JPH03178789A - Communication control unit of robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To solicit the person to be guided after performing a perfunctory explanation while guiding and to make a robot capable of receiving a question, etc., by performing the information transmission of the conversation, alarm, propaganda, etc., from the human of the remote control part of a robot, for the human of the robot vicinity with a remote control. CONSTITUTION:The movement of a robot main body is performed by processing the informations fed from a recognizing sensor 22 of an ultrasonic wave, etc., for an autonomous traveling and a memory 23 of the autonomous traveling and work data by an automous traveling processor 24 and controlling a servomotor 28 via a linear amplifier 26. In the case of the autonomous traveling control system up to the linear amplifier 26 from the recognizing sensor 22 becoming not functioning due to a recognition impossibility, an accident, etc., the information detected by an accident checker 27 is transmitted to the alarm device 32 of the remote control part from a receiver/transmitter device 11. The control instruction by the voice of a man is transmitted to a robot after the accident being confirmed by a man to control the servomotor 28 with its driving and the robot is moved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Field of Application The present invention enables communication from a remote location or part of the control of the robot itself through an autonomous robot and a communication device built into the robot's surroundings and the robot. It is something to do.

Conventional technology When an autonomous robot is running or reaches a destination,
The sound was transmitted based on information stored in the robot itself.

Problems that the invention aims to solve Even if the intelligence of autonomous robots becomes more sophisticated, trying to make them more capable of responding to unexpected events than humans would require the devices to become larger and less efficient.

For example, when an autonomous robot is used for route guidance or exhibition explanation work, it would be inefficient to have a built-in device for responding to unexpected questions, etc., apart from the robot's one-sided explanations. Hell, it's almost impossible. Furthermore, in the event that an autonomous driving type control system becomes disabled or malfunctions, there is no way to move the robot out of that state.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to solve the problems inherent in the above-mentioned problems.

Means for Solving the Problems of the Invention The robot body is equipped with a receiving and transmitting device consisting of sound collection, amplification, and a TV camera on a separate route that is partially linked to the traveling and work control system built into the autonomous robot body. This allows the robot to communicate with and monitor nearby humans from a remote location.

In addition, when the robot's autonomous running control system is disabled or malfunctions, it is possible to move the robot body from the remote control unit.

By switching the person on the other end of the phone call to the person in the vicinity of the robot body instead of the person in the remote control unit, the response information device that applies artificial intelligence etc. will respond, and the person on the other end of the phone call will be able to answer qualitative questions and behavior judgments. This makes it possible to act as a substitute.

If the built-in judgment capacity of an autonomous robot is exceeded, the remote control unit uses a communication device to communicate directly with the vicinity of the robot body and control the robot body, making it more efficient than the robot's equipment and capacity. Able to demonstrate good information transmission and behavioral functions.

Embodiment Hereinafter, a guide explanation robot for exhibitions, etc., which is one of the embodiments of the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a robot main body l, a communication system device section 2, a robot autonomous running system control section 3, and a robot communication system control section 4, and FIG. 2 shows a remote control section 5 of the robot. 6 speakers, 7 microphones installed on the robot body,
8 TV camera is shown, the sound from the vicinity of the robot is detected by 9 sound source direction sensor, and the microphone, speaker, and camera are turned toward the sound source using the 1O direction driver.

Voices and images of questions asked by people near the robot to the robot are recorded at 7 microphonons.

8 TV cameras, 5 remote control units in Figure 2, 13 through 11 audio receiving/transmitting devices and 12 image transmitting devices, respectively.
The image is transmitted wirelessly to the receiving/transmitting device and the 14-image receiving device. The remote control unit receives information such as questions through 14 speakers and 17 TV monitors. As a human being, the answer information is 1.
It is transmitted wirelessly to the robot body from 5 microphones, 13 receiver/transmitter, and 11 receiver/transmitter, and 6 speakers.
The message is transmitted to the person asking the question near the mouth pot.

Also, in contrast to the above, it is also possible to issue questions or warnings to people in the vicinity from the remote control unit 5 via the robot. When audio information is transmitted from the 5 remote control unit to the robot, the human voice can be modulated and synthesized into a so-called "robot-like" sound by passing through the 18 audio modulation device.

As another example of the telephone call method, in addition to the human in the remote control section 5 making a telephone call via the robot, the remote control section 5 is equipped with a receiving/transmitting device 33 for public communication lines such as regular subscriber telephones. By intervening,
It becomes possible to talk between people who are far away and people who are near the robot itself.

As a method of checking the call status within the remote control unit, the voice is converted into text by the 13 communication receiving/transmitting device by the 34 voice recognition character conversion device, and the image is 38 images from the 14 television image receiving device. Through the display control device, the text and image information is controlled by the 35 character/image composition screen display control device, which combines text and images or controls the display time and the display content, and the display content is controlled by the 36 printers. It is also possible to display similar content as images or composite images on a 17 TV monitor, or to display text information on a 37 character information display.

The method for storing the display screen is as follows. As mentioned above, information controlled by the 35 character/image synthesis screen display control device, synthesized or independent audio and image information, as a still image or character screen at predetermined time intervals. consists of a large number of memories, 39
The data continues to be stored in the semiconductor memory device in a sequential cyclical manner.

Further, the stored information can be checked retroactively as the latest information within a certain period of time using a 17 TV monitor or a 37 character information display.

5 Another control method from the remote control unit is to use the 21 changeover switch to process the voice information from the 13 receiver/transmitter using the voice 19 meaning recognition and judgment device that utilizes artificial intelligence, etc., and 20 answers. The answer selected from the information data memory is directly transmitted to the robot, making it possible to save labor at the remote control unit.

Next, the movement of the robot body is carried out using two methods such as ultrasonic waves for autonomous driving.
Information from 2 recognition sensors and 23 autonomous driving and work data memory is processed by 1.24 autonomous driving processor, 25
This is done by controlling 28 servo motors via D/A switching and 26 linear amplifiers, but the autonomous driving control system from 22 recognition sensors to 26 linear amplifiers has stopped functioning due to inability to recognize or malfunction. In case, 27
Information detected by the fault checker is transmitted from the receiving/transmitting device 11 to the alarm device 32 of the remote control unit.

Next, after the failure is confirmed by a human, human voice control instructions are issued to the robot from the microphone 15 and the receiving/transmitting device 13. The signal is converted into a control instruction signal, which drives and controls 28 servo motors through 30 analog amplifiers and 31 linear power amplifiers, allowing the robot to move.

To confirm the position of the above-mentioned robot when it is malfunctioning or moving,
It is confirmed by the 40 position recognition device built into the robot body and is used during autonomous driving, but the position information is
The robot's 41 position information emitting/transmitting device transmits the information, and the remote control unit's 42 position information emitting/transmitting device transmits the 3
The 8-image display control device displays the robot's movement status within a predetermined frame on the 17 TV monitor as robot position-related information.

Effects of the Invention Incorporating human-to-human judgment intelligence into an autonomous robot is inefficient because the robot itself becomes bulky.

When the present invention is applied to, for example, a guidance and explanation robot at an exhibition, etc., the following effects can be obtained.

While guiding the robot, after giving a brief explanation, the robot can prompt the person being guided and ask questions. The state of the question is transmitted as voice or image radio waves to the remote control unit, and based on human judgment, the human answer is transmitted via the robot to the questioner near the robot as a robot-like synthesized voice. be done.

When the present invention is applied to a serving robot other than the guidance/explanation robot mentioned above, the communication function allows the robot to receive food orders as voice information in the cafeteria, in addition to transporting food, etc., and the information is transmitted in real time. It is transmitted directly to the kitchen. Furthermore, if necessary, the order details can be confirmed on the spot from the kitchen, improving the accuracy of the order details information.

In addition, order content information can be statically displayed on a display as text information, or the text information can be output from a printer and left as a record.

When the robot transports the food and delivers it to the orderer, information such as how to eat the food can be transmitted from the kitchen to the orderer as voice information from the robot.

Using the robot's built-in position information as the robot's food transport status, the TV monitor in the kitchen, which is a remote control unit, can display the position of the robot running between tables for transport.

In some cases, it is possible to save labor by using a computer-based judgment device equipped with an artificial function, which is installed in the remote control unit.

By installing the mechanical judgment function separately from the robot body, the robot body can be miniaturized or the functionality of the entire robot device can be easily increased, and an integrated robot system can be one step closer to becoming unmanned.

In extreme cases, if you use the connection function with external communication lines such as general subscriber telephones, you can
When the robot approaches a criminal, it will be possible to transmit persuasive voices and have a conversation with the criminal's immediate family, even if they live far away.

In addition to the above-mentioned communication between humans, if the autonomous running control system of the robot is unable to make decisions or has a circuit failure, the robot itself can be operated under human control using voice signals from the remote control unit. There are other effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a robot main body, a robot communication system unit, a robot autonomous running control unit, and a robot communication running system control unit built therein, and FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the robot remote control unit. l Robot body 2 Robot communication system control unit 3 Robot autonomous running system control unit 4 Robot communication running control unit 5 Robot remote control unit 6 Speaker 7 Microphone 8 TV camera 9 Audio source sensor IO direction drive unit ti Communication receiving/transmitting device I2 Television Image transmitting device 13 Communication receiving/transmitting device 14 Television image receiving device Microphone speaker TV monitor Audio modulation device Call content recognition judgment processor Answer information data memory Automatic judgment changeover switch Recognition sensor for autonomous driving Autonomous driving and work data memory Autonomous driving processor D /A conversion linear amplifier failure checker Travel drive servo motor Audio converter Analog comparison amplifier Linear power amplifier Trouble alarm device External communication receiving/transmitting device Voice recognition character converter Character/image synthesis display control device Character/image printer Display for character information only Image display control device Semiconductor storage device Position recognition device Robot position information generation/transmission device Remote control unit Position information generation/transmission device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In addition to the sound device that produces sound, the autonomous robot itself is equipped with a microphone, a speaker, and a communication device, so that it can remotely control people nearby.
A robot communication control device that transmits information such as conversations, warnings, and advertisements from a human in the robot's remote control unit. 2. Robot communication in which the robot is equipped with a TV camera that is linked to the sound source direction from the robot's point of view, in addition to the one for autonomous running, and enables image transmission in conjunction with the communication status with a remote location according to claim 1. Control device. 3. Robot communication related to patent claim 1, which makes it possible for the robot to emit a human voice from a remote location through a voice modulation device, resembling a so-called "robot-like" synthesized sound. Control device. 4. If the control device for the original robot autonomous running system becomes disabled or malfunctions, it will automatically notify the robot's remote control unit, and the robot will be able to operate under human control using human voice commands from the remote control unit. A communication control device for a robot according to claim 1. 5. A public communication line such as a general subscriber telephone is installed in the remote control unit of the robot, and if necessary, an external telephone etc. is transmitted using the same mechanism as in claim 1, so that external communication with humans near the robot body is possible. A robot communication control device that enables communication with the network. 6. Voice information from the robot is received by a remote control unit in the mechanism according to claim 1, and converted into character information via a voice recognition character conversion device as a still image,
Display on a TV monitor or a display dedicated to text information. A robot communication control device that can output from a printer if necessary. 7. Another method of receiving voice and image information from the robot in the remote control unit by the mechanism according to claims 2 and 6 is to serially circulate the information to the semiconductor storage device at predetermined time intervals. , the audio is stored as a display screen converted into text, and the image is stored as a still image. Therefore, it is possible to always go back and display a record within a certain period of time. As another display method, a communication control device for a robot is characterized in that a screen in which images and characters are synthesized by a character/image synthesis control device is outputted from a TV monitor display or a printer. 8. The position information from the position recognition device built into the autonomously running robot body is transmitted by the robot's communication receiving/transmitting device, received by the remote control unit, and predetermined by the image display control device. A communication control device for a robot, characterized in that the movement status of the robot located within a frame is displayed on a TV monitor in real time.