JP2004148439A - Spherical robot and spherical robot control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spherical robot control method which positively carries out recognition of environmental information and object information which have been conventionally difficult to be detected by various sensors. <P>SOLUTION: A main body section 20 arranged in the spherical shell formed of a spherical shell consisting of two separable semi-spheres 11a, 11b is provided with an RFID reading section 28 as a reading means for reading information (ID data etc.) of an RFID tag (radio tag) allotted to an external object, and an RFID writing section 29. The external object has the RFID tag allotted thereto, in which the object information (environmental information) is written. The spherical robot 1 has actions (behavior patterns) stored therein as a table beforehand, and the operations are developed according to ID numbers described in the RFID tag, whereby the robot is controlled to carry out the operation according to a recognized ID number. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a spherical robot and a control method thereof, and in particular, enables two-way communication with a human by causing an action to appear autonomously and controlling the action according to input information from the outside. The present invention relates to a spherical robot and a control method thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A mechanical device that performs a motion similar to the motion of a human or animal using, for example, an electric or magnetic action is generally called a “robot”. Robots began to spread in Japan in the late 1960s, but most of them were industrial robots (industrial robots) such as manipulators and transfer robots for the purpose of automation and unmanned production work in factories. there were.
[0003]
A stationary type robot, such as an arm type robot, which is installed and used in a specific place, operates only in a fixed and local work space such as assembling and sorting parts. On the other hand, a mobile robot can freely move on a predetermined path or a non-path in a non-restricted work space to perform predetermined or arbitrary human work, or to perform human or dog or other living organisms. A wide variety of services can be provided that can replace.
[0004]
There are crawler type and tire type as a means of movement, but among them, a leg type mobile robot is unstable and makes posture control and walking control difficult. It is excellent in that it can realize a flexible walking / running operation without distinguishing between rough terrain.
[0005]
Recently, it has been modeled on the so-called pet-type robot that imitates the body mechanism and operation of a four-legged animal such as a dog or cat, or the body mechanism and motion of an animal that walks upright on two legs such as a human. Research and development on legged mobile robots, such as designed "humanoid robots", has been progressing, and expectations for practical use have been increasing.
[0006]
Such a robot device has an actuator having a predetermined degree of freedom and a mechanical unit in which a sensor or the like for detecting a predetermined physical quantity is arranged at a predetermined position, and a control unit using a microcomputer controls an external device. It is configured to perform a predetermined operation on information (for example, see Patent Document 1). As described above, if the robot device can approach the behavior of the actual animal more, the biological feeling of the robot device further increases, and the user feels a closer feeling and satisfaction with the robot device. This also improves the entertainment and amusement properties of the robot device.
[0007]
On the other hand, for example, it is conceivable to make the robot device itself spherical as a highly safe moving mechanism. As a result, even in a home where people have the highest chance to come into contact with humans, not only high security to the outside, but also excellent mobility performance is exhibited (for example, see Patent Document 2).
[0008]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-154679 A
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2000-218578
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the above-mentioned robot apparatus, as a method of detecting information given from the outside, for example, (1) a method of detecting voice data obtained from a microphone or the like and using a voice recognition result of the voice data; ) A method of detecting image data obtained from a CCD camera or the like and using an image recognition result of the image data. (3) Detecting pressure received by physical action by a touch sensor or the like and using the selection result. (4) A method is known in which a surrounding environmental condition is detected by a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an odor sensor, or the like, and the detection result is used.
[0010]
However, in the method of detecting external information such as voice, image, pressure, and environmental conditions, for example, when there is noise around, noise is superimposed on voice data obtained from a microphone or the like, and a correct voice recognition result cannot be obtained. There is. Also, when there are a plurality of different objects having similar surface states or shapes, it is difficult to identify these objects. Furthermore, when recognizing an object, the most effective method is to detect image data and analyze and recognize this image data. However, "brightness" is important for detecting image data. On the other hand, when the outside is dark, the information amount of the obtained image data is reduced, and an accurate recognition result cannot be obtained. In addition, since the brightness of the external environment, the color scheme of the surroundings, and the like are not constant, an accurate recognition result is not always obtained even if the brightness is sufficient for image analysis.
[0011]
In particular, in the case of a robot device that mimics the body mechanism and operation of animals such as dogs and cats, the arrangement of sensors such as touch sensors on the limbs, CCD cameras on the face, and microphones on the ears should be determined. However, it is difficult for the spherical robot to conveniently provide sensors for acquiring external information, such as a touch sensor and a CCD camera, due to the characteristics of the main body shape.
[0012]
Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed in view of such circumstances, and it has been difficult to detect surrounding information, object information, and external environments that were difficult to detect with a microphone, a camera, or various sensors. It is an object of the present invention to provide a spherical robot capable of recognizing an object at the time and a control method therefor.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a spherical robot according to the present invention is a spherical robot having a spherical shell having a hollow portion and a main body disposed in the spherical shell. Information output means for outputting the data stored in the wireless tag from the wireless tag provided on the external object; and information output means based on the data read by the wireless tag read means. And control means for controlling the
[0014]
Here, the spherical robot may be provided with storage means for storing a table in which data read by the wireless tag reading means and information on the object are stored, and the control means is read by the wireless tag reading means. The information output means is controlled based on the object information read from the storage means in association with the data.
[0015]
The information output means includes a visible light emitting unit that emits visible light to the outside, an infrared light emitting unit that emits infrared light to the outside, a sound output unit for outputting sound to the outside of the spherical shell, and a spherical shell. There is a rotation drive unit that performs a predetermined operation inside, and the control unit controls these information output units based on the object information read from the storage unit in association with the data read by the wireless tag reading unit.
[0016]
In addition, the spherical robot includes an external information acquisition unit that acquires information from outside, and an output information storage unit that stores information output by the information output unit in advance in association with information acquired by the external information acquisition unit. The information output means may be controlled such that the control means outputs the information read from the output information storage means in association with the information acquired by the external information acquisition means. At this time, the control unit may execute the operation of the wireless tag reading unit for a certain period when the information is obtained by the external information obtaining unit.
[0017]
In addition, in order to achieve the above-described object, a method of controlling a spherical robot according to the present invention is a method of controlling a spherical robot in which an action is caused to appear autonomously and the action is controlled in accordance with externally input information. There is an information output step of outputting information to the outside, a wireless tag reading step of reading data stored in the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object, and a wireless tag reading step. And a control step of controlling information output in the information output step based on the obtained data.
[0018]
This control method has an external information acquisition step of acquiring information from the outside, and in the control step, output information in which information output from the information output means corresponding to the information acquired in the external information acquisition step is stored in advance. Information to be output is read from the storage means.
[0019]
In the control step, when the information is obtained in the external information obtaining step, the operation of the wireless tag reading step may be performed for a certain period.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, since the specific examples described below are examples of suitably implementing the present invention, even if various technical limitations are given in the specific examples described below, unless there is a description that the present invention is limited. However, the present invention is not limited by this specific example.
[0021]
FIG. 1 shows a front view and a rear view showing a specific example of the spherical robot of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a top view and a side view. The spherical robot 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a spherical shell 11, a main body 20, and the like, and the main body 20 is covered by the spherical shell 11.
[0022]
The spherical shell 11 includes, for example, two separable hemispheres 11a and 11b, and has a structure in which the main body 20 disposed inside the spherical shell can be taken out. The spherical shell 11 is, for example, a resin having a polyolefin-based molecular structure, and is made of a material that transmits light in an ultraviolet region to an infrared region. Thereby, the light emitted from the infrared light emitting part 22 and the visible light emitting part 25 described later can be transmitted to the outside of the spherical shell.
[0023]
The main body unit 20 includes a rotation drive unit 21, an infrared light emitting unit 22, a speaker 23, a microphone 24, a visible light emitting unit 25, a light receiving unit 26, a storage unit 27, and the like. The rotation drive unit 21 includes wheels 21a, 21a, motors 21b, 21b, and the like. The wheels 21 a, 21 a are provided at a lower portion of the main body 20 and are in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the spherical shell 11. The wheels 21a, 21a are connected to motors 21b, 21b, respectively, and can rotate independently by the operation of each motor. Thus, the spherical shell 11 is operated.
[0024]
Further, the main body unit 20 is provided with an RFID read unit 28 at a predetermined position as reading means for reading information (ID data or the like) of an RFID tag (wireless tag) provided on an external object.
[0025]
Here, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a non-contact type automatic recognition technology, and reads information via a radio wave or the like from a medium such as a tag in which an IC and a small antenna are incorporated, for example. Tags (tags) serving as media are called RFID tags, wireless tags, IC tags, and the like, and have various shapes such as a card shape, a label shape, and a microchip shape. RFID identification technology is not only expected to embed an RFID tag in all products to manage product information as an alternative to barcodes, but also to control the opening and closing of gates and doors, to control passage, and to manage parcels and luggage. Various utilization forms such as delivery management have been proposed. The RFID read unit 28 is for reading data (such as ID data) stored in such an RFID tag (wireless tag). Note that the information transmission method of the RFID system includes an electromagnetic induction method, an electromagnetic coupling method, a microwave method, an electrostatic coupling method, an optical method, and the like. An information reading means may be used, and a plurality of methods may be supported.
[0026]
The main unit 20 further includes an RFID write unit 29 for recording information on the RFID tag.
[0027]
Then, each part is demonstrated concretely. The rotation drive unit 21 has wheels 21a, 21a. When the wheels 21a, 21a rotate in the same direction and at the same speed, the spherical shell 11 rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the wheels 21a, 21a to form a spherical shape. When the robot 1 moves forward and the wheels 21a and 21a rotate in opposite directions, the spherical robot 1 turns on the spot. When the wheels 21a and 21a are rotating in the same direction but have different rotation speeds, the vehicle can turn with a rotation radius corresponding to the difference in rotation speed between the wheels. As described above, the spherical robot 1 can perform various moving operations by the rotation drive unit 21. The spherical robot 1 can transmit some information to the outside also by this “movement”.
[0028]
The infrared light emitting section 22 is, for example, an infrared LED (light emitting diode), and is provided on the front side and the back side of the main body section 20. The infrared light emitting section 22 emits infrared light in the front direction and the back direction of the main body section 20, and outputs or inputs information by the infrared light emission. The main body section 20 is provided with a light receiving section 26 composed of a phototransistor or a photodiode corresponding to the infrared light emitting section 22, and can acquire information by receiving infrared rays from the outside.
[0029]
The infrared light emitting section 22 outputs information to an external remote controller or the like via infrared rays. External information can be acquired by receiving the infrared light output from the remote controller by the light receiving unit 26. Further, the infrared light emitting unit 22 detects reflected light of infrared light output in the front direction by the light receiving unit 26, so that external information such as an obstacle can be obtained.
[0030]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body 20 is provided with a speaker 23 and a microphone 24. The speaker 23 generates sound toward the outside, and the microphone 24 collects external sound. Therefore, sound information can be transmitted from the spherical robot 1 to the human through the speaker 23, and sound information can be transmitted from the human to the spherical robot 1 through the microphone 24. The sound output from the speaker 23 of the spherical robot 1 is transmitted to the outside through the spherical shell 11, so that the whole spherical shell vibrates, and the sound is uniformly diverged in all directions, so that there is an advantage that the sound propagation is improved. .
[0031]
A storage unit 27 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a readable and writable flash memory, a memory card, or the like is detachably attached to the main body unit 20. The storage unit 27 includes, for example, a first storage unit 27a and a second storage unit 27b, and the first storage unit 27a stores operation information in an information output unit 52, which will be described later, including a motor 21b, a speaker 23, and the like. ing. As described above, by separating the first storage unit 27a that stores the information on the operation of the spherical robot 1 from the second storage unit 27b that stores the voice content and the like, it is possible to change the respective storage capacities. There is an advantage that the number of operation variations that can be stored can be increased.
[0032]
On the other hand, the second storage unit 27b stores information necessary for determining information input from the sensor unit 51 including the microphone 24, the light receiving unit 26, the magnetic sensor 30, and the like. As described later, the storage unit 27 is rewritable using a communication function, and can change information stored therein, such as information for operation and information for determination, at any time. Therefore, the information output from the information output unit 52 changes when each of the storage units 27a and 27b is replaced or the content of the storage unit is rewritten by the communication function.
[0033]
The visible light emitting section 25 is composed of, for example, a photodiode or a phototransistor, and can transmit information to the outside by emitting visible light to the outside and emitting or not emitting light or blinking. A magnetic sensor 30 such as a Hall sensor is provided inside the main body. The magnetic sensor 30 acquires information by detecting a magnetic field generated by a magnetic generator such as a magnet or a coil installed outside.
[0034]
The RFID read unit 28 reads information (ID data and the like) recorded on the RFID tag from a RFID tag provided on a surrounding object by non-contact or contact. Further, the read signal is transmitted to the main unit 20 as an RFID signal.
[0035]
The RFID writer 29 can write information to be recorded (such as ID data) to an RFID tag provided on a surrounding object in a non-contact or contact manner. The information to be recorded is converted into an RFID signal and emitted as a recording radio wave of a specific frequency. The signal to be recorded here is sent from the main unit 20 as an RFID signal.
[0036]
FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the main body 20 of the spherical robot 1. The main unit 20 includes an intelligent control unit 53, a power supply unit 54, a drive control unit 55, a sensor control unit 56, and a communication unit 57, as shown in FIG.
[0037]
The intelligent control unit 53 controls the entire operation of the spherical robot 1, and is composed of, for example, a generally known microcomputer or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The intelligent control section 53 performs high-speed and parallel arithmetic processing on sensor information from the sensor control section 56.
[0038]
The power supply unit 54 supplies electric power necessary for the spherical robot 1 to operate, and is, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel cadmium battery, or a primary battery of an alkaline dry battery or a manganese dry battery. These are detachable. An externally operable switch 58 is connected to the power supply unit 54, and the switch 58 controls on / off of the power supply unit 54. The drive control unit 55 controls the operation of the sensor unit 51 including the infrared light emitting unit 22, the visible light emitting unit 25, the motor 21b, and the speaker 23 provided in the main body unit 20.
[0039]
The drive control unit 55 causes the information output unit 52 to perform a predetermined operation according to a command from the intelligent control unit 53.
[0040]
Based on various detection signals such as an audio signal and an RFID signal provided from the microphone 24, the light receiving unit 26, the RFID read unit 28, the magnetic sensor 30, and the like, the sensor control unit 56 performs a specific external state or a specific action from the user. Recognize an instruction from the user or the like, and notify the intelligent control unit 53 of state recognition information indicating the recognition result. That is, the sensor control unit 56 includes a voice recognition unit, and the voice recognition unit recognizes a voice signal input from the microphone 24.
[0041]
Further, the sensor control unit 56 has an ID recognition unit 40, and the ID recognition unit 40 performs a recognition process of a signal recorded in the RFID using an RFID signal provided from the RFID read unit 28. Then, the ID recognition unit 40 recognizes the result of the processing, for example, “step”, “wall”, “slope”, etc., and notifies the intelligent control unit 53 of the recognition result as state recognition information. The configuration of the ID recognition unit 40 will be described later.
[0042]
The communication unit 57 transmits and receives information to and from the outside by wire or wireless communication, and has a communicator 57a including, for example, an antenna and a wiring in order to communicate with the outside. The communication unit 57 can exchange information with the storage unit 27, and the received information or the recorded information is in a format that can be written to the storage unit 27. Further, the communication unit 57 has a function of recognizing whether or not the storage unit 27 is attached.
[0043]
The intelligent control unit 53 has a built-in CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and the like. The CPU executes various processes by executing a control program stored in the memory. That is, the intelligent control unit 53 performs a specific external state, a command from the user, a specific action from the user, and the like based on the audio signal, the RFID signal, and the like provided from the microphone 24, the RFID read unit 28, the magnetic sensor 30, and the like. Recognize.
[0044]
The intelligent control unit 53 determines a related action based on the determination result and the like, and based on the determined result, for example, drives the wheels 21a and 21b to express actions such as forward, backward, and rotation. In addition, the intelligent control unit 53 generates a synthesized sound as necessary and outputs the synthesized sound from the speaker 23, or turns on, off, or blinks the visible light emitting unit 25 such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode).
[0045]
Further, the intelligent control unit 53 may control the reading operation of the RFID reading unit 28 based on a signal from the microphone 24 or the like. For example, upon detecting a predetermined audio signal, the intelligent control unit 53 executes the operation of the RFID read unit 28 for a certain period.
[0046]
With the above configuration, the spherical robot 1 can take an autonomous action based on surrounding conditions and the like. The transfer of data when the spherical robot 1 executes a certain operation will be described with reference to FIG.
[0047]
The storage unit 27 stores in advance operation information on the operation of the spherical robot 1, for example, the information output unit 52 such as the blinking speed of the visible light emitting unit 25 and the rotation speed of the motor 21b. When information is input from the microphone 24, the light receiving unit 26, the magnetic sensor 30, the RFID read unit 28 and the like constituting the sensor unit 51, the information is sent to the intelligent control unit 53 via the sensor control unit 56. The intelligent control unit 53 determines the operation of the spherical robot 1 based on information input from the sensor control unit 56 and information obtained from the storage unit 27 via the communication unit 57. The intelligent control unit 53 transfers the determined drive command to the drive control unit 55. The drive control unit 55 operates the information output unit 52 based on the drive command to output information to the outside.
[0048]
Next, a configuration example of the ID recognition unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG. The ID recognition unit 40 is provided inside the sensor control unit 56, and includes an ID collation unit 41 and an ID table storage unit 42. The RFID signal read by the RFID read unit 28 is supplied to the ID collation unit 41. The ID table storage unit 42 stores an ID number of an RFID tag (wireless tag) registered in advance and a table of state recognition information corresponding to the ID number (hereinafter, referred to as an ID table). FIG. 6 shows an example of the ID table. In the example of FIG. 6, the state recognition information includes, for example, state recognition information 1 indicating the state of the operation space such as “wall”, “step”, “slope”, and the operation space indicated by the state identification information 1. There is state recognition information 2 indicating actions to be actually taken (“stop”, “collision”, “left turn avoidance”, “retreat”, etc.). A plurality of pieces of situation recognition information corresponding to the ID number may exist. This ID table may be stored in the storage unit 27 shown in FIGS.
[0049]
The ID collating unit 41 determines whether the RFID signal read by the RFID reading unit 28 belongs to information recorded in the ID table of the ID table storage unit 42. If it is determined that the RFID signal is recorded in the ID pattern storage unit 42, the situation recognition information corresponding to the ID number of the RFID signal is intelligently controlled based on the ID table recorded in the ID pattern storage unit 42. Notify section 53.
[0050]
As a format of the RFID signal, for example, a format having a header portion, an identifier portion, and a data portion and having a total of 128 bits can be used. In addition, various formats can be used. Generally, an RFID tag has a larger amount of information that can be written than a barcode, and can include detailed data of an object. In addition, since the RFID system can perform information communication in a non-contact manner, the RFID system has excellent durability and is not affected by dirt or dust. Further, reading while moving is possible. Therefore, as compared with an optical detection means such as a camera, there is an advantage that it can be recognized even in darkness regardless of the amount of light in the environment.
[0051]
If such an RFID read unit 28 is provided in the robot device, it is possible to confirm the information of the object, identify the object, restrict the action range, and recognize the result of the recognition, which were difficult to detect with a microphone, a camera or various sensors. It is possible to apply such an action as to take an appropriate action. For example, as a restriction on the action range, if a spherical robot recognizes the wireless tag by attaching a wireless tag to a wall, a step portion, or the like, it is possible to prevent a collision with the wall or a fall from the step portion.
[0052]
An example in which the present invention is applied to the restriction of the range of action will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 shows the above-described spherical robot 1 and a part of an area where the spherical robot 1 operates. Here, this region is higher than the outside of the region. However, for example, the region may be a wall, or the outside of the region may be a slope.
[0053]
The edge of the area 100 is provided at every predetermined interval with the RFID tag 101. ₁ ~ 101 _n Is bordered by the tape 102 to which the label is attached. In this specific example, the intervals are about 10 cm, and each of the RFID tags is assigned an ID number as shown in FIG. However, here, it is assumed that information on this area is written in advance on the RFID tag.
[0054]
When the spherical robot 1 advances toward the edge of the area 100 and reaches a position where the RFID tag can be read by the RFID read unit 28, the read radio wave generated from the RFID read unit 28 as shown in FIG. 103, the RFID tag 101 _k Is read (ID number of the RFID tag). Here, for the sake of explanation, the RFID tag 101 _k Is "20000001" shown in FIG.
[0055]
The ID number of the read RFID tag is sent to the intelligent control unit 53 via the sensor control unit 56. The intelligent control unit 53 determines whether the ID number sent from the RFID reading unit 28 belongs to the ID table of the second storage unit 27b. When recorded in the second storage unit 27b, the intelligent control unit 53 acquires the situation recognition information 1 and the situation recognition information 2 corresponding to this ID number, and from this ID number “20000001”, “step” is obtained. Recognize that there is and deal with "retreat". The intelligent control unit 53 sends the determined drive command (“retreat”) to the drive control unit 55. The drive control unit 55 sends a control signal for retreating to the motor 31b of the information output unit 32 based on this command.
[0056]
As described above, according to this specific example, information on obstacles such as “steps” and “walls” and information on the environment are written in the RFID tag and are scattered in the action space of the spherical robot 1, so that the surrounding state can be reduced. Identification can be performed effectively and reliably.
[0057]
In addition, a wireless tag that records position information is attached to a plane on which the spherical robot 1 acts, so that the position information can be recognized and a predetermined route can be advanced, or a charger for charging the spherical robot 1 can be identified by a charger. And the spherical robot 1 can recognize the wireless tag of the charger and connect to the charger by itself. Further, it is also possible to attach a wireless tag to the parts (parts) constituting the spherical robot 1 so that the spherical robot itself recognizes the parts and detaches the parts.
[0058]
Further, since an action pattern corresponding to the recognized ID number can be prepared and displayed, not only the action range is restricted, but also the communication between the human or fellow robot and the spherical robot 1 is not limited. It can also be applied as a means. Specifically, an RFID tag for recognizing the owner is provided in the possession of the owner (user) or the like, and when the spherical robot 1 recognizes the user, a specific operation is expressed or the other party (human or human) is displayed by the RFID tag. Or an acquaintance with another robot device).
[0059]
As described above, the spherical robot 1 can update the contents of the storage unit 27 by exchanging or communicating, and can easily increase the variations of the operation of the spherical robot 1. Further, by adding a function of translating information such as light, sound, magnetism, and the like into motion, sound, light, and the like, two-way communication with a human or a fellow robot in a home or office can be realized. That is, since the spherical robot 1 has a sensor function, bidirectional communication with a human or another robot can be realized. Further, by providing the RFID read unit 28 in the robot device, it is possible to effectively and reliably confirm information on an object and identify an object, which have been difficult to detect with a microphone, a camera, or various sensors. An action pattern according to the recognized result can be expressed.
[0060]
In this specific example, the above-described series of processing is performed by executing a program stored in the intelligent control unit 53. However, the series of processing may be performed by dedicated hardware. In addition to the program being stored in the memory in advance as described above, a flexible disk, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Only Memory), MO (Magneto optical) disk, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), magnetic disk, semiconductor It can be temporarily or permanently stored (recorded) in a removable recording medium such as a memory. Such a removable recording medium may be provided as so-called package software, and may be installed on the spherical robot 1 and used.
[0061]
In addition to installing the program from a removable recording medium, the program may be transmitted wirelessly via a download site or an artificial satellite for digital satellite broadcasting, or may be transmitted via a wire such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. Can be provided. For example, when the program is upgraded, if the upgraded program is acquired and installed in the spherical robot 1, the version can be easily upgraded.
[0062]
In this specific example, processing steps for writing a program for causing the intelligent control unit 53 to perform various processes do not necessarily need to be processed in chronological order in the order described in the flowchart, and may be performed in parallel or individually. The processing to be executed (for example, parallel processing or processing by an object) is also included. Further, the program may be processed by one CPU, or may be processed in a distributed manner by a plurality of CPUs.
[0063]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the specific examples described above. For example, in FIG. 1, the infrared light emitting unit 22 and the like are illustrated as the sensor unit 51. In addition, for example, an ultrasonic sensor using vibration on the surface of the spherical shell 11 is used, and the spherical shell 11 itself is used as the sensor unit. May be. Alternatively, the spherical shell 11 may be formed of a transparent member, and an image sensor such as a CCD camera may be arranged on the main body 20 so that video information can be obtained. For example, when an image signal from a CCD camera is image-recognized and an object that appears to be a “wall” is recognized, the RFID tag provided on the object is read by the RFID read unit 28 and obtained from the RFID read unit 28. The ID recognition unit 40 recognizes the “wall” based on the RFID signal.
[0064]
Thus, for example, it can be applied as a monitoring device that can directly monitor all directions. When a CCD camera, an infrared sensor, or the like is provided to optically detect the presence or absence or state of an object, when the presence or absence or state of the object is detected based on the optical detection result from the optical detection unit, The operation of the RFID read unit 28 may be executed. If a wireless tag is arranged in the operation space, even if information obtained from the CCD camera becomes insufficient due to insufficient light amount or the like, an operation such as obstacle avoidance is reliably performed.
[0065]
Further, a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device may be provided as the information output unit 52. In this case, wider information (response) can be output from the spherical robot 1. In addition, various sensors such as a touch sensor, a heat sensor, and a pressure sensor can be provided.
[0066]
Furthermore, the storage unit 27 includes two storage units, a first storage unit 27a and a second storage unit 27b. For example, a storage unit that stores audio, a storage unit that stores information about light, and a storage unit that stores operations The information to be stored may be subdivided, and a storage unit may be provided for each type. In this case, when the information stored in each storage unit is changed, the variation of the information output from the spherical robot 1 can be increased by a combination of the storage units. On the other hand, if the storage unit 27 is configured as one storage unit, there is an advantage that the work of replacing the storage unit 27 can be performed efficiently.
[0067]
In the specific example described above, the spherical shell 11 is made of a resin material, but may be made of a deformable material such as rubber. In this case, safety and strength against cracking can be increased.
[0068]
In addition, the communication unit 57 acquires information for determining an operation determination via the second storage unit 27b, but acquires information for externally determining the operation determination via the communicator 57a. It may be.
[0069]
The case where the present invention is applied to the spherical robot 1 has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to various robot devices such as industrial robots and humanoid robots.
[0070]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, a spherical robot according to the present invention is a spherical robot having a spherical shell having a hollow portion and a main body disposed in the spherical shell and configured to rotationally drive the spherical shell. In the robot, information output means for outputting information to the outside, wireless tag reading means for reading data stored in the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object, and wireless tag reading means Control means for controlling the information output means based on the received data, thereby confirming surrounding information and object information which were difficult to be detected by other information acquisition means such as a microphone, a camera, and various sensors. In addition, the object can be effectively and reliably recognized when the external environment is dark.
[0071]
Here, the spherical robot is provided with storage means for storing a table in which data read by the wireless tag reading means and information on the object are stored, and the control means associates the data read by the wireless tag reading means with the data read by the wireless tag reading means. By controlling the information output means based on the object information read out from the storage means and read out from the storage means, it is possible to prepare a wide range of action patterns according to the object and the situation, thereby improving the entertaining property of the spherical robot.
[0072]
In addition, in order to achieve the above-described object, a method of controlling a spherical robot according to the present invention is a method of controlling a spherical robot in which an action is caused to appear autonomously and the action is controlled in accordance with externally input information. There is an information output step of outputting information to the outside, a wireless tag reading step of reading data stored in the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object, and a wireless tag reading step. Controlling the information output in the information output step based on the obtained data. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively and reliably confirm surrounding information and object information that were difficult to be detected by other information acquisition means such as a microphone, a camera, and various sensors, and recognize an object when the external environment is dark. At the same time, a wide range of behavior patterns can be prepared according to the object and the situation, and the entertainment of the spherical robot controlled by this control method is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 (a) is a front view showing a spherical shell of a spherical robot shown as a specific example of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b) is a rear view showing a spherical shell of the spherical robot shown above. is there.
FIG. 2 (a) is a top view showing a spherical robot spherical shell shown as a specific example of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (b) is a side view showing a spherical robot spherical shell shown above. .
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a main body of the spherical robot.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining data transfer when the spherical robot performs a certain operation.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram illustrating an ID recognition unit of the spherical robot.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an ID table stored by the spherical robot.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the spherical robot.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the spherical robot.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 spherical robot, 11 spherical shell, 20 main body, 21 rotation drive, 27 storage, 28 RFID read, 29 RFID write, 40 ID recognition, 41 ID verification, 42 ID table storage, 51 sensor , 52 Information output unit, 53 Intelligent control unit, 55 Drive control unit, 56 Sensor control unit

Claims (15)

In a spherical robot having a spherical shell having a hollow portion and a main body disposed in the spherical shell,
Information output means for outputting information to the outside,
Wireless tag reading means for reading data stored in the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object;
Control means for controlling the information output means based on the data read by the wireless tag reading means. Having storage means for storing a table in which data read by the wireless tag reading means and information relating to the object are stored;
2. The spherical shape according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls said information output means based on said object information read from said storage means in association with data read by said wireless tag reading means. robot. The information output unit has a visible light emitting unit that emits visible light to the outside,
3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the visible light emitting unit based on the object information read from the storage unit in association with data read by the wireless tag reading unit. Spherical robot. The information output means has an infrared light emitting unit that emits infrared light to the outside,
3. The spherical shape according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the infrared light emitting unit based on the object information read from the storage unit in association with data read by the wireless tag reading unit. robot. The information output unit has a sound output unit for outputting a sound outside the spherical shell,
3. The spherical shape according to claim 2, wherein said control means controls said audio output unit based on said object information read from said storage means in association with data read by said wireless tag reading means. robot. The information output unit has a rotation driving unit that performs a predetermined operation inside the spherical shell,
3. The spherical shape according to claim 2, wherein said control means controls said rotation driving means based on said object information read from said storage means in association with data read by said wireless tag reading means. robot. The spherical robot according to claim 4, further comprising a light detection unit that detects infrared reflected light output from the outside of the spherical shell or output from the information output unit. 3. The spherical robot according to claim 2, wherein the storage means is detachable from the main body, and is rewritable by communicating with the outside. External information acquisition means for acquiring information from outside;
An output information storage unit that stores information output by the information output unit in advance in association with the information acquired by the external information acquisition unit,
2. The information output unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the information output unit to output information read from the output information storage unit in association with the information acquired by the external information acquisition unit. Spherical robot. 10. The spherical robot according to claim 9, wherein the control unit executes the operation of the wireless tag reading unit for a certain period when the information is obtained by the external information obtaining unit. 10. The spherical robot according to claim 9, wherein the external information acquisition unit includes a contact detection unit that detects a contact. 10. The spherical robot according to claim 9, wherein said external information acquisition means includes an optical detection means for optically detecting the presence or absence and state of an object. A method for controlling a spherical robot in which an action is made to appear autonomously and the action is controlled according to input information from the outside,
An information output step of outputting information to the outside,
A wireless tag reading step of reading data stored in the wireless tag from a wireless tag provided on an external object;
A control step of controlling information output in the information output step based on data read in the wireless tag reading step. Having an external information acquisition step of acquiring information from outside,
In the control step, information to be output is read from output information storage means that stores information output in the information output step in advance corresponding to the information obtained in the external information obtaining step. The method for controlling a spherical robot according to claim 13. 15. The control method for a spherical robot according to claim 14, wherein in the control step, when information is obtained in the external information obtaining step, the operation of the wireless tag reading step is performed for a certain period.

Images