CN109196844B

CN109196844B - Information processing device, robot, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN109196844B
Application number: CN201780028163.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 栗原徹; 羽田充宏
Original assignee: Sharp Corp
Current assignee: Sharp Corp
Priority date: 2016-05-20
Filing date: 2017-03-15
Publication date: 2021-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2037-03-15
Also published as: WO2017199566A1; CN109196844A; JPWO2017199566A1; JP6628874B2

Abstract

A control unit (50) according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a robot (100) that changes a posture by controlling a drive unit (20) provided in a movable part, and the control unit (50) includes a notification control unit (50) that notifies a user of a posture change message in advance when the robot (100) changes the posture to an unstable posture that cannot be maintained stably.

Description

Information processing device, robot, and storage medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a robot, and a storage medium that notify a user of a change in the posture of the robot.

Background

Patent documents 1 to 3 disclose the following techniques: the user is informed of the incoming call and mail reception of the portable terminal by changing the external shape of the terminal body or the accessory. For example, patent document 1 discloses that a drive mode signal is generated in real time in a drive mode generation unit and transmitted to an actuator. And discloses that the shape of an accessory of the communication terminal or a part constituting the communication terminal itself is changed by communicating the driving mode signal to an actuator, thereby informing a user of an occurred event (e.g., a voice incoming call, mail reception, reception of a digital tv broadcast, or the like).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2007-214908 (published 8/23/2007) "

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2000-92164 (published 3/31/2000) "

Patent document 3: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2001-145139 (published 5/25/2001) "

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the case of applying the related art as described above to a posture change of a robot, the robot may hardly maintain a stable self-standing posture and fall down depending on the posture of the robot after the change.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device, a robot, and a storage medium that can prevent a robot from tipping over due to a posture change in advance.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above-described problem, an information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus applied to a robot that changes a posture by controlling a driving unit provided at a movable portion, characterized by comprising a notification control unit that, when the robot changes a posture to an unstable posture that cannot be kept stable, executes notification processing for notifying a user of posture change information regarding the posture change before executing the posture change.

Effects of the invention

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the following effects are obtained: the robot can be prevented from falling over in advance due to the posture change.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part configuration of a robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 (a) is a schematic front view showing the robot, (b) is a schematic rear view showing the robot, and (c) is a schematic side view showing the robot.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of controlling the posture change of the robot.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the attitude table stored in the storage unit of the robot.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the notification order table stored in the storage unit of the robot.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the notification content table stored in the storage unit of the robot.

Fig. 7(a) is a schematic diagram showing a posture change of the robot when a voice call is made, and (b) and (c) are schematic diagrams showing a posture change of the robot and contents of notification when a user performs an input operation to select a call of the voice call.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 6. In the following description of the embodiments, it is assumed that the information processing device according to the present invention is applied to a biped walking humanoid robot.

However, it is not limited to the biped walking humanoid robot, and for example, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be included in a general robot such as an animated character fighting robot or a human or animal robot. In the present embodiment, a biped walking humanoid robot having a mobile phone function will be described as an example.

[ overview of robot 100 ]

First, an outline of the robot 100 will be described with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 (a) is a schematic front view showing the robot 100 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 (b) is a schematic rear view of the robot 100. Further, fig. 2 (c) is a schematic side view showing the robot 100.

When the robot 100 changes the posture to an unstable posture that cannot be stably maintained, the robot 100 according to the present embodiment notifies the user of a posture change message (posture change information) concerning the posture change in advance. The robot 100 can prevent the robot 100 from tipping over due to the posture change in advance by notifying the user of the posture change message described above in advance.

As shown in fig. 2 (a) to (c), the robot 100 includes a head 110a, a body 100b, an arm 100c, a leg 110d, and a foot 100 e. The head portion 100a is movably connected to the main body portion 100b via the neck portion 100g, the arm portion 100c via the shoulder joint portion 100h, and the leg portion 100d via the leg joint portion 100 i. Further, the foot portion 100e is movably connected to the leg portion 100d via the foot joint portion 100 j.

A drive unit (motor) 20, which will be described later, is incorporated in the neck portion 100g and each joint portion, and the head portion 100a, the arm portion 100c, the leg portion 100d, and the foot portion 100e are respectively movable by the drive of the drive unit 20.

A speaker 40 described later is provided in a mouth portion 100l constituting a part of the head portion 100a, and a microphone 30 described later is provided in an abdomen portion 100m constituting a part of the body portion 100 b. Further, a screen operating unit 60, which will be described later, is provided in the back portion 100k constituting a part of the main body portion 100 b.

The positions where the microphone 30 and the speaker 40 are disposed are not particularly limited, and the microphone 30 may be disposed on the sole portion 100f constituting a part of the foot portion 100e, for example. The position of the placement screen operating unit 60 is not limited to the back portion 100k, and may be placed on the abdomen portion 100m, for example.

[ constitution of robot 100 ]

Next, the configuration of the robot 100 will be described with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of a robot 100. As shown in fig. 1, the robot 100 includes: a communication unit 10, a drive unit 20, a microphone 30, a speaker 40, a control unit (information processing device) 50, a screen operation unit 60, and a storage unit 70.

The communication unit 10 is used for transmitting and receiving various data such as voice data. The drive unit 20 changes the posture of the robot 100. The driving unit 20 is composed of motors provided at respective movable portions of the robot 100. As the driving section 20, an actuator such as a hydraulic cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder, or a linear actuator may be used in addition to the motor. The microphone 30 is used to collect voice and the like in a call. The speaker 40 is used to generate an in-call voice or the like or to notify the user by voice.

The control unit (CPU)50 is used to control the robot 100 collectively. The control unit 50 performs, for example, posture control of the robot 100, notification of a posture change, and the like. The control section 50 includes: an event detection unit 51, an image operation control unit 52, a posture control unit 53, and a notification control unit 54.

The event detection unit 51 detects the occurrence of various events related to the robot 100 based on output signals from the communication unit 10 and the image operation control unit 52. The events detected by the event detecting unit 51 include: events requiring a user response for notification from the robot 100 (e.g., incoming voice call (incoming call), mail reception, alarm, etc.); and events (e.g., voice call (answering of incoming call) and voice call (making of call)) triggered by an input operation of the user. When detecting the occurrence of an event, the event detection unit 51 transmits the type of the event to be occurred to the posture control unit 53.

The screen operation control unit 52 controls the screen operation unit 60. The image operation control unit 52 receives an input operation (interrupt operation) from the user to the touch panel 61 of the screen operation unit 60, and outputs the input operation to the event detection unit 51. The image operation control unit 52 also displays various information on the display 62 of the screen operation unit 60.

The attitude control section 53 is used to control the drive section 20 to change the attitude of the robot 100. When accepting the type of the occurred event from the event detection section 51, the posture control section 53 refers to the posture table 71 of the storage section 70, and changes the posture of the robot 100 so that the user can easily perform an operation corresponding to the type of the occurred event. At this time, when the posture of the robot 100 after the posture change is in an unstable posture in which the robot 100 cannot maintain a stable self-standing posture, the posture control section 53 may communicate the type information of the occurred event to the notification control section 54 before the posture change of the robot 100 is performed.

The notification control section 54 is configured to execute notification processing for notifying the user of a posture change message (posture change information) about a posture change of the robot 100 before executing the posture change when the posture control section 53 changes the posture of the robot 100 to an unstable posture.

When acquiring the type of the event that has occurred from the posture control unit 53, the posture control unit 54 refers to the notification number table 72 and the notification content table 73 of the storage unit 70, acquires the posture change message, which is the content corresponding to the type of the event that has occurred, and notifies the user of the posture change message. Further, the notification control unit 54 transmits the completion notification processing to the posture control unit 53, and causes the robot 100 to execute the posture change.

In the present embodiment, the control unit (CPU)50 functions as the event detection unit 51, the image operation control unit 52, the attitude control unit 53, and the notification control unit 54, but the event detection unit 51, the image operation control unit 52, the attitude control unit 53, and the notification control unit 54 may be configured by separate processing units.

The screen operation unit 60 is used to accept input operations by the user and display various kinds of information. The screen operation unit 60 is configured by integrating a touch panel 61 and a display 62 in a superposed manner. The touch panel 61 detects a touch operation (input operation) by a user, and accepts the input operation by the user. The display 62 displays objects such as buttons for touch operation by the user and various information.

The storage unit 70 is a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The storage unit 70 stores various information related to the notification process, such as posture information of the robot 100, the cumulative number of times of notification processes performed in the past, and a posture change message to be notified to the user. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 70 stores a posture table 71, a notification order table 72, and a notification content table 73.

The posture table 71 stores posture information of the robot 100 for each event type and stability information (self-standing information) indicating whether the posture of the robot 100 indicated by the posture information is a stable posture. The notification count table 72 stores the cumulative count of the notification processes performed by the notification control unit 54 in the past. The notification content table 73 stores the content of the posture change message notified to the user in the notification processing. The details of the posture table 71, the notification order table 72, and the notification content table 73, which will be described later, are described.

[ control of attitude change of robot 100 ]

Next, control of the posture change of the robot 100 will be described with reference to fig. 3 to 6. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of control of the posture change of the robot 100.

As shown in fig. 3, first, the event detection unit 51 detects whether or not various events related to the robot 100 have occurred based on output signals from the communication unit 10 and the image manipulation control unit 52 (S101). If the occurrence of an event is not detected (no in S101), the event detecting unit 51 detects again whether an event has occurred. On the other hand, when the occurrence of an event is detected (yes in S101), the type information of the event that has occurred is transmitted to the gesture control unit 53 to the event detection unit 51.

Next, when the posture control unit 53 acquires the type of the event that has occurred from the event detection unit 51, it specifies the posture of the robot 100 corresponding to the type of the event (S102). Specifically, the posture control unit 53 refers to the posture table 71 of the storage unit 70 to acquire posture information corresponding to the type of the event that has occurred and stability information of the posture of the robot 100 indicated by the posture information.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the posture table 71 stored in the storage unit 70. As shown in fig. 4, in the posture table 71, the posture information of the robot 100 for each event type (e.g., incoming voice call, etc.) is associated with the stability information (stable or unstable) of the posture of the robot 100 indicated by the posture information.

In the posture table 71, the posture of the robot 100 in the upright state is registered as the posture information in the default state. The gesture at the default is the basic gesture that the robot 100 takes after each event is completed. The posture indicated by the posture information at the default time is a stable posture (self-standing posture) in which the robot 100 can maintain a stable self-standing posture and has a low possibility of falling over. Therefore, "stable" is registered as stability information of the posture at the default time in the posture table 71.

In the posture table 71, the posture of the robot 100 with the arm part 100c lifted up is registered as posture information at the time of a voice call, so that the user can easily hold the robot 100. The posture indicated by the posture information at the time of the voice call is a stable posture (self-standing posture) in which the robot 100 can maintain a stable self-standing posture and has a low possibility of falling over. Therefore, "stable" is registered as the stability information of the posture at the time of the incoming voice call in the posture table 71.

Further, in the posture table 71, the posture of the robot 100 with the head 100a, the arm 100c, and the leg 100d being brought close to the user side is registered as posture information at the time of voice call so that the user can easily bring the robot 100 close to the face to make a call. The posture indicated by the posture information at the time of the voice call is an unstable posture (self-standing posture) in which the robot 100 cannot maintain a stable self-standing posture and the posture is highly likely to fall over compared to the default posture and the posture at the time of the voice call. Therefore, "unstable" is registered as the stability information of the posture during the voice call in the posture table 71.

The posture control unit 53 refers to the posture table 71, and first specifies the posture of the robot 100 after the posture change corresponding to the type of the event based on the type of the event acquired from the event detection unit 51 (S102).

Further, the posture control unit 53 determines whether the posture of the robot 100 after the posture change determined in S102 is a stable posture or an unstable posture (S103). The stable posture means a posture in which the robot 100 can maintain a stable self-standing posture, and the unstable posture means a posture in which the robot 100 cannot maintain a stable self-standing posture. When the posture of the robot 100 after the posture change is the stable posture (yes in S103), the posture control unit 53 changes the posture of the robot 100 based on the posture information determined in S102 (S108), and ends the processing. On the other hand, when the posture of the robot 100 after the posture change is an unstable posture (no in S103), the posture control unit 53 transmits the type information of the occurred event to the notification control unit 54.

When the notification control unit 54 acquires the type of the event that has occurred from the posture control unit 53, it refers to the notification number table 72 in the storage unit 70 and acquires the cumulative number of times the notification process has been executed in the past for the type of the event (S104).

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the notification number table 72 stored in the storage unit 70. As shown in fig. 5, the notification count table 72 stores the cumulative count of the notification processes executed by the notification control unit 54 in the past for each type of event (voice call (incoming call), voice call (dial), and the like). The notification control unit 54 refers to the notification count table 72 to acquire the cumulative count of the notification processes executed in the past by the type of the event that has occurred.

Also, as in the notification number table 72 shown in fig. 5, a case is exemplified in which neither the notification processing performed in the past by the voice call (incoming call) nor the cumulative number of times of the notification processing performed in the past by the voice call (dialing) is 0 times (that is, any notification processing is not performed).

Next, the notification control unit 54 refers to the notification content table 73 of the storage unit 70, and specifies the content (notification content) of a posture change message for notifying the user of the change of the posture of the robot 100 to the unstable posture (S105).

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the notification content table 73 stored in the storage unit 70. As shown in fig. 6, the type of event, the number of times notification is set, and the content of the posture change message notified to the user are associated in the notification content table 73.

Here, the set notification count (prescribed set count) is a reference value for changing the content of the posture change message to be notified to the user in accordance with the cumulative count of notification processes performed in the past. The notification control section 54 acquires the contents of the posture change message associated with the set notification count counted by the cumulative count acquired from the notification count table 72, according to the type of the event that has occurred, and notifies the user of the contents.

For example, in the case of a voice call (incoming call) as shown in fig. 6, if "call receiving is registered as the posture change message when the number of times of notification is set to" 0 ", the call is entered in the call posture and is held by hand and started". Therefore, in the notification processing of the voice call (incoming call) performed for the first time, the user is notified of the posture change message of the detailed contents. On the other hand, the "start action" is registered as the posture change message when the number of times of notification is set to "1 or more", and the posture change message is changed to a simple content. Therefore, in the second and subsequent notification processes for the voice call (incoming call), the user is notified of the gesture change message of the simple content.

In addition, in the voice call (dialing), a "call gesture is made when a call is made" is registered as a gesture change message when the number of times of notification is set to "0 to 3", and the call is held by hand and started ". Therefore, in the notification processing from 1 st to 4 th times of the voice call (dialing), the user is notified of the posture change message of the detailed contents. On the other hand, the "start action" is registered as the posture change message when the number of times of notification is set to "4 or more", and the posture change message is changed to a simple content. Therefore, in the notification processing for the fifth and subsequent times of the voice call (dialing), the user is notified of the gesture change message of the simple content.

As described above, when the number of times of notification processing exceeds the predetermined number, the posture change message to be notified to the user is changed to a simple content, so that the processing time of the subsequent notification processing can be shortened, and as a result, the operability of the user can be improved. The number of times of notification setting and the contents of the posture change message registered in the notification content table 73 can be changed as appropriate.

Next, the notification control section 54 notifies the user of the posture change message determined in S105 (S106). Specifically, the notification control unit 54 outputs the posture change message acquired from the notification content table 73 through the speaker 40, and notifies the user through voice. Thereby, the user can recognize in advance that the posture of the robot 100 changes to an unstable posture. Therefore, the user can take measures to hold the robot 100 to the hand or the like before the posture of the robot 100 is changed to the unstable posture, and the robot 100 can be prevented from tipping over due to the posture change in advance.

Further, by notifying the user of different posture change messages according to the type of the event that has occurred, the posture change of the robot 100 can be accurately communicated to the user, and the user can be prompted to take appropriate measures. However, a method other than voice (e.g., a warning sound (alarm), a warning, or a ringing tone) may be used to notify the user in advance that the posture of the robot 100 has changed to an unstable posture.

Next, the notification control section 54 updates the cumulative count of the notification count table 72 after the notification process to the user is completed (S107). Further, the notification control unit 54 communicates that the notification process to the user is completed to the posture control unit 53. Thereby, the attitude control unit 53 controls the drive unit 20 to change the attitude of the robot 100 based on the attitude information determined in S102 (S108).

[ concrete example of posture change of the control robot 100 ]

Next, a specific example of control of the posture change of the robot 100 will be described with reference to fig. 3 to 6 as appropriate, and based on fig. 7. Fig. 7(a) is a schematic diagram showing a posture change of the robot 100 at the time of a voice call, and fig. 7(b) and (c) are schematic diagrams showing a posture change and notification contents of the robot 100 in a case where a user performs an input operation to select a call of the voice call.

For example, when there is a voice call in the robot 100, the event detection section 51 detects the occurred voice call (yes in S101), and the posture control section 53 determines the posture of the robot 100 corresponding to the voice call (S102). As shown in the posture table 71, the posture of the robot 100 when a voice call is made is a stable posture (yes in S103). Therefore, as shown in fig. 7(a), the robot 100 changes the posture to the posture at the time of the incoming voice call without performing the notification processing (S108).

When the user U performs an input operation of selecting a call for the incoming voice call, the event detection unit 51 detects a call selection operation for the voice call (incoming call) (yes in S101), and the posture control unit 53 specifies the posture of the robot 100 corresponding to the voice call (S102). As shown in the posture table 71, the posture of the robot 100 at the time of voice call is an unstable posture (no in S103). Therefore, as shown in fig. 7(b) and (c), after the robot 100 executes the notification processing by the notification control unit 54 (S104 to 107), the posture is changed to the posture at the time of voice call (S108).

In the present embodiment, in the first notification process performed by the call selection operation for the voice call (incoming call), as shown in fig. 7(b), a posture change message of detailed contents is notified to the user U. On the other hand, in the second and subsequent notification processes performed by the call selection operation for the voice call (incoming call), as shown in fig. 7(c), the user U is notified of a gesture change message of simple contents.

[ Effect of robot 100 ]

As described above, the robot 100 according to the present embodiment includes: a posture control unit 53 that changes the posture of the robot 100 by controlling a drive unit 20 provided at the movable portion; and a notification control section 54 that, when the posture of the robot 100 is changed to an unstable posture that cannot maintain a stable self-standing posture, performs a notification process of notifying a user of a posture change message regarding the posture change before the posture change is performed.

In the robot 100, the notification control section 54 notifies the user of a posture change message regarding the posture change before the posture of the robot 100 changes from the stable posture to the unstable posture, and therefore, the user can recognize in advance that the posture of the robot 100 changes to the unstable posture. Therefore, the user can take measures to take the robot 100 to the hand or the like before the posture of the robot 100 changes to the unstable posture.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the robot 100 capable of preventing in advance the robot from tipping over due to the posture change can be realized.

[ implementation by software ]

The control blocks (particularly, the posture control Unit 53 and the notification control Unit 54) of the control Unit 50 included in the robot 100 may be realized by logic circuits (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software using a CPU (Central processing Unit).

In the latter case, the control unit 50 includes: a CPU that executes commands of a program as software for realizing the respective functions; a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a storage device (these are referred to as "storage medium") that stores the above-described program and various data so as to be readable by a computer (or CPU); a RAM (random Access memory) for expanding the program and the like. Then, the object of the present invention is achieved by reading the above-described program from the storage medium and executing the program by a computer (or CPU). As the storage medium, "non-transitory tangible medium" such as a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. Further, the program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (a communication network, a broadcast wave, or the like) capable of transmitting the program. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission and embedded in a carrier wave.

[ conclusion ]

An information processing apparatus (control unit 50) according to a first aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus applied to a robot that changes a posture by controlling a drive unit provided in a movable part, the information processing apparatus including a notification control unit that performs notification processing for notifying a user of posture change information (posture change message) regarding a posture change before the posture change is performed when the robot changes a posture to an unstable posture that cannot be stably maintained.

In the above configuration, the notification control section notifies the user of a posture change message regarding the posture change before the posture of the robot is changed to the unstable posture, and therefore, the user can recognize in advance that the posture of the robot is changed to the unstable posture. Therefore, the user can take measures to hold the robot to the hand or the like before the posture of the robot is changed to an unstable posture.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to realize an information processing apparatus capable of preventing the robot from tipping over due to a posture change in advance.

In an information processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, the notification control unit according to the first aspect may change the content of the posture change information and shorten a processing time of the notification process when an accumulated number of times of executing the notification process exceeds a predetermined set number of times.

According to the above configuration, when the number of times exceeds the predetermined number of times, the posture change information is changed to, for example, a simple content, thereby shortening the processing time of the notification processing and improving the operability of the user.

In the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the notification control unit according to the first or second aspect notifies the user of the posture change information corresponding to the type of the event occurring in the robot.

According to the above configuration, since different posture change information is notified to the user according to the type of the event occurring in the robot, the posture change of the robot can be appropriately transmitted to the user.

A robot according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes: the information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects; and a posture control unit for changing the posture of the robot by controlling a drive unit provided at a movable part of the robot.

According to the above configuration, a robot capable of preventing the robot from tipping due to a posture change can be realized.

The information processing apparatus according to the aspects of the present invention may be realized by a computer, and in this case, a control program (program) for realizing the information processing apparatus by a computer by operating a computer as the information processing apparatus, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program are also included in the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Further, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical methods disclosed in the respective embodiments.

Description of the reference numerals

20 drive part

53 attitude control section

54 notification control unit

50 control part (information processing device)

100 robot

U user

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus applied to a robot that changes a posture by controlling a driving unit provided at a movable portion, the information processing apparatus being characterized in that,

includes a notification control section that, in a case where the robot changes a posture to an unstable posture that cannot be kept stable, executes a notification process for notifying a user of posture change information on the posture change before executing the posture change,

the notification control unit changes the content of the posture change information and shortens the processing time of the notification processing when the cumulative number of times of executing the notification processing exceeds a predetermined set number of times.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification control portion notifies the posture change information corresponding to a type of an event occurring in the robot to a user.

3. A robot, comprising:

the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2;

and a posture control unit for changing the posture of the robot by controlling a drive unit provided at a movable part of the robot.

4. A storage medium storing a control program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.