KR20030038960A - Monitoring system using mobile robot based on internet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An Internet-based monitoring system using a moving robot is provided to control and monitor the moving robot on the basis of the Internet. CONSTITUTION: A monitoring system using a moving robot includes a user terminal(21), a moving robot(40), and a management server(30). The user terminal carries out data communication through the Internet. The moving robot is moved along a predetermined path or according to the operation of the user terminal to monitor a specific area, detects an abnormal state of the monitored area. When the moving robot detects an abnormal state, the robot chases and photographs the corresponding monitoring object to output the monitoring result. The management server converts an instruction from the user through the Internet to transmit the converted instruction to the moving robot, and converts data received from the robot to send the converted data to the user terminal.

Description

Monitoring system using mobile robot based on internet}

The present invention relates to a surveillance system, and more particularly, a mobile robot having a surveillance camera and a communication function can freely move and monitor a desired area and monitor the corresponding surveillance information based on the Internet. It is about a surveillance system.

With the development of Web technology, information is available anywhere in the world nowadays. Furthermore, real-time images can be continuously transmitted using high-speed communication network. This real-time image transmission is to transmit the image taken by the camera, a web camera is widely used to transmit the image on the web.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a structure of a transmission system for transmitting an image in real time using a conventional web camera.

The image captured by the web camera 11 is transmitted to the web server 12 in real time, and the web server 12 drives the web browser to the clients 13 connected through the web (WWW). The images taken from the camera are transmitted in real time.

The image transmission technology using the web camera 11 is applied to a wide range of areas such as a video conference system, a remote monitoring system, a remote medical examination system, a home automation (HA) system, a remote control system, and the like. In particular, the current surveillance system using CCTV is expensive installation and maintenance costs, it is possible to build a cheaper surveillance system using a web camera.

2 is a view showing an embodiment of monitoring a number of places in the house using a plurality of conventional cameras.

In the case of the system of FIG. 2, when an external intrusion is detected by one of the cameras, the other cameras wait in the shooting mode and transmit the captured image to a server not shown.

However, the existing surveillance system using CCTV or web camera is a fixed device, although there is a system that can move the camera lens direction up and down, left and right, there is a limit of the surveillance area, that is, a surveillance blind spot is created, so the outside using such blind spot Intrusion can not be detected. Furthermore, using such blind spots, a situation may arise where an external intruder breaks the surveillance camera.

In addition, in order to monitor various areas, a camera must be installed at each position requiring monitoring, and when a plurality of cameras are installed as shown in FIG. 2, the control targets increase, and the configuration of the monitoring system is also complicated.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention in view of the above-mentioned problems is to provide a mobile lens with a camera lens, a sensor and a bi-directional communication function to monitor the desired area and to transmit the monitoring situation to the user in real time via the Internet and on the web It is to provide a surveillance system that the user can directly control the robot.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a structure of a transmission system for transmitting an image in real time using a conventional web camera.

Figure 2 is a view showing an embodiment for monitoring a number of places in the house using a plurality of conventional cameras.

3 is a view showing the overall configuration of a surveillance system according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a simplified view showing the configuration of a mobile robot according to the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flow chart for explaining the process of remotely controlling the operation of the mobile robot in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 6 is an embodiment of a user interface for controlling the mobile robot 40.

7a to 7e is a view showing a user to remotely control the movement of the mobile robot using the 'robot command port' of the interface.

8 is a flow chart illustrating a process of detecting a mobile intrusion and tracking and monitoring the external intrusion.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

20: user terminal 21: PC

22: wireless terminal 30: management server

40: mobile robot 41: sensor unit

42: monitoring unit 43: driving unit

44: wireless communication and conversion unit 441: conversion unit

442: RS communication module 45: control unit

50: database

Internet-based monitoring system using a wireless mobile robot of the present invention for achieving the above object is to move according to the user terminal capable of data communication through the Internet, a predetermined path or operation of the user terminal to monitor a certain area Detect whether there is any abnormality, and if an abnormality is detected, it tracks and captures the monitoring target and converts commands from the mobile robot and wirelessly outputs the monitoring result to the mobile robot wirelessly, It includes a management server for converting the data received wirelessly from the mobile robot to transmit to the user terminal.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a view showing the overall configuration of the monitoring system according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a view showing a brief configuration of a mobile robot according to the present invention.

The user terminal 20 is a terminal capable of accessing the Internet, such as a PC 21 or a wireless Internet terminal 22, and a client program (hereinafter referred to as a "client program") is installed and operated according to the present invention. The user drives a client program to access a management server to be described later, and then controls the operation of the robot to be described later, and monitors data transmitted from the robot such as image information and the operation status of the robot. In order to simply view the image taken by the robot can be monitored by connecting to the management server 30 to be described later using only the web browser, such as watching the image taken by a conventional web camera in a web browser. In the case where the user terminal 20 is the wireless Internet terminal 22, the Internet is connected through a wireless Internet gateway (not shown) in the middle. Since such wireless Internet technology is already known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, the user terminal 20 will be described in the case of using the PC 21, it can be easily seen from the case of using the wireless Internet terminal 21.

The management server 30 is a device that serves as a medium for connecting the user terminal 21 and the mobile robot to be described later is connected to the Internet by wire to communicate with the user terminal 21 using TCP / IP and will be described later The mobile robot performs RF wireless communication. That is, the management server 30 serves as a relay base station for wireless communication with the mobile robot, and the user must pass through the management server 30 which is a middle server to control and monitor the operation of the mobile robot. . The management server 30 transmits data (hereinafter referred to as' TCP / IP data ') using TCP / IP through the Internet to the connected user terminal 21, and then transmits the serial data (hereinafter,' RS-232 data), and transmits it wirelessly to a mobile robot, which will be described later. On the contrary, when RS-232 serial data is received from the mobile robot, it is converted into TCP / IP data and transmitted to the user terminal 21. . In addition, the management server 30 terminates the existing connection and connects to the last connection attempt when the user attempts to connect from another place during the connection. To solve this problem, an encrypted password for distinguishing a true user If you use or if you are a multi-user, give priority.

The mobile robot 40 normally moves a predetermined path or moves to a desired place according to a user's command to capture a corresponding area and detect a movement of the surroundings. If outside intrusions are detected during surveillance, they are tracked and imaged. In addition, the data is analyzed and executed according to a command from the user terminal 21 through the management server 30, and the internal data according to the situation or execution of its own is sent to the user through the management server 30. The mobile robot 40 according to the present invention has its own internet server and wirelessly transmits the image captured by the camera to the web in real time through the management server 30. That is, the mobile robot 40 transmits the image data to a terminal connected to the outside as a control target and a server operating according to an external instruction.

The sensor unit 41 includes various sensors such as a motion sensor, a thermal sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and an infrared sensor to detect external penetration and movement of the surroundings, and detect and detect a current operation state of the mobile robot 40. Output the result.

The monitoring unit 42 photographs the surrounding situation using the surveillance camera, and outputs the detected image of the monitored object when the external invasion and the movement of the surrounding are detected. At this time, the camera of the detection unit 42 is a camera that includes a web server in itself, and does not require a computer 12 connected to the Internet to transfer the captured image to the Internet as shown in FIG. Connected directly to the Internet, you can send video in real time. Of course, even if no external intrusion or movement is detected, the surrounding situation can be continuously photographed and output.

The driver 43 is provided with two step motors 431 and 432 and a driver for driving the step motor to move the moving robot 40 in a desired direction in front, rear, left and right directions according to a user's command.

The wireless communication and conversion unit 44 exchanges RS-232 data with the management server 30 wirelessly, converts the RS-232 data received from the management server 30 into Ethernet data, and moves the mobile robot ( Convert Ethernet data used in 40) to RS-232 data. To this end, a conversion unit 441 for converting between Ethernet data and RS-232 data and an RF module 442 for wireless communication with a management server are included.

The controller 45 controls the driving unit 43 to continuously track and photograph the monitoring target when the external invasion or movement is detected by the monitoring unit 42, and controls the operation of the mobile robot 40 according to a user's command. To control. The controller 45 analyzes the data according to the user's command based on the status information of the mobile robot received through the sensor unit 41 and the execution result data according to the user's command, and manages the analyzed data in the management server 30. ) Is transmitted to the user terminal 21 through.

The monitoring unit 42, the driving unit 43, the wireless communication and conversion unit 44, and the control unit 45 described above in the present invention are each composed of independent boards to communicate with each other using Ethernet. In particular, the monitoring unit 42, the wireless communication and conversion unit 44, and the control unit 45 may be separately connected to the connector and RS- for Ethernet communication. It is equipped with a connector for 232 communication, respectively, can directly communicate with an external system Ethernet or RS-232. For example, the control unit 45 may be directly connected to an external system via RS-232 or Ethernet without a wireless communication and conversion unit 44 to install and test a control program, and to perform a wireless communication and conversion unit 44. Also, it is possible to receive a user's command remotely through the Internet by being connected to the Internet through a wired Ethernet without wireless communication. . Since the monitoring unit 42 also has its own web server, the user can directly access the monitoring unit 42 through the wired Internet to monitor the image captured by the monitoring unit 42.

The database 50 stores various data from the mobile robot 40, such as image information and external intrusion information from the mobile robot 40, and the user always monitors the video information and data sent by the mobile robot 40. If you want to search the previous image information at any time, you can access it and search it, and you can keep the necessary information in a storage medium such as a CD. In particular, the mobile robot 40 tracks and monitors external intruders according to external invasion, and stores necessary information such as captured image information and intrusion time.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of remotely controlling the operation of a mobile robot according to the present invention.

The user executes the control program according to the present invention in the user terminal 21 and accesses the management server 30 by inputting the management server's IP address and its ID and password together (step 501). Then, the management server 30 identifies the user's ID and manifests a user interface including a list of mobile robots managed by the user. This user interface also includes a menu for retrieving previous data stored in the database 50. The user determines whether to retrieve previously stored information or connect to an active mobile robot (step 502). If the previous information is to be searched, the corresponding menu is selected to search for image information captured by the mobile robot 40 (step 503). When the mobile robot 40 is to be accessed in step 502 or when the search for the previous information is completed or the mobile robot 40 is to be accessed during the search (step 504), one of the mobile robots is selected using the user interface. (Step 505). Of course, the program can be terminated immediately after searching for previous information. When the user selects a mobile robot 41, the management server 30 displays an interface for controlling and monitoring the selected mobile robot 41 to the user terminal 21 and wirelessly transmits to the mobile robot 41. (Step 506). 6 shows an embodiment of a user interface for controlling the mobile robot 40.

When connected to the mobile robot 41, the control unit 45 of the mobile robot 41 transmits the current state information of the mobile robot 41 to the management server 30 by wireless RS-232 communication, the management server 30 Converts it to TCP / IP data and transmits it to the user terminal 21 (step 507). The image captured by the monitoring unit 42 is also transmitted to the user terminal 21 through the management server 30. At this time, the IP address of the mobile robot 40 is a unique dummy IP address affected by the management server 30, only the IP address of the management server 30 is the IP address used on the actual Internet.

When the user wants to move the mobile robot 41 in the desired direction, the mobile robot 41 is remotely controlled using the 'robot command port' of the interface (step 508). When the user inputs the desired moving distance or rotation angle in the 'robot command port' of the interface and presses a command button, the corresponding command is transmitted to the management server 30, and the management server 30 converts the command into RS-232 data. After it is transmitted to the mobile robot 41 wirelessly. The conversion unit 441 of the wireless communication and conversion unit 44 of the mobile robot 41 converts the RS-232 data received through the RF communication module 442 into Ethernet data and transmits the data to the control unit 45. By moving the step motors 431 and 432 of the drive unit 43 in response to the user's command to move the mobile robot 41 in the direction desired by the user. 7A to 7E are views showing a user controlling the movement of a mobile robot remotely through the Internet to the user terminal 21 using the 'robot command port' of the interface.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which the mobile robot detects an external intrusion and tracks and monitors the external intrusion.

The mobile robot 40 moves along a preset path, photographs the corresponding area with a camera, and monitors whether an external intrusion or abnormal state occurs through the sensor unit 41 (step 801). Whether the intrusion or abnormal state of the outsider is detected using the ultrasonic sensor, heat sensor, voice sensor, motion sensor, infrared sensor of the sensor unit 41. Of course, according to the user's choice, it can be fixed to a certain place like a general web camera to monitor the area.

When external intrusion or abnormality is detected from the sensor unit 41 (step 802), the controller 45 drives the step motors 431 and 432 of the driving unit 43 to move the mobile robot 41 to the corresponding area. The movement of the monitoring target is continuously sensed and tracked and photographed (step 803). The image information and related information (e.g., corresponding time) photographed as described above are converted into RS-232 data by the conversion unit 441, and are wirelessly transmitted to the management server 30 through the RF communication module 442, and the management server. 30 converts the data into TCP / IP data and stores it in the database 50 (step 804).

It is apparent that the user can utilize the above-described functions even by using the wireless terminal 22 capable of accessing the wireless Internet. Only the protocol used in the wireless internet and the protocol used in the web are different, so additional gateways (not shown) are required. However, since these services are already in use, remote control and monitoring activities using the wireless internet are also possible.

Although not shown, but the management server 30 is connected to the alarm system that is conventionally used when the external intrusion or abnormality is detected from the mobile robot 40 is notified to the communication terminal (21) of the preset user when the corresponding data is received. To let the user know that immediately. At this time, the user can monitor the image taken by the mobile robot 41 from any computer connected to the Internet since the camera of the monitoring unit has its own web server even without using the interface according to the execution of the control program. That is, after running the web browser on a computer connected to the Internet, enter the IP of the management server 30 to access the management server 30 and enter the user ID and password, the management server 30 is the mobile robot 41 You can connect it with

As described above, the surveillance system of the present invention can control and monitor the mobile robot based on the Internet, thereby controlling and monitoring the mobile robot anywhere in the Internet, which is convenient to use and low in maintenance cost.

Claims (7)

In the surveillance system, A user terminal capable of data communication via the Internet; Moves according to a preset path or operation of the user terminal and monitors a certain area to detect whether an abnormality occurs in the surveillance area, and if an abnormality is detected, traces and photographs the corresponding monitoring target and wirelessly outputs the monitoring result. robot; And Monitoring using a mobile robot comprising a management server converts a command from the user terminal over the Internet to the mobile robot by wireless transmission, converts the data received from the mobile robot wirelessly and transmits the data to the user terminal system. The monitoring system using a mobile robot according to claim 1, further comprising a database connected to the Internet to receive and store data from the mobile robot from the management server. The monitoring system using a mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the user terminal is a wireless communication terminal capable of wireless internet. The method of claim 1, wherein the management server converts TCP / IP data over the Internet into RS-232 data and transmits it to the mobile robot wirelessly, and RS-232 data wirelessly received from the mobile robot TCP / IP Surveillance system using a mobile robot, characterized in that the conversion to the data transmitted to the user terminal via the Internet. The method of claim 4, wherein the mobile robot A sensor unit detecting whether an abnormality occurs in the monitoring area and a state of the mobile robot; A monitoring unit which photographs a monitoring target whose motion is detected by the monitoring area and the sensor unit and outputs captured image information; A driving unit for moving the mobile robot; Performing wireless communication with the management server, converting the RS-232 data received from the management server into Ethernet data, and outputting the wireless data; converting the received Ethernet data into RS-232 data and outputting wirelessly; A conversion unit; And Control the mobile robot as a whole according to a preset control program, track the detected object according to the user's command received through the wireless communication and conversion unit and the detection signal of the sensor unit, and according to the command of the user terminal of the mobile robot Surveillance system using a mobile robot, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the movement. The monitoring system using a mobile robot according to claim 5, wherein the wireless communication and conversion unit, the driver, the monitoring unit, and the control unit communicate with each other via an Ethernet including an Ethernet connector. The monitoring system using a mobile robot according to claim 6, wherein the wireless communication and conversion unit, the driver, the monitoring unit, and the control unit further include an RS-232 connector for direct communication with the user terminal.