JP2003071756A - Robot device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the expression of wide feelings by natural movement by separating the movement for expressing an internal condition from the movement for moving the center of gravity. SOLUTION: A robot device is provided with a neck part casing 112 supported movably on a trunk part unit 2 through a drive motor 121 and incorporating a drive motor 114 and a head part base 130 supported movably on the neck part casing 112 through a drive motor 116. It is further provided with a drive motor 121 generating a first tilt movement in which the neck part casing 112 swings in the direction of a chest face and a back face for the trunk part unit 2, a drive motor 114 generating pan movement in which the head part base 130 turns in parallel with a vertical plane to a central axis A1 for the neck part casing 112, and a drive motor 116 generating a second tilt movement in which the head part base 130 swings in the direction of the chest face and the back face using A3 as an axis.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robot apparatus, and more particularly, to a robot apparatus which separately expresses an operation for moving a center of gravity and an operation for expressing an internal state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A mechanical device that makes a movement similar to that of a human being (organism) using electric or magnetic action is called a "robot". Robots began to spread in Japan from the end of the 1960s, but most of them are industrial robots (Industri) such as manipulators and transfer robots for the purpose of automating and unmanning production work in factories.
al Robot).

Recently, practical robots have been developed to support life as a human partner, that is, to support human activities in various situations in daily life such as living environment. Unlike industrial robots, such practical robots have the ability to learn by themselves how to adapt to humans with different personalities or various environments in various aspects of human living environments. For example, a dog,
A "pet-type" robot that imitates the body mechanism and movement of a four-legged animal like a cat, or a "human-type" robot modeled on the body mechanism and movement of an animal that walks upright on two legs or "Humanoid" robot (Humano
Leg type mobile robots such as id Robot) are already in practical use.

These legged mobile robots are capable of performing various operations with an emphasis on entertainment, as compared with industrial robots, and are therefore sometimes referred to as entertainment robots.

The entertainment robot has an external shape that is as close as possible to the appearance of an animal or human, and is capable of performing a motion that is as close as possible to the motion of an animal or human.
The parts corresponding to the limbs and the neck are connected with a predetermined degree of freedom. The degree of freedom of the connecting portion, that is, the number of joints can be appropriately increased or decreased according to the constraint conditions in design / production, required specifications and the like.

[0006] For example, in a pet type robot capable of quadrupedal walking, a joint portion of each leg unit, a connecting portion between each leg unit and a body unit, a connecting portion between a head unit and a body unit, etc. , And actuators and potentiometers having the respective degrees of freedom are provided.
The actuator has a servo motor, so that the pet robot expresses a target posture or a target motion,
Each unit is driven by this servo motor.

[0007]

The entertainment robot, however, performs unnatural movements that are not normally seen in animals and humans, depending on the setting of the degrees of freedom, that is, the movable direction of the joints and the movable region. Or, there is a problem that an operation that cannot be expressed occurs. Such a robot device lacks entertainment and gives the user a feeling of strangeness.

Further, in the robot apparatus having the movable portion movable with respect to the main body, play and rattling are likely to occur in the transmission mechanism for transmitting the drive from the drive portion to the movable portion. Such play and rattling in the movable portion may destabilize the mechanism and hinder accurate operation.

Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and separates the motion for expressing the internal state and the motion for moving the center of gravity, and provides a wider range of natural motions. It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot device that can realize emotional expressions and has a high degree of entertainment. It is another object of the present invention to provide a robot device which can stabilize a movable part and can express an accurate motion.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a robot apparatus according to the present invention has a neck structure having three degrees of freedom in connecting a body, a neck and a head. A cervical part that is movably supported by the body part via the first drive mechanism and has a second drive mechanism built-in, and a cervical part movably via the third drive mechanism. And a supported head.

In the robot apparatus according to the present invention, the neck portion, which is movably supported on the body portion via the first drive mechanism, is swung with respect to the body portion in the chest surface and back direction of the body portion. The first tilt motion is generated by the first drive mechanism. In addition, the second drive mechanism incorporated in the neck part generates a panning motion in which the head part rotates with respect to the neck part in parallel with a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the neck part. In addition, the third drive mechanism generates a second tilting motion in which the head swings in the chest and back directions of the body with respect to the neck.

A robot apparatus according to the present invention has first driving means, a substantially cylindrical shape, a first gear mechanism for transmitting a driving force to one end, and a rotation support shaft serving as a rotation center. Second
And a protection housing having a support shaft opening into which the rotation support shaft is inserted and an opening through which the neck housing is projected. It is preferable that the first tilting motion is generated by rotating the rotation support shaft within the range of the opening region of the opening by the first drive means via the first gear mechanism.

Further, the robot apparatus according to the present invention comprises a second drive means whose drive axis is parallel to the longitudinal center axis of the neck,
A cylindrical member having an outer diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of the cervical housing and having at one end a second gear mechanism for transmitting the driving force from the second drive means and at the other end having a third drive mechanism. The second drive mechanism is rotated by the second drive means by sliding the inner peripheral surface of the neck casing and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member with each other via the second gear mechanism. Therefore, it is preferable to generate a pan motion.

Further, in the robot apparatus according to the present invention, the third drive means which makes the direction of the drive shaft the same as the direction of the drive shaft of the second drive means, and the rotation direction of the drive shaft of the third drive means. And a head mounting member that is connected to the third driving means via the gear mechanism and to which the head is mounted. The third driving mechanism includes a third gear mechanism It is preferable to change the direction of the drive shaft of the third drive means to generate the second tilt motion.

Further, in the robot apparatus according to the present invention, the battery mounting means for mounting the rechargeable battery as the driving power source is provided at a position where the weight is balanced with the neck portion connected to the body portion.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a robot apparatus according to the present invention is a robot apparatus having a movable portion movable with respect to a main body, and buffer means for buffering the movement of the movable portion movable by the driving means. It is characterized by including.

In the robot apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the buffer means is provided at the end position of the drive transmission mechanism from the drive means to the movable portion.

Further, the robot apparatus according to the present invention has a neck structure having three degrees of freedom of connection between the body, the neck and the head, and the body is connected to the body via the first drive mechanism. A neck that is movably supported and has a second drive mechanism built-in, a head that is movably supported on the neck via a third drive mechanism, and each movably supported connection. Buffer means for stabilizing the part. Here, the first drive mechanism has a first cushioning means for stabilizing the movably supported connecting portion, and the neck portion swings with respect to the body portion in the chest surface and the back surface direction of the body portion. And a second driving mechanism that generates a panning motion in which the head rotates in parallel to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the neck with respect to the neck, and
Drive mechanism has a second relaxing means for stabilizing the movably supported connecting portion, and a second tilt in which the head swings toward the chest and the back of the body with respect to the neck. Generate an action.

Further, in the robot apparatus according to the present invention, the neck portion, which is movably supported on the body portion via the first drive mechanism and the first buffering means, is placed on the chest portion of the body portion with respect to the body portion. The first tilting motion that swings in the front and back directions is the first
Generated by the drive mechanism of. In addition, the second drive mechanism incorporated in the neck part generates a panning motion in which the head part rotates with respect to the neck part in parallel with a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the neck part. Further, the third drive mechanism having the second buffering means generates the second tilting motion in which the head swings in the chest surface and the back direction of the body portion with respect to the neck portion.

In the robot apparatus according to the present invention, the first
And the second damping means have mechanical resistance that does not affect the driving force of the first driving means and the second driving means, and in particular, the first damping means is a viscous damper. ,
The second buffering means is preferably a torsion coil spring.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention is a robot apparatus having a neck structure having three degrees of freedom of connection between a body, a neck and a head, and the neck is a body. Tilting motion that swings in the direction of the chest and back of the body with respect to the neck, and pan motion that the head rotates with respect to the neck parallel to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the neck. And a second tilting motion in which the head swings toward the chest and the back of the body relative to the neck, the motion for expressing the internal state and the motion for moving the center of gravity are separated. It is a robot device that can be exposed. Further, this robot device is a robot device that operates autonomously according to the internal state.

This robot apparatus is a legged mobile robot having an upper limb, a trunk and a lower limb in addition to the neck structure and using only the upper limb and the lower limb or the lower limb as a moving means. The legged mobile robot includes a pet robot that imitates the body mechanism and movement of a quadruped animal, and a robot device that imitates the body mechanism and movement of a biped animal that uses only its lower limbs as a means of movement. However, the robot device shown as the present embodiment is a four-legged walking type legged mobile robot.

This robot apparatus is a practical robot that supports human activities in various situations in the living environment and other daily lives, and can act according to internal conditions (anger, sadness, joy, enjoyment, etc.). It is an entertainment robot that can express the basic movements of a quadruped animal.

This robot apparatus has, in particular, a head portion, a body portion, an upper limb portion, a lower limb portion and the like. The number of actuators and potentiometers corresponding to the degrees of freedom of movement are provided at the connecting portions of the respective portions and the portions corresponding to the joints, and the target movement can be expressed by the control of the control portion.

Further, the robot apparatus is provided with an image pickup unit for acquiring the surrounding conditions as image data, various sensors for detecting an externally applied action, and a physical effect or the like received from the outside. Equipped with various switches. A small CCD (Charge-Coupl)
ed Device) Use a camera. Examples of the sensor include a distance sensor that measures a distance to an object imaged by a CCD camera. The various switches mainly include a push-down switch that detects a touch by the user, an operation switch that allows an operation input from the user, and the like. These various sensors and various switches are installed at appropriate locations outside or inside the robot apparatus.

A robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, in the robot apparatus 1, the leg units 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D are connected to the front, rear, left and right of the body unit 2, and the front end of the body unit 2 is connected. The head unit 4 is connected to the. A tail portion 5 is provided at the rear end of the body unit 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the body unit 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 and a DRA.
M (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 11, Flash ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, PC (Personal Com)
puter) A card interface circuit 13 and a signal processing circuit 14 are connected to each other via an internal bus 15, and a control unit 16 and a battery 17 as a power source of the robot apparatus 1 are housed. . An acceleration sensor 19 is housed in the body unit 2. Further, the body unit 2 is provided with a speaker 20 for outputting a voice such as a cry or a melody.

In addition, in the tail portion 5 of the body unit 2,
An operation switch 21 is provided as a function of detecting an input from the outside (user). In this specific example, operation inputs corresponding to, for example, “praise”, “scold”, and the like are predetermined, and the user operates the operation switch 21 to
You can enter these.

The head unit 4 is provided with a CCD (Charge Cou) for picking up an image of the external situation and the color, shape, movement, etc. of the object.
pled device) camera 22, a distance sensor 23 for measuring a distance to an object located in front, a microphone 24 for collecting an external sound, an LED (Light Em), for example.
Light emitting parts 25 and the like provided with itting diodes are arranged at predetermined positions as shown in FIG. However, in the description of the configuration, the light emitting unit 25 may be LE
It shows as D25.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, a head switch 2 is provided inside the head unit 4 as a detection mechanism for indirectly detecting a contact of the user with the head unit 4.
6 is provided. The head switch 26 is, for example, a switch that can detect the tilt direction of the head when the head is moved by the contact of the user.
Depending on the tilt direction of the head detected by the head switch 26, it is recognized whether "praised" or "scold".

The joint portions of the leg units 3A to 3D,
Connection between the leg units 3A to 3D and the body unit 2
Minutes, in the connecting portion between the head unit 4 and the body unit 2
Is the actuator 28 for the number of degrees of freedom₁~ 28_nAnd po
Tension meter 29₁~ 29 _nAre installed respectively
It Actuator 28₁~ 28_nIs, for example, a servo
Equipped with a motor. By driving the servo motor, the legs
The units 3A to 3D are controlled to control the target posture or movement.
Transition to work. The "meat" at the tip of each leg unit 3A-3D
At the position corresponding to the sphere, contact from the user is mainly
Pad ball switches 27A to 27D as a detection mechanism for detecting
Is provided so that user contact can be detected.
ing.

In addition to the above, the robot apparatus 1 is not shown here, but also includes a light emitting section for indicating an operation state (operation mode) different from the internal state of the robot apparatus 1, charging, starting, A status lamp indicating the status of the internal power supply such as start-up / shutdown may be appropriately provided at an appropriate location.

In the robot apparatus 1, the operation switch 2
1, various switches such as a head switch 26, a pad switch 27, various sensors such as an acceleration sensor 19, a distance sensor 23, a speaker 20, a microphone 24, a light emitting unit 25, actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n , potentiometers 29 ₁ ~
29 _n are connected to the signal processing circuit 14 of the control unit 16 via the corresponding hubs 30 ₁ to 30 _n . On the other hand, the CCD camera 22 and the battery 17 are directly connected to the signal processing circuit 14, respectively.

The signal processing circuit 14 sequentially takes in the switch data supplied from the above-mentioned various switches, the sensor data supplied from the various sensors, the image data and the sound data, and DRA via the internal bus 15 respectively.
The data is sequentially stored at a predetermined position in M11. Further, the signal processing circuit 14 sequentially takes in the battery remaining amount data representing the battery remaining amount supplied from the battery 17 together with these data, and stores it in a predetermined position in the DRAM 11.

The switch data, the sensor data, the image data, the voice data, and the battery remaining amount data thus stored in the DRAM 11 are used when the CPU 10 controls the operation of the robot apparatus 1.

The CPU 10 reads the control program stored in the flash ROM 12 and stores it in the DRAM 11 at the initial stage when the power of the robot apparatus 1 is turned on. Alternatively, the CPU 10 reads a control program stored in a semiconductor memory device, for example, a memory card 31 mounted in a PC card slot of the body unit 2 (not shown in FIG. 1) through the PC card interface circuit 13 and stores it in the DRAM 11. Store.

As described above, the CPU 10 issues an instruction from the user and its surroundings based on the sensor data, image data, audio data, and battery remaining data sequentially stored in the DRAM 11 from the signal processing circuit 14. Also, it is judged whether or not to work.

Further, the CPU 10 and this determination result and D
The action based on the control program stored in the RAM 11 is determined. The CPU 10 drives, for example, a necessary actuator from the actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n based on the determination result, and thus, for example, the head unit 4
Can be swung up and down, left and right, and each leg unit 3A to 3D
Drive and walk. The CPU 10 also generates audio data as needed and supplies it to the speaker 20 via the signal processing circuit 14. Further, the CPU 10 generates a signal instructing turning on and off of the LED in the light emitting unit 25, and turns on and off the LED.

As described above, the robot apparatus 1 is a robot apparatus that autonomously behaves according to its own and surrounding conditions, and instructions and actions from the user.

Next, the neck structure of the robot apparatus 1 shown as the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below.

The robot apparatus 1 has a neck structure 100 shown in FIG. 3 in order to express the operation of the head unit 4 with respect to the body unit 2. FIG. 3 shows the robot device 1.
The exterior material is removed and the body unit 2 and each leg unit 3 are not included. The left side of the drawing corresponds to the front (face) of the robot apparatus 1. That is, FIG. 3 is a view of the neck structure 100 viewed from the left side surface of the robot apparatus 1.

The neck structure 100 includes a neck 110 driven by a drive unit 120 described later, a drive unit 120 attached to the skeleton structure of the body unit 2, and an end attached to the skeleton structure of the body unit 2. A head base 130 that is connected to the opposite end and is equipped with various configurations to configure the head unit 4, and the skeleton structure of the body unit 2 and the drive unit 120 (not shown in FIG. 1) are fixed plates. It is fixed via 140.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the neck structure 100 as seen from the front side. The neck portion 110 has a substantially cylindrical neck portion housing 112 having rotation support shafts 111 a and 111 b connected to the driving portion 120, an inner cylindrical member 113, and the drive motor 11.
4 and. The rotation support shafts 111a and 111b
The first tilting motion, which will be described later, is generated by the rotating motion centering around.

The inner cylindrical member 113 has an outer diameter approximately the same as the inner diameter of the neck casing 112, has a gear mechanism 115 for transmitting the driving force from the drive motor 114 at one end, and has a head at the other end. A drive motor 116 for driving the base 130 is provided. The drive motor 116 has a drive shaft provided with a bevel gear that changes the direction of the drive shaft. In this specific example, a miter gear whose drive direction can be changed by 90 ° is used. The drive motor 116 generates a so-called second tilt operation, which will be described later, by changing the drive direction with a miter gear.

The drive motor 114 has a drive shaft fixed in the neck 110 with the central axis A1 in the longitudinal direction of the neck as the drive shaft. The drive motor 114 is connected to the internal cylindrical member 113 via a gear mechanism 115, and the internal cylindrical member 11
3 is an outer peripheral surface 117b of the cervical casing 112.
By rotating the inner cylindrical member 113 so as to slide on a, a so-called pan operation described later is generated.

The connection between the neck portion 110 and the driving portion 120 in the neck structure 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the drive motor 121 and the neck 110 are connected via the gear mechanism 122, and FIG.
Further includes the drive motor and gear mechanism 122 shown in FIG.
And are protected by the protective casing 125. 5 and 6, the drive motor 116 and the head base 130 and the fixing plate 140 connected to the drive motor 116 are not shown.

The drive unit 120, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, includes a drive motor 121 for rotating the neck 110,
The driving force of the drive motor 121 is applied to the rotation support shaft 11 of the neck 110.
1a and a gear mechanism 122, and further, pivot support shafts 111a and 111b are inserted and support shaft ports 123a and 123b serving as a rotation center of the neck 110 and the neck housing 11 are provided.
And a protective housing 125 having an opening 124 through which 2 projects.
It has a structure protected by.

The drive shaft of the drive motor 121 is the rotary support shaft 1.
11a and 111b are arranged in the same direction as each other, and drive force is applied to the rotation support shaft 111a via the gear mechanism 122.
And 111b. The opening 124 of the protective casing 125 is provided so as to predefine the rotation range of the neck 110. Therefore, the neck portion 110 rotates the neck portion 110 in the D1 and D2 directions with the opening region of the opening portion 124 as the movable range around A2 shown in FIG.

The operation of moving the neck 110 and the head base 120 connected to the neck 110 by the drive motor 121 is mainly an operation created when the posture of the robot apparatus 1 is changed. Since it is necessary to drive the weight of the neck 110 and the head base 120 connected to the neck 110, the drive motor 121 is a motor that can generate a relatively high torque, and the gear ratio is set to be large.

Further, the robot apparatus 1 shown as the present concrete example.
Then, the rotation support shaft 111a is fixed by an oil damper 126 provided as a cushioning means for the purpose of preventing so-called backlash. Oil damper 126
Has a predetermined load resistance that does not hinder the driving force of the drive motor 121, so that
By fixing the rotation support shaft 111a by using the oil damper 126 when connecting with, the play and rattling of the neck 110 with respect to the drive unit 120 can be suppressed.

Next, the neck 110 of the neck structure 100.
The connection between the head base 130 and the head base 130 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 7, and 8. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the head base 130 viewed from the rear of FIG.
Shows a perspective view seen from above the left side surface, which is shown with a part of the head base 130 removed.

The head base 130 is provided with a pedestal 131 for fixing it to the neck housing 112 and a head mounting member 132 to which various configurations of the head unit 4 are mounted, and these are gear mechanisms 133. And a rotation support shaft 134. Since the head base 130 is fixed to the neck case 112, the whole of the head base 130 including the gear mechanism 133 and the rotation support shaft 134 is driven by the drive motor 114.
With respect to 0, rotational movement parallel to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis A1 of the neck, that is, rotational movement in D5 and D6 directions shown in FIG.

The gear mechanism 133 is a bevel gear, in particular, a miter gear for changing the central axis of rotation by 90 °,
The central axis of rotation of the drive motor 116 is set to 90 by meshing with a similar miter gear provided on the drive motor 116 described above.
The rotation support shaft 134 is driven by changing the rotation angle to generate the rotation operation in the directions D3 and D4 shown in FIG. 3 about the axis A3 shown in FIG.

The drive motor 121 generates the motion for posture control, while the drive motor 116 operates the neck 11
Only the head base 130 (head unit 4) connected to 0 is moved. Since a quick movement is mainly required to create an expression, the gear ratio is designed to be small,
Use a motor with relatively small torque but high speed.

The head base 130 has a torsion coil spring 135 that biases the head mounting member 132 in a predetermined direction with respect to the pedestal 131. Like the oil damper 126, the torsion coil spring 135 can suppress backlash between the drive motor 116 and the head base 130.

The neck structure 100 constructed as described above is
The neck 110 has the robot unit 1 with respect to the body unit 2.
The movement (hereinafter referred to as the first tilt operation) swinging in the chest (front) and back (back) directions of the drive motor 12
1, the head base 130 (head unit 2) makes a rotational movement (hereinafter referred to as a pan operation) with respect to the neck 110 in parallel with a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis A1 of the neck. A motion generated by the drive motor 114 and swinging the head base 130 (head unit 2) in the chest (front) and back (back) directions of the robot apparatus 1 with respect to the neck (hereinafter referred to as the second tilt). Drive motor 11).
6 is generated. Therefore, the neck structure 100 is configured by the first tilt motion, the pan motion, and the second tilt motion.
Have freedom.

By applying the neck structure 100 described above, the robot apparatus 1 uses a motor having a large torque as the drive motor 121 that creates the first tilting motion, and
It is possible to design in accordance with the characteristics and role of the motor, in which a motor having a relatively small torque and a high speed is used as the drive motor 116 that creates the tilting motion. Also, by applying the neck structure 100, a more natural "animal"
You can express your neck movement as.

Similar to the second tilt motion of the neck structure 100 of the robot apparatus 1 shown as the present specific example, as a movable system that has little influence on the change of the position of the center of gravity, the movement of the head base 130 with respect to the neck casing 120 is performed. There may be a case where the roll operation is performed so as to swing horizontally without changing the line-of-sight direction of the robot apparatus 1.

Now, let us consider a case where the head unit 4 is a roll operation instead of the second tilt operation. In this case, since the movement of the head unit 4 of the robot apparatus 1 is a fixed movement in the chest (front) and back (rear) directions of the robot apparatus 1, the operation of tilting the neck is relatively easy. Although it can be exposed, it cannot perform actions such as facing the front while hanging the neck, or facing the front with the neck slung.

Further, when such an operation is required to be expressed, the weight of the head unit 4 has a great influence on the posture, which makes it difficult to control the posture of the robot apparatus 1 and also causes the user to notice. The robot apparatus 1 will perform a very uncomfortable operation.

On the other hand, if the neck structure 100 of the robot apparatus 1 according to the present invention is adopted, an operation for posture control, that is, a first tilt operation and an operation for expressing emotions, that is, a second operation. Since the tilt operation can be controlled independently, the posture of the robot apparatus 1 can be controlled even if the above-described operation is performed, and it can be easily expressed as a natural operation with no discomfort.

Further, in the neck structure 100, the drive motor 114 is provided near the rotation support shafts 111a and 111b. The drive motor 114, which is relatively heavy among the members forming the neck structure 100, is attached to the rotation support shafts 111a and 111a.
By arranging in the vicinity of 11b, that is, in the vicinity of the center of rotation, the load on the drive motor 121 can be reduced, and the neck 110 can be operated quickly. Further, since the load on the drive motor 121 is reduced, the same operation can be maintained even if the drive motor is downsized. Further, the consumption of the driving battery can be saved.

Further, the neck structure 100 increases the weight of the whole, so in order to balance the weight of the robot apparatus 1, the robot apparatus 1 shown as this specific example, as shown in FIG.
A battery mounting portion 140 for mounting a driving battery provided as a driving power source is provided as rearward of the body unit 2 as possible. The specific position of the battery mounting portion 140 is a design item that can be changed depending on the weight of the neck structure 100, the weight of the driving battery, other members constituting the robot device 1, and the like. It is preferable to consider the positional relationship between the neck structure 100 and the drive battery so that the weight applied to each leg unit becomes substantially equal in a stationary state.

In this specific example, the fixing plate 140 is used.
Is preferably a plate-shaped member having elasticity. By fixing the neck structure 100 and the body unit 2 using the elastic fixing plate, the fixing plate 140 serves to buffer the external force when an excessive external force is applied to the neck structure 100. Fulfill

If the buffer means provided to prevent backlash has a predetermined load, resistance, friction, etc. and is capable of braking displacement, rattling, etc., the oil damper 1
26 and the torsion coil spring 135.

By the way, the robot apparatus 1 shown as the present embodiment is a robot apparatus which can act autonomously according to the internal state. An example of the software configuration of the control program for controlling the robot apparatus 1 is as shown in FIG. As described above, this control program is stored in the flash ROM 12 in advance, and the robot device 1
It is read at the beginning of power-on.

In FIG. 10, the device driver layer 200 is located at the lowest layer of the control program and is composed of a plurality of device drivers.
It is composed of the set 201. In this case, each device driver is an object that is allowed to directly access the hardware used in a normal computer such as the CCD camera 22 (FIG. 2) and the timer, and receives an interrupt from the corresponding hardware. Perform processing.

The robotic server object 202 is located in the lowest layer of the device driver layer 200 and is an interface for accessing hardware such as the above-mentioned various sensors and actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n. A virtual robot 203 that is a software group that provides a power supply, a power manager 204 that is a software group that manages switching of power supplies, and the like.
The device driver manager 205 is a software group that manages various other device drivers, and the designed robot 206 is a software group that manages the mechanism of the robot apparatus 1.

The manager object 207 is composed of an object manager 208 and a service manager 209. The object manager 208 uses the robotic server object 20
2, the middleware layer 210, and the software group that manages the activation and termination of each software group included in the application layer 211. The service manager 209 is a connection group stored in the memory card 31 (FIG. 2). It is a software group that manages the connection of each object based on the connection information between each object described in the file.

The middleware layer 210 is located in the upper layer of the robotic server object 202 and is composed of a software group that provides basic functions of the robot apparatus 1 such as image processing and voice processing. There is. Further, the application layer 211 is located in an upper layer of the middle wear layer 210, and determines the action of the robot apparatus 1 based on the processing result processed by each software group forming the middle wear layer 210. It is composed of a software group for doing.

The specific software configurations of the middleware layer 210 and the application layer 211 are shown in FIG.

The middleware layer 210 is shown in FIG.
As shown in, each signal processing for noise detection, temperature detection, brightness detection, scale recognition, distance detection, posture detection, contact detection, operation input detection, motion detection and color recognition Recognition system 25 including modules 220 to 229 and input semantics converter module 230
0 and the output semantics converter module 247
The output system 251 includes signal processing modules 240 to 246 for posture management, tracking, motion reproduction, walking, fall recovery, LED lighting, and sound reproduction.

Each signal processing module 22 of the recognition system 250
0 to 229 are robotic server objects 2
02 by the virtual robot 203
Corresponding data of each switch data, each sensor data, image data, and audio data read from (FIG. 2) is taken in, predetermined processing is performed based on the data, and the processing result is input to the input semantics converter module 230. give. Here, for example, the virtual robot 203 is configured as a portion that exchanges or converts a signal according to a predetermined communication protocol.

The input semantics converter module 230 has the signal processing modules 220 to 228.
"Noisy" based on the processing result given by
"Hot", "bright", "I heard Domiso scale",
Situation of self and surroundings such as "detected obstacle", "detected fall", "scolded", "praised", "detected moving object" or "detected ball", The command and the action from the user are recognized, and the recognition result is output to the application layer 211.

The application layer 211 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the behavior model library 260, the behavior switching module 261, the learning module 262, the emotion model 263, and the instinct model 264 are composed of five modules.

The behavior model library 260 contains the data shown in FIG.
As shown in "When the battery level is low",
"When returning from a fall", "When avoiding obstacles",
Independent behavior models are provided corresponding to some preselected condition items such as “when expressing emotions” and “when detecting a ball”.

Each of these behavior models will be described later as necessary, when a recognition result is given from the input semantics converter module 230, or when a fixed time has elapsed since the last recognition result was given. As described above, the subsequent action is determined with reference to the corresponding emotional parameter value held in the emotion model 263 and the corresponding desire parameter value held in the instinct model 264, and the decision result is determined by the action switching module 26.
Output to 1.

The robot device 1 shown as the present specific example.
In the case of, each behavior model uses one node (state) NODE as shown in FIG. 14 as a method for determining the next behavior.
_{0 to} NODE _n to any other node NODE _{0 to} NOD
Whether to transition to the E _n using an algorithm called a finite probability automaton is to determine the next action. The finite probability automaton is an arc ARC ₁ to ARC _n-1 that connects between the nodes NODE _{0 to} NODE _n to determine whether or not to transition from one of the nodes NODE _{0 to} NODE _n to another node. Is a probabilistic determination algorithm based on the transition probabilities P _{1 to} P _n respectively set for

Specifically, each behavior model is
NODE that forms the behavior model of the child₀~ NODE_n
To correspond to each of these nodes NODE₀~ NO
DE _nEach has a state transition table 270 as shown in FIG.
ing.

In this state transition table 270, the node N
Input events (recognition results) that are transition conditions in ODE _{0 to} NODE _n are listed in the order of priority in the row of “input event name”, and further conditions regarding the transition conditions are displayed in the rows of “data name” and “data range”. Described in the corresponding column.

Therefore, in the node NODE ₁₀₀ represented by the state transition table 270 of FIG. 15, when the recognition result of "ball detected (BALL)" is given, the "size of the ball" given together with the recognition result is given. "SIZE" is in the range of "0 to 1000", and when the recognition result of "obstacle detection (OBSTACLE)" is given, the "distance to that obstacle" given together with the recognition result is given. It is a condition for making a transition to another node that "(DISTANCE)" is in the range of "0 to 100".

Further, in this node NODE ₁₀₀ , among the parameter values of each emotion and each desire retained in the emotion model 263 and the instinct model 264, which the behavior model periodically refers to, even if no recognition result is input. ,
When the parameter value of any of "Joy", "Surprise" or "Sadness" held in the emotion model 263 is in the range of "50 to 100", transition to another node is made. Is able to.

Further, in the state transition table 270, the node names that can transit from the nodes NODE _{0 to} NODE _n are listed in the column of “transition destination node” in the column of “probability of transition to other node”, and “ Input event name ",
Other nodes that can transition when all the conditions described in the "Data name" and "Data range" rows are met
The transition probabilities from DE _{0 to} NODE _n are respectively described in the corresponding places in the column of “probability of transition to other node”, and the action to be output when transitioning to the nodes NODE _{0 to} NODE _n is “other It is described in the row of “output action” in the column of “transition probability to node”. In addition, the sum of the probabilities of each row in the column of "probability of transition to other node" is 100.
It is [%].

Therefore, in the node NODE ₁₀₀ represented by the state transition table 270 of FIG. 15, for example, "ball is detected (BALL)" and the "SIZE" of the ball is in the range of "0 to 1000". When the recognition result that is "1" is given, it is possible to transit to "node NODE ₁₂₀ (node 120)" with a probability of "200 [%]", and at that time, the action of "ACTION 1" is output.

Each behavior model has nodes NODE _{0 to} NO described as such a state transition table 270.
DE _n are configured to be connected to each other, and when a recognition result is given from the input semantics converter module 230, the corresponding node NODE ₀
The next action is stochastically determined using the state transition table of ~ NODE _n , and the determination result is output to the action switching module 261.

The action switching module 261 shown in FIG.
Selects a behavior output from a behavior model having a predetermined high priority among the behaviors output from the behavior models of the behavior model library 260, and executes the command (hereinafter, This is called an action command) to the output semantics converter module 247 of the middleware layer 210.
Note that in this embodiment, the behavior model shown on the lower side in FIG. 15 has a higher priority.

The action switching module 261 outputs the output semantics converter module 24 after the action is completed.
Based on the action completion information given from 7, the learning module 262 and the emotion model 26 indicate that the action is completed.
3 and instinct model 264.

The learning module 262 inputs the recognition result of the teaching received as an action from the user, such as “scold” or “praised” among the recognition results given from the input semantics converter module 230.
Then, based on the recognition result and the notification from the action switching module 261, the learning module 262 decreases the expression probability of the action when “scolded” and increases the expression probability of the action when “praised”. Thus, the corresponding transition probability of the corresponding behavior model in the behavior model library 260 is changed.

Further, the emotion model 263 is "joy (Jo
y) ”,“ Sadness ”,“ Anger ”,
With respect to a total of 6 emotions of “Surprise”, “Disgust”, and “Fear”, a parameter indicating the strength of the emotion is held for each emotion. Then, the emotion model 263 “scolds” and “praises” the parameter values of each of these emotions, which are given from the input semantics converter module 230, respectively.
It is periodically updated based on a specific recognition result such as, the elapsed time, and the notification from the action switching module 261.

Specifically, the emotion model 263 is determined based on the recognition result given from the input semantics converter module 230, the action of the robot apparatus 1 at that time, the elapsed time since the last update, and the like. The amount of change in emotion at that time calculated by the arithmetic expression is ΔE
[T], E [t] of the current parameter value of the emotion, the coefficient representing the sensitivity of the emotion as k _e, (1) the parameter value of the emotion in a next period by equation E [t +
1] is calculated, and this is used as the current parameter value E of the emotion.
The parameter value of the emotion is updated by replacing it with [t]. Further, the emotion model 263 updates the parameter values of all emotions in the same manner.

[0092]

[Equation 1]

Note that it is predetermined how much each recognition result or the notification from the output semantics converter module 247 affects the variation amount ΔE [t] of the parameter value of each emotion, and for example, “Scary is scolded”. The recognition result such as “ta” is the variation amount ΔE of the parameter value of the emotion of “anger”
[T] has a great influence, and the recognition result such as "praised" is the variation amount of the parameter value of the emotion of "joy" ΔE.
It has a great influence on [t].

Here, the notification from the output semantics converter module 247 is so-called action feedback information (action completion information), which is information of the appearance result of the action, and the emotion model 263 is also based on such information. Change emotions. This is, for example, that the behavior level of anger is lowered by the action of "barking". The notification from the output semantics converter module 247 is also input to the learning module 262 described above.
62 changes the corresponding transition probability of the behavior model based on the notification.

The feedback of the action result is output from the action switching module 261 (action added with emotion).
May be made by

Further, the instinct model 264 has a
"ercise", "affection", "charge desire (hereinafter referred to as appetite)" and "curi"
“Osity)”, each of the four independent desires holds a parameter indicating the strength of the desire. Then, the instinct model 264 periodically updates the parameter values of these desires based on the recognition result given from the input semantics converter module 230, the elapsed time, the notification from the action switching module 261, and the like.

Specifically, the instinct model 264 determines the “motility”, “love”, and “curiosity” based on the recognition result, the elapsed time, the notification from the output semantics converter module 247, and the like. The fluctuation amount of the desire at that time calculated by the arithmetic expression is ΔI
[K], the current parameter value of the desire is I [k], and a coefficient k _i representing the sensitivity of the desire is set in a predetermined cycle (2).
Using the formula, the parameter value I of the desire in the next cycle
[K + 1] is calculated, and the calculation result is replaced with the current parameter value I [k] of the desire to update the parameter value of the desire. Also, the instinct model 264
Updates the parameter values of each desire except "appetite" in the same manner.

[0098]

[Equation 2]

The degree of influence of the recognition result and the notification from the output semantics converter module 247 on the variation amount ΔI [k] of the parameter value of each desire is predetermined, and for example, the output semantics converter is used. The notification from the module 247 has a great influence on the variation amount ΔI [k] of the “tiredness” parameter value.

In this embodiment, each emotion
And each desire (instinct) parameter value is 0 to 10
It is regulated to fluctuate within the range of 0, and
A few k _e, K_iThe value of is also set individually for each emotion and each desire.
Has been.

The output semantics converter module 247 of the middleware layer 210, as shown in FIG. 11, is "forward", "pleasing", and "forward" given from the behavior switching module 261 of the application layer 211 as described above. The corresponding signal processing modules 240 to 246 of the output system 251 output abstract action commands such as “squeal” or “tracking (following the ball)”.
Give to.

Then, these signal processing modules 240-
246, when an action command is given, the servo command value to be given to the corresponding actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n (FIG. 2) to take the action based on the action command, and the output from the speaker 20 (FIG. 2). Generates voice data of a sound to be played and / or drive data to be given to the LED of the light emitting unit 25, and responds to these data via the virtual robot 203 of the robotic server object 202 and the signal processing circuit 14 (FIG. 2). The actuators 28 _{1 to} 28 _n , the speaker 20, and the light emitting unit 25 are sequentially transmitted.

In this way, the robot apparatus 1 can perform autonomous actions in accordance with its own (internal) and surrounding (external) conditions, and instructions and actions from the user based on the control program.

Although the control program for controlling the robot apparatus 1 as described above is stored in the flash ROM 12 in advance, it is provided by recording it on a recording medium in a format readable by the robot apparatus. Good.
As a recording medium for recording the control program, a magnetic reading type recording medium (for example, magnetic tape, magnetic disk,
Magnetic card), optically readable recording medium (eg CD
-ROM, MO, CD-R, DVD) etc. are considered.
The recording medium also includes a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory ((any shape such as a rectangular type or a square type) or an IC card). The control program may be provided via an information network such as the so-called Internet.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the quadrupedal legged mobile robot has been described, but the robot device is applicable as long as it operates according to the internal state, and the moving means is
The present invention is not limited to quadrupedal walking and even legged movement.

[0106]

As described in detail above, the robot apparatus according to the present invention has a cervical body that is movably supported by the body via the first drive mechanism and that has a second drive mechanism built therein. And a head that is movably supported with respect to the neck via a third drive mechanism, and the first drive mechanism allows the neck to move from the torso to the chest and back of the torso. A first tilting motion that swings in the direction, and a second drive mechanism generates a panning motion in which the head rotates with respect to the neck parallel to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the neck. Then, the third drive mechanism generates a second tilting motion in which the head swings toward the chest in the chest surface and the back direction of the body with respect to the neck, and thereby the motion and posture for expressing the internal state. In addition to being able to separate actions for control, making a wide range of emotional expressions more natural It can be realized. Further, according to the robot device of the present invention, it is possible to express a motion having a higher degree of entertainment.

Further, the robot apparatus according to the present invention is a robot apparatus having a movable section which is movable with respect to the main body, and is provided with buffer means for buffering the movement of the movable section which is movable by the driving means.

In particular, a cervical portion which is movably supported by the body through the first drive mechanism and has a second drive mechanism incorporated therein, and a cervical portion through the third drive mechanism. A first buffer means that includes a movably supported head portion and a cushioning means that stabilizes each movably supported coupling portion, and a first cushioning means that stabilizes the movably supported coupling portion; Drive mechanism to generate a first tilting motion in which the cervical portion swings relative to the torso in the chest and back directions of the torso, and the second driving mechanism causes the head to move to the cervical portion. A head by means of a third drive mechanism having a second mitigating means for generating a panning action which pivots parallel to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal central axis of the part and for stabilizing the movably supported coupling part. Generates a second tilting motion in which the body oscillates with respect to the neck in the chest and back directions of the torso It makes deterrence looseness in the connecting portion, it is possible and the operation for the operation and the posture control to represent the internal state to realize with separable, as a more natural movement broad emotional expression. Further, according to the robot device of the present invention, it is possible to express a motion having a higher degree of entertainment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing the external appearance of a robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external view showing an external appearance of a neck structure of a robot device shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the neck structure of the robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention as viewed from the front direction.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the connection between the neck portion of the neck structure of the robot apparatus, the drive motor, and the gear mechanism, which is a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a neck portion, a drive motor, and a gear mechanism of a neck structure of a robot device shown as a specific example of the present invention are covered by a protective casing.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which a head base of a neck structure of a robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention is viewed from behind.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state of the robot apparatus as a specific example of the present invention as viewed from above the left side surface, excluding a part of the head base of the neck structure.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a position of a battery mounting portion of a robot device shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a software configuration of a control program of a robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a middle wear layer in the control program of the robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an application layer of the control program of the robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a behavior model library in the control program of the robot apparatus shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a finite-probability automaton that is an algorithm for determining the behavior of a robot device shown as a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing state transition conditions for determining an action of the robot device shown as a specific example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 robot device, 2 body unit, 3A, 3B,
3C, 3D leg unit, 4 head unit, 5 tail unit, 10 CPU, 11 DRAM, 12 flash ROM, 13 PC card interface circuit, 14
Signal processing circuit, 15 internal bus, 16 control section, 17 battery, 19 acceleration sensor, 20 speaker, 21 operation switch, 22 CCD camera, 23
Distance sensor, 24 microphone, 25, light emitting unit, 26 head switch, 27 paddle switch, 28 _{1 to} 28 _n actuator, 29 _{1 to} 29 _n potentiometer, 3
0 ₁ to 30 _n hub, 31 memory card, 100 neck structure, 110 neck, 111a, 111b rotation support shaft,
112 neck housing, 113 internal cylindrical member, 114 drive motor, 115 gear mechanism, 116 drive motor, 1
17a Neck housing inner peripheral surface, 117b Inner cylindrical member outer peripheral surface, 120 Drive portion, 121 Drive motor, 122 Gear mechanism, 123a, 123b Spindle opening, 124 Opening portion, 125, Protective housing, 126 Oil damper, 130
Head base, 131 pedestal, 132 head mounting member, 1
33, gear mechanism, 134 rotation support shaft, 135 torsion coil spring, 140 battery mounting part

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takashi Kaedoku             6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             -Inside the corporation F-term (reference) 2C150 CA02 DA05 DA24 DA26 DA27                       DA28 DF03 DF04 DF06 DF33                       EB01 EC03 ED42 ED52 EF07                       EF16 EF17 EF22 EF23 EF28                       EF29 EF33 EF36                 3C007 AS36 CS08 HS09 HS27 HT21                       HT31 WA04 WA14 WC25

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A robot apparatus having a neck structure having three degrees of freedom of connection between a body, a neck and a head, the body being movably supported by the body via a first drive mechanism. And a head having a second drive mechanism built-in and a head movably supported on the neck via a third drive mechanism. The first drive mechanism includes the neck A part generates a first tilting motion with respect to the body part swinging in a chest surface and a back direction of the body part, and the second drive mechanism is configured such that the head part is the neck part with respect to the neck part. Generating a panning motion which is parallel to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the part, wherein the third drive mechanism is such that the head is in the chest and back directions of the body with respect to the neck. A robot apparatus characterized by generating a swinging second tilt motion. 2. A first drive means, a first gear mechanism having a substantially cylindrical shape and transmitting a driving force to one end thereof, and a rotation support shaft serving as a rotation center. A neck casing including a drive mechanism; a protective casing having a spindle opening into which the rotation spindle is inserted and an opening through which the neck casing protrudes; The drive mechanism generates the first tilt motion by rotating the rotation support shaft within the range of the opening region of the opening by the first drive means via the first gear mechanism. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The robot apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second drive means is provided near the rotation support shaft. 4. A second drive means whose drive shaft is parallel to the central axis of the neck in the longitudinal direction, and an outer diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of the neck housing, and the second drive at one end. A cylindrical member having a second gear mechanism for transmitting the driving force from the means and having the third driving mechanism at the other end, wherein the second driving mechanism is configured to operate by the second driving means. The pan motion is generated by sliding and rotating an inner peripheral surface of the neck casing and an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member via a second gear mechanism. Robot device described. 5. A third drive means for making the direction of the drive shaft the same as the direction of the drive shaft of the second drive means, and a third for changing the rotating direction of the drive shaft of the third drive means.
Of the gear mechanism, and the third drive means through the gear mechanism,
A head mounting member to which a head is mounted, wherein the third drive mechanism changes the direction of the drive shaft of the third drive means by the third gear mechanism to generate a second tilt motion. The robot apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The robot apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the gear mechanism has a bevel gear. 7. A battery mounting means for mounting a rechargeable battery as a driving power source, wherein the battery mounting means is provided at a position where weight balance can be achieved between the battery mounting means and the neck portion connected to the body portion. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the robot apparatus is a robot apparatus. 8. A robot apparatus having a movable section movable with respect to a main body, wherein the robot apparatus is provided with buffer means for buffering the movement of the movable section movable by the drive means. 9. The robot apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the buffering means is provided at a terminal position of a drive transmission mechanism from the driving means to the movable portion. 10. The robot apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the drive transmission mechanism includes gears, and the buffering means buffers backlash between the gears. 11. The robot apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the buffering means has a mechanical resistance that does not affect the driving force of the driving means. 12. The robot apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the buffer means is a viscous damper. 13. The robot apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the buffer means is a torsion coil spring. 14. A neck structure having three degrees of freedom in connection between a body, a neck, and a head, which is movably supported by the body via a first drive mechanism. Stabilize the neck that includes the second drive mechanism, the head that is movably supported by the neck via the third drive mechanism, and the movably supported coupling portions. Shock absorbing means, and the first drive mechanism has first shock absorbing means for stabilizing the movably supported connecting portion, and the neck portion of the body portion with respect to the body portion. A second tilting mechanism that generates a first tilting motion that swings toward the chest and the back is generated, and the second drive mechanism is configured such that the head is parallel to a plane perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis of the neck with respect to the neck. The third driving mechanism stabilizes the movably supported coupling portion. 9. A second tilting motion is provided which has two relaxing means, and in which the head section oscillates with respect to the neck section in the chest surface and back direction of the body section.
Robot device described. 15. A first buffer means, a first drive means, a first gear mechanism having a substantially cylindrical shape and transmitting a driving force to one end, and a rotation support shaft serving as a rotation center. Then, a neck housing containing the second drive mechanism, a protective housing having a spindle opening into which the pivot shaft is inserted, and an opening through which the neck housing projects. The rotation support shaft is inserted into the support shaft opening through the first buffering means, and the first drive mechanism causes the rotation support shaft to move through the first drive means. 15. The robot apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the first tilt motion is generated by rotating within a range of an opening region of the opening via a first gear mechanism. 16. A second drive means having a drive shaft parallel to the central axis of the neck in the longitudinal direction, and an outer diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of the neck housing, and the second drive at one end. A cylindrical member having a second gear mechanism for transmitting the driving force from the means and having the third driving mechanism at the other end, wherein the second driving mechanism is configured to operate by the second driving means. 15. The pan motion is generated by sliding and rotating an inner peripheral surface of the neck casing and an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member via a second gear mechanism. Robot device described. 17. A second buffering means, a third driving means which makes the direction of the driving shaft the same as the direction of the driving shaft of the second driving means, and a rotation direction of the driving shaft of the third driving means. Change the third
Of the gear mechanism, and the third drive means through the gear mechanism,
A head mounting member to which a head is mounted, wherein the third driving mechanism connects the head mounting member and the third driving means via the second buffering means, The robot apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the gear mechanism changes the direction of the drive shaft of the third drive means to generate the second tilt motion.