WO2003061916A1

WO2003061916A1 - Robot-phone

Info

Publication number: WO2003061916A1
Application number: PCT/JP2002/009335
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dairoku Sekiguchi; Masahiko Inami; Naoki Kawakami; Ichiro Kawabuchi; Susumu Tachi
Original assignee: Toudai Tlo, Ltd.
Priority date: 2002-01-21
Filing date: 2002-09-12
Publication date: 2003-07-31

Abstract

A robot-phone enabling human communication by synchronizing shapes, motions, and positions of a plurality of robots located at a distance from one another. The robot-phone is used as a user interface and includes a robot of a stuffed doll having a movable portion at a part of the body, a microphone (11) for communication, a loudspeaker (12), a drive portion (13) for driving the movable portion, a position information sensor (14) for acquiring position information of the movable portion, and a communication connection unit (16). The communication connection unit transmits a speech signal from the microphone to a communication partner via a communication line, reproduces the speech signal received from the communication partner in the loudspeaker, transmits a signal indicating the position of the movable position from the position information sensor to the communication partner, receives position information corresponding to the movable portion from the communication partner, and transmits this to the drive unit. The drive u nit drives the movable portion according to the received position information. Communication can also be performed by gesture of the robot in addition to speech.

Description

Description Robot Huon Technical Field

The present invention relates to a robot "user interface" (RUI) which is one of a robot "user interface" (RUI) for human communication by synchronizing the shapes "movements" and the like of a plurality of robots placed at distant places. Background art

In recent years, robots that coexist with humans, such as Petropod Humid Manoids, museum guide robots, and nursing care robots, have gained popularity. These robots have an overwhelming presence compared to the CG characters moving around on the computer screen, which is considered to be another factor in their popularity.

A robot can be considered as a computer with physicality, and the physical existence of the body itself is a source of overwhelming presence, and through physical interaction with the body, And exert a great influence.

The concept of a robot that enables powerful interaction with the real world as an interface between the real world and the information world has been proposed as a robotic interface (Y. Wakita, S. Hirai, K. Machida, K Ogimoto, T. Itoko, P. Backesana S. Peters, Application of intelligent monitoring for super long distance teleoperation, Proc., IEEE IROS '96, Osaka, pp. 1031-1037, 1996). In particular, by using a robot as a user interface-Robotic User Interface (RUI)-we can construct a real-world oriented user interface environment that has both input and output to the real world. Another advantage is that by utilizing the characteristics of a robot as a general-purpose machine, a physical interface can be used and a certain degree of versatility can be secured.

The implementation of the RUI to connect the real world to another real world is telexistence and object-oriented telexistence. Object-oriented telexistence is a concept for "working and communicating in remote places by sharing the shape and movement of objects in remote places with myself."

Conventional teleexistence / telepresence captures the environment around a remote robot and reconstructs it around the operator to convey a sense of realism, allowing the remote robot to feel as if he / she is present. The robot can be operated. Telexistence is a technique based on the premise of presenting a high degree of presence to the operator, and the burden on hardware and software tends to increase in the part that measures, transmits, and presents the presence. In addition, telexistence operates the remote robot from the first person's point of view, as if it were a remote robot itself. It is effective. However, at present, it is difficult to fabricate a robot with the same structure as a human being, and a humanoid robot can achieve dynamic characteristics equal to or better than that of a human, and can perform work using the robot. By now, considerable technical challenges have been accumulated. Also, depending on the work target and application field, such as mobile robots and construction equipment, the slave robots may not have the same structure and size as humans, or the third-person viewpoint (overhead view) may be more operational than the first-person viewpoint. It is often considered advantageous.

Therefore, in this application, instead of reconstructing the remote environment around the user, the remote robot itself is reconstructed at the user's hand, making it easier and more intuitive! We propose to control the remote mouth bot while maintaining ^one's life. Whereas the conventional teleexistence was an environment-oriented system of "how to connect the remote environment and the operator closely and transparently", the present invention "how to connect the remote robot and the device at hand. Is it tightly coupled? ”Is an object-oriented telexistence.

The following is a document that discloses communication with a remote place through tactile sharing. (1) Brave, S., and Dahley, A. inTouch: A Medium for Haptic interpersonal omnmnication, Extended Abstracts of CHI '97, pp. 363-364, ACM Press, 1997.

(2) Brave, S., Ishii, H., and Dahley, A. Tangible Interface for Remote Collaboration and Communication, Proceedings of CSCf '98, pp. 169-178, ACM Press, 1998.

(3) Fogg, B.J., Cutler, L., Arnold, P., and Eisback C. Handjive: a device for interpersonal haptic entertainment, Proceedings of CHI '98, pp. 57-64, ACM Press, 1998.

(1) relates to the transmission of rotational force only by three wooden rollers, (2) is a chess piece, (3) is the balloon bulge in hand, and the information presented is extremely limited. Therefore, in conducting communication, it is contained in an ambient low-information transmission method. On the other hand, according to the present invention, sharing a robot having a degree of freedom close to that of a person enables not only sharing of tactile information having a high degree of freedom but also visually transmitting gesture information.

The following document is an example of using a stuffed toy as a user interface.

(4) Yukiko Hoshino, Yasumasa Suzuki, Eiko Yamamoto, Noritaka Hirokawa, Masayuki Inaba, Hiromitsu Inoue, Tactile sensation in daily life Development of a desktop full-body robot for dialogue behavior research, The 16th Annual Conference of the Robotics Society of Japan, PP. ^5-6 , 1998.

(5) Tomoko Yonezawa, Brian Clarkson, Michiaki Yasumura, Kenji Mazaki, Stuffed Sensor with Context-Aware Music Expression, Interactions, 2001, p. 19-20, 2001.

Hoshino et al. Use stuffed animals as physical agents, and Yonezawa et al. Use dolls as input interfaces for interactive music operations.

Neither (4) nor (5) uses a doll for object sharing communication. Disclosure of the invention

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot phon in which a person can communicate by synchronizing the shape, movement and position of a plurality of robots placed at remote places.

Another object of the present invention is to solve the problem of control system oscillation caused by communication delay in object-oriented teleexistence.

A mouth pot phone according to the present invention is used as a user interface, and outputs a mouth pot including a movable part in a part of a body, a drive unit for driving the movable part, and a signal indicating a position of the movable part. A position information sensor, and a communication connection unit, wherein the communication connection unit transmits a signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor to a partner via a communication line, The position information corresponding to the part is received and sent to the drive part, and the drive part drives the movable part based on the received position information and the movable part on its own side is moved by an external force. The driving based on the position information from the other party is not performed during a predetermined time.

A robot phone according to the present invention is used as a user interface, a robot including a movable part in a part of a body, a driving unit that drives the movable part, and position information that outputs a signal indicating a position of the movable part. A sensor, a communication connection unit, and an operation right determination unit that determines whether the operation right of the robot is on the own side or the other side. The communication connection unit includes a communication line, A signal indicating the position of the movable section from the information sensor is transmitted to the other party, and position information corresponding to the movable section is received from the other party and sent to the drive section. When the determination section determines that the user has no operation right, the movable section is driven based on the received position information.

A robot phone according to the present invention is used as a user interface, a robot including a movable part in a part of a body, a driving unit that drives the movable part, and position information that outputs a signal indicating a position of the movable part. A sensor, a communication connection unit, and an external force detection unit that detects whether an external force is applied to the movable unit. An active operation / passive operation separation unit that separates an active operation and a passive operation based on an output of the external force detection unit, wherein the communication connection unit is separated by the active operation / passive operation separation unit via a communication line. A signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor in response to the passive operation is transmitted to the other party, and position information corresponding to the movable unit is received from the other party and sent to the drive unit. The driving unit drives the movable unit based on the received positional information.

A robot phone according to the present invention is used as a user interface, a robot including a movable part in a part of a body, a driving unit that drives the movable part, and position information that outputs a signal indicating a position of the movable part. A sensor, a communication connection unit, and an adaptive filter that receives as input a signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor and position information corresponding to the movable unit from a counterpart received from the communication connection unit. And a driving unit configured to drive the movable unit based on an output of the adaptive filter.

A robot phone according to the present invention is used as a user interface, and has a mouth pot including a movable part in a part of a body, a drive unit for driving the movable unit, and a position for outputting a signal indicating a position of the movable unit. An information sensor, a communication connection unit, and an encoder that encodes a signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor into an audio signal in an audible range, wherein the communication connection unit has an echo canceling function. Transmitting an encoded signal indicating the position of the movable unit to the other party via a line, receiving position information corresponding to the movable unit encoded from the other party and sending it to the driving unit, The drive section drives the movable section based on the received position information.

A robot phone according to the present invention is used as a user interface, a robot including a movable part in a part of a body, a microphone and a speaker for talking, a drive unit that drives the movable unit, and a position of the movable unit. A position information sensor that outputs a signal indicating the position, and a communication connection unit, wherein the communication connection unit transmits an audio signal from the microphone to a partner via a communication line, and receives a sound received from the partner. A signal indicating the position of the movable section from the position information sensor is transmitted to the other party, and position information corresponding to the movable section is received from the other party and sent to the drive section. The driving section drives the movable section based on the received position information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a robot pot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a use form of the robot pot according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the robot phon according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a control system of the robot phone according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is another operation flowchart of the control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a control system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the control system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a protocol according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a control system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of a control system according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of the control system according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram of a control system according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of a control system according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 1.

The present invention relates to a shape sharing system as one form of an object-oriented telexistence. The shape sharing system is a system that synchronizes the shape of an object to share the shape with a remote location and enables interaction with a remote location. “Shape” is one of the most fundamental elements in identifying and recognizing an object, and is also an important key to knowing the state of an object. The shape sharing system achieves close coupling between the remote robot and the device at hand by synchronizing shapes that play an important role in object recognition.

By synchronizing shapes in real time, it is possible to convey not only the shape of a static object but also the “motion” that is the process of shape change. In addition, the shape of the object on the user's side shows exactly the shape of the object on the remote side, and has an effect as a display. Input and output are performed by the same device, realizing an intuitive operation system without switching between input and output. Furthermore, since the interaction with the object is performed through an organ that can simultaneously input the sensation of the hand and output to the outside world, the system is essentially regarded as an interactive interface.

Slight present invention Te, a robot that enables real world and strong interaction is used as an interface between the real world and the information world (Robot User Interface - Robotic User Interface (RUI)) 0 RUI has the following features.

It is possible to interact with the physical world, and to do things such as actually moving things. -Visual information can be displayed according to the shape and operation of the robot.

-Tactile information can be presented by applying force to the person from the robot.

· It is possible to input instructions by directly touching the mouth pot and changing its shape.

Interaction via voice, such as a call to the robot or an utterance of the robot itself, is possible.

A robot phone has been proposed as one of the R UI. A robot phone is an RUI that allows humans to communicate by synchronizing the shape, movement, etc., of multiple robots placed at remote locations. By synchronizing the shape of the robot phone in real time, it is possible to transmit not only the shape of the object but also its movement. Also, unlike electronic dents displayed on ordinary displays, it is also possible to actually touch a person to convey power or move an object to perform work. In other words, it can be said that it is a phone that can present visual, tactile, and auditory sounds in an integrated manner. If both users apply power to the robot at the same time, they will feel the power of each other. Generally, a robot makes its own judgment based on information from sensors and the like, and it can be divided into an autonomous type, which operates automatically, and another type of robot, which is operated by a human operator. Kwon is categorized as the latter type of robot.

Hereinafter, an example of a robot phone will be described.

Figure 1 shows a stuffed robot phone. In Fig. 1, la and 1b are robot phones housed in stuffed bears, respectively. A microphone 11 and a speaker 12 for talking, and a motor 'planet' mounted on the joints of the stuffed bear skeleton It comprises a gear reducer 13 and position detecting means (potentiometer) 14, a processor 15 for controlling them, and a communication connection section 16 for performing communication through the communication line 2. The speaker 12 is mounted on the stuffed chest and the microphone 11 is mounted on the head. These are incorporated into the stuffed bear together with the skeleton. The microphone 11 and the speaker 12 are installed facing the front of the stuffed toy, and users can talk and operate with the robot phone. In this way, it is possible to obtain a sense of being in conversation with the other party.

Although not shown in the figure, the motor 'planetary gear reducer 13 and the position detecting means 14 are provided at joints of the skeleton. For example, it is provided inside the right arm or head of a stuffed bear. These motor / planetary gear reducer 13 and O standing detection means 14 are actuators with two degrees of freedom and two degrees of freedom on the head, for a total of four degrees of freedom. Gives a degree of freedom closer to humans and enables movement with lighter force For this reason, it is preferable to have 11 degrees of freedom for the whole body with 2 degrees of freedom for each limb and 3 degrees of freedom for the head. This makes it possible to output changes in the posture of the stuffed animal due to external force, and to change the posture based on external signals. The processor 15 performs the lateral control and keeps the mouth pot phones la and 1 b in the same posture. The term pyramid means bidirectional. Bilateral control is known, for example, as a control method for transmitting the weight or reaction force (feeling of contact) received by a manipulator as weight to an operation lever or the like. The two robot phones 1a and 1b are connected to the communication network 2 and can communicate with each other via the communication network 2 while applying force to their stuffed animal to change its posture and reflect this to the other party. That is, it is possible to have the same posture.

As shown in Fig. 1, by configuring the robot phone in a shape close to humans or animals, a robot phone that enables communication using Zestia can be realized. FIG. 2 shows an example of a call and a call operation performed using the mouth pot phones la and 1b according to the embodiment of the present invention. Two users are talking and performing operations facing the robot phones l a and l b, respectively. Many users have experience playing with dolls and can easily operate the doll-shaped interface. For example, by waving the hand of one robot phone, the hand of the other robot phone can be waved, and the gesture of YS / NO can be performed by the movement of the neck. Also, if both users simultaneously wave the doll's hand, they can shake hands while feeling the opponent's power through the doll's hand. Since the robot phone operates one object at the same time, depending on the state, it sometimes works on itself as an alter ego, and sometimes as an alter ego.

Fig. 3 shows another example of a snake-shaped robot phone. The trunk of the body is composed of seven sections 17_1 to 17-7. Sections 17_1 to 17-7 are connected to each other by rotatable joints, and as a whole, can bend like a snake. Each section is equipped with a module consisting of a motor, planetary teeth β structure 13 and potentiometer 14 respectively. In the snake-type robot fan shown in Fig. 3, six servomotors are used as actuators.

This snake-type robot phone can express its shape by the body itself, although there is a restriction that the operable area is within a two-dimensional plane. The shape can be freely configured by touching it with the hand.

In the above example, the control of the servomotor is realized by software on a one-board microcomputer, for example. PWM control is used to drive the motor. As shown in Fig. 4, a symmetrical control method for the pyramidal servo is adopted, and control is performed so that the positional deviation of the servo motors that make up the pair is always minimized. In FIG. ⁴ , reference numeral 20 denotes a subtractor for calculating the position deviation, and 21a and 21b represent the position deviation based on the position deviation. Are the position command units that drive the servomotors that make up the pair of robots 1 a and lb. Angle signals output from the robots 1 a and 1 b are obtained by a potentiometer 14. The forces applied to the robots la and lb act on the joints of the robot's skeleton and change its position, that is, its posture. In this specification, a robot is a machine based on any or all of the shape, structure, and function of a living thing.

In the control system of FIG. 4, when the user applies a force to the robot 1a or 1b to change its posture, this is output as an angle signal. The posture of the robot 1a and the posture of the robot 1b are compared by the subtractor 20. If the postures are different, that is, if the positions of some or all of the joints do not match, the position command units 21a and 21b will adjust the positions of the mouth pots 1a and 1b so that the positions of the joints match. Issue a command to the servo motor. When each servomotor responds to this, the postures of the robots 1a and 1b become the same. For example, if the arm of the robot 1a is raised, the position command unit 21b commands the robot i b to raise the arm. On the other hand, since the position command unit 21a instructs the robot 1a to lower its arms, the operator feels a reaction force. Symmetric bilateral control does not require a force sensor and allows a simple controller configuration.

According to the control system in Fig. 4, when the master device is operated, the slave device follows the operation without delay, so that the master device operator can freely control the shape of the slave device. .

In this example, by adopting an operation method that matches the shape at hand with the shape of the operation target, it is possible to create the shape while performing real-time interaction with the device, which is very intuitive It is an operation method. In other words, the device present at the operator's hand also serves as a display device that constantly presents the remote shape. In addition, since it has completely symmetric pilot control, there is no distinction as to which device is the master or the slave, and they can operate with each other. In addition, not only position but also force transmission is performed.For example, if one device is restrained by hand so as not to move the joint, the other device is constrained by the other device You can feel.

By the way, when ordinary pilot control is performed via a line having a communication delay, there is a problem that control system oscillation is likely to occur. This is because it is difficult to create a control system that is difficult to oscillate because feedback that is always delayed in time is returned from the other party due to communication delay.

Traditionally, symmetric-type lateral control has been simple but rarely used. This is because the weight of the part of the device to be controlled returns to the operator as it is. Therefore, more advanced force return More type control techniques are used. No proposal has been made to solve the problem of communication delay in simple symmetrical pilot control.

A method for preventing oscillation due to a delay used in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 5, the line delay measurement units 22a and 22b measure the line delay and output this to the position command units 21a and 21. The position command sections 21a and 21b drive the servomotors of the mouth bot bodies 10a and 10b based on the above-mentioned positional deviation, but the control is controlled by the robots 10a and 10b. A signal indicating that the external force was applied to the joint and the position was changed. A signal indicating that external force was applied when the position changed even though no drive signal was given. It is controlled by the amount of delay.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of the processing. The communication delay amount is measured (Sl), and the communication delay amount is compared with a predetermined threshold value (S2). The threshold is determined according to the degree of delay and oscillation allowed in the system. When the communication delay amount is larger than the threshold value, a feed pack invalid time is set according to the communication delay amount in order to avoid an adverse effect due to the communication delay (S3). When the robot body 10 is operated by the user, this is detected (S4), and the feed pack from the other party is invalidated for the set time (S5). By the above processing, the feed pack from the other party is invalidated only when there is a communication delay equal to or longer than the threshold, thereby preventing oscillation due to the delay.

FIG. 7 shows another processing example. The processing in FIG. 7 does not include the step (S 2) of comparing the communication delay amount and the threshold value in FIG. Therefore, in the process of FIG. 7, step S5 is executed irrespective of the communication delay amount, but its invalid period is determined according to the communication delay amount.

In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, when an operator on one side starts operating the robot 10, the feed pack from the other side is invalidated, and the system is temporarily brought into a state where operation in only one direction is enabled. (S4, S5). In other words, the movement input on the operation side is transmitted to the other party as it is, but the input operation on the other party is ignored for a certain period. If normal pilot control is a full-duplex (fully bidirectional) system, this method can be said to be a half-duplex system.

The system always measures the delay of the communication path, and switches from the normal pilot control to the above method according to the amount of communication delay. You can choose the law (S1, S2).

Furthermore, by changing the time during which the system is unidirectional in the above method according to the amount of communication delay (S 3), when the line changes from a state without communication delay to a certain state, the state of the system is changed. State transition can be performed smoothly. According to the flowchart of FIG. 7, when the communication delay is 0, the time during which the system is unidirectional becomes 0, and as the communication delay time increases, the time during which the system becomes unidirectional increases. Embodiment 2 of the invention 2.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, which side the system is to receive an input from is determined by which operator starts operating first. Therefore, what is to be done when both operators start operating at almost the same time is a problem. In particular, when the communication delay is large, the time interval at which the start of operation is considered to be simultaneous increases rapidly, so it can be said that this is a critical problem. Receiving it, it is not possible to decide which one should be given the next operation right).

The system according to the second embodiment of the invention (see FIG. 8) is for solving the above problem. In FIG. 8, reference numerals 23a and 23b denote operation right judging sections which receive the operation information and the time information associated therewith to determine which operation right is to be given, and 24a and 24b. Is a clock device for outputting an absolute time. The time information is sent to the other party via the communication line 2 together with the operation information. In FIG. 8, the same reference numerals as those in the other drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.

The system according to the second embodiment of the present invention solves the above problem by strictly performing time synchronization at both ends of the system. In this system, even if the robot phones are separated from each other, the system can know the global time on each side. By associating the operation information exchanged with the system with the global time, it is possible to determine which has moved first at the global time. However, the longer the delay time, the longer the period during which you will be controlled by the other party while you are operating.

Ideally, robot phones l a and 1 b should have absolute time sources 24 a and 24 b such as atomic clocks and GPS that can be accessed locally. This eliminates the need for time synchronization between the two ends of the system. Embodiment 3 of the invention 3.

Another method for solving the problem when both operators start operating at about the same time will be described. The system according to the third embodiment of the invention (see FIG. 9) is for solving the above problem. In FIG. 9, 25a and 25b ask their opponents for operation rights when their robots 10a and 10b are operated. 0209335

11 In addition, the inquiry / response section 26a, 26b receives an answer from the other party to the inquiry, and the inquiry / answer section 25a, 26b receives a signal indicating that the robot 10a, 10b has been operated. 25b, send an inquiry, receive an answer from the same department 25a, 25b, determine the operation right based on this, and when the user has the operation right, the position command units 21a, 21b send the robot 10 This is an operation right determination unit that issues drive permission for a, 10b. In FIG. 9, the same reference numerals as those in the other drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.

FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart according to the third embodiment of the effort. As can be seen from FIG. 10 (a), the system according to the third embodiment of the invention prepares a protocol that allows both ends of the system to inquire each other about the state of the other party, and the operator operates the system. At the beginning, the status of the other party is inquired using the inquiry protocol (S11 to S13), and the answer is received from the other party (S14, S15). (S16, SI7). In the protocol shown in Fig. 10 (a), when the delay time of the communication line becomes longer, the operator starts to operate (after applying force) until the system permits the operation (until the system actually moves). ) Is longer (so-called, the longer the delay, the heavier the operation). In order to avoid this, as shown in FIG. 10 (b), the operation on the operating side may be permitted earlier while making an inquiry to the other party (S18). However, depending on the situation, the temporary permission of operation may be canceled after starting to move.

This query protocol inquires the other side and waits for the answer before the system determines the direction of operation, so the communication path delay occurs both on the way and on the way back, which is twice as large as the above method. to be influenced. Therefore, Embodiment 3 of the present invention is effective when the communication delay is relatively small. Embodiment of the invention 4.

Another method for solving the problem when both operators start operating at about the same time will be described. The system according to the fourth embodiment of the invention (see FIG. 11) is for solving the above problem. In FIG. 11, 27 a and 27 b are operation right judging units for judging the operation right of the operation input to the position command units 21 a and 21 b, and 28 a and 28 b are conflicting operation rights. Priority tables that preliminarily define the side to be given priority in advance, and 29a and 29b are operation history storage tables for storing past operation histories. In FIG. 11, the same reference numerals as those in the other drawings denote the same or corresponding parts.

As a simpler method than the first to third embodiments of the invention, a method of determining the operable direction of the system according to a predetermined criterion when operating simultaneously is considered. Figure 11 1 System Is for this.

If operations from both sides collide due to communication delay, the operation on one side is preferentially selected based on the contents of the priority tables 28a and 28b. The priority table ² 8 a, 28 b information priority so that is uniquely determined operation right is stored in advance. This method makes a difference without constructing the system completely symmetrically.

Alternatively, an operation right is given to one side according to the operation history of the operation history tables 29a and 29b. For example, the side that performed the last operation is preferentially selected. Alternatively, an operation right is given to a person who operates a specific part. For example, if the robot's arm is moved on the one hand and the robot's neck is moved on the other hand, the operation right is given to the person who operated the neck (or arm). Which parts have priority and their priorities are predetermined. For example, priorities are determined in descending order of meaning as a gesture (neck> arm> foot). For example, priorities are determined in order of operation frequency. Embodiment of the invention 5.

In the first to fourth embodiments of the present invention, it may be difficult for the user to understand which side is currently operable (especially when communication delay is large). Therefore, it is preferable to provide a display unit for displaying the operation right (see Fig. 12). In FIG. 12, reference numerals 30a and 30b denote operation right display sections that receive the information on the operation right from the operation right judgment sections 26a and 26b or 27a and 27b and display the presence or absence of the operation right. In FIG. 12, the same reference numerals as those in the other drawings denote the same or corresponding parts. The operation right display sections 30a and 30b can be applied to the systems shown in FIGS. 5, 8, 9 and 11.

The operation right display sections 30a and 30b are, for example, LEDs provided on the stuffed nose. For example, this LED glows blue when your side is operable, and glows red when only the other side is operable. Embodiment of the invention 6.

Another method for solving the influence of the oscillation due to the communication delay will be described. The system according to the sixth embodiment (see FIG. 13) solves the above problem. In Fig. 13, 31a and 31b indicate whether the robot operation is active as a result of driving by the position command unit 21 or passive due to the application of an external force. The external force detectors 32a and 32b are active / passive operation separators that transmit only position information on passive operations to the other party based on the determination results of the external force detectors 31a and 31b. is there. In FIG. 13, the same reference numerals as those in the other drawings are used. Indicates the same or corresponding part. 20a and 2Ob are computing units that calculate the deviation between the robot's current position and an external position command only when an output is received from the corresponding external force detector, and input it to the position command unit.

In symmetric bilateral control, both the master and slave actuators are controlled so that the slave follows the displacement of the master. That is, when a displacement occurs in the master, a relative displacement occurs between the master and the slave. Symmetric bilateral control is to control the drive current of the motor attached to the master or slave so that the relative displacement is zero, and to control the drive torque and restraint torque for both. In the symmetric type, when force is applied to master and slave, relative displacement always exists between both. This method is said to have simple control and good stability because it detects force and does not feed it back to position control of the control system.

However, if there is a delay in the transmission system, it becomes an unstable system that easily oscillates. The most likely cause of system instability is that the motion information transmitted to the other robot returns after a delay after operating the other robot. A similar phenomenon has been observed in voice calls on international calls. The system according to the sixth embodiment is intended to reduce the influence of the delay.

Embodiment 6 of the invention relates to an external force transmission type bilateral control. This is based on the active movement of the mouth pot joints (when the robot is moving according to internal control commands and when the robot is stationary) and the passive movement (when an external human applies force to the mouth pot). (When the robot comes into contact with an external object), and transmits the joint angle, joint speed, or joint torque data during passive operation to the pair of mouth bots. The external force detector 31a, 3lb in Fig. 13 distinguishes between active operation and passive operation, and the active / passive operation separators 32a, 32b select position information on the operation determined to be passive. And send it to the other party.

In order to separate active and passive movements, it is only necessary to detect whether or not an external force is acting on the robot.

In order to detect the external force, for example, the following method can be considered.

• Equip robots with sensors and switches. Thereby, the external force is directly detected.

• Observe the difference between the joint angle on the internal control command and the actual joint angle. If the angles are different, it can be determined that an external force is applied.

• Observe the drive current of the motor driving the joint. When the position (angle) of the joint changes despite the motor drive current being small or zero, it can be determined that an external force is applied. Embodiment 7 of the invention 7.

Another method for solving the influence of the oscillation due to the communication delay will be described. The system according to the embodiment of the present invention (see FIG. 14) solves the above problem. In FIG. 14, 33a and 33b are adaptive filters such as LMS (Least Mean Square) and RLS (Recursive Least Square). In FIG. 14, portions having the same reference numerals as those in other drawings indicate the same or corresponding portions.

Echo is canceled using an applied filter on general telephone lines or Internet phones. The instability of the robot operation due to the transmission delay, which is the subject of the present application, can be stabilized by using an adaptive filter by considering the robot operation as the same wave as the voice.

Specifically, the adaptive filters 33a and 33b record the transmitted operation, and when the operation signal resulting from the operation transmitted by the partner port returns, the recorded operation signal Adjust the gain appropriately and take the difference. This makes it possible to extract only the operation of the other party while suppressing oscillation. Embodiment 8 of the invention 8.

Another method for solving the influence of the oscillation due to the communication delay will be described. The system according to Embodiment 8 of the invention (see FIG. 15) solves the above problem. In FIG. 15, reference numerals 34a and 34b denote encoders that encode the position (angle) information of the mouth pot into an audio signal in an audible range. In FIG. 15, the same reference numerals as those in the other drawings denote the same or corresponding parts. Communication line 2 has an echo canceller function.

When a telephone line or a VoIP connection is used as the communication line 2, the communication line has an echo cancel function. Therefore, if the angle information is encoded into an audio signal in the audible range and then transmitted as audio information to the other party through the communication line, the echo is canceled by the communication line itself. In this case, the robot phone need only have the encoder 33. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, which are also included in the scope of the present invention. It goes without saying that it is a thing.

Also, in this specification, the unit means does not necessarily mean a physical means, but also includes a case where the function of each unit means is realized by software. Furthermore, the functional capabilities of one part The functions of two or more units / means may be realized by two or more physical means or one physical means.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A mouth pot that is used as a user interface and includes a movable part in a body part, a driving part that drives the movable part, a position information sensor that outputs a signal indicating the position of the movable part, and a communication connection part And ^ ^

The communication connection unit transmits a signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor to a partner via a communication line, and receives position information corresponding to the movable unit from the partner to receive the signal. To the driving unit, the driving unit drives the movable unit based on the received position information, and when the movable unit on its own side is moved by an external force, the position information from the partner side for a predetermined time The robot is not driven by

2. Equipped with a line delay amount measurement unit that measures the transmission delay in the communication line,

The port according to claim 1, wherein, when the transmission delay amount exceeds a predetermined value, the driving unit does not perform driving based on the position information from the other party! /

3. Equipped with a line delay amount measurement unit that measures the transmission delay in the communication line,

2. The robot phone according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time changes according to the transmission delay amount.

4. A robot that is used as a user interface and includes a movable part in a body part, a driving part that drives the movable part, a position information sensor that outputs a signal indicating the position of the movable part, and a communication connection part An operation right determination unit that determines whether the operation right of the mouth pot is on the own side or the other side, wherein the communication connection unit is configured to control the movable position from the position information sensor via a communication line. A signal indicating the position of the unit is transmitted to the other party, the position information corresponding to the movable unit is received from the other party and sent to the drive unit, and the drive unit is operated on its own side by the operation right determination unit. When it is determined that there is no right, the movable potphone is driven based on the received position information.

5. Equipped with a clock device,

The communication connection unit, when transmitting a signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor to the other party, transmits time information on its own side to the other party, and corresponds to the movable unit from the other party. The position 5. The robot pot according to claim 4, wherein: the operation right determination unit receives the time information related to the information, and determines the operation right by comparing the time information of its own side with the time information of the other side.

6. An inquiry / response unit that receives an inquiry from the other party while sending an inquiry about the operation right to the other party via the communication line,

The operation right determination unit, when the movable unit on its own side is moved by external force, sends an inquiry to the other party by the inquiry / answer unit, and determines the operation right based on the answer. A robot phon according to claim 4.

7. The operation right determination unit gives the provisional operation right to the own unit when the movable unit of the own unit is moved by an external force, and, when the answer shows that the other party has the operation right, 7. The robot phone according to claim 6, wherein the temporary operation right is canceled.

8. A priority table for storing priority information on the operation right in advance is provided.

5. The robot according to claim 4, wherein the operation right determination unit determines the operation right based on the priority table.

9. Equipped with an operation history table that stores the operation history,

5. The robot phone according to claim 4, wherein the operation right determination unit determines the operation right based on the contents of the operation history table. '

10. The robot according to claim 9, wherein the operation right determination unit determines that the user has the operation right when the operation unit has been operated immediately before on the movable unit on the own side. phone.

1 1. The operation right determination unit determines that the user has the operation right when a predetermined movable part of the plurality of movable parts of the mouth pot on his / her side has been operated. 10. The robot phon according to claim 9, wherein:

1 2. It is equipped with an operation right display unit that displays the presence or absence of the operation right based on the output of the operation right judgment unit. 5. The robot phon according to claim 4, wherein

13. A robot that is used as a user interface and includes a movable part in a body part, a driving part that drives the movable part, a position information sensor that outputs a signal indicating the position of the movable part, and a communication connection part An external force detection unit that detects whether an external force is applied to the movable unit, and an active operation / passive operation separation unit that separates an active operation and a passive operation based on an output of the external force detection unit,

The communication connection unit communicates a signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor with respect to the passive operation separated by the active operation / passive operation separation unit via a communication line. Side, and receives position information corresponding to the movable unit from the other party and sends it to the drive unit.

A mouth pot phone, wherein the drive section drives the movable section based on the received position information.

14. The mouthpiece according to claim 13, wherein the external force detection unit is a sensor provided in the robot and directly detecting an external force related to an operation. 14.

15. The external force detection unit detects an external force by observing a difference between a position signal on a control command to the drive unit and a signal indicating the actual position of the movable unit from the position information sensor. The robot phone according to claim 13, wherein

16. The external force detection unit measures a drive current of the drive unit and a signal indicating a position from the position information sensor. Although the drive current is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, 14. The robot according to claim 13, wherein it is determined that an external force is applied when the position of the movable part is changing.

17. A mouth pot that is used as a user interface and includes a movable part in a body part, a driving part that drives the movable part, a position information sensor that outputs a signal indicating the position of the movable part, and a communication connection And an adaptive filter that inputs a signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor and position information corresponding to the movable unit from the other party received from the communication connection unit,

The robot unit, wherein the driving unit drives the movable unit based on an output of the adaptive filter.

18. A mouth pot which is used as a user interface and includes a movable part in a part of the body, a driving part for driving the movable part, and a position information sensor for outputting a signal indicating the position of the movable part A communication connection unit, and an encoder that encodes a signal indicating the position of the movable unit from the position information sensor into an audio signal in an audible range,

The communication connection unit transmits an encoded signal indicating the position of the movable unit to the other party through a communication line having an echo canceling function, and transmits the encoded position corresponding to the movable unit to the other party. Receiving the information and sending it to the drive,

The said driving part drives the said movable part based on the said positional information received, The robot fan characterized by the above-mentioned.

19. A robot that is used as a user interface and includes a movable part in a body part, a microphone and speed for a call, a drive unit that drives the movable unit, and a position of the movable unit. A position information sensor that outputs a signal indicating

The communication connection unit transmits an audio signal from the microphone to a partner via a communication line, reproduces an audio signal received from the partner with the speed, and the movable unit from the position information sensor. A signal indicating the position of the movable part is transmitted to the other party.

20. The robot phone according to claim 19, wherein the microphone and the speaker are arranged facing a front side of the robot, and a user can operate the robot by facing the robot.

2 1. The movable part is provided on the limb and head of the body, the movable part provided on the limb has at least two degrees of freedom, and the movable part provided on the head has at least three degrees of freedom. The robot phon according to claim 19, characterized by: