JP2004268159A - Catering-uncatering support robot system of dish, catering-uncatering support method, catering-uncatering support program and recording medium recording this catering-uncatering support program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To individually allow catering an uncatering of an individual dish by taking into consideration weight of a meal dished up on the dish, weight of the dish, a construction material and rigidity of the dish. <P>SOLUTION: This system is composed of a small tag 131 stuck to or incorporated into the dish 11 being an object, and recording information on an attribute of the dish 11, and a robot device 1. The robot device 1 has a moving mechanism part 9, a visual sense sensor 114, an arm part 3 of a multidegree of freedom, a hand part 4 having at least two fingers installed in this arm part 3, an information reading part for reading the information from the small tag 131, and a control part 101 for controlling operation of the whole device. The control part 101 performs catering and uncatering of the dish 11 by using the information on the attribute of the dish 11 recorded on the small tag 131 when controlling this device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a tableware serving lowering table support robot system, a serving lowering table support method, a serving lowering table support program, and a recording medium recording the serving lowering table support program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a robot system for supporting tableware serving tableware (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0003]
The robot system ("transport robot system") includes at least a wheel-type moving mechanism, a storage unit capable of storing an object to be transported, a visual sensor, a measurement recognition unit based on the sensor information, and a transport unit to the storage unit. A manipulator for moving the object in and out.
[0004]
In a robot system having such a configuration, a person places one or a plurality of dishes containing meals on a meal tray in a cooking room, and then places the meal tray on a delivery wagon. The robot autonomously moves to the front of the delivery wagon, images a recognition label installed on the meal tray with a visual sensor, selects a meal tray to be delivered, and stores the meal tray in the robot main body storage unit using the manipulator. After that, it moves to the transport destination and places the meal tray at the target position. On the other hand, at the time of the lower table, the system detects the position of the tray with the visual sensor, then grips the meal tray, stores it in the robot main body storage unit, and returns to the predetermined position.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-267276
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-mentioned robot system, the robot can only realize the gripping of the meal tray, and is assumed to be used in such a manner that a dish for one person is placed on one tray in advance and served. For this reason, there are problems such as, for example, serving meals in the order in which they were prepared, such as course dishes, and dispensing meals by tableware, such as home meals without using trays. Was. In addition, when a human puts tableware outside the meal tray and eats, the robot cannot set the tableware outside the tableware tray because the robot sets only the meal tray at the time of lowering the table. There was also. In this case, the work of placing the dishes on the meal tray needs to be performed by a human.
[0007]
The present invention has been conceived in order to solve such problems, and its purpose is to separate individual dishes by taking into account the weight of the meal placed on the dishes, the weight of the dishes, the material and rigidity of the dishes, and the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a serving lowering table support robot system and a serving lowering table support method for tableware which can be set and / or settable.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The tableware serving lower table support robot system according to the present invention is a robot system that supports tableware serving and / or lower table, in which information about an attribute of the object attached to or embedded in the object is recorded. An information recording unit and a robot device, the robot device having a moving mechanism unit, a visual sensor, a multi-degree-of-freedom arm unit, and a hand unit having at least two fingers attached to the arm unit. And an information reading unit that reads information from the information recording unit, and a control unit that controls the operation of the entire device.When the control unit controls the present device, the control unit records the information in the information recording unit. It is characterized in that information on the attribute of the object is used.
[0009]
According to the present invention having such features, the information reading unit reads, for example, information on the attribute of tableware from the information recording unit in which the information on the attribute of tableware is recorded, and uses the read information to use the tableware. By realizing the grip control, it is possible to grip the tableware one by one. As a result, for example, at the time of the lower table, the lower table can be completed without leaving tableware on the table.
[0010]
Further, according to the present invention, at least the information relating to the weight of the tableware is recorded in the information recording unit as the information relating to the attribute of the object, for example, tableware. In this manner, at least information relating to the weight of tableware is recorded as information relating to the attributes of tableware, and this information is used for controlling the hand unit. It is not necessary to record the assumed weight, and it is possible to solve the conventional problem that it is difficult to hold tableware having a weight larger than the assumed weight.
[0011]
Further, according to the present invention, the information on the weight of the object is the total weight of the meal and the tableware served on the tableware. In this way, by recording the total weight of meals and dishes on tableware as information on the weight of items, and using this information for control of the hand unit, lower table support is also realized by stable gripping Can be. In other words, the weight of the tableware at the time of serving is lower than the total weight of the meal and the tableware served at the table at the time of serving. It can be realized by gripping.
[0012]
Further, according to the present invention, at least two pieces of weight information are recorded in an information recording unit attached to or incorporated in tableware. Specifically, two pieces of information, that is, the weight of the tableware alone and the total weight of the meal and the tableware placed on the tableware are recorded. The two pieces of weight information are obtained from the information recording unit using the information reading unit, and the obtained information is used to realize the grip control of the tableware, whereby the tableware can be gripped one by one. It becomes. In particular, at the time of serving, the information on the total weight of the meal and the dishes placed on the tableware is used, and at the time of the lower table, the weight information of only the tableware is used, so that the tableware can be stably gripped. Further, output control is facilitated, and as a result, work can be performed with low power consumption. Further, since it is possible to use the actual tableware weight information, it is not necessary to assume the weight.
[0013]
Further, according to the present invention, the apparatus may further include a weighing device having weighing means for weighing the weight of the object and recording means for recording the result of weighing the information in the information recording section in a non-contact manner. With such a configuration, the result of weighing the tableware including the meal by the measuring instrument is recorded in the information recording section, and the robot apparatus acquires the weight information from the information recording section using the information reading section. By realizing tableware grip control using the acquired information, it is possible to use more accurate weight information immediately before gripping for control, so that serving is performed in a stable gripping state for each tableware Becomes possible. Further, since it is possible to use the actual tableware weight information, it is not necessary to assume the weight.
[0014]
Further, according to the present invention, at least the information on the material of the tableware is recorded in the information recording unit as the information on the attribute of the object, for example, the tableware. As described above, at least information on the material is recorded as information on the attribute of the tableware, and the information on the material is used for controlling the hand unit. It is not necessary to record the assumed rigidity, and it is possible to reduce the risk of breakage of the tableware when holding the tableware having the assumed rigidity or less.
[0015]
Further, according to the present invention, the information recording unit records at least information relating to an object gripping means as information relating to the attribute of the object. As described above, at least information on the holding means of the tableware is recorded as the information on the attribute of the tableware as an object, and the information on the holding means is used for controlling the hand unit, so that the tableware is more stably and quickly held. It becomes possible.
[0016]
Further, according to the present invention, the information reading unit may be configured to read information related to an attribute of an object from the information recording unit using a non-contact communication means (for example, RF (radio frequency)).
[0017]
Further, according to the present invention, the hand unit may have a tactile sensor. By arranging the tactile sensor in the hand unit in this way, it is possible to detect the fingertip force applied to the tableware with higher accuracy than when calculating from the motor torque.
[0018]
Further, according to the present invention, the information reading unit may be arranged on the hand unit. Thus, by arranging the information reading unit in the hand unit, the information reading unit can scan the environment using the degree of freedom of the arm unit. Therefore, even if the communication distance between the information recording unit and the information reading unit is relatively short, it is possible to reliably detect tableware existing within the operating range of the hand unit.
[0019]
Further, according to the present invention, the moving mechanism unit is configured to be able to move autonomously under the control of the control unit. As described above, by using the robot apparatus of the present invention as an autonomous robot apparatus, the user does not need to perform the work of lowering the tableware at all, and can have time to perform another work.
[0020]
Further, the tableware serving support method according to the present invention is a method for supporting tableware serving using the robot apparatus having the above-described configuration, and uses the principle of triangulation from the image of the visual sensor to determine the position of the preparation table. Detect and move the robot device to the preparation table, and hold the hand unit until the information recording unit affixed to the object and the information reading unit built into the hand unit of the robot device can communicate. Bringing the object closer to the object, the information reading unit from the information recording unit affixed to the object, attribute information of the object, at least one or more information on the position and orientation of the hand unit for holding the object stably Acquiring, the step of determining the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object acquired from the information recording unit, and the position and orientation of the hand unit determined by the above step posture After the arm is moved to the target value, the robot grasps the object with the hand, and detects the position of the table with a visual sensor while slowly rotating the robot, thereby moving the table to the table. Moving to the stage and judging the horizontal part of the dining table from the image of the visual sensor, determine the target position to place the object, control the arm and hand, and move the grasped object to the target position Releasing the grip of the hand unit after the placement.
[0021]
Further, the tableware lowering table supporting method according to the present invention is a method of supporting the tableware lowering table using the robot apparatus having the above-described configuration, and detects a position of the tabletop from an image of a visual sensor mounted on the robot apparatus. Moving the robot device to the dining table, and bringing the hand unit close to the object until the information recording unit attached to the object and the information reading unit built in the hand unit of the robot device can communicate with each other. Acquiring the attribute information of the object from the information recording unit affixed to the object, and at least one or more pieces of information relating to the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object, Determining the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object acquired from the information recording unit, and setting the position and orientation of the hand unit to the target values of the position and orientation of the hand unit determined in the above stage. What After moving the arm part, grasping the target object with the hand part, and moving the robot apparatus to the sink by detecting the position of the sink with the visual sensor while slowly rotating the robot apparatus And, determine the horizontal portion of the sink from the image of the visual sensor, determine the target position to place the object, control the arm and hand, after placing the grasped object at the target position, Releasing the gripping of the hand unit.
[0022]
Note that the tableware serving table support method having the above configuration can be realized as a serving table support program for a robot apparatus to execute the method. In addition, the serving table serving program for tableware can be provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0024]
The configuration of the tableware serving lowering table support robot system and the serving lowering table operation according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17.
[0025]
1 to 4 show one embodiment of the robot device 1. FIG. 1 and 3 show a state in which the robot apparatus 1 faces the preparation table 13, and FIGS. 2 and 4 show a state in which the robot apparatus 1 faces the dining table 10.
[0026]
The robot apparatus 1 has a configuration in which one end of an arm 3 is connected to a main body 2 having a moving mechanism 9, and a three-fingered hand 4 is connected to the other end of the arm 3.
[0027]
The main unit 2 stores at least a control unit 101 that controls the operation of the entire robot device 1, a battery 5 that is a power source of the robot device 1, and the like. Further, the main body 2 has an actuator (not shown), and as shown in FIG. 14, the arm 3 can be moved up and down.
[0028]
The arm 3 has the joint 6 with two degrees of freedom, the joint 7 with one degree of freedom, the joint 8 with three degrees of freedom, and the arm part with six degrees of freedom. Each finger of the hand unit 4 has one degree of freedom at the first joint, one degree of freedom at the second joint, and two degrees of freedom at the third joint. In each joint, motors 111 (see FIG. 8) for driving the joints are arranged in a number equal to the respective degrees of freedom. Each motor 111 is provided with an encoder 112 (see FIG. 8) for detecting its rotation angle.
[0029]
Further, a tactile sensor 113 is arranged at the tip of each finger, and can detect pressure applied to the fingertip. The palm 41 has a built-in tag reader 121 for reading information in a small tag 131 (which will be described later) attached to the tableware 11.
[0030]
In addition, two visual sensors 114, 114 are arranged on the upper part of the main body 2, and images the tableware 11, the table 10, the sink 12, the preparation table 13, the hand unit 4, and the like. These two visual sensors 114, 114 are arranged such that the optical axes of the visual sensors are parallel to each other and a line connecting the optical axis centers is orthogonal to the optical axis.
[0031]
The moving mechanism 9 is of a wheel type in the present embodiment. The moving mechanism 9 is a left and right independent driving wheel type, and has a motor for each wheel. Therefore, by making a difference between the rotational speeds of the left and right wheels, it is possible to move not only forward and backward but also to the right front and left rear. Furthermore, by reversing the rotation directions of the wheels, a rotational movement on the spot is also possible.
[0032]
5 to 7 show an example in which the measuring device 15 is arranged beside the sink 12 in the robot apparatus 1 having the above configuration. 5 and 7 show a state in which the robot device 1 faces the measuring device 15, and FIG. 6 shows a perspective view and a front view of the measuring device 15.
[0033]
The weighing device 15 includes a weighing unit 158 that weighs at least the weight of the object to be weighed, a tag writer 151 that can write information in a nonvolatile memory 134 (see FIG. 10) in the small tag 131, and the like.
[0034]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating details of the control unit 101.
[0035]
The control unit 101 includes an arithmetic unit 102 that performs various operations based on a program, a RAM 103 that stores information and programs, a memory 103 such as a ROM, a D / A converter 104 that converts a digital input to an analog output, and an encoder. A counter 105 for counting the number of input pulses of the A / D converter, an A / D converter 106 for converting an analog input to a digital output, an image input interface 107 for inputting an output of a visual sensor to a control unit, and an interface for performing serial communication. And a bus 109 connecting them. In such a configuration, the output of the tactile sensor 113 and the like is converted into a digital value by the A / D converter 106, and the output is sent to the memory 103 via the bus 109. The output of the encoder 112 provided in each motor 111 for driving each joint of the hand unit 4 is sent to the memory 103 via the counter 105 and the bus 109. The output of the visual sensor 114 is sent to the memory 103 via the image input interface 107 and the bus 109. The output of the tag reader 121 is sent to the memory 103 via the serial port 108 and the bus 109. The arithmetic device 102 calculates a control value required for driving each joint, converts the control value into an analog output by the D / A converter 104, and outputs the analog output to the motor 111 that drives each joint via the motor driver 110. .
[0036]
Next, the tag system will be described with reference to FIGS. In an information communication system using tags, a tag reader 121 or a tag writer 15 and a small tag 131 exist.
[0037]
The tag reader 121 has a configuration shown in FIG. 9 and includes an arithmetic unit 122 for performing various calculations based on programs, a memory 123 for recording information and programs, a wireless transmission unit 124 for transmitting transmission data to an object, and an external device. And a serial port 126 for communicating with the control unit 101, and a bus 127 connecting them.
[0038]
The small tag 131 has the configuration shown in FIG. 10, and includes an arithmetic unit 132 for performing various operations based on a program, a memory 133 for recording information and programs, a non-volatile memory 134 for recording information and programs, and transmission data. , A wireless transmission unit 135 for transmitting data to the outside, a wireless reception unit 136 for receiving data from the outside, and a bus 137 connecting these components.
[0039]
The tag writer 151 has the configuration shown in FIG. 11, and includes an arithmetic unit 152 for performing various operations based on a program, a memory 153 for recording information and programs, a wireless transmission unit 154 for transmitting transmission data to a target, , An A / D converter 156 for converting an analog input to a digital output, and a bus 157 connecting these components. That is, when the tableware 11 on which meals are served is placed on the weighing machine 15, the weight of the tableware on which meals are served is measured by the measuring unit 158. Then, the measurement result is input to the A / D converter 156 of the tag writer 151 and recorded in the memory 153. Further, the weighing result is transmitted from the wireless transmission unit 154 to the small tag 131, and is recorded in the nonvolatile memory 134 in the small tag 131.
[0040]
That is, RF communication is performed between the tag reader 121 or the tag writer 151 and the small tag 131 by RF, and the small tag 131a existing within a certain range A is communicated with the small tag 131a as shown in FIGS. Communication is established only with the tag reader 121 or the tag writer 151, and communication is not established between the small tag 131b existing outside the range A and the tag reader 121 or the tag writer 151. However, in the present embodiment, communication between the small tag 131 and the tag reader 121 or the tag writer 151 is performed using a known RF wireless communication technology.
[0041]
A method of using another tag system according to the present invention will be described. A small tag 131 attached to or embedded in the tableware 11 is detected by a tag reader 121 built in the hand unit 4 of the robot device 1. In the nonvolatile memory 134 in the small tag 131, attribute information on tableware is recorded. The attribute information is, for example, the weight and material (friction coefficient, rigidity, etc.) of the tableware. The non-volatile memory 134 also stores information on the position and posture of the hand unit 4 when the robot apparatus 1 grips the tableware when gripping the tableware. The information on the position / posture is, for example, information such as grasping the tableware from the near side or grasping the tableware from the right side. The tag reader 121 acquires information necessary for holding the tableware 11 from the nonvolatile memory 134.
[0042]
FIG. 13 shows a software configuration of a control program in the robot apparatus 1 having the above configuration.
[0043]
As shown in FIG. 13, the control program includes an image processing unit 141, an action planning unit 142, and a control calculation unit 143. The input includes various sensor (tactile sensor, encoder) input, image input, and information input from the small tag 131.
[0044]
The image processing unit 141 calculates an edge of a target object (tableware), a distance to the target object, and the like from an image input. The action planning unit 142 receives information from various sensors, information extracted as a result of the image processing unit 141, and information from the small tag 131, and determines an action of the robot apparatus as a whole. The control calculation unit 143 outputs a target command value to the motor of each joint according to the operation determined by the action planning unit 142 and the current state of the robot device.
[0045]
Next, with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 15, a procedure for distributing tableware will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 15. I do.
[0046]
In step S201, the position of the preparation table 13 is detected from the images of the two visual sensors 114, 114 mounted on the robot apparatus 1 by using the principle of triangulation, and the robot apparatus 1 moves close to the preparation table 13. The movement control is performed by the control unit 101 as described above (see FIG. 3).
[0047]
In step S202, the hand unit 4 is brought close to the tableware 11 until the small tag 131 attached to the tableware 11 and the tag reader 121 built in the hand unit 4 of the robot apparatus 1 become communicable. At this time, the position of the tableware 11 and the hand unit 4 in space is measured from the images of the two visual sensors 114 and 114 using the principle of triangulation, and the control unit 101 is set so that the hand unit 4 approaches the tableware 11. Control with.
[0048]
In step S203, the tag reader 121 uses the small tag 131 attached to the tableware 11 to stably hold the tableware 11 with attribute information of the tableware (total weight of the meal and the tableware, friction coefficient, rigidity, and the like). At least one or more pieces of information relating to the position and orientation of the hand unit 4 are acquired and stored in the memory 103 in the control unit 101.
[0049]
In step S204, when there are two or more pieces of information on the position and orientation of the hand unit 4 for stably holding the tableware 11 obtained from the small tag 131, the hand units 4 are used by the two visual sensors 114, 114. Then, the target position and orientation of the hand unit 4 are determined from the image information obtained by imaging the tableware 11.
[0050]
In step S205, first, the control unit 101 controls the arm unit 3 so that the position and posture of the hand unit 4 become the target values of the position and posture of the hand unit 4 determined in step S204. At this time, the positions and postures of the tableware 11 and the hand unit 4 are measured from the images captured by the two visual sensors 114 and 114 using the principle of triangulation. As a result, when the target position and the posture are satisfied, the arm unit 3 is fixed, and the tableware 11 as the target object is gripped only by the control of the hand unit 4. At this time, the fingertip force is determined based on the total weight of the meals and dishes placed on the dishes stored in the memory means 103 and the information on the coefficient of friction and the rigidity, and the meals and dishes placed on the dishes are determined. The control unit 101 controls the gripping of the hand unit 4 using the information on the total weight of the pieces and the friction coefficient and the determined fingertip force, thereby realizing the gripping of the tableware 11. When the tactile sensor 113 is present at the fingertip, more accurate control is realized by detecting the actual fingertip force by the tactile sensor 113 and performing feedback control.
[0051]
In step S206, the control unit 101 detects the position of the dining table 10 with the two visual sensors 114, 114 while controlling the moving mechanism unit 9 so that the robot apparatus 1 slowly rotates. When the position of the dining table 10 is detected, the control unit 101 controls the moving mechanism unit 9 to move the robot device 1 to a position near the dining table 10 (see FIG. 4).
[0052]
In step S207, the horizontal portion of the dining table 10 is determined from the images of the two visual sensors 114, 114, and the target position for placing the tableware 11 is determined. When the target position is determined, the control unit 101 controls the arm unit 3 and the hand unit 4 to move the held tableware 11 to the target position. When the tableware 11 reaches the target position, the control unit 101 performs control so as to release the grip of the hand unit 4.
[0053]
In step S208, the position of the preparation table 13 is detected from the images of the two visual sensors 114, 114 mounted on the robot apparatus 1 using the principle of triangulation, and the robot apparatus 1 moves close to the preparation table 13. The movement control is performed by the control unit 101 as described above.
[0054]
In step S209, it is detected from the images of the two visual sensors 114, 114 mounted on the robot apparatus 1 whether or not the tableware 11 is present on the preparation table 13 using the principle of triangulation, and the control unit 101 If it is determined that tableware still exists, the process returns to step S202. On the other hand, when the control unit 101 determines that the tableware 11 no longer exists on the preparation table 13, the serving operation is completed.
[0055]
Next, in the tableware serving lowering table support robot system including the tableware with the small tag attached or built therein and the robot apparatus having the above configuration, a procedure for lowering the tableware will be described with reference to a flowchart illustrated in FIG. 16. explain.
[0056]
In step S301, the position of the dining table 10 is detected from the images of the two visual sensors 114 and 114 mounted on the robot device 1 using the principle of triangulation so that the robot device 1 moves close to the dining table 10. The movement control is performed by the control unit 101 (see FIG. 4).
[0057]
In step S302, the hand unit 4 is brought close to the tableware 11 until the small tag 131 attached to the tableware 11 and the tag reader 121 built in the hand unit 4 of the robot apparatus 1 become communicable. At this time, the position of the tableware 11 and the hand unit 4 in space is measured from the images of the two visual sensors 114 and 114 using the principle of triangulation, and the control unit 101 is set so that the hand unit 4 approaches the tableware 11. Control with. At this time, based on the communication result between the tag reader 121 and the small tag 131 and the image information, it is determined whether or not another tableware 11 is present on the table 10, and the determined result is recorded in the memory 103.
[0058]
In step S303, the tag reader 121 uses the small tag 131 attached to the tableware 11 to obtain attribute information of the tableware 11 (such as the weight of the tableware alone, the total weight of meals and tableware placed on the tableware, the coefficient of friction, the rigidity, etc.) and the tableware 11 At least one or more pieces of information on the position and orientation of the hand unit 4 for stably gripping is acquired and stored in the memory 103 in the control unit 101.
[0059]
In step S304, if there are two or more pieces of information on the position and orientation of the hand unit 4 for stably holding the tableware 11 obtained from the small tag 131, the hand units 4 are used by the two visual sensors 114, 114. Then, the target position and orientation of the hand unit 4 are determined based on the image information obtained by imaging the tableware 11. Further, based on image information obtained by imaging the tableware 11 with the two visual sensors 114, 114, it is determined whether or not a meal remains on the tableware 11, and the determination result is stored in the memory 103 in the control unit 101.
[0060]
In step S305, first, the control unit 101 controls the arm unit 3 so that the position and posture of the hand unit 4 become the target values of the position and posture of the hand unit 4 determined in step S304. At this time, the positions and orientations of the tableware 11 and the hand unit 4 are measured from the images captured by the two visual sensors 114, 114 using the principle of triangulation. As a result, when the target position and the posture are satisfied, the arm unit 3 is fixed, and the tableware 11 as the target object is gripped only by the control of the hand unit 4. At this time, control is performed based on the result of the determination as to whether or not a meal remains on the tableware 11 stored in the memory means 103. As a result, when no meal remains on the tableware 11, the fingertip force is determined from the information on the weight, friction coefficient, and rigidity of the tableware 11 alone, and the weight and friction coefficient of the tableware 11 alone are determined. Using the information of the fingertip force, the control unit 101 controls the gripping of the hand unit 4 to realize the gripping of the tableware. On the other hand, when a meal remains on the tableware 11, the fingertip force is determined based on the meal placed on the tableware 11 and information on the total weight, the friction coefficient, and the rigidity of the tableware 11, and the meal is placed on the tableware 11. Using the total weight of the meal and the tableware 11, the friction coefficient, and the information on the determined fingertip force, the control unit 101 performs the grip control of the hand unit 4 and realizes the grip of the tableware. When the tactile sensor 113 is present at the fingertip, more accurate control is realized by detecting the actual fingertip force with the tactile sensor 113 and performing feedback control.
[0061]
In step S306, while the control unit 101 controls the moving mechanism unit 9 so that the robot apparatus 1 slowly rotates, the position of the sink 12 is detected by the two visual sensors 114 and 114. When the position of the sink 12 is detected, the control unit 101 controls the movement control unit 9 to move the robot apparatus 1 close to the sink 12 (see FIG. 3).
[0062]
In step S307, the horizontal part of the sink 12 is determined based on the images of the two visual sensors 114, 114, and the target position for placing the tableware 11 is determined. When the target position is determined, the control unit 101 controls the arm unit 3 and the hand unit 4 to control the tableware 11 being held to move to the target position. When reaching the target position, the control unit 101 performs control so as to release the grip of the hand unit 4.
[0063]
In step S308, utilizing the fact that the result of determining whether or not another tableware 11 is present on the table 10 in step S302 is recorded in the memory 103, it is determined whether or not the lower table of the tableware 11 is completed. judge. As a result, if the tableware 11 still exists, the process returns to step S301. On the other hand, when the tableware 11 is no longer present, the lower table work is completed.
[0064]
Next, with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 17, a procedure for distributing meals in a tableware serving lowering support robot system including tableware having a small tag attached or built therein, a robot apparatus having the above configuration, and a measuring device will be described. Will be explained. Note that the procedure for setting the dishes down is the same as the flow of the flowchart shown in FIG.
[0065]
In step S401, the position of the measuring device 15 is detected from the images of the two visual sensors 114, 114 mounted on the robot device 1 using the principle of triangulation, and the robot device 1 moves close to the measuring device 15. The movement control is performed by the control unit 101 as described above (see FIGS. 5 and 7).
[0066]
In step S402, the weighing unit 158 of the weighing device 15 weighs the tableware 11 on which the meal placed on the weighing device 15 is placed, and outputs the weighing result to the A / D of the tag writer 151. Output to converter 156. The tag writer 151 uses the wireless transmission unit 154 to transmit the measurement result to the wireless reception unit 136 of the small tag 131 attached to or built into the tableware 11. Information received by the wireless receiver 136 of the small tag 131 is stored in the nonvolatile memory 134.
[0067]
In step S403, the hand unit 4 is brought close to the tableware 11 until the small tag 131 attached to the tableware 11 and the tag reader 121 built in the hand unit 4 of the robot apparatus 1 become communicable. At this time, the position of the tableware 11 and the hand unit 4 in space is measured from the images of the two visual sensors 114 and 114 using the principle of triangulation, and the control unit 101 is set so that the hand unit 4 approaches the tableware 11. Control with.
[0068]
In step S404, the tag reader 121 uses the small tag 131 affixed to the tableware 11 to stably hold the tableware 11 with attribute information of the tableware (total weight of the meal and the tableware, coefficient of friction, rigidity, etc.). At least one or more pieces of information relating to the position and orientation of the hand unit 4 are acquired and stored in the memory 103 in the control unit 101.
[0069]
In step S <b> 405, when there are two or more pieces of information on the position and posture of the hand unit 4 for stably holding the tableware 11 acquired from the small tag 131, the two visual sensors 114 and 114 use the hand unit 4. Then, the target position and orientation of the hand unit 4 are determined from the image information obtained by imaging the tableware 11.
[0070]
In step S406, first, the control unit 101 controls the arm unit 3 so that the position and posture of the hand unit 4 become the target values of the position and posture of the hand unit 4 determined in step S405. At this time, the positions and postures of the tableware 11 and the hand unit 4 are measured from the images captured by the two visual sensors 114 and 114 using the principle of triangulation. As a result, when the target position and the posture are satisfied, the arm unit 3 is fixed, and the tableware 11 as the target object is gripped only by the control of the hand unit 4. At this time, the fingertip force is determined based on the information on the total weight of the meal and the tableware stored in the memory means 103 and the friction coefficient and the rigidity, and the total weight of the meal and the tableware on the tableware 11 is determined. The control unit 101 performs grip control of the hand unit 4 using the information of the friction coefficient and the determined fingertip force, thereby realizing the grip of the tableware. When the tactile sensor 113 is present at the fingertip, more accurate control is realized by detecting the actual fingertip force by the tactile sensor 113 and performing feedback control.
[0071]
In step S407, first, the control unit 101 detects the position of the dining table 10 with the two visual sensors 114, 114 while controlling the moving mechanism unit 9 so that the robot device 1 slowly rotates. When the position of the dining table 10 is detected, the control unit 101 controls the moving mechanism unit 9 to move the robot device 1 to a position near the dining table 10.
[0072]
In step S408, the horizontal portion of the table 10 is determined from the images of the two visual sensors 114, 114, and the target position where the tableware 11 is placed is determined. When the target position is determined, the control unit 101 controls the arm unit 3 and the hand unit 4 to move the held tableware 11 to the target position. When the tableware 11 reaches the target position, the control unit 101 performs control so as to release the grip of the hand unit 4.
[0073]
In step S409, the control unit 101 detects the position of the measuring device 15 from the images of the two visual sensors 114 and 114 using the principle of triangulation, and moves the robot apparatus 1 to the vicinity of the measuring device 15. Perform movement control.
[0074]
In step S410, it is detected from the images of the two visual sensors 114, 114 whether or not the tableware 11 is present on the measuring device 15 using the principle of triangulation. If it is determined, the process returns to step S402. On the other hand, when the control unit 101 determines that the tableware 11 is no longer present on the measuring device 15, the serving operation is completed.
[0075]
In each of the above embodiments, the operation of serving and setting the lower table to the robot apparatus 1 may be started according to an instruction from a human, or the robot apparatus 1 may recognize the situation using visual information or the like. You may start with
[0076]
The tableware serving lower table support system described above is realized by a program for causing tableware serving and / or lower table support processing to function.
[0077]
The subject of the invention may be the program itself, or the program may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium.
[0078]
In the present invention, as the recording medium, for example, a ROM itself may be a program medium, or a program reading device is provided as an external storage device (not shown), in which the recording medium is inserted. It may be a readable program medium. In any case, the stored program may be configured to be accessed and executed by a microcomputer, or in any case, the program may be read, and the read program may be a program (not shown) of the microcomputer. The program may be loaded into the storage area and the program may be executed. It is assumed that the loading program is stored in the main unit in advance.
[0079]
Here, the program medium is a recording medium configured to be separable from the main body, such as a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as an FD (flexible disk) or an HD (hard disk), a CD-ROM / An optical disk system such as MO / MD / DVD, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a fixed program including a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash ROM, etc. It may be a medium.
[0080]
Further, in the present invention, when the system configuration is connectable to a communication network including the Internet, the medium may carry the program in a fluid manner so that the program is downloaded from the communication network. When the program is downloaded from the communication network as described above, the download program may be stored in the system body in advance, or may be installed from another recording medium. The content stored in the recording medium is not limited to a program, but may be data.
[0081]
Further, in the present invention, the program itself may be the processing itself executed by the microcomputer, or may be acquired by accessing a communication network including the Internet, or may be acquired. It may be sent from. Further, it may be a result of processing in the serving and lower table support system based on the loaded program, that is, a program generated. Alternatively, it may be generated as a result of processing in the above-mentioned serving lower-table support system when sending it out from here. Note that these are not limited to programs and may be data.
[0082]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, information relating to attributes of, for example, tableware, which are objects, is read from the information recording unit, and the readout information is used to realize tableware grip control. Becomes possible. As a result, for example, at the time of the lower table, the lower table can be completed without leaving the tableware on the table.
[0083]
Further, according to the present invention, at least information relating to the weight of the tableware is recorded in the information recording unit as information relating to the attribute of the object, for example, the tableware. By recording information and using this information for control of the hand unit, there is no need for the designer to assume the weight of the tableware in advance and record the assumed weight in the memory of the control unit, It is possible to solve the conventional problem that it was difficult to grasp the tableware of the present invention.
[0084]
Further, according to the present invention, as the information on the weight of the item, the total weight of the meal and the dishes put on the tableware is recorded, and this information is used for controlling the hand unit, so that the weight of the tableware at the time of the lower table can be obtained. Is lighter than the total weight of the meal and the dishes put on the tableware at the time of serving, so that for tableware for which serving support can be realized by stable gripping, lower table support can also be realized by stable holding.
[0085]
Further, according to the present invention, two pieces of information, that is, the weight of the tableware alone and the total weight of the meal and the tableware placed on the tableware, are recorded in the information recording unit attached to or built in the tableware. Then, the two pieces of weight information are obtained from the information recording unit using the information reading unit, and the tableware can be gripped one by one by implementing the gripping control of the tableware using the obtained information. . In particular, at the time of serving, the information on the total weight of the meal and the tableware used on the tableware is used, and at the time of the lower table, the tableware can be stably gripped by using the weight information of only the tableware.
[0086]
Further, according to the present invention, the apparatus further includes a weighing device having weighing means for weighing the weight of the target object and recording means for recording the weighing result in the information recording section in a non-contact manner. With such a configuration, the result of weighing the tableware including the meal by the measuring instrument is recorded in the information recording section, and the robot apparatus acquires the weight information from the information recording section using the information reading section. By using the acquired information to realize tableware grip control, more accurate weight information immediately before gripping can be used for control, so that serving is performed in a stable gripping state for each tableware Can be.
[0087]
According to the present invention, at least information on the material is recorded as information on the attribute of the tableware, and the information on the material is used for controlling the hand unit. It is not necessary to record the assumed rigidity in the memory of the control unit, and it is possible to reduce the risk of breakage of the tableware when gripping tableware having the assumed rigidity or less.
[0088]
Further, according to the present invention, as information relating to the attribute of the tableware as an object, at least information relating to the gripping means of the tableware is recorded, and the information relating to the gripping means is used for control of the hand unit, so that it is more stable and faster. It becomes possible to hold tableware.
[0089]
Further, according to the present invention, by arranging the tactile sensor in the hand unit, the fingertip force applied to the tableware can be detected with higher accuracy than when calculating from the motor torque.
[0090]
Further, according to the present invention, by arranging the information reading unit in the hand unit, the information reading unit can scan the environment using the degree of freedom of the arm unit. Therefore, even if the communication distance between the information recording unit and the information reading unit is relatively short, it is possible to reliably detect tableware present within the operating range of the hand unit.
[0091]
Further, according to the present invention, by making the robot apparatus an autonomous robot apparatus, the user does not need to perform the work of lowering the tableware at all, and can have time to perform another work.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a tableware serving and setting support robot system according to the present invention, which is configured by a robot device and a small tag.
FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a tableware serving and setting support robot system according to the present invention, which is configured by a robot device and a small tag.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a robot apparatus faces a preparation table in a dining kitchen.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a robot apparatus faces a dining table in a dining kitchen.
FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a tableware serving lower table support robot system according to the present invention, which includes a robot device, a small tag, and a measuring device.
FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a measuring instrument, and FIG. 6B is a front view of the same.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the robot apparatus is facing the measuring instrument in the dining kitchen.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the robot device.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a tag reader.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a small tag.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a tag writer.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a communication state of the tag system.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a software configuration of a control program in the robot device.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the main body of the robot device is moving up and down.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of tableware serving support by the robot apparatus.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of lower table support of tableware by the robot apparatus.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of tableware serving support by the robot apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Robot device
2 Body
3 Arm part
4 Hand part
5 Battery
6, 7, 8 arm joints
9 Moving mechanism
10 dining table
11 Tableware
12 sink
13 Preparation table
15 Scale
101 control unit
102 arithmetic unit
103 memory
104D / A converter
105 counter
106 A / D converter
107 Image input interface
108 serial port
109 Bus
110 Motor driver
111 motor
112 encoder
113 Tactile sensor
114 Vision Sensor
121 Tag Reader
122 arithmetic unit
123 memory
124 wireless transmitter
125 wireless receiver
126 serial port
127 bus
131, 131a, 131b Small tag
132 arithmetic unit
133 memory
134 Non-volatile memory
135 wireless transmitter
136 Radio receiver
137 bus
141 Image processing unit
142 Action Planning Department
143 control operation unit
151 Tag Writer
152 arithmetic unit
153 memory
154 wireless transmitter
155 wireless receiver
156 A / D converter
157 bus
158 Weighing section

Claims (17)

A robot system for supporting tableware serving and / or lower tables,
An information recording unit in which information on the attribute of the object attached or embedded in the object is recorded, and a robot device,
The robot apparatus includes a moving mechanism unit, a visual sensor, a multi-degree-of-freedom arm unit, a hand unit having at least two fingers attached to the arm unit, and an information reading unit that reads information from the information recording unit. And a control unit for controlling the operation of the entire device, wherein the control unit uses information on an attribute of an object recorded in the information recording unit when controlling the present device. A robot system for serving tableware and serving dishes. 2. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the information recording unit records at least information on the weight of the object as the information on the attribute of the object. 3. 3. The robot according to claim 2, wherein the information on the weight of the object is the total weight of the meal and the tableware. 3. The robot system according to claim 2, wherein the information on the weight of the object is two pieces of information: the weight of only the tableware, and the total weight of the meal and the tableware placed on the tableware. 5. The tableware according to claim 4, further comprising a weighing device having a weighing unit that weighs the weight of the object and a recording unit that records the weighing result in the information recording unit in a non-contact manner. 6. Zen support robot system. 6. The table serving table serving robot according to claim 1, wherein the information recording unit records at least information relating to a material of the object as information relating to the attribute of the object. 7. system. 6. The table setting table support according to claim 1, wherein the information recording unit records at least information relating to an object gripping unit as information relating to the attribute of the object. 7. Robot system. 6. The tableware serving support of tableware according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information reading unit reads information related to an attribute of an object from the information recording unit using a non-contact communication unit. Robot system. 9. The robot system according to claim 8, wherein the non-contact communication means is RF. 6. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the hand unit includes a tactile sensor. 7. The table setting table serving robot system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information reading unit is arranged in the hand unit. 6. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the moving mechanism unit is capable of autonomously moving under the control of the control unit. 7. Information in which information on a moving mechanism unit, a visual sensor, a multi-degree-of-freedom arm unit, a hand unit attached to this arm unit, and information on an attribute of the object attached to or embedded in the object is recorded. An information reading unit that reads information from a recording unit, and a method of supporting serving of tableware using a robot device including a control unit that controls the operation of the entire device,
Detecting the position of the preparation table from the image of the visual sensor, and moving the robot apparatus to the preparation table;
Bringing the hand unit close to the object until the information recording unit attached to the object and the information reading unit built in the hand unit of the robot device become communicable,
A step in which the information reading unit acquires attribute information of the object from the information recording unit attached to the object and at least one or more pieces of information relating to the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object;
Determining the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object acquired from the information recording unit,
After moving the arm unit so that the position and orientation of the hand unit are the target values of the position and orientation of the hand unit determined in the above step, gripping the target with the hand unit,
Moving the robot device to the dining table by detecting the position of the dining table with a visual sensor while slowly rotating the robot device,
The target position on the dining table where the object is to be placed is determined from the image of the visual sensor, the arm and the hand are controlled, and after the object being held is placed at the target position, the grip of the hand is released. A method for supporting the serving of tableware, comprising the steps of: Information in which information on a moving mechanism unit, a visual sensor, a multi-degree-of-freedom arm unit, a hand unit attached to this arm unit, and information on an attribute of the object attached to or embedded in the object is recorded. An information reading unit that reads information from a recording unit, a method of supporting a lower table of dishes using a robot device including a control unit that controls the operation of the entire device,
Detecting the position of the dining table from the image of the visual sensor and moving the robot apparatus to the dining table;
Bringing the hand unit close to the object until the information recording unit attached to the object and the information reading unit built into the hand unit of the robot device become communicable,
A step in which the information reading unit acquires attribute information of the object from the information recording unit attached to the object and at least one or more pieces of information relating to the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object;
Determining the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object acquired from the information recording unit,
After moving the arm unit so that the position and orientation of the hand unit are the target values of the position and orientation of the hand unit determined in the above step, gripping the target with the hand unit,
Moving the robot to the sink by detecting the position of the sink with a visual sensor while slowly rotating the robot;
The target position on the sink on which the object is placed is determined from the image of the visual sensor, and the arm and the hand are controlled to place the object being held at the target position, and then the grip of the hand is released. A method for supporting a lower table of tableware, comprising: Information in which information on a moving mechanism unit, a visual sensor, a multi-degree-of-freedom arm unit, a hand unit attached to this arm unit, and information on an attribute of the object attached to or embedded in the object is recorded. An information reading unit that reads information from a recording unit, and a computer-readable serving assistance program for supporting serving of tableware using a robot device including a control unit that controls the operation of the entire device,
Detecting the position of the preparation table from the image of the visual sensor, and controlling the robot apparatus to move to the preparation table;
Until the information recording unit affixed to the object and the information reading unit built in the hand unit of the robot device become communicable, a step of controlling the hand unit to approach the object,
A step in which the information reading unit acquires attribute information of the object from the information recording unit attached to the object and at least one or more pieces of information relating to the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object;
Determining the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object acquired from the information recording unit,
After moving the arm unit so that the position and orientation of the hand unit become the target values of the position and orientation of the hand unit determined in the above step, controlling to grip the target with the hand unit,
Controlling the robot apparatus to move to the table by detecting the position of the table with a visual sensor while slowly rotating the robot apparatus;
The target position on the dining table where the object is to be placed is determined from the image of the visual sensor, the arm and the hand are controlled, and after the object being held is placed at the target position, the grip of the hand is released. Tableware serving support program, comprising the steps of: Information in which information on a moving mechanism unit, a visual sensor, a multi-degree-of-freedom arm unit, a hand unit attached to this arm unit, and information on an attribute of the object attached to or embedded in the object is recorded. An information reading unit that reads information from the recording unit, a computer-readable lower table support program for supporting a lower table of tableware using a robot device including a control unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus,
Detecting the position of the table from the image of the visual sensor, controlling the robot device to move to the table,
A step of controlling the hand unit to approach the object until the information recording unit attached to the object and the information reading unit built in the hand unit of the robot device become communicable,
A step in which the information reading unit acquires attribute information of the object from the information recording unit attached to the object and at least one or more pieces of information relating to the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object;
Determining the position and orientation of the hand unit for stably gripping the object acquired from the information recording unit,
After moving the arm unit so that the position and orientation of the hand unit become the target values of the position and orientation of the hand unit determined in the above step, controlling to grip the target with the hand unit,
Controlling the robot device to move to the sink by detecting the position of the sink with a visual sensor while slowly rotating the robot device;
The target position on the sink on which the object is placed is determined from the image of the visual sensor, and the arm and the hand are controlled to place the object being held at the target position, and then the grip of the hand is released. And a step of controlling tableware as described above. A computer-readable recording medium on which the support program according to claim 15 or 16 is recorded.

Images