CN114599436A

CN114599436A - Control system, sheet, and toy system

Info

Publication number: CN114599436A
Application number: CN202080075075.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 中山哲法; A.安德烈; 佐藤尼古拉; T.罗曼
Original assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc
Current assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc
Priority date: 2019-11-08
Filing date: 2020-09-24
Publication date: 2022-06-07
Also published as: WO2021090593A1; JPWO2021090593A1; JP7322168B2; JP2024026585A; JP7413592B2; JP2023138579A

Abstract

The problem that the self-propelled equipment runs on a sheet and a sheet body printed with patterns obtained by coding the position information is reduced. The control system includes: a sheet (31) printed with a pattern obtained by encoding positional information and including a plurality of pits (41); a card (33) having a planar shape corresponding to the recess and capable of being arranged above the recess; a moving device (20) having a moving section that travels over the sheet and the card arranged above the pocket, and a camera (24) that photographs a pattern printed on the sheet; and a control unit configured to control the mobile device based on a position of the mobile device detected based on the photographed pattern.

Description

Control system, sheet, and toy system

Technical Field

The invention relates to a control system, a sheet and a toy system.

Background

There are sheets on which a pattern obtained by encoding positional information is printed. The mobile device disposed on the sheet reads the pattern printed on the sheet, and the operation of the mobile device is controlled based on the position recognized by the pattern.

Patent document 1 discloses: the self-propelled device recognizes the pattern printed on the mat, and travels on the mat based on the position indicated by the pattern.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: international publication No. 2018/025467

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

By placing a sheet body on which a pattern obtained by encoding positional information is printed, the degree of freedom in controlling the operation of the mobile device and the like can be improved. The inventors have studied the use of cards as the sheet. For example, unlike stickers, cards are easy to move, and traveling problems such as card shift are likely to occur when a mobile device passes over the card.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce problems that occur when a self-propelled device travels on a sheet on which a pattern obtained by encoding positional information is printed and a sheet is arranged.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, a control system according to the present invention includes: a sheet (sheet) on which a pattern (pattern) obtained by encoding position information is printed, and which includes a plurality of pits; a card having a planar shape corresponding to the recess and capable of being disposed above the recess; a moving device having a moving portion that travels over the sheet and the card arranged above the pit, and a camera that photographs a pattern printed on the sheet; and a control unit configured to control the mobile device based on a position of the mobile device detected based on the photographed pattern.

Further, a sheet according to the present invention includes: the mobile device is capable of traveling regardless of whether the card is placed on the pit, and the mobile device photographs the pattern and travels in accordance with the position information obtained by decoding the photographed pattern.

The toy system according to the present invention includes a card including a pit and a pattern printed on a surface and encoding positional information, the card having a planar shape corresponding to the pit and being capable of being placed on the pit, and a sheet capable of traveling on the pit regardless of whether the card is placed or not, the mobile device photographing the pattern and traveling according to the positional information obtained by decoding the photographed pattern.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the problem that occurs when the self-propelled device travels over a sheet on which a pattern obtained by encoding positional information is printed and a sheet is arranged.

In one aspect of the present invention, the depth of the pit may be smaller than the thickness of the card.

In one aspect of the present invention, the pattern may be printed on a surface of the pit and an outer side of the pit.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the control system.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the carriage.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a sheet.

Fig. 5 is a view showing an example of a sheet on which sheet bodies are arranged.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the VI-VI cut line of fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a comparative example of a sheet in which a sheet body is arranged.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of allocation of regions to a coordinate space.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing functions implemented by the control system.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the control system.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Among the appearing structural elements, structural elements having the same function are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. In an embodiment of the invention, the self-propelled movement device travels over the sheet and the sheet on the sheet.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control system according to the present invention includes a device control apparatus 10,

dollies

20a and 20b, a controller 17, and a cassette (cartridge) 18. The

dollies

20a, 20b are self-propelled mobile devices having the camera 24, and both have the same function. Hereinafter, these

carriages

20a, 20b will be referred to as the carriage 20 unless particularly noted. The device control apparatus 10 controls the carriage 20 via wireless. The device control apparatus 10 has a recess 32, and if the cart 20 is fitted into the recess 32, the device control apparatus 10 charges the cart 20. The controller 17 is an input device for acquiring an operation performed by a user, and is connected to the device control apparatus 10 by a cable. The cartridge 18 incorporates a nonvolatile memory.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device control apparatus 10 includes a processor 11, a storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, and an input/output unit 14. The carriage 20 includes a processor 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, a camera 24, and two motors 25. The device control apparatus 10 may be a dedicated apparatus optimized for controlling the carriage 20, or may be a general-purpose computer.

The processor 11 operates in accordance with a program stored in the storage unit 12, and controls the communication unit 13, the input/output unit 14, and the like. The processor 21 operates in accordance with a program stored in the storage unit 22, and controls the communication unit 23, the camera 24, the motor 25, and the like. The program is provided in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flash memory stored in the cartridge 18, but may be provided via a network such as the internet.

The storage unit 12 is constituted by a DRAM and a nonvolatile memory built in the device control apparatus 10, a nonvolatile memory in the cassette 18, and the like. The storage unit 22 is configured by a DRAM, a nonvolatile memory, and the like. The

storage units

12 and 22 store the above-described programs. The

storage units

12 and 22 store information and calculation results input from the

processors

11 and 21 and the

communication units

13 and 23.

The

communication units

13 and 23 are formed of an integrated circuit, an antenna, or the like for communicating with other devices. The

communication units

13 and 23 have a function of communicating with each other in accordance with, for example, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) protocol. The

communication units

13 and 23 input information received from another device to the

processors

11 and 21 or the

storage units

12 and 22 and transmit the information to the other device, based on the control of the

processors

11 and 21. The communication unit 13 may have a function of communicating with another device via a network such as a LAN.

The input/output unit 14 includes: a circuit for acquiring information from an input device such as the controller 17, and a circuit for controlling an output device such as an audio output device or an image display device. The input/output unit 14 acquires an input signal from an input device, and inputs information obtained by converting the input signal to the processor 11 or the storage unit 12. The input/output unit 14 causes a speaker to output sound and causes a display device to output an image, based on control of the processor 11 and the like.

The motor 25 is a so-called servo motor whose rotation direction, rotation amount, and rotation speed are controlled by the processor 21. Two motors 25 are each assigned a wheel 254, and the motors 25 drive the assigned wheels 254.

The camera 24 is configured to photograph the lower side of the carriage 20, and photograph a pattern printed on a sheet 31 or a sheet 33 (see fig. 4 and 15) on which the carriage 20 is placed. In the present embodiment, a pattern recognized in the infrared frequency domain is printed on the sheet 31 and the sheet body 33, and the camera 24 captures an image of the infrared ray.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the carriage 20. Fig. 3 is a view of the carriage 20 as viewed from below. The trolley 20 further comprises a power switch 250, a switch 222, and two wheels 254.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the sheet 31. On the sheet 31, an image visually recognizable to the user and a pattern readable by the camera 24 are printed. The sheet 31 includes a plurality of recesses 41 and a frame region 42 that meets at the periphery of each of the recesses 41 in plan view. The bottoms of the recesses 41 on the sheet 31 are located lower than the frame area 42. In the example of fig. 4, a plurality of pits 41 are arranged in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. The plurality of sheets 31 may be arranged on a plane. In this case, an engaging portion and an engaged portion may be provided on the outer periphery of the sheet 31 in order to fix the adjacent other sheet 31.

The sheet body 33 can be disposed in the recess 41. Fig. 5 is a view showing an example of the sheet 31 on which the sheet member 33 is disposed, and fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of fig. 5. As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the sheet body 33 is a plate-shaped card having a thickness t, and the outer shape of the sheet body 33 corresponds to the inner circumference of the recess 41 in plan view. More specifically, the outer shape of the sheet 33 on the plane is similar to the inner circumference of the recess 41, the size of the sheet 33 is slightly smaller than the recess 41, and the size of the sheet 33 is determined as: when the sheet 33 is disposed on the pocket 41, the distance between the end of the sheet 33 and the inner circumference of the pocket 41 is smaller than a predetermined value (e.g., the radius of the wheel 254). The carriage 20 can travel over the pit 41 regardless of whether the sheet body 33 is disposed.

The bottom of the pit 41 is flat, and the depth Dp of the bottom is substantially constant. When the sheet body 33 is disposed in the pocket 41, the flat portion of the bottom is in contact with the back surface of the sheet body 33. The depth Dp is smaller than the thickness t of the sheet 33. Here, a difference s (a step size) in height between the frame region 42 and the sheet 33 is (t-Dp).

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a comparative example of the sheet 31e on which the sheet body 33e is arranged. In the example of fig. 7, the sheet 31e has a flat shape and does not include the pits 41. In this case, since there is no structure that hinders the horizontal movement of the sheet 33e, the position of the sheet 33 is likely to be displaced when the carriage 20 travels over the sheet 31e and the sheet 33 e. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, by disposing the sheet body 33 in the pocket 41, it is possible to avoid the position of the sheet body 33 from being displaced when the carriage 20 travels thereon.

In the example of fig. 7, the size of the step when the carriage 20 moves from above the sheet 31e to above the sheet 33e is the thickness t of the sheet 33. In the present embodiment, since the depth Dp of the pit 41 is smaller than the thickness t of the sheet 33, the step size s when the carriage 20 moves from above the sheet 31e to above the sheet 33e is (t-Dp), and the step can be made smaller. Further, assuming that the step when the carriage 20 moves from above the sheet 31e to above the sheet body 33e is the smallest when the depth Dp is the thickness t, the step size when the carriage 20 enters the pocket 41 where the sheet body 33 is not disposed is the thickness t (the same as the depth Dp). If the thickness t of the sheet 33 is constant, the step becomes larger than that of the present embodiment.

By providing the pockets 41 and making the depth Dp of the pockets 41 smaller than the thickness t of the sheet 33, the steps when the carriage 20 moves from above the sheet 31e to above the sheet 33e and the steps when the carriage 20 enters the pockets 41 where the sheet 33 is not disposed can be made smaller. Thus, even if the performance of the carriage 20 for passing over a step is low due to the restriction of the size of the wheels 254 or the like, for example, the thickness t of the sheet body 33 can be secured.

Here, the pattern printed on the sheet 31 and the sheet body 33 will be described in more detail. On the sheet 31 and the sheet body 33, unit patterns of a predetermined size (for example, 0.2mm square) are arranged in a matrix. Each unit pattern is an image obtained by encoding coordinates of a position where the pattern is arranged.

The sheet 31 and the sheet 33 are assigned with regions corresponding to the sizes of the sheet 31 and the sheet 33 in a coordinate space in which encoded coordinates can be expressed.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of allocation of regions to a coordinate space. In the example of fig. 8, the coordinate regions assigned to the sheet 31 are different from the coordinate regions assigned to the sheet 33. Further, coordinate regions having consistency are assigned to the frame regions 42 and the bottoms of the pits 41 so as not to generate discontinuity of coordinates during traveling.

In the control system according to the present embodiment, the camera 24 of the carriage 20 photographs a unit pattern printed on the sheet 31 or the like, and the carriage 20 or the device control apparatus 10 decodes the unit pattern to acquire coordinates. This allows the position of the carriage 20 on the sheet 31 or the like to be recognized. Further, the truck 20 or the device control apparatus 10 detects the direction of the unit pattern in the image captured by the camera 24, and also calculates the direction of the truck 20.

In the present embodiment, by using a pattern printed on the sheet 31 or the like, the position of the carriage 20 on the sheet 31 or the like can be recognized with high accuracy without using other devices such as a stereo camera.

Here, since the coordinate region assigned to the sheet 31 is different from the coordinate region assigned to the sheet 33, if the carriage 20 moves from the sheet 31 onto the sheet 33, the obtained coordinates do not continuously move, and this becomes an obstacle to control of the carriage 20. Hereinafter, the operation of the control system for reducing the occurrence of the problem will be described.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram showing functions implemented by the control system. The control system functionally includes a current position acquisition unit 51, a coordinate conversion unit 52, and a travel control unit 53. These functions are realized mainly by the processor 11 included in the device control apparatus 10 executing a program stored in the storage unit 12 and controlling the carriage 20 via the communication unit 13. Further, a part of the functions of the current position acquisition unit 51 and the like are realized by the processor 21 included in the cart 20 executing a program stored in the storage unit 22, interacting data with the device control apparatus 10 via the communication unit 23, and controlling the camera 24 and the motor 25.

The current position acquiring unit 51 recognizes a pattern obtained by encoding coordinates from an image captured by the camera 24, and detects coordinates where the carriage 20 is located and the direction of the carriage 20 from the coordinates indicated by the pattern.

When the detected coordinates of the carriage 20 are not within the sheet 31, the coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the coordinates into coordinates based on the sheet 31 based on a conversion rule, and also converts the orientation based on the conversion rule.

The travel control unit 53 controls the operation of the carriage 20 based on the coordinates and the orientation of the carriage 20.

The processing performed by the control system is described in more detail below. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the control system.

First, the current position acquisition unit 51 acquires (detects) the coordinates and the orientation of the current carriage 20 based on the pattern photographed by the camera 24 of the carriage 20 (step S201).

Next, the coordinate conversion unit 52 determines whether or not the coordinates detected based on the pattern are the coordinates on the sheet 31 (step S202). When the detected coordinates are on the sheet 31 (yes in step S202), the coordinate conversion unit 52 ends the process without performing coordinate conversion. On the other hand, if the coordinates are not on the sheet 31 (step S202: NO), the coordinate conversion unit 52 specifies the sheet 33 to which the region including the acquired coordinates is assigned (step S203).

Then, the coordinate transformation unit 52 determines whether or not the transformation rule of the coordinates is already determined (step S204). For example, the coordinate conversion unit 52 may determine that the conversion rule of the coordinates is not determined when the coordinates detected last time are the coordinates on the sheet 31 and the coordinates detected this time are the coordinates on the sheet body 33.

If the coordinate conversion rule is not determined (no in step S204), the coordinate conversion unit 52 determines a conversion rule for converting the coordinates on the sheet 33 into the coordinates on the sheet 31 based on the coordinates on the nearest sheet 31 and the current coordinates on the sheet 33 (step S205). If the coordinate transformation rule has already been determined for the sheet 33 (yes in step S204), the process of step S205 is skipped.

The determination of the conversion rule in step S205 is further described. In the following, it is assumed that the movement start point coordinate is a coordinate on the sheet 31 which is detected last, and the movement destination coordinate is a coordinate on the sheet 33 which is acquired first. The coordinate conversion unit 52 obtains predicted coordinates of the current position on the assumption of traveling on the sheet 31 based on the position indicated by the movement start point coordinates, the direction of the carriage 20, and the rotation amount of the motor 25 from the acquisition of the movement start point coordinates to the acquisition of the movement destination coordinates. The coordinate conversion unit 52 generates a conversion expression of coordinates such that the position indicated by the predicted coordinates coincides with the position indicated by the destination coordinates, and reflects the inclination of the sheet body 33 with respect to the sheet material 31 calculated based on the change from the direction at the movement start point coordinates to the direction at the destination coordinates, and determines the conversion expression as a conversion rule.

If the conversion rule is determined, the coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the current coordinates into the coordinates on the sheet 31 based on the determined conversion rule (step S206).

When the processing by the coordinate conversion unit 52 is finished, the travel control unit 53 controls the travel of the carriage 20 based on the coordinates and the direction of the carriage 20 after the conversion (step S207).

Through the processing shown in fig. 10, when the carriage 20 is on the sheet body 33, the coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the coordinates on the sheet body 33 acquired by the current position acquisition unit 51 into the coordinates on the sheet 31, and inputs the converted coordinates as the coordinates for the travel control unit 53 to control the movement of the carriage 20. This enables the travel control unit 53 to appropriately control the travel. For example, when traveling on the sheet body 33, the movement of the carriage 20 can be controlled in consideration of other objects on the sheet 31.

Here, the conversion rule in step S205 may be determined by another method. For example, since the degree of freedom of the relative position and orientation of the sheet member 33 is limited by the shapes of the pockets 41 and the sheet member 33, the coordinate conversion unit 52 may select the parameters of the conversion equation based on the movement start point coordinates and the movement destination coordinates to determine the conversion rule. For example, the coordinate conversion unit 52 determines the coordinates of the reference position in the sheet body 33 as the parameters of the conversion equation corresponding to the sheet body 33, based on which sheet body 33 the destination coordinates are assigned, further detects the direction of the end of the sheet body 33 close to the destination coordinates, and determines the parameters of the conversion of the coordinates and the orientation for eliminating the difference in the orientation in which the sheet body 33 is fitted, based on the detected end.

In the explanation of fig. 8, the bottom of the pit 41 and the frame area 42 are assigned a uniform coordinate area, but an area discontinuous from the frame area 42 may be assigned to the bottom of the pit 41. In this case, the coordinate conversion unit 52 may convert the coordinates on the sheet 31 by increasing or decreasing the coordinate value by a fixed value when the coordinates read by the carriage 20 are the coordinates of the bottom of the pocket 41.

Claims

1. A control system, comprising:

a sheet on which a pattern obtained by encoding positional information is printed and which includes a plurality of pits;

a card having a planar shape corresponding to the recess and capable of being disposed above the recess;

a moving device having a moving portion that travels over the sheet and the card arranged above the pit, and a camera that photographs a pattern printed on the sheet; and

a control unit that controls the mobile device based on a position of the mobile device detected from the photographed pattern.

2. The control system as set forth in claim 1,

the depth of the pit is smaller than the thickness of the card.

3. The control system according to claim 1 or 2,

the pattern is printed on the surface of the pit and outside the pit.

4. A sheet, comprising:

a recess having a shape in which a card can be arranged; and

a pattern printed on the surface and encoding the positional information,

the mobile device can travel on the pit regardless of whether the card is placed, the mobile device photographs the pattern, and the mobile device travels according to the position information obtained by decoding the photographed pattern.

5. A toy system, comprising:

a card; and

the sheet material is a composite of a plurality of layers,

the sheet includes pits and a pattern printed on a surface and encoding positional information,

the card has a planar shape corresponding to the recess, capable of being disposed over the recess,