JP6804393B2 - Acceptance robot system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an acceptance inspection robot system, and is suitable for application to, for example, an acceptance inspection robot system including a robot and a robot control device.

Conventionally, on-site acceptance inspection performed after cleaning work or the like is performed visually, so that the quality of acceptance depends on the inspector, and the quality of acceptance varies. In this regard, since the robot can accurately perform the preset processing, it can be expected that a certain quality can be maintained by having the robot perform the processing related to the acceptance inspection, so that the acceptance inspection is supported by using the robot. Is being considered.

For example, with regard to robots, a technique is disclosed in which a moving robot is used to photograph the surroundings with a camera at a fixed position and on time, and the surroundings are compared with past images to recognize suspicious persons, suspicious objects, etc. (Patent). Reference 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-102391

However, the above-mentioned conventional technology recognizes a suspicious person or the like, does not support acceptance inspection, and does not have a related technology.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose an acceptance inspection robot system that can support acceptance inspection by using a robot.

In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, it is an acceptance inspection robot system including a robot and a robot control device, wherein the robot has a drive mechanism for moving to an acceptance inspection place designated by the robot control device. The robot control device includes a camera that captures an image of the acceptance location and a communication interface that transmits an image of the acceptance location captured by the camera to the robot control device. The robot control device includes the acceptance location and the acceptance location. The inspection location instruction unit that reads the acceptance inspection location from the acceptance inspection location table that stores the image for determination in association with the robot and sends a shooting instruction of the acceptance inspection location to the robot, and the image of the acceptance inspection location received from the robot. wherein comparing the acceptance location determination image, and determines acceptance processor whether the acceptance, the acceptance result transmitting unit that transmits to the acceptance processing unit of the determination result to the related information predetermined destination, the A plurality of the inspection locations are provided in a predetermined building, and a range indicating a range in which a difference between the image of the acceptance location and the image for determining the acceptance location is allowed corresponding to each of the plurality of inspection locations. A threshold value is provided, and if the acceptance processing unit determines that the difference between the image of the acceptance location and the image for determining the acceptance location exceeds the threshold corresponding to the acceptance location, acceptance cannot be performed. I tried to judge that there is .

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an acceptance inspection robot system capable of supporting acceptance inspection using a robot.

It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the acceptance inspection robot system by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the robot by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the robot control device by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the robot monitoring center by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the acceptance inspection place by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the acceptance inspection place table by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the work procedure which concerns on the acceptance inspection support processing by 1st Embodiment.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) First Embodiment In FIG. 1, 1 indicates an acceptance inspection robot system according to the first embodiment as a whole. The acceptance inspection robot system 1 includes one or a plurality of robots 100 (robots 100a, ..., 100b) for acquiring data, a robot control device 200 for controlling the robot 100, and a robot control device 200 for data acquired by the robot 100. It is equipped with a robot monitoring center 300 (IT platform) that accumulates and analyzes via the above. The robot 100 and the robot control device 200 are connected wirelessly, and the robot control device 200 and the robot monitoring center 300 are communicably connected via the Internet 910. The robot 100 and the robot control device 200 are provided in the building 920, and the building 920 is provided with one or more acceptance inspection locations 930.

In the acceptance inspection robot system 1, for example, the robot 100 moves to the acceptance inspection place 930 and takes an image (imaging) of the acceptance inspection place 930 based on the instruction by the robot control device 200, and the robot control device 200 is photographed. The image of the acceptance inspection location 930 is compared with the determination image stored in advance to determine whether or not acceptance is possible, and the information related to the determination result is transmitted to a predetermined transmission destination.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the robot 100. The robot 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110 that performs various processes, a main storage device 120 that stores various information (programs, data, etc.), and an input / output device 130 for input / output to / from the robot 100. And a communication interface 140 capable of intercommunication with the robot control device 200.

The functions of the robot 100 (drive control unit 121, dialogue control unit 122, and input / output unit 123) are realized by the CPU 110 reading and executing the program stored in the main storage device 120. The input / output device 130 includes a camera 131, a microphone 132, a gyro sensor 133, a range sensor 134, a speaker 135, a drive mechanism 136, and a position sensor 137.

The robot 100 acquires video (image) from the camera 131 and audio from the microphone 132 and transmits them to the robot control device 200. The robot 100 moves to the acceptance inspection location 930 by the drive mechanism 136 based on the instruction from the robot control device 200. Further, the robot 100 detects an obstacle based on the image of the camera 131 and the output value of the range sensor 134 while moving, and the drive control unit 121 autonomously stops the movement or avoids the obstacle. To do. Further, when the robot 100 moves to the acceptance inspection location 930, the position sensor 137 emits an electromagnetic wave (inquiry) such as infrared rays, and individual echo sensors (for example, echo described later) installed at the acceptance inspection location 930 that senses the electromagnetic wave. The sensor 505) returns an electromagnetic wave (individual code such as a sensor ID) to recognize the standing position and orientation of the robot 100 in the acceptance inspection location 930 from the receiving direction of the electromagnetic wave.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the robot control device 200. The robot control device 200 is a communication interface capable of intercommunication between the CPU 210 that performs various processes, the main storage device 220 that stores various information (programs, data, etc.), the robot 100, and the robot monitoring center 300 (Internet 910). 230 and.

When the CPU 210 reads and executes the program stored in the main storage device 220, the functions of the robot control device 200 (input data processing unit 221, image data storage unit 222, acceptance location instruction unit 223, acceptance processing unit 224, and The acceptance inspection result transmission unit 225) is realized.

The input data processing unit 221 processes the data received from the robot 100. The image data storage unit 222 stores the image (image data) taken by the robot 100 in the main storage device 220. The acceptance inspection location instruction unit 223 selects a robot 100 that can move from a plurality of robots 100 to the acceptance inspection location 930 based on the robot table 226 and the inspection location table 227, and the robot monitoring center 300 transfers the selected robot 100 to the selected robot 100. Instruct to take a picture at the received inspection place 930. The acceptance processing unit 224 extracts image differences from the image taken by the robot 100 and the image for determination by using an image analysis technique, and determines whether or not acceptance inspection is possible. Based on the result determined by the acceptance inspection processing unit 224, the acceptance inspection result transmission unit 225 sends an e-mail to a predetermined destination (contact information) regarding the acceptance / rejection result and the content to be executed.

The robot table 226 is a table for managing information such as ID (identification), IP (Internet Protocol) address, current position, and current state (waiting, moving, working, etc.) of each robot 100. .. The acceptance inspection location table 227 is a table for managing the acceptance setting conditions at the acceptance inspection location 930 and the acceptance inspection location 930 and the determination image of the acceptance inspection location 930 in association with each other.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the robot monitoring center 300. The robot monitoring center 300 includes a CPU 310 that performs various processes, a main storage device 320 that stores various information (programs, data, etc.), and a communication interface 330 that can communicate with the robot control device 200 (Internet 910). To be equipped.

The functions of the robot monitoring center 300 (image data storage unit 321 and acceptance location storage unit 322) are realized by the CPU 310 reading and executing the program stored in the main storage device 320. The image data storage unit 321 stores in the main storage device 320 the image data taken by the robot 100 and the data obtained by adding the acceptance inspection location data, the shooting time data, the shooting position data, and the shooting direction data to the image data. The acceptance inspection location storage unit 322 stores in the main storage device 320 data for instructing the robot 100 to take a picture at the acceptance inspection location 930.

FIG. 5 shows an example (meeting room 500) of the acceptance inspection place 930. The conference room 500 includes a whiteboard 501, a conference table 502, eight chairs 503, and an entrance / exit door 504. Further, in the conference room 500, the layout is divided into 12, and one or a plurality of echo sensors 505 for specifying the position and direction of the image taken by the robot 100 are installed under the floor in the divided area.

FIG. 6 shows an example (acceptance location table 600) of the acceptance inspection location table 227 stored in the main storage device 220 of the robot control device 200. In the acceptance inspection place table 600, the acceptance inspection shooting information for specifying the date and time and the place where the robot 100 performs the shooting related to the acceptance inspection, the shooting setting condition information for specifying the shooting setting condition, the shooting result information showing the shooting result, The acceptance judgment information for determining the acceptance / rejection, the acceptance / rejection result information indicating the acceptance / rejection result, and the like are stored.

The acceptance imaging information includes No. 1 which is an arbitrary number that can identify the data stored in the acceptance location table 600. 601 、 Inspection place ID 602 which is an ID that uniquely identifies the inspection place 930 、 Acceptance place name 603 which is the name of the inspection place 930 、 Date 604 indicating the date when the robot 100 takes a picture at the inspection place 930 ， Before use Includes information on items such as a first time a605 indicating the time taken by the robot 100 and a second time b606 indicating the time taken by the robot 100 after using the acceptance inspection location 930.

The shooting setting condition information includes sensor IDa607a to sensor IDn607b, which are IDs of the echo sensor 505 indicating the shooting position of the robot 100 in the acceptance inspection location 930, shooting direction a608a to shooting direction n608b indicating the shooting direction of the robot 100, and the like. Contains information about the item.

The shooting result information includes images a609a to images n609b showing images (image files) taken by the robot 100.

The acceptance judgment information includes reference images a610a to reference images n610b indicating image file names that can be used as criteria for acceptance acceptance determination, images taken at the time of acceptance acceptance determination and judgment images (before use of the reference image or acceptance location 930). The information of items such as the tolerance rate 611, which is an example of the threshold value indicating the tolerance range of the image difference from the image), is included. In the present embodiment, by setting the threshold value corresponding to each of the plurality of acceptance locations 930, it becomes possible to correspond to the quality of acceptance required by each acceptance location 930.

The acceptance / rejection result information includes information on items such as acceptance / rejection 612 indicating acceptance acceptance / rejection and acceptance / rejection date / time 613 indicating the date and time when the acceptance / rejection 612 was written.

In the present embodiment, it is possible to take pictures at a plurality of places at one acceptance place 930. For example, the sensor IDa 607a, the shooting direction a608a, and the image a609a are one set of data, and are taken at the shooting position indicated by the sensor IDa607a. It shows that the image taken in the shooting direction indicated by the shooting direction a608a is the image a609a. In the image a609a, the image taken at the time a605 before the use of the acceptance place 930 is stored as, for example, a file "photographed file a.jpg", and is taken at the time b606 after the use of the acceptance place 930. The image is stored as, for example, a file “photographed file a-2.jpg”. In this way, by enabling shooting at a plurality of shooting positions at one acceptance location 930, it is possible to take into consideration the degree of light hitting, the part hidden from one shooting position, and the like, and whether or not acceptance is possible. The judgment can be made more accurately.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a processing procedure related to acceptance inspection support processing.

In the present embodiment, the site manager inputs the acceptance inspection shooting information and the shooting setting condition information (for example, acceptance inspection location data, shooting time data, shooting direction data) in advance at the robot monitoring center 300. For example, the site manager inputs the acceptance inspection place ID "0001" and the date "2017/03/01", and for the first shooting, the shooting time is "17:00" and the first echo sensor 505 is provided. Enter the current shooting position "A1234" and shooting direction "315" °, the shooting position "a123n" provided with the second echo sensor 505, and the shooting direction "45 °", and for the second shooting, the shooting time " 21:00 ”is input, and the input is omitted because the shooting position and shooting direction are the same as the first time.

Here, an appropriate method can be adopted as the input method of the acceptance inspection shooting information and the shooting setting condition information. For example, a dedicated input screen (not shown) may be provided for input on the Web screen, the robot monitoring center 300 may directly input (via a keyboard (not shown), or the like, or a conference. In cooperation with the room reservation system (not shown), it may be automatically input when the acceptance inspection place 930 is reserved, or it may be input by another method. In addition, the input may be performed by the system user, not by the site manager, by another person, or by the system.

When the acceptance inspection shooting information and the shooting setting condition information are input, the acceptance inspection location storage unit 322 stores the input data in the main storage device 320, and the stored data is stored in the robot control device 200 via the communication interface 330. Send to. The input data processing unit 221 of the robot control device 200 has each item of the acceptance location table 227 (for example, No. 601, acceptance location ID 602, acceptance location name 603, date 604, time a605, time b606, sensor IDa607a, sensor IDn607b, The data input in the shooting direction a608a and the shooting direction n608b) are stored.

In the acceptance inspection support process, first, the acceptance inspection location indicating unit 223 refers to the item of the shooting time (for example, time a605 and time b606) of the acceptance inspection place table 227, and the current time is a predetermined time (for example, 5 of the shooting time). It is determined whether or not it is (minutes ago) (step S11). If the acceptance inspection location indicating unit 223 determines that it is 5 minutes before the shooting time, it shifts the process to step S12, and if it determines that it is not 5 minutes before the shooting time, it shifts the process to step S11. .. The predetermined time is not limited to 5 minutes before the shooting time, and the time during which the robot 100 can move to the acceptance inspection location 930 regardless of the location of the building 920 may be adopted. It may be set according to the rule.

In step S12, the acceptance inspection location instruction unit 223 selects the robot 100 and instructs the selected robot to move to the acceptance inspection location 930 and the like.

More specifically, the acceptance inspection location indicating unit 223 selects the robot 100 that can move to the acceptance inspection location 930 based on the current time and the robot table 226 and the acceptance inspection location table 227. For example, the acceptance inspection location instruction unit 223 selects a robot 100 that does not perform various operations (acceptance support, patrol monitoring, and other operations). When there are a plurality of selected robots 100, the acceptance inspection location indicating unit 223 may further select the robot 100 having the shortest movement distance, or select the robot 100 that can reach the acceptance inspection location 930 earliest. Alternatively, the robot 100 having the highest remaining battery capacity may be selected.

Then, the acceptance inspection location instruction unit 223 acquires the data to be processed (data related to photography) from the acceptance inspection location table 227, and transmits the acquired data related to photography to the selected robot 100. That is, the acceptance inspection location indicating unit 223 moves to and moves to the selected robot 100 so as to perform imaging based on the data related to imaging (for example, acceptance inspection location data, imaging time data, imaging position data, and imaging direction data). Give instructions (shooting instructions) to carry out the work. By transmitting the preset shooting position data and shooting direction data to the robot 100 in this way, even if the robot 100 leaves the shooting position for other work, the same shooting position and the same shooting direction are performed each time. You will be able to shoot at.

The robot 100, which has received a shooting instruction from the acceptance inspection location indicating unit 223 of the robot control device 200, moves to the shooting position of the instructed acceptance inspection location 930 and performs shooting according to the shooting time and the shooting direction (step S13).

The robot monitoring center 300 receives the image data captured via the robot control device 200 and stores it in the main storage device 320 (step S14). More specifically, the image taken in step S13 is transmitted to the robot control device 200 via the communication interface 140 of the robot 100. The image data storage unit 222 of the robot control device 200 stores the data captured by the robot 100 in the main storage device 220. At this time, the image data storage unit 222 stores the file name in the image item (for example, image a609a to image n609b) on the acceptance inspection place table 227. The data stored by the image data storage unit 222 is transmitted to the robot monitoring center 300 via the communication interface 230. The image data storage unit 321 of the robot monitoring center 300 adds data to be added to the image data such as acceptance inspection location data, shooting time data, shooting position data, and shooting direction data to the image data, and transfers the image data to the main storage device 320. Remember.

The acceptance inspection processing unit 224 determines whether or not the photographing related to the determination of whether or not one acceptance is possible is completed (for example, whether or not the photographing after the use of the acceptance inspection place 930 is completed) (step S15). When the acceptance inspection processing unit 224 determines that the photographing is completed, the process is transferred to step S16, and when it is determined that the photographing is not completed, the process is transferred to step S11.

The acceptance processing unit 224 extracts an image difference by image analysis based on the captured image and the determination image corresponding to the image (step S16). For example, the acceptance inspection processing unit 224 displays two images, the latest data of the shooting time and the previous data (or the reference data shot in advance), from the upper left to the lower right of the image in pixel units for each shooting position. After comparing the images and extracting the difference rate for each pixel, the total and average values of the extracted difference rates are calculated as the difference in the image.

The acceptance inspection processing unit 224 determines whether or not acceptance is possible by comparing the image difference with the threshold value of the acceptance inspection location table 227 for each shooting position (step S17). For example, when the image difference of all the shooting positions is within the threshold value (for example, the allowable rate 611), the acceptance processing unit 224 determines that the acceptance is “OK” and the image difference of any shooting position. If exceeds the threshold value, it may be determined that the acceptance inspection is "impossible". Further, for example, when the image difference at a specific shooting position is within the threshold value, the acceptance inspection processing unit 224 determines that the acceptance inspection is “OK”, and the image difference at the specific shooting position exceeds the threshold value. In that case, it may be determined that the acceptance inspection is "impossible".

Then, the acceptance inspection processing unit 224 stores the date and time when the acceptance / rejection result and the acceptance / rejection result are stored in the acceptance inspection place table 227. For example, when the acceptance processing unit 224 determines that the acceptance is “acceptable”, it writes “acceptable” in the acceptance acceptance / rejection 612, and when the acceptance inspection is not possible, it writes “no” in the acceptance acceptance / rejection 612, and “acceptance acceptance / rejection 612” The date and time when "Yes" or "No" is written is written in the acceptance / rejection date / time 613.

The threshold value (for example, the permissible rate 611), which is a criterion for determining the difference for determining the acceptance / rejection, may be updated for each acceptance location 930 after the operation of the main acceptance robot system 1.

The acceptance inspection processing unit 224 refers to the acceptance inspection place table 227 and determines whether or not acceptance is possible (step S18). When the acceptance inspection processing unit 224 determines that the acceptance inspection is "OK", the process is transferred to step S19, and when it is determined that the acceptance inspection is "No", the processing is transferred to step S20.

In step S18, the acceptance inspection result transmission unit 225 transmits to a predetermined destination (for example, an e-mail address) that acceptance inspection is possible. At this time, the captured image may be transmitted to the transmission destination (for example, the site manager). Here, in the present embodiment, by taking an image before and after the work, it is possible to allocate it to the on-site verification work necessary for performing the acceptance inspection, and the site manager can change the photographed image. It is possible to easily determine whether or not acceptance inspection should be performed by looking at.

In step S19, the acceptance inspection result transmission unit 225 cannot accept the acceptance of the fact that the work needs to be re-performed at a predetermined destination (for example, an e-mail address) and that the shooting schedule to be performed after the work is re-registered. It is sent with the fact that it is.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the robot 100 is instructed to perform shooting based on the designated shooting time, shooting position, and shooting direction, and the latest data and determination data of the shot image (previous time). Acceptance support is provided by extracting the difference from the data or standard data) and determining whether or not the work performed at the acceptance location 930 can be accepted based on the change at the acceptance location 930.

Further, the conventional technique is a technique premised on being performed by the same robot, and cannot be performed when a predetermined robot becomes inoperable due to a failure or the like. Therefore, acceptance inspection cannot be supported until the recovery of the robot is completed. In this respect, in the present embodiment, since the robot 100 is carried out in cooperation with a plurality of robots 100 installed at the site without depending on the fixed robot 100, when the predetermined robot 100 cannot be processed. However, it is possible to perform the work on behalf of the other robot 100, such as performing the processing, and the acceptance inspection support is provided without delay.

(2) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the acceptance inspection robot system 1 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various other acceptance inspection robots. It can be widely applied to the system.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the imaging position is specified by the position sensor 137 and the echo sensor 505 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the imaging position may be specified by Beacon. In this case, for example, Beacons are arranged in each divided area of the conference room 500, and the robot control device 200 receives the Beacon signal received by the robot 100 (position information), and the robot control device 200 receives the position. The robot 100 may be instructed to move based on the information.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the sensor ID is input as the photographing position has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the position information (for example, the coordinates on the floor where the acceptance inspection place 930 is provided, the inside of the acceptance inspection place 930). (Coordinates of, etc.) may be entered.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the photographing direction is input has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a marker (which may be detected by a camera) installed at the acceptance inspection location 930 may be used. It may be detected by a sensor), so that the robot 100 acquires the shooting direction.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the shooting position and the shooting direction are used as the shooting setting conditions has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and both or one of the vertical direction and the zoom is further used as the shooting setting conditions. You may do so.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the acceptance / rejection is determined when the imaging of the acceptance inspection location 930 after use is completed (real time) has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is periodic (1 day). It is also possible to judge whether or not acceptance is possible by batch processing once every night).

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the acceptance inspection is "OK" and the case where the acceptance inspection is possible is transmitted to the destination is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the acceptance inspection is "OK". In some cases, payment may be made. For example, in advance, it is configured to set whether to automatically pay when the acceptance is "acceptable" (payment condition setting), and when the acceptance is "acceptable", according to the payment condition. Payment may be made. In this case, the payment terms may be set for each acceptance location 930. Further, for example, the fact that acceptance can be inspected may be transmitted to the destination, and information on which payment can be made (for example, the URL of the payment screen (Uniform Resource Locator)) may be transmitted.

1 ... Acceptance robot system, 100 ... Robot, 200 ... Robot control device, 300 ... Robot monitoring center, 910 ... Internet, 920 ... Building, 930 ... Acceptance location

Claims (3)

An acceptance inspection robot system including a robot and a robot control device.
The robot
A drive mechanism for moving to the acceptance inspection location specified by the robot control device, and
A camera that captures an image of the acceptance location and
It is provided with a communication interface for transmitting an image of the acceptance inspection location taken by the camera to the robot control device.
The robot control device is
An acceptance location instruction unit that reads the acceptance location from the acceptance location table that stores the acceptance location and the image for determining the acceptance location in association with each other and transmits a shooting instruction of the acceptance location to the robot.
An acceptance processing unit that compares the image of the acceptance location received from the robot with the image for determining the acceptance location and determines whether or not acceptance is possible.
E Bei and a acceptance result transmitting unit that transmits to the acceptance processing unit of the judgment result in accordance destination information predetermined,
A plurality of acceptance inspection locations are provided in a predetermined building.
Corresponding to each of the plurality of inspection locations, a threshold value indicating a range indicating a range that allows a difference between the image of the acceptance location and the image for determining the acceptance location is provided.
When the acceptance processing unit determines that the difference between the image of the acceptance location and the image for determining the acceptance location exceeds the threshold value corresponding to the acceptance location, it determines that acceptance is impossible.
Inspection robot system comprising a call. The acceptance location table defines imaging setting conditions that indicate the imaging position and imaging direction at the acceptance location.
The acceptance inspection location indicating unit transmits the imaging setting conditions to the robot together with the imaging instruction of the acceptance inspection location.
The acceptance inspection robot system according to claim 1. The acceptance inspection robot system includes a plurality of the robots.
The acceptance inspection location indicating unit selects the robot that can move to the acceptance inspection location from the plurality of robots based on a robot table that stores the current positions and current states of the plurality of robots, and the selected robot. Send the shooting instruction of the inspection place to
The acceptance inspection robot system according to claim 1.

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