CN115781767A

CN115781767A - Robot charging method, device, electronic equipment and computer readable medium

Info

Publication number: CN115781767A
Application number: CN202211429721.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 齐心; 赵博学; 支涛
Original assignee: Beijing Yunji Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Yunji Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-11-15
Filing date: 2022-11-15
Publication date: 2023-03-14

Abstract

The disclosure relates to the field of robot charging methods, and provides a robot charging method, a robot charging device, an electronic device and a computer readable medium. The method comprises the following steps: after detecting that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is lower than the electric quantity consumption estimated value, acquiring the position information of the distribution robot; selecting a take-over robot within a preset range by taking the distribution robot as a center based on the position information; after the completion of the movement of the take-over robot to the position information is determined, selecting a target charging pile in the preset range; and controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging. According to the embodiment, the risk that the distribution robot stops working due to too low electric quantity in the working process can be reduced, the reliability of the distribution robot in the distribution process is ensured, and the distribution efficiency can be remarkably improved.

Description

Robot charging method, device, electronic equipment and computer readable medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of robot charging methods, and in particular, to a robot charging method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer readable medium.

Background

With the progress of science and technology, the application field of the automatic robot is wider and wider. In recent years, unmanned distribution technology is mature, and especially in high-grade communities and office parks, more and more unmanned distribution systems are widely applied. During the robot distribution process, the distribution may be interrupted due to insufficient electric quantity, and finally the distribution is failed.

Therefore, how to reduce the risk that the distribution robot stops working due to too low power in the working process, and ensure the reliability of the distribution robot and improve the distribution efficiency in the distribution process is a technical problem that needs to be solved by those skilled in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a robot charging method, apparatus, electronic device, and computer readable medium to solve the problem in the prior art how to ensure reliability of a delivery robot during a delivery process and improve delivery efficiency.

In a first aspect of the disclosed embodiments, a robot charging method is provided, including: after detecting that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is lower than the electric quantity consumption estimated value, acquiring the position information of the distribution robot; selecting a take-over robot within a preset range by taking the distribution robot as a center based on the position information; after the completion of the movement of the take-over robot to the position information is determined, selecting a target charging pile in the preset range; and controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging.

In a second aspect of the disclosed embodiments, there is provided a robot charging device including: an acquisition unit configured to acquire position information of a distribution robot when detecting that a current electric quantity of the distribution robot is lower than an electric quantity consumption estimation value; a first selection unit configured to select a successor robot within a preset range centered on the delivery robot based on the position information; the second selection unit is configured to select a target charging pile within the preset range after the completion of the goods taking after the transfer robot is determined to move to the position information; and a control charging unit configured to control the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging.

In a third aspect of the disclosed embodiments, an electronic device is provided, which includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, and the processor implements the steps of the above method when executing the computer program.

In a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program is stored, which when executed by a processor implements the steps of the above-mentioned method.

Compared with the prior art, the embodiment of the disclosure has the following beneficial effects: firstly, after detecting that the current electric quantity of a distribution robot is lower than an electric quantity consumption estimated value, acquiring the position information of the distribution robot; secondly, selecting a take-over robot within a preset range by taking the distribution robot as a center based on the position information; then, after the completion of the movement of the take-over robot to the position information is determined, selecting a target charging pile in the preset range; and finally, controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging. The method provided by the disclosure reduces the risk that the distribution robot stops working due to too low electric quantity in the working process, ensures the reliability of the distribution robot in the distribution process and improves the distribution efficiency.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings used in the embodiments or the prior art descriptions will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of one application scenario of a robot charging method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a flow diagram of some embodiments of a robot charging method according to the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of some embodiments of a robotic charging device according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device suitable for use in implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that the disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the disclosure are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

It should be noted that, for convenience of description, only the portions related to the related invention are shown in the drawings. The embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present disclosure may be combined with each other without conflict.

It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", and the like in the present disclosure are only used for distinguishing different devices, modules or units, and are not used for limiting the order or interdependence relationship of the functions performed by the devices, modules or units.

It is noted that references to "a" or "an" in this disclosure are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting, and that those skilled in the art will appreciate that references to "one or more" are intended to be exemplary and not limiting unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

The names of messages or information exchanged between devices in the embodiments of the present disclosure are for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the messages or information.

The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of one application scenario of a robot charging method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the application scenario of fig. 1, first, after detecting that the current power of the distribution robot is lower than the estimated power consumption, the computing device 101 may obtain the location information 103 of the distribution robot, as indicated by reference numeral 102. The computing device 101 may select a successor machine within a preset range centered around the dispensing robot based on the location information 103, as indicated by reference numeral 104. After it is determined that the relay robot moves to the position information and the goods taking is finished, the computing device 101 may select the target charging pile 105 within the preset range. Finally, the computing device 101 may control the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile 105 for charging, as indicated by reference numeral 106.

The computing device 101 may be hardware or software. When the computing device 101 is hardware, it may be implemented as a distributed cluster composed of a plurality of servers or terminal devices, or may be implemented as a single server or a single terminal device. When the computing device 101 is embodied as software, it may be installed in the hardware devices listed above. It may be implemented, for example, as multiple software or software modules for providing distributed services, or as a single software or software module. And is not particularly limited herein.

It should be understood that the number of computing devices in FIG. 1 is merely illustrative. There may be any number of computing devices, as implementation needs dictate.

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram of some embodiments of a robot charging method according to the present disclosure. The robotic charging method of fig. 2 may be performed by the computing device 101 of fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, the robot charging method includes:

step S201, after detecting that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is lower than the estimated value of electric quantity consumption, acquiring the position information of the distribution robot.

In some embodiments, the executing entity of the robot charging method (e.g., computing device 101 shown in fig. 1) may calculate the estimate of power consumption according to the following steps: acquiring current position information of the distribution robot and position information of a distribution destination; calculating a distribution route based on the current position information and the position information of the distribution destination; and calculating to obtain an estimated value of the electric quantity consumption when the distribution robot moves to the distribution destination based on the distribution route. Wherein the delivery route is a route from the delivery robot to the destination according to a map, not a straight distance. Wherein the calculating to obtain the estimate of the power consumption of the delivery robot moving to the delivery destination comprises: and calculating an estimated value of the power consumption according to the unit mileage power consumption of the distribution robot in the full-load state obtained by the experiment and the distribution distance.

Step S202, based on the position information, a robot to be taken over is selected from the distribution robot as a center and within a preset range.

In some embodiments, the execution agent may determine whether a robot in an idle state exists within a preset range centered on the delivery robot based on the position information, where the robot in the idle state is a robot that has no delivery task and has completed charging; if the robot exists, selecting the robot in the idle state with the minimum distance with the position information as a replacing robot; otherwise, obtaining the remaining delivery time of the robot in the delivery within the preset range, and selecting the delivery robot with the minimum remaining delivery time as a replacing robot after the delivery is completed. The distance between the robot in the idle state and the position information is the distance from the robot in the idle state to the position information according to a map, and is not a straight distance.

In some optional implementations of some embodiments, the method further comprises: the execution main body controls the relay robot to move to the position information; acquiring the weight of the goods in the warehouse of the distribution robot; after the delivery robot opens the bin door of the storage bin, controlling the take-over robot to take goods by using the mechanical arm; after goods are taken, acquiring the weight of the goods in the bin of the take-over robot; and determining that the weight of the goods in the warehouse of the take-over robot is equal to the weight of the goods in the warehouse of the delivery robot, and determining that the goods taking is finished.

And step S203, selecting the target charging pile in the preset range after the completion of the goods taking after the transfer robot is determined to move to the position information.

In some embodiments, after it is determined that the relay robot moves to the position information and the goods taking is finished, the position information of each charging pile in the preset range is acquired; and calculating the distance between the position information and each position information in each charging pile position information set, and selecting the charging pile with the minimum distance as a target charging pile. The distance is a distance from the distribution robot to the position of the charging pile according to a map, and is not a straight-line distance.

And step S204, controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging.

In some embodiments, the execution body may calculate an estimated value of power consumption of the distribution robot moving to the target charging pile. In a case where it is determined that the current power amount of the distribution robot is larger than the predicted power consumption value, the execution body may generate a travel route. And then, based on the traveling route, the execution main body can control the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging. And generating an advancing route by planning the shortest advancing route through a map according to the position information of the distribution robot and the position information of the charging pile. The consumption estimation value is calculated in the same manner as the power consumption estimation value.

In some optional implementations of some embodiments, the backup power source is activated when it is determined that the current power of the dispensing robot is less than or equal to the power consumption estimate. Here, the backup power source is a battery compartment carried by the distribution robot to prevent the main power source from being in a deficient state when the power is exhausted.

All the above optional technical solutions may be combined arbitrarily to form optional embodiments of the present application, and are not described herein again.

The following are embodiments of the disclosed apparatus that may be used to perform embodiments of the disclosed methods. For details not disclosed in the embodiments of the apparatus of the present disclosure, refer to the embodiments of the method of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of some embodiments of a robotic charging device according to the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3, the robot charging device includes: an acquisition unit 301, a first selection unit 302, a second selection unit 303, and a control charging unit 304. The acquiring unit 301 is configured to acquire the position information of the distribution robot when detecting that the current power of the distribution robot is lower than the estimated power consumption value; a first selecting unit 302 configured to select a relay robot within a preset range centered on the delivery robot based on the position information; and an obtaining unit 303 configured to select a target charging pile within the preset range after it is determined that the relay robot moves to the position information and the picking of the goods is finished. And a charging unit 304 configured to determine a travel route based on the distribution robot position information and the target charging pile position information, and control the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile according to the travel route for charging.

In some optional implementations of some embodiments, the power consumption estimation value is calculated according to the following steps: acquiring current position information of the distribution robot and position information of a distribution destination; calculating a distribution route based on the current position information and the position information of the distribution destination; and calculating to obtain an estimated value of the electric quantity consumption when the distribution robot moves to the distribution destination based on the distribution route.

In some optional implementations of some embodiments, the first selection unit 302 of the robot charging device is further configured to: confirming whether a robot in an idle state exists in a preset range by taking the distribution robot as a center or not based on the position information, wherein the robot in the idle state is a robot without distribution tasks and with charging completed; if yes, selecting the robot in an idle state with the minimum distance to the position information as a replacing robot; otherwise, obtaining the remaining delivery time of the robot in the delivery within the preset range, and selecting the delivery robot with the minimum remaining delivery time as a replacing robot after the delivery is completed.

In some optional implementations of some embodiments, the robotic charging device is further configured to: controlling the take-over robot to move to the position information; acquiring the weight of the goods in the warehouse of the distribution robot; after the delivery robot opens the bin door of the storage bin, controlling the take-over robot to take goods by using the mechanical arm; after goods are taken, acquiring the weight of the goods in the bin of the take-over robot; and determining that the weight of the goods in the bin of the take-over robot is equal to the weight of the goods in the bin of the delivery robot, and determining that the goods taking is finished.

In some optional implementations of some embodiments, the second selection unit 303 of the robot charging device is further configured to: after the fact that the relay robot moves to the position information and the goods are taken is determined to be finished, the position information of each charging pile in the preset range is obtained; and calculating the distance between the position information and each position information in each charging pile position information set, and selecting the charging pile with the minimum distance as a target charging pile.

In some optional implementations of some embodiments, the acquisition unit 303 of the robotic charging device is further configured to: calculating the electric quantity consumption estimated value of the distribution robot moving to the target charging pile; generating a traveling route under the condition that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is determined to be larger than the electric quantity consumption estimated value; and controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging based on the travelling route.

In some optional implementations of some embodiments, the acquisition unit 303 of the robotic charging device is further configured to: and starting the standby power supply under the condition that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is determined to be less than or equal to the electric quantity consumption estimated value.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram of an electronic device (e.g., computing device 101 of FIG. 1) 400 suitable for use in implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The server shown in fig. 4 is only an example, and should not bring any limitation to the functions and use range of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 4, electronic device 400 may include a processing device (e.g., central processing unit, graphics processor, etc.) 401 that may perform various appropriate actions and processes in accordance with a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM) 402 or a program loaded from a storage device 408 into a Random Access Memory (RAM) 403. In the RAM 403, various programs and data necessary for the operation of the electronic apparatus 400 are also stored. The processing device 401, the ROM402, and the RAM 403 are connected to each other through a bus 404. An input/output (I/O) interface 405 is also connected to bus 404.

Generally, the following devices may be connected to the I/O interface 405: input devices 406 including, for example, a touch screen, touch pad, keyboard, mouse, camera, microphone, accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.; an output device 407 including, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a speaker, a vibrator, and the like; storage 408 including, for example, tape, hard disk, etc.; and a communication device 409. The communication means 409 may allow the electronic device 400 to communicate wirelessly or by wire with other devices to exchange data. While fig. 4 illustrates an electronic device 400 having various means, it is to be understood that not all illustrated means are required to be implemented or provided. More or fewer devices may be alternatively implemented or provided. Each block shown in fig. 4 may represent one device or may represent multiple devices as desired.

In particular, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processes described above with reference to the flow diagrams may be implemented as computer software programs. For example, some embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer program product comprising a computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program comprising program code for performing the method illustrated in the flow chart. In some such embodiments, the computer program may be downloaded and installed from a network through communications device 409, or installed from storage device 408, or installed from ROM 402. The computer program, when executed by the processing device 401, performs the above-described functions defined in the methods of some embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the computer readable medium described above in some embodiments of the present disclosure may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium or any combination of the two. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In some embodiments of the disclosure, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, however, a computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated data signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may also be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to: electrical wires, optical cables, RF (radio frequency), etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

In some embodiments, the clients, servers may communicate using any currently known or future developed network Protocol, such as HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), and may interconnect with any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communications network). Examples of communication networks include a local area network ("LAN"), a wide area network ("WAN"), the Internet (e.g., the Internet), and peer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks), as well as any currently known or future developed network.

The computer readable medium may be embodied in the apparatus; or may exist separately without being assembled into the electronic device. The computer readable medium carries one or more programs which, when executed by the electronic device, cause the electronic device to: after detecting that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is lower than the electric quantity consumption estimated value, acquiring the position information of the distribution robot; selecting a take-over robot within a preset range by taking the distribution robot as a center based on the position information; after the completion of the movement of the take-over robot to the position information is determined, selecting a target charging pile in the preset range; and controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for embodiments of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, smalltalk, C + +, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet service provider).

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The units described in some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by software or hardware. The described units may also be provided in a processor, which may be described as: a processor includes an acquisition unit, a first selection unit, a second selection unit, and a control charging unit. The names of these units do not in some cases constitute a limitation on the unit itself, and for example, the acquiring unit may also be described as "a unit that acquires the positional information of the distribution robot after detecting that the current power amount of the distribution robot is lower than the estimated power consumption".

The functions described herein above may be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, without limitation, exemplary types of hardware logic components that may be used include: field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), application Specific Standard Products (ASSPs), systems on a chip (SOCs), complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

The foregoing description is only exemplary of the preferred embodiments of the disclosure and is illustrative of the principles of the technology employed. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scope of the invention in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to the specific combinations of the above-mentioned features, and other embodiments in which the above-mentioned features or their equivalents are combined arbitrarily without departing from the spirit of the invention are also encompassed. For example, the above features and (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are mutually replaced to form the technical solution.

Claims

1. A robot charging method, comprising:

after detecting that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is lower than the electric quantity consumption estimated value, acquiring the position information of the distribution robot;

selecting a take-over robot within a preset range by taking the distribution robot as a center based on the position information;

after the fact that the relay robot moves to the position information and the goods taking is finished is determined, selecting a target charging pile in the preset range;

and controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging.

2. The robot charging method of claim 1, wherein the estimate of power consumption is calculated according to the steps of:

acquiring current position information of the distribution robot and position information of a distribution destination;

calculating to obtain a distribution route based on the current position information and the position information of the distribution destination;

and calculating to obtain an estimated value of the power consumption of the distribution robot moving to the distribution destination based on the distribution distance.

3. The robot charging method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting a successor robot within a preset range centered on the delivery robot based on the position information includes:

confirming whether a robot in an idle state exists in a preset range with the distribution robot as a center or not based on the position information, wherein the robot in the idle state is a robot without a distribution task and with charging completed;

if so, selecting the robot in the idle state with the minimum distance with the position information as a successor robot;

otherwise, acquiring the remaining delivery time of the robot in delivery within the preset range,

and selecting the delivery robot with the minimum residual delivery time as a take-over robot after delivery is completed.

4. The robot charging method according to claim 1, wherein after selecting a successor robot within a preset range with the delivery robot as a center, the method further comprises, based on the position information:

controlling the take-over robot to move to the position information;

acquiring the weight of goods in a bin of the distribution robot;

after the delivery robot opens the bin door of the storage bin, controlling the take-over robot to take goods by using the mechanical arm;

after goods are taken, acquiring the weight of the goods in the bin of the take-over robot;

and determining that the weight of the goods in the bin of the take-over robot is equal to the weight of the goods in the bin of the delivery robot, and determining that the goods taking is finished.

5. The robot charging method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting a target charging pile within the preset range after determining that the relay robot moves to the position information and the picking of the goods is finished comprises:

after the fact that the relay robot moves to the position information and the goods are taken is determined to be finished, the position information of each charging pile in the preset range is obtained;

and calculating the distance between the position information and each position information in each charging pile position information set, and selecting the charging pile with the minimum distance as a target charging pile.

6. The robot charging method according to claim 3, wherein the controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging includes:

calculating an electric quantity consumption estimated value of the distribution robot moving to the target charging pile;

generating a travel route in the case that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is determined to be larger than the electric quantity consumption estimated value;

and controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging based on the traveling route.

7. The robot charging method according to claim 3, wherein the controlling the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging comprises:

and starting a standby power supply under the condition that the current electric quantity of the distribution robot is determined to be less than or equal to the electric quantity consumption estimated value.

8. A robot charging device, comprising:

an acquisition unit configured to acquire position information of a delivery robot in response to detection that a current power amount of the delivery robot is lower than a power consumption estimation value;

a first selection unit configured to select a successor robot within a preset range centered on the delivery robot based on the position information;

a second selection unit configured to select a target charging pile within the preset range in response to determining that the take-over robot moves to the position information pick-up end;

a control charging unit configured to control the distribution robot to move to the target charging pile for charging.

9. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that the processor realizes the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when executing the computer program.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.