 74 ROM area, 75 writing area

Claims (23)

In a robot device in which an action is made to appear autonomously according to an internal state and the above-mentioned action is controlled according to input information from the outside,
Information acquisition means for acquiring information from outside;
Wireless tag reading means for reading data recorded on the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object,
Wireless tag writing means for writing data to the wireless tag,
Storage means for storing the information obtained from the outside, data read from the wireless tag, and a history of additional information when the wireless tag writing means has written data to the wireless tag;
A robot apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the behavior based on information acquired by the information acquisition unit, data read by the wireless tag reading unit, and data stored in the storage unit. 2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the additional information includes position information, mileage, writing date and time information, data written to the wireless tag, and information obtained by the information obtaining unit at the time of writing. apparatus. An expression means for expressing the above behavior,
Driving means for driving the above-mentioned expression means,
The control unit controls the driving unit based on information acquired by the information acquisition unit, data read by the wireless tag reading unit, and data stored in the storage unit. The robot device according to claim 1. The expression means is a moving means for moving the robot device,
The control unit controls the driving of the moving unit based on information acquired by the information acquiring unit, data read by the wireless tag reading unit, and data stored in the storage unit. The robot apparatus according to claim 3, wherein The information acquisition unit is a contact detection unit that detects a contact,
The control means, when a contact is detected by the contact detection means, executes a reading operation in the wireless tag reading means for a predetermined period, or executes a writing operation in the wireless tag writing means. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein The information acquisition means is a non-contact detection means for detecting an external state by non-contact,
The control means executes a reading operation in the wireless tag reading means or a writing operation in the wireless tag writing means for a certain period when the non-contact detecting means detects an external state. Item 4. The robot device according to Item 1. The data recorded on the wireless tag is an authentication number corresponding to the content of the information, and is stored in the storage unit as a table in which the content of the information is associated with the authentication number. The robot device according to claim 1. 2. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the action appearing based on the data read by the wireless tag reading means is constituted by at least an instinct element or an emotion element. The instinct factors may include fatigue, heat or temperature, pain, appetite or hunger, third, affection, curiosity, elimination. ), At least one of sexual desire, and the emotional element is happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust, fear. , Frustration, boredom, sleepiness, sociability (gregariousness), patience, tension, relaxed, vigilance (a) ertness), sin (guilt), malicious (Spite), honesty (loyalty), compliancy (submission), jealous (robot apparatus according to claim 8, wherein at least is one of the jealousy). 2. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the wireless tags are provided in an action range of the robot device, and the information includes position information and time information. 2. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the robot device has an appearance shape imitating an animal, and the wireless tag reading means and the wireless tag writing means are provided on a face portion of the animal. A control method for a robot apparatus in which an action is made to appear autonomously according to an internal state and the action is controlled according to input information from the outside,
An information acquisition step of acquiring information from outside in the robot device;
A wireless tag reading step of reading data recorded on the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object,
A wireless tag writing step of writing data to the wireless tag,
A storage step of storing in the storage means the information obtained from the outside, data read from the wireless tag, and a history of additional information when data is written to the wireless tag in the wireless tag writing step;
A robot apparatus comprising: a control step of controlling the behavior based on the information obtained in the information obtaining step, the data read in the wireless tag reading step, and the data stored in the storage means. Control method. 13. The robot according to claim 12, wherein the additional information includes position information, mileage, writing date and time information, data written to the wireless tag, and information obtained in the information obtaining step at the time of writing. How to control the device. Having a driving step of driving the expression means expressing the action,
In the control step, based on the information acquired in the information acquiring step, the data read in the wireless tag reading step, and the data stored in the storage means, the driving of the expression means in the driving step is performed. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the control is performed. The information acquisition step is a contact detection step of detecting a contact,
In the reading control step, when a contact is detected in the contact detecting step, the wireless tag reading step is executed for a certain period,
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein in the writing control step, when a contact is detected in the contact detecting step, the wireless tag writing step is executed for a predetermined period. The information acquisition step is a non-contact detection step of detecting an external state by non-contact,
In the reading control step, when the external state is detected in the non-contact detecting step, the wireless tag reading step is executed for a certain period,
13. The control method according to claim 12, wherein in the writing control step, when an external state is detected in the non-contact detection step, the wireless tag writing step is performed for a certain period. The data recorded in the wireless tag is an authentication number corresponding to the content of the information, and is stored in the storage unit as a table in which the content of the information is associated with the authentication number. A method for controlling a robot device according to claim 12. In a robot device movement control system for controlling a robot device moving in a predetermined area,
A plurality of wireless tags are installed in the predetermined area,
The robot device movement control system, wherein when the robot device moves in the predetermined area and encounters a wireless tag, the robot device writes data to or reads data from the encountered wireless tag. The robot device is
Information acquisition means for acquiring information from outside;
Wireless tag reading means for reading data recorded on the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object,
Wireless tag writing means for writing data to the wireless tag,
Storage means for storing the information obtained from the outside, data read from the wireless tag, and a history of additional information when the wireless tag writing means has written data to the wireless tag;
Control means for controlling the behavior based on the information obtained by the information obtaining means, the data read by the wireless tag reading means, and the data stored in the storage means,
19. The robot according to claim 18, wherein when the robot device moves in the predetermined area and encounters the wireless tag, the robot device writes data to the encountered wireless tag by the wireless tag writing unit. Equipment movement control system. The data written by the wireless tag writing means is information on the robot device, and includes identification information of the robot device, date and time of encounter with the wireless tag, moving distance and direction from other wireless tags encountered in the past, 19. The robot apparatus movement control system according to claim 18, wherein the system includes at least one of a direction in which the vehicle moves in the future, a travel distance, and information acquired by the information acquisition means. When the robot device moves in the predetermined area and encounters the wireless tag,
The wireless tag reading means reads the data recorded in the encountered wireless tag, the control means, based on the read data and the information acquired by the information acquisition means and the data stored in the recording means, 20. The robot apparatus movement control system according to claim 19, wherein calculation of own position information, determination of a next movement target, or calculation of a distance and a direction to the next movement target are performed. 20. The robot according to claim 19, wherein the additional information includes position information, mileage, writing date and time information, data written to the wireless tag, and information obtained by the information obtaining means at the time of writing. Equipment movement control system. An expression means for expressing the above behavior,
Driving means for driving the above-mentioned expression means,
The control unit controls the driving unit based on information acquired by the information acquisition unit, data read by the wireless tag reading unit, and data stored in the storage unit. The movement control system of a robot device according to claim 19.

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