JPH0569359A - Method and system f0r remote manipulati0n of robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the working efficiency by eliminating the sense of incompatibility, which the operator has, resulting from the delay in communications when a robot installed in the space is maneuvered from a robot maneuvering device CONSTITUTION:When a robot 50 installed in the space is maneuvered from a robot maneuvering device 20 operated according to the specified procedures, a robot simulator 30 installed beside the robot maneuvering device 20 is maneuvered thereby, and a command signal pertaining to the maneuver given to the simulator 30 from the robot maneuvering device 20 is transmitted to the robot 50 upon delaying a certain time by a delay circuit 40. When any abnormality is generated by the maneuver of the simulator 30, signal transmission of the delay circuit 40 is stopped by an emergency stop signal 90 to avoid feeding the robot with command signals which might result in abnormality occurrence.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control method and system for controlling a remote robot by a bilateral control method, and particularly to a remote robot suitable when the robot is installed in outer space where communication delay time occurs. Control method and its system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a robot installed in outer space is operated by operating a robot control device installed on the ground by a bilateral control method, there is a communication delay time, which is extremely difficult for a robot operator. It gives a strange feeling. Therefore, conventionally, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-97591, an image from a camera capturing an action of a robot and an image from a camera capturing an action of the robot control device are displayed in the same action. One of the image signals is delayed by the delay circuit in order to be displayed at.

[0003]

The communication delay time with a robot installed in outer space takes several tens of seconds to several tens of minutes depending on the distance. In the above-described conventional technology, the operation of the robot can be seen on the screen in comparison with the movement on the side of the robot controller, but since the display time is simply delayed by the communication delay time, the robot controller is operated. After that, the operation will be confirmed on the screen after several tens of seconds to several tens of minutes. This is difficult and difficult to control.

An object of the present invention is to provide a remote robot control method and system for efficiently controlling a remote robot without being affected by communication delay time.

[0005]

In the remote robot control method for controlling a robot control device and controlling a robot installed in outer space according to the control procedure, a robot simulator is provided in the vicinity of the robot control device. Installed in and control the simulator with a robot controller,
This is achieved by delaying a command signal from the robot control device related to the control to the simulator for a predetermined time and transmitting the command signal to the robot (claim 1).

Further, the above object is to provide the simulator of the same structure as the robot in the invention of claim 1,
Achieved (Claim 2).

Further, the above object can be achieved by the invention of claim 1 in which the simulator is a simulation of a robot on a computer.

The above object can be achieved by transmitting the emergency stop command signal to the robot without delaying for a predetermined time in the invention of claim 1 (claim 4).

Further, the above-mentioned object is achieved by sending the operation result of the simulator to the robot, comparing the result when the robot operates according to the command signal with the operation result, and making an emergency stop by itself when they do not match. (Claim 5).

Further, in the invention of claim 1, the above-mentioned object is to install a second simulator, which operates under open loop control as in the case of the robot, in the vicinity of the robot control device, and also sends the second simulator to the robot. This is achieved by applying the same command signal as the command signal and monitoring its operation (claim 6).

Further, the above object can be achieved by manufacturing a plurality of simulators and their environmental devices, and selecting and using a robot and its environment, which have characteristics closest to those of the environment. (Claim 7).

Further, in the invention of claim 1, the above object is to automatically correct the predetermined delay time when the communication delay time between the robot control device and the robot fluctuates, and to adjust the communication delay time and the command signal. This is achieved by controlling the total time with the delay time of 1 to be constant (claim 8).

Further, the above-mentioned object is defined by claims 1 to 8.
In any one of the inventions, the robot control device is installed on the ground, and the simulator is installed on the satellite orbit,
Achieved (Claim 9).

Further, the above-mentioned object is defined by claims 1 to 8.
In any one of the above aspects, the robot control device and the simulator are achieved by installing them in the same spacecraft (claim 10).

Further, the above object is achieved by providing a relay spacecraft between the robot control device and the robot in the invention of claim 9 or claim 10 (claim 1)
1).

The above object can be achieved by installing the simulator in a gravity-adjustable spacecraft in the invention of claim 9 or claim 10 (claim 12).

[0017]

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the operator operates the simulator against the opponent, it is not necessary to consider the communication delay time in order to continuously perform a series of operations. Further, when an erroneous operation is performed, the command signal is delayed and output to the robot, so that the output can be easily stopped.

According to the second or seventh aspect of the present invention, since the same real robot as the robot is used as the simulator and is operated in the same environment as the environment of the robot, the simulator can be operated as an equivalent of the robot.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the characteristics of the simulator can be easily made equivalent to those of the robot due to the accuracy of the computer simulation.

According to the invention of claim 4, when the robot has an emergency stop function, it can be stopped immediately by transmitting an emergency stop signal thereto.

According to the invention of claim 5, even if the situation of the robot is different from the situation of the simulator side,
You can quickly identify that you are in a different situation,
The robot can be stopped immediately, and the subsequent correction operation of the side robot can be minimized.

According to the invention of claim 6, the operation of the robot can be immediately confirmed by the second simulator, and if the operation by the second simulator becomes abnormal, the robot is immediately stopped. This makes it possible to stop the robot before an abnormality occurs.

According to the invention of claim 8, continuity of communication between the robot control device and the robot can be ensured.

According to the ninth or tenth aspect of the present invention, a weightless and vacuum environment can be easily realized, and the operation of the simulator and the equivalence of the robot can be enhanced.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, even if the communication radio wave becomes weak, it can be amplified by the relay ship, and it becomes possible to control the robot more remotely.

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, when the robot is installed on a planet or satellite with gravity, gravity can be added to the simulator to realize the same environment as the robot.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to an example of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention according to claim 1. The operator 10 operates the control device 20 while watching the response of the simulator 30 nearby. The feedback from the simulator 30 to the operator 10 is the movement and sound of the simulator itself when the operator is directly looking at the simulator, but the movement and sound of the simulator are transmitted via the television camera, monitor, microphone, speaker and the like. You may observe. Feedback from the control device 20 to the operator 10 is a reaction force in the case of a bilateral manipulator or the like, or a feeling of contact. A command signal to the robot is input from the control device 20 to the simulator 30. This may be a force command, a speed command, or a position command, but a position command is preferable. If it is a multi-joint manipulator, it may be an angle command for each joint or a position command for the tip of the manipulator. Control device 2 from simulator 30
To 0, a command signal for driving the control device 20 is input in order to make the operator feel the reaction force or the touch sensation described above.

A command signal input from the control device 20 to the simulator 30 is simultaneously transmitted to a distant robot via a delay circuit 40 (this delay circuit 40 may be constituted by hardware or software). Sent to 50. The delay circuit 40 holds the command signal input from the control device 20 for a predetermined time, and then the distant robot 50.
Output to. Here, although not shown in FIG. 1, in reality, a transmitter is required to transmit the command signal to the distant robot 50, and a receiver is required on the receiving side. When the robot 50 is installed in outer space, there is a delay in signal transmission / reception because the speed of radio waves is finite. Due to this delay in communication time, the operator 10
It is difficult to operate the robot 50 while directly watching the response of the robot 50. Therefore, in this embodiment, the operator 10 operates the simulator 30 while watching the simulator 30 equivalent to the robot 50. Since the simulator 30 and the robot controller 20 are close to each other, the communication delay time can be ignored, and therefore the simulator can be continuously operated.

The command signal to the simulator 30 is transmitted to the robot 50. When transmitting the command signal, the delay circuit 4
Through 0. By providing this delay circuit 40, when an inconvenience occurs in the operation of the simulator 30, an emergency stop signal can be input to this delay circuit 40 and the command signal transmission to the robot 50 can be stopped. This makes it possible to prevent the inconvenient command signal from being output to the robot 50. Further, even if an inconvenient command signal is sent to the robot 50, most of the command signals can be stopped, so that the operation of returning the robot 50 becomes easy. Even if the operator 10 generates the emergency stop signal 90 input to the delay circuit 40 by pressing a switch at hand, another monitoring system automatically checks the operation of the simulator 30 and automatically generates it when an abnormality is detected. You can When the emergency stop signal 90 is input to the delay circuit 40, the command signal transmission to the robot 50 is immediately stopped.

When a master-slave manipulator is used as a robot for performing work inside and outside a spacecraft, for example, as in the invention of claim 2, the master side is a manipulator having the same structure as the slave side, and the master side is a simulator 30.
By doing so, almost the same operation as the robot 50 becomes possible.

Further, for example, like the invention according to claim 3,
It is also possible to construct the simulator 30 entirely on a computer. For example, the servo system of each joint axis of the manipulator, the elasticity of the arm, the deflection, etc. can be easily simulated by a computer. Furthermore, the work object as the environment is modeled in terms of plane, curved surface, etc., and the hand part of the manipulator is also the same, but at least the elastic modulus in the normal direction, static friction coefficient, dynamic friction coefficient, etc. are considered. Three
Configure 0. The simulator 30 on the computer, which is strictly simulated, is substantially equivalent to the real robot 50.
The simulator 30 on the computer does not require any special space for that purpose, which is advantageous in terms of cost.
Further, it is easy to realize on the computer the change in the characteristics caused by the manufacturing variation of the robot 50.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a remote robot control system embodying the present invention. Operator 10, control device 20, simulator 30, delay circuit 40
The connection configuration of the robot 50 is the same as that of the embodiment of FIG. 1, but in this embodiment, the emergency stop signal 90 is transmitted to the robot 50.
The difference is that it is sent directly to. In general, the robot 50 has a function of detecting an abnormality by the robot itself and entering an emergency stop state in addition to an emergency stop that acts as an external factor. Therefore, in this embodiment, by utilizing this function, the emergency stop signal 90 is directly transmitted to the robot 50.
0 is stopped directly. In this embodiment, the command signal to the robot 50 is delayed by the delay circuit 40 for a predetermined time, but the emergency stop signal 90 is not passed through the delay circuit 40. Therefore, when the simulator 30 operates abnormally, it reaches the robot 50 later than the emergency stop signal 90. Therefore, the robot 50 is stopped by the emergency stop signal 90 before the robot 50 operates by the command signal that causes the abnormal operation. To do.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a remote robot control system embodying the present invention. Although the delay circuit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is not provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, it goes without saying that this delay circuit may be provided. In this embodiment, the simulator 30 is connected to the comparative monitoring device 60 provided on the side of the robot 50 far from the simulator 30.
The status of the flight control result of is transmitted. The state of the operation result may be a television image showing the simulator 30. In this case, since the raw image has a large amount of data and cannot be transmitted in a short time, image processing such as differential binarization is performed and the data is compressed and transmitted to the robot 50 side. Also, instead of the image
The torque value of each joint of the manipulator, contact information of the hand portion, reaction force, etc. may be transmitted as the state of the operation result.
Information of the robot 50 corresponding to these pieces of information is also input to the comparison monitoring device 60, and when the state of the robot 50 is different from the state of the simulator 30, it means that the robot 50 did not operate in the same manner as the simulator 30. The emergency stop signal 90 is output from the monitoring device 60 and the robot 5
0 stops. In this embodiment, although the robot 50 cannot be stopped in advance before performing the abnormal operation, the robot can be stopped immediately when the operation of the simulator 30 becomes inconsistent. Therefore, the robot in the abnormal operation state It is possible to minimize the work of restoring 50 to the original state. When the delay circuit 40 is provided in this embodiment, the state of the simulator 30 also needs to be transmitted to the robot 50 side through the delay circuit 40. Although not shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the state of the robot 50 is sent to the operator 10 so that the operator 10 can monitor the state of the robot 50.
However, this is only for confirmation, and the control device 20 is not operated with the information except for special cases such as recovery work in an abnormal situation.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a remote robot control system embodying the present invention. Basically, in the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a robot command signal output from the control device 20 to the simulator 30 and the robot 50 is input to another simulator 31, 32, 33, .... .. Since the remote robot 50 is under open loop control, it may be necessary to confirm in advance whether it is actually operating in the same manner as the simulator 30. In the present embodiment, the preliminary confirmation is made possible.
If 32, 33, ... Do not operate normally, the robot 50 can be brought into an emergency stop state before the operation is transmitted to the robot 50 as a command signal. The number of simulators 31, 32, 33, ... May be one instead of a plurality, but the reliability of determination of normality / abnormality can be increased by installing a plurality of simulators.

When the same physical object as the robot 50 is used as the simulator 30, a large number of artificial objects that make up the environment in which the robot is installed are manufactured, and the characteristics thereof are close to the robot 50 and the environment in which it is placed. An item is selected (the invention of claim 7). Specifically, the robot measures its operation resistance, positioning accuracy, deflection, rigidity, environmental components such as rotation of bolts, nuts, attachment / detachment mechanism, etc., operation resistance, friction coefficient of the surface, etc., and selects those with similar characteristics. To do. This makes it possible to further reduce variations in the characteristics of the actual robot 50 and the simulator 30.

In the delay circuits of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, when the communication delay time changes, means for automatically correcting the change is provided (the invention of claim 8). As the correction means, when the relay station for communication is switched, the switching signal is taken into the delay circuit 40 and automatically switched to the delay time corresponding to the relay pattern of the relay station. If the communication delay time changes from moment to moment, such as with a spacecraft, calculate the distance changed by the gyro mounted on the mobile unit and calculate the change in the communication delay time from this distance change. It can also be calculated and calculated. In addition, it is also possible to measure the communication time from the transmission of a certain signal to the return using a bidirectional communication system, and use half of the round trip time as the communication delay time. Alternatively, if a flight plan is prepared in advance, the change in the communication delay time may be programmed based on this flight plan. With such an automatic correction function, it is possible to always ensure the continuity of communication between the robot 50 and the control device 20, even if the communication delay time changes.

FIG. 5 is an operation diagram of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention of claim 9. Control device 2
It is assumed that 0 is installed on a planet 100 such as the earth where the operator 10 is, and the remote robot 50 is installed on a spaceship or a space base. Here, the simulator 30
It is installed on the satellite orbit 101 to simulate the weightless environment and vacuum environment of the simulator 30. In particular, by setting the satellite orbit 101 to be a geostationary satellite orbit, communication between the simulator 30 and the control device 20 is always possible without going through a relay station,
Communication processing becomes easy. Here, the robot 50 and the simulator 30 are assumed to be installed in a spacecraft or a space base in order to make the simulator 30 equivalent to the robot 50.

FIG. 6 is an operation diagram of a remote robot control system embodying the invention of claim 10. The control device 20 and the simulator 30 are installed in the same spacecraft 200, and the robot 50 is installed in the spacecraft 300. Spacecraft 300 is assumed to be far away from spacecraft 200. In this embodiment, in addition to realizing the weightless environment and the vacuum environment of the simulator 30, since the operator 10 is near the simulator 30, there is an advantage that the operation and maintenance are easier than the operation example of FIG. Here, the spacecrafts 200 and 300 may be space stations, and the simulator 30 and the control device 20 may be installed in different nearby spacecrafts, respectively.

FIG. 7 is an operation diagram of a remote robot control system embodying the invention of claim 7. In this operational example, the relay spacecrafts 201, 202, 203 for communication are skipped between the spacecraft 200 and the spacecraft 300 described in FIG. Relay spacecraft 201, 202, 20
According to 3, the spacecraft 200, 300 can be amplified even if the distance between the spacecrafts 200, 300 becomes long and the communication signal becomes weak, so that it is possible to secure the reliability and certainty of the communication. In particular, it is important to secure the same communication system as the normal communication on the ground because of transmitting the robot command signal which has a large amount of communication data. In addition, each relay spacecraft is provided with means for obtaining the above-mentioned communication delay time, and each relay spacecraft 201, 202, 203 is automatically connected to the spacecraft 200,
It is advisable to provide a navigation function for arranging 300 at equal intervals.

In the twelfth aspect of the invention, the spacecraft for mounting the simulator 30 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is provided with the gravity adjusting means. Gravity adjustment can be easily performed by rotating the spacecraft. This makes it possible to simulate the gravity of the planet or satellite on which the robot 50 is installed.

Although the embodiments described above have been described on the premise of the master-slave manipulator, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a semi-autonomous robot. That is, from the control device 20 to the simulator 30
Also, as the command signal transmitted to the robot 50, it is also possible to use a command level command that means a series of work or motions that have been collected to some extent. In this case, the delay time of the delay circuit 40 needs to be larger than the maximum execution time of the prepared command. Also, once a command is input, it is preferable not to accept the next command while the command is being executed. By setting the command to the command level command, the work efficiency can be further improved depending on the work content. Furthermore, the robot 50 can process information such as sensors possessed by the robot itself so that the robot 50 can operate so as to achieve a command command, and the certainty of the work is also improved. In other words, it is possible to supplement the non-equivalent parts of the simulator. In the case of command command input, the operator 10 can input to the control device 20 not only by manual operation but also by voice input. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide a system having both a remote control function such as a master slave and the like and a function capable of semi-autonomous operation.

[0042]

According to the present invention, the operator can operate the robot without any discomfort even if the communication time is delayed, and the influence on the work efficiency can be minimized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to an example of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention according to claim 1.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention according to claim 4;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention according to claim 5;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention according to claim 6;

FIG. 5 is an operation diagram of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention according to claim 9;

FIG. 6 is an operation diagram of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention according to claim 10;

FIG. 7 is an operation diagram of a remote robot control system for carrying out the invention according to claim 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Operator, 20 ... Control device, 30 ... Simulator, 40 ... Delay circuit, 50 ... Robot, 60 ... Comparison monitoring device, 90 ... Emergency stop signal, 100 ... Planet, 101 ... Satellite orbit, 200, 300 ... Spacecraft, 201,202,2
03 ... Relay spacecraft.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location B64G 1/66 Z 8817-3D G05D 3/00 X 9179-3H 3/12 M 9179-3H G09B 9 / 00 8603-2C // B25J 3/00 A 9147-3F

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A remote robot control method for controlling a robot control device and controlling a robot installed in outer space according to the control procedure, wherein a robot simulator is installed in the vicinity of the robot control device. A remote robot control method, comprising controlling by a control device, and transmitting a command signal from the robot control device relating to the control to the simulator with a delay of a predetermined time to the robot. 2. The remote robot control method according to claim 1, wherein the simulator has the same structure as the robot. 3. The remote robot control method according to claim 1, wherein the simulator simulates a robot on a computer. 4. The remote robot control method according to claim 1, wherein the emergency stop command signal is transmitted to the robot without delaying for a predetermined time. 5. A remote robot control method for controlling a robot control device and controlling a robot installed in outer space according to the control procedure, wherein a robot simulator is installed in the vicinity of the robot control device. Piloting by the control device, transmitting a command signal from the robot control device related to the control to the simulator and the control result of the simulator to the robot, and comparing the result when the robot operates according to the command signal with the control result Then
A remote robot control method characterized in that the robot itself stops in an emergency if they do not match. 6. The same command signal as in claim 1, wherein a second simulator that operates under open loop control as with the robot is installed near the robot controller, and the second simulator also transmits the same command signal to the robot. A method for controlling a remote robot, which comprises: 7. The remote robot control method according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of simulators and their environmental devices are manufactured, and a robot and one having characteristics closest to those of the environment are selected and used from among them. 8. The total of the communication delay time and the delay time of the command signal according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined delay time is automatically corrected when the communication delay time between the robot control device and the robot fluctuates. A method for controlling a remote robot, which is characterized by controlling time to be constant. 9. The robot control method according to claim 1, wherein the robot control device is installed on the ground and the simulator is installed on a satellite orbit. 10. The remote robot control method according to claim 1, wherein the robot control device and the simulator are installed in the same spacecraft. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
A remote robot control method, characterized in that a relay spacecraft is provided between the robot control device and the robot. 12. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
A remote robot control method characterized by installing a simulator on a spacecraft capable of adjusting gravity. 13. A remote robot control system for controlling a robot control device to control a robot installed in outer space according to the control procedure, wherein the robot simulator is a simulator of the robot and is bilaterally controlled by the robot control device. A remote robot control system characterized in that a controlled simulator is installed in the vicinity of the robot control device, and a delay means for delaying a command signal from the robot control device to the simulator for a predetermined time and transmitting it to the robot. ..