JP2004122313A - Action notice device for manipulator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clearly indicate more intuitively action and work content of an actual robot for a person existing in a working environment, to jointly own and cooperate work information with the robot with no fear of the action of the robot and to carry out a daily work or the like. <P>SOLUTION: An image projection device 5 is mounted to the tip of a hand of the manipulator of the robot 2 and an object 6 on which the robot carries out the work is intuitively and clearly indicating for a human being by projecting a light to the object 6 before the robot 2 starts the work. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a robot and a human information sharing device in which a robot performing a joint operation in close proximity to a human irradiates a spotlight to a work subject of the operation to notify the human of the operation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Research and development of robots equipped with manipulators and moving mechanisms to support daily life have been conducted. However, humans are generally unfamiliar with the robot, and feel uneasy with the robot if the operation is not properly notified. Solving problems is indispensable for introducing robots into everyday life.
[0003]
In order to foresee the movement of the robot, warning lights and sound warnings are used, but it is difficult to express the actual movement of the robot to humans in the same environment as the robot. Was.
[0004]
The present inventors have already made the following proposals as a means for solving the above problems (for example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3). As a work space in which a table is set up and shared between a manipulator and a person, information related to the work held by the robot, such as a notice of the operation of the manipulator, is projected onto the table by a projector suspended from the ceiling above it. .
[0005]
This is, for example, in a work of transferring an object between a human and a robot, before the manipulator performs an actual operation, a simulation of the operation is executed on the table as an animation image of the same apparent size as the real manipulator. Things.
[0006]
In other words, regarding a motion on a plane, before the robot actually moves, a simulation image of the motion is displayed on the floor of the work space in the actual size of the robot, and the behavior of the robot is intuitive to a person who performs the joint work. There is a system that makes people understand.
[0007]
In addition, a laser pointer is installed at the tip of the remote-controlled manipulator, and a type of operation notice function for space is provided in which the operator confirms the relative position between the object to be gripped and the hand before the gripping operation of the hand of the manipulator during the pickup operation. There is also a super long-distance telerobot system.
[0008]
In addition, as information necessary for performing the work, the coordinates of a human hand recognized using a CCD camera are acquired and used as a target position of a manipulator trajectory. By projecting the shape of the character, the information that the system correctly recognizes the other party is also transmitted to the person.
[0009]
The coexisting person can easily grasp the next operation of the robot in advance by looking at the video information, and can work in cooperation with the robot with peace of mind.
[0010]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent No. 2955654 [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent No. 30057515 [Patent Document 3]
Japanese Patent No. 3165824
However, the range of the notice of the operation of the manipulator assumed by the projection function is limited to a white, clear surface table on which nothing is placed between the man and the manipulator. Have been. The operation of the manipulator that can be notified by this means is limited to a two-dimensional operation on a table.
[0012]
In short, in the conventional technology, it was impossible to transmit a three-dimensional movement such as going to pick up the objects arranged on the shelf to a person in the work environment. It is necessary to present the contents of the work including such three-dimensional movement to a person.
[0013]
For example, when a manipulator performs an operation of picking up one of a plurality of fertilizing objects existing in the environment, a concern for a person in the working environment is that the manipulator, along with the precise trajectory of the manipulator, This is information on whether to perform an operation toward the object to be grasped.
[0014]
However, the planar projection function assumes a table as a work environment, and cannot cope with a situation in which a robot moves freely and picks up objects that cannot be reached by humans.
[0015]
The projection of light onto the object to be gripped by the laser pointer was a very effective method for the operator to check the precise relative position of the hand and the object to be gripped through the camera in an environment where there are no people. There is a problem as a means for notifying the operation of a robot that coexists in the same environment as a human in life. First, since the projection position of the laser pointer is restricted by the posture of the hand, in order to specify the object to be grasped before the approach operation, it is necessary to move only the posture of the hand before that operation. Can not foresee the action before the action.
[0016]
Furthermore, the information that can be displayed is only a point of a certain amount of light and light of a certain color, and cannot be found without careful watch. In addition, since the light of the laser pointer may directly hit the eyes of a coexisting person, it is necessary to carefully control the manipulator.
[0017]
The present inventors attach a small projector to the tip of the manipulator and give an advance notice of the operation. By illuminating a spotlight on a target object through a projector prior to the operation of the manipulator, it is possible to notify a person coexisting in the environment that the manipulator will perform any operation on the target object. I came up with a new idea.
[0018]
An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to realize a manipulator operation notification device that embodies the above-described novel idea.
[0019]
[Means to solve the problem]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a motion notification device of a manipulator for performing a motion notification of a robot by a projection device, wherein the projection device is attached to a wrist of the manipulator of the robot, and the robot Irradiating the work object with projection light before performing the work, thereby intuitively indicating to the human the work object that the robot intends to perform the work. A notice device is provided.
[0020]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a motion notification device of a manipulator for performing a motion notification of a robot by a projection device, wherein the projection device is attached to a wrist of the manipulator of the robot, and the robot Before the work is performed, the computer that controls the manipulator is controlled in association with the control of the manipulator, and irradiates the work object on which the robot is to perform work with projection light, thereby performing the work. Provided is a manipulator operation notice device characterized in that an object is intuitively specified to a human.
[0021]
It is preferable that the manipulator is used as a manipulator of a robot that works jointly in a human living environment.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the drawings.
[0023]
(Example 1)
1 and 2 are views for explaining an embodiment of a manipulator operation notification device according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation notice device 1 of the manipulator of this embodiment has an image projection device 5 attached to the hand portion 4 of the manipulator 3 of the robot 2.
[0024]
The image projection device 4 projects a spot light 8 on an object 6 (in this embodiment, a bottle placed at the center of a shelf 7) on which the robot 2 performs work, so that the robot 2 will perform work from now on. It has a function of clearly indicating the contents of the object 6 to be performed to a nearby person, and estimating the motion trajectory of the robot 2 to the person from the current position and posture of the object 6 and the manipulator 3.
[0025]
A workstation is provided near or away from the manipulator 3. This workstation has a control device for controlling the operation of the manipulator 3. The control device includes a computer 9 (including an input / output device 10, a CPU 11, and a storage device 12). The storage device 12 has a three-dimensional modeler (three-dimensional geometric operation software. Specifically, it will be described later). Refer to the prototype example).
[0026]
On the other hand, information on the rotation angle of each joint or the like is input to the computer 9 from an angle sensor attached to each joint or the like of the manipulator 3, and based on this information, the CPU 11 calculates a movement position from the basic position, The present position and posture of the manipulator 3 (robot 2) are configured to be acquired.
[0027]
Note that the basic position of the manipulator 3 indicates a predetermined position that is the basis of the manipulator 3, and is stored in the storage device 12 as predetermined three-dimensional information.
[0028]
When operating the operation notice device 1 of the manipulator, the coordinates of the object 6 are input. From the coordinates of the object 6, a geometric model of the object 6 is constructed by the three-dimensional modeler, assuming that the object 6 is photographed by the virtual camera from the manipulator 3 (robot 2) and visualized.
[0029]
By controlling the parameters such as the position, posture, and focal length of the virtual camera so as to match the parameters such as the position, posture, and focal length of the image projection device 5 attached to the hand portion 4 of the manipulator 3, 3 When a virtual image of the object is specified in the dimensional modeler, the virtual image matches the actual coordinates of the object 6 and can be used as a device for determining the projection target range projected from the image projection device 5. it can.
[0030]
The control by the computer 9 of the operation notice device 1 of the manipulator according to the present invention will be described below. As a control unit, a viewer of the three-dimensional modeler of the working environment is displayed on the entire screen output of the computer 9 projected by the image projection device 5. Coordinates _{X = (x 1, x 2} , x 3) of the point on the _viewer, it is displayed in _{(fx 1 / x 3, fx} 2 / x 3).
[0031]
Here, f is the focal length of the three-dimensional modeler in the camera, and the origin is the position of the camera. On the other hand, the focal length of the image projection apparatus 5 F, when the coordinates attached to the manipulator 3 and _{Y = (y 1, y 2} , y 3), is projected onto the screen distance _{x 3} spaced in the Z-direction from the origin The image of the point X is (F (x ₁ −y ₁ ) / (x ₃ −y ₃ ), F (x ₂ −y ₂ ) / (x ₃ −y ₃ ), x ₃ ).
[0032]
In order for a point in the three-dimensional modeler to be projected to a corresponding position in the real environment, the position of the camera in the three-dimensional modeler may be matched with the position of the image projection device 5 at f = F. If an appropriate calibration is performed, the virtual image of the target specified in the three-dimensional modeler matches the actual coordinates of the target 6 and can be used as a projection range projected from the image projection device 5. it can.
[0033]
Hereinafter, the operation of the operation notice device 1 of the manipulator of the embodiment will be further described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.
(1) Power supply activation The power supply is activated by turning on the switch of the operation notifying device 1 of the manipulator according to the present invention.
[0034]
(2) Input of coordinates of target object (S10)
The three-dimensional coordinates of the object 6 (the bottle in the embodiment) are input to the computer 9. Since the input means of the object 6 is not the gist of the present invention, its detailed description is omitted here, but examples of the input means include the following means (1) to (3). .
(1) A three-dimensional coordinate position corresponding to the position of the shelf 7 is determined in advance, and the corresponding three-dimensional coordinate position is input by a user using an input device such as a key.
(2) An optical sensor or an ultrasonic sensor for determining the position is attached to a part of the manipulator, and the position of the object with respect to the basic position of the manipulator is detected. It is converted to a three-dimensional coordinate position.
{Circle around (3)} When the work position, work content, etc. of the object 6 are stored in the computer in advance, the preset values are used as input values.
[0035]
From the coordinates of the object 6, a geometric model of the object 6 in the three-dimensional modeler is constructed on the assumption that the object 6 is photographed and imaged by the virtual camera at the position of the hand of the manipulator 3.
[0036]
(3) Acquisition of current position of manipulator (robot) (S20)
The basic position of the manipulator 3 and the previous operation history stored in the storage device 12 are input to the CPU 11, and the current position of the manipulator 3 is calculated and acquired. Based on the information on the current position of the manipulator, the position of the virtual camera and the position of the image projection device 5 in the three-dimensional modeler are calculated.
[0037]
(4) Image synthesis for projection (S30)
The CPU 11 forms a projection virtual image indicating a projection state such as a projection direction of the image projection device 5 from the position coordinates of the virtual image of the object 6 and the position coordinates of the virtual camera in the three-dimensional modeler.
(5) Output of projection image (S40)
An image for projection is output, and the image projection device 5 is three-dimensionally operated by this output, and projects the actual object 6.
(6) Movement of manipulator (robot) (S50)
The manipulator 3 moves according to the work content of the manipulator 3 set in the computer 9 in advance, and performs a predetermined work.
[0038]
As described above, according to the present invention, the virtual image of the target specified in the three-dimensional modeler matches the actual coordinates of the target 6 and is associated with the light projection range projected from the image projection device 5. Therefore, the object 6 on which the manipulator 3 is to work is projected by the image projection device. As a result, the image can be clearly transmitted to a person in the work environment, so that the person can grasp the object 6 which is the operation target of the manipulator 3.
[0039]
The movement trajectory of the robot 2 can be analogized to a person from the grasped information and the current postures of the object 6 and the manipulator 3, and the movement of the robot 2 can be notified to the person.
[0040]
In short, according to the present invention, by projecting the object 6, a person in the working environment can grasp the contents of the work more concretely than the usual warning contents and the like. The contents of the work to be performed can be more intuitively associated, and the human and the robot 2 can share the work information and work in cooperation.
[0041]
(Prototype example)
The present inventors have manufactured and demonstrated a prototype to demonstrate the operation and effect of the manipulator operation notification device 1 according to the present invention. This will be introduced below as a prototype. This prototype example is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and the object 6 is also a method of designating and approaching a bottle in the upper center of the shelf among the plurality of objects 6 arranged on the shelf as in FIG. 1. .
[0042]
As the manipulator 3, PA10 of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was used, and as the image projection device 5, V3-1080 of PLUS was used. The image projection device 5 was mounted on the flange surface of the PA 10 so that the light projection direction was parallel to the Z axis of the hand. Linux is installed as OS software on a controller of the PA 10, and a server program for controlling the manipulator 3 operates the PA 10 in accordance with a socket communication instruction from the host computer 9.
[0043]
The host computer 9 uses euslisp (Matsui: a multi-thread parallel object-oriented language Euslisp5 having a geometric modeling function, Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, 145, p. 650-654 (1996)) as a three-dimensional modeler and monitors it. The output was projected from the image projection device 5.
[0044]
By operating this prototype example, a demonstration was performed in which, among the bottles arranged on the shelf 7 placed in front of the manipulator 3, the bottle in the upper center of the shelf was designated as the target object 6 to perform the approach operation. The background color of the display of the three-dimensional modeler was black, and the white image of the target 6 specified in the modeler had a sufficient light amount as a spotlight. According to this prototype example, it was found that a person can clearly observe that the manipulator 3 approaches the bottle 6 in the upper center of the shelf as the object 6 while projecting light.
[0045]
As described above, the operation notification device of the manipulator according to the present invention has been described with the embodiments, but it is not limited to such embodiments, and there may be various embodiments within the scope of the technical matters described in the claims. Needless to say.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention having the above configuration, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the state of the object projected from the image projection device can be clearly and conveyed to a person in the work environment, the person can grasp the object that is manipulated by the manipulator (robot). Then, the motion trajectory of the robot can be inferred from the grasped information and the current posture of the object 6 and the manipulator, and the motion of the robot can be notified to a person.
[0047]
(2) The person in the work environment can grasp the work contents more specifically than the usual warning contents, and can more intuitively associate the operation of the actual robot with the work contents. As a result, a person can share work information with the robot without fear of the operation of the robot, and the two can cooperate with each other to perform daily work and the like.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view for generally explaining an embodiment of a manipulator operation notice device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating control of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manipulator operation notice device 2 Robot 3 Manipulator 4 Hand part 5 Image projection device 6 Object 7 Shelf 8 Spotlight 9 Computer 10 Input / output device 11 CPU
12 Storage device

Claims (3)

An operation notice device of a manipulator for giving a notice of operation of a robot by a projection device,
The projection device is attached to the wrist of the manipulator of the robot, and irradiates the work object with projection light before the robot performs a work, thereby allowing the robot to perform a work object to perform the work. An operation notification device for a manipulator, wherein an object is intuitively specified to a human. An operation notice device of a manipulator for giving a notice of operation of a robot by a projection device,
The projection device is attached to a wrist of a manipulator of the robot, and before the robot performs work, a computer that controls the manipulator, and is controlled in association with the control of the manipulator, thereby controlling the robot. A device for informing an operation of a manipulator, characterized in that the object to be worked is illuminated by projecting light onto the work object, thereby intuitively indicating the work object to a human. 3. The operation notice device for a manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the manipulator is a manipulator of a robot that works jointly in a human living environment.

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