JP2004306247A - Robot device and method of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a robot device which is improved in safety, and to provide a method of controlling the same. <P>SOLUTION: The movable robot device is configured so as to detect a hazardous circumstance as well as a degree of the detected hazardous circumstance, and to carry out predetermined counteractive operation according to the detected hazardous circumstance and the degree of the same. The robot device has a hazardous circumstance detecting means for detecting the hazardous circumstance, and a control means for carrying out control processing for executing the predetermined counteractive operation depending on a location at which the hazardous circumstance detected by the hazardous circumstance detecting means occurs. Further the robot device is configured so as to detect a hazardous degree related to a hazardous object and a movable section thereof when it detects the hazardous object, and operates the movable section to reduce or avoid a hazard, based on the detected hazardous degree and a determined action thereof. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot apparatus and a control method therefor, and is suitably applied to, for example, a humanoid robot.

  Conventionally, most industrial robots are constructed as stationary installation types. For this reason, in the conventional industrial robot, a method for providing a danger detection sensor in the surrounding environment, or installing a barrier or surrounding no entry space is used as a personal safety measure. I have.

  In addition, since industrial robots are usually installed in a stable state, it is sufficient to simply stop the operation of the robot immediately, for example, when a danger situation occurs, and it is not necessary to consider the maintenance of the robot itself .

  However, when considering a humanoid entertainment robot that moves and behaves autonomously, in order for the robot to freely move in the environment by its own judgment, a danger detection sensor is provided in the environment around the robot, or It is not possible to apply a method such as installing a barrier or a no-go space around it.

  Also, in such entertainment robots, if a danger situation is detected, simply stopping the operation immediately may cause the robot to lose its balance and fall, thereby causing damage to the robot, etc. In addition to this, it is necessary to take measures for robot body maintenance.

  In addition, considering the characteristics of entertainment robots, even if we take measures according to the danger situation that occurred, we can quickly return to the original actions and behaviors such as walking and dancing, so that the robot Care must be taken to maximize operating efficiency in normal conditions.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and has as its object to propose a robot apparatus and a control method thereof that can significantly improve safety.

  In order to solve this problem, in the present invention, in a mobile robot device, a dangerous situation detecting means for detecting a dangerous situation, a risk degree detecting means for detecting the degree of the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous situation detecting means, There is provided control means for performing control processing for executing a predetermined coping operation in accordance with the danger situation detected by the danger situation detection means and the degree of the danger situation detected by the danger degree detection means.

  As a result, this robot device can execute an appropriate coping action according to the dangerous situation when or before the dangerous situation occurs.

  Further, in the present invention, in the method for controlling a mobile robot device, a first step of detecting a danger situation and detecting a degree of the detected danger situation may be performed according to the detected danger situation and the degree of the danger situation. And a second step of performing a control process for causing the robot device to execute the predetermined coping operation.

  As a result, according to the control method of the robot apparatus, it is possible to execute an appropriate coping action according to the dangerous situation when or before the dangerous situation occurs.

  Further, in the present invention, in a mobile robot device, a danger situation detecting means for detecting a danger situation, and a predetermined coping operation corresponding to a position where the danger situation detected by the danger situation detection means has occurred are executed. Control means for performing control processing is provided.

  As a result, this robot device can execute an appropriate coping action according to the position where the dangerous situation has occurred.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the method for controlling a mobile robot apparatus, the first step of detecting a dangerous situation and the robot performs a predetermined coping operation according to a position where the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous situation detecting means occurs. And a second step of performing control processing for causing the apparatus to execute the processing.

  As a result, according to the control method of the robot device, it is possible to execute an appropriate coping action according to the position where the dangerous situation has occurred.

  Further, according to the present invention, in a robot apparatus having a movable portion in which a plurality of links are formed via joints, a driving unit for driving the movable unit, a control unit for controlling the driving unit, and an object for detecting an object An object detecting means, an action determining means for determining an action of the robot apparatus, and a risk detecting means for detecting a risk related to the object and the movable part, wherein the control means determines the risk and the action determining means. Based on the action performed, the movable part is operated to reduce or avoid danger.

  As a result, with this robot apparatus, danger can be reliably reduced or avoided.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the control method of a robot device having a movable portion in which a plurality of links are formed via joints, a first step of determining an action of the robot device, and A second step of detecting a risk associated with the object and the movable part, and a third step of operating the movable part to reduce or avoid the risk based on the detected risk and the determined behavior. Is provided.

  As a result, according to the control method of the robot device, the danger can be surely reduced or avoided.

  According to the present invention, in a mobile robot apparatus and a control method thereof, a danger situation is detected, a degree of the detected danger situation is detected, and a predetermined measure corresponding to the detected danger situation and the degree of the danger situation is provided. By performing a control process for causing the robot device to execute an operation, when a danger situation occurs or before it occurs, it is possible to execute an appropriate coping action according to the danger situation, and thus the safety is ensured. It is possible to realize a robot device and a control method thereof that can significantly improve the performance.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the mobile robot apparatus and the control method thereof, a dangerous situation detecting means for detecting a dangerous situation, and a predetermined coping operation corresponding to a position where the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous situation detecting means has occurred. And control means for performing a control process for causing the vehicle to execute an appropriate coping action in accordance with the position where the danger situation has occurred, thus significantly improving safety. A robot device and a control method thereof can be realized.

  Further, according to the present invention, in a robot device having a movable portion in which a plurality of links are formed via a joint portion and a control method thereof, the behavior of the robot device is determined, and when the target is detected, By detecting the risk associated with the movable part, and by operating the movable part to reduce or avoid the risk based on the detected risk and the determined behavior, the risk is reliably reduced or Thus, it is possible to realize a robot device and a control method thereof that can avoid the problem and thus can significantly improve safety.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Overall Configuration of Robot 1 According to the Present Embodiment In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a robot according to the present embodiment as a whole, and a head unit 4 is provided above a body unit 2 via a neck 3. The arm units 5A and 5B are connected to the upper left and right side surfaces of the body unit 2, respectively, and the pair of leg units 6A and 6B are connected to the lower part of the body unit 2. It is configured.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the neck 3 is held by a neck joint mechanism 13 having degrees of freedom around the neck pitch axis 10, the neck yaw axis 11, and the neck pitch axis 12. The head unit 4 is attached to the tip of the neck 3 with a degree of freedom around the neck roll shaft 14 as shown in FIG. Thus, in the robot 1, the head unit 4 can be directed in desired directions such as front and rear, left and right, and diagonally.

  1 and 2, each arm unit 5A is composed of three blocks of an upper arm block 15, a forearm block 16 and a hand block 17, and the upper end of the upper arm block 15 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, it is connected to the body unit 2 via a shoulder joint mechanism 20 having degrees of freedom around the shoulder pitch axis 18 and the shoulder roll axis 19.

  At this time, the forearm block 16 is connected to the upper arm block 15 with a degree of freedom about the upper arm yaw axis 21 as shown in FIG. The hand block 17 is connected to the forearm block 16 with a degree of freedom around the wrist yaw axis 22 as shown in FIG. Further, the forearm block 16 is provided with an elbow joint mechanism 24 having a degree of freedom around the elbow pitch axis 23.

  Accordingly, in the robot 1, the arm units 5A and 5B can be moved with substantially the same degree of freedom as the human arm as a whole, and thus a greeting with one hand raised, a dance of swinging the arm units 5A and 5B, etc. Various actions using the arm units 5A and 5B can be performed.

  Further, five finger portions 25 are attached to the tip of the hand portion block 17 so as to bend and extend, respectively, so that an object can be picked up or grasped using these finger portions. ing.

  On the other hand, each leg unit 6A, 6B is composed of three blocks of a thigh block 30, a shin block 31 and a foot block 32, as is apparent from FIGS. 3, is connected to the body unit 2 via a hip joint mechanism 36 having degrees of freedom around the crotch yaw axis 33, the crotch roll axis 34, and the crotch pitch axis 35 as shown in FIG.

  At this time, the thigh block 30 and the shin block 31 are connected via a knee joint mechanism 38 having a degree of freedom around the knee pitch axis 37 as shown in FIG. Are connected via an ankle joint mechanism 41 having a degree of freedom around an ankle pitch axis 39 and an ankle roll axis 40 as shown in FIG.

  Thereby, in the robot 1, these leg units 6A and 6B can be moved with almost the same degree of freedom as human legs, and thus various operations using the leg units 6A and 6B such as walking and kicking a ball. Can be expressed.

  In the case of the robot 1, each hip joint mechanism 36 is supported by a waist joint mechanism 44 having a degree of freedom around the trunk roll axis 42 and the trunk pitch axis 43 as shown in FIG. The body unit 2 can also be freely tilted in the front-back, left-right directions.

Here, in the robot 1, as described above, as a power source for moving the head unit 4, each arm unit 5A, 5B, each leg unit 6A, 6B, and the body unit 2, as shown in FIG. , the site with each degree of freedom including each joint mechanism, such as a neck joint mechanism 13, and the shoulder joint mechanism 20, the actuator a ₁ to a ₁₇ of the freedom of minutes each are disposed. Each of the actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₇ is provided with an arithmetic circuit formed as an IC chip, a current detector for detecting a drive current value, and the like inside the case, and also has a function of communicating with an external device. (For example, see Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-38097).

  The body unit 2 accommodates a main control unit 50 that controls the operation of the entire robot 1, a peripheral circuit 51 such as a power supply circuit and a communication circuit, and a battery 52 (FIG. 5). Each of the constituent units (the body unit 2, the head unit 4, the arm units 5A and 5B, and the leg units 6A and 6B) includes sub-control units 53A to 53A to which the main control unit 50 is electrically connected. 53D is stored.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, various external devices such as a pair of CCD (Charge Coupled Device) cameras 60A and 60B functioning as "eyes" of the robot 1 and a microphone 61 functioning as "ears" are provided on the head unit 4. A sensor, a speaker 62 functioning as a “mouth”, and the like are provided at predetermined positions. Further, a touch sensor 63 as an external sensor is provided at each predetermined portion such as the back surface of the foot block 32 in each of the leg units 6A and 6B.

More body unit 2, along with various internal sensors, such as a battery sensor 64 and the acceleration sensor 65 is arranged, within each constituent unit, each respectively corresponding to each of the actuators A ₁ to A _17, corresponding potentiometer _P 1 _{to P 17} as an internal sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the output shaft of the actuator _a 1 _{to a 17} to is provided.

  Then, each of the CCD cameras 60A and 60B captures an image of the surroundings and sends the obtained image signal S1A to the main control unit 50 via the sub control unit 53B (not shown in FIG. 5), while the microphone 61 Then, various external sounds are collected, and the audio signal S1B thus obtained is transmitted to the main control unit 50 via the sub control unit 53B.

  Each of the touch sensors 63 detects a physical action from the user and a physical contact with the outside, and the detection results are used as pressure detection signals S1C as sub-control units 53A to 53D (shown in FIG. 5). ) To the main control unit 50.

  Further, the battery sensor 64 detects the remaining energy of the battery 52 at a predetermined cycle, and sends the detection result to the main control unit 50 as a remaining battery signal S2A, while the acceleration sensor 65 outputs three axes (x axis, y axis). , And z-axis) are detected at predetermined intervals, and the detection result is sent to the main control unit 50 as an acceleration detection signal S2B.

Further potentiometers _P 1 _{to P 17} detects the rotational angle of the output shaft of the corresponding actuator _A 1 _{to A 17,} the corresponding sub-control section 53A~ the detection result as an angle detection signal _S2C 1 _{~S2C 17} at a predetermined cycle The data is sent to the main control unit 50 via 53D. Each of the actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₇ calculates its own output torque based on the drive current value detected by the above-described current detector provided therein, and outputs the calculation results to output torque detection signals S2D _{1 to} S2D. _{The number 17} is sent to the main control unit 50 via the corresponding sub-control units 53A to 53D.

The main control unit 50 includes an external sensor signal S1 such as an image signal S1A, an audio signal S1B, and a pressure detection signal S1C supplied from various external sensors such as the CCD cameras 60A and 60B, the microphone 61, and the touch sensors 63, and a battery. sensor 64, the energy remaining amount signal S2A supplied from each of various internal sensors such as an acceleration sensor 65 and the potentiometer _P 1 _{to P 17,} and the acceleration detection signal S2B and each angle detection signal _S2C 1 _{~S2C 17,} the actuators _{a 1} based from to a ₁₇ in the internal sensor signal S2, such as an output torque detection signal S2D ₁ ~S2D ₁₇ supplied respectively to determine the status and the external and internal of the robot 1, the presence or absence of physical encourage users such .

  Then, the main control unit 50 determines the robot 1 based on the determination result, the control program stored in the internal memory 50A in advance, and the various control parameters stored in the external memory 66 loaded at that time. Is determined, and a control command based on the determination result is transmitted to the corresponding sub-control units 53A to 53D (FIG. 4).

As a result, based on the control command, or the under the control of the sub-control unit 53A to 53D, the corresponding actuators A ₁ to A ₁₇ is driven, thus to oscillate the head unit 4 in the vertical and horizontal arms Various actions and actions such as raising the unit units 5A and 5B and walking are expressed by the robot 1.

  In this way, the robot 1 can autonomously act on the basis of external and internal situations and the like.

(2) Processing Content of Main Control Unit 50 for Action Generation Next, processing content of the main control unit 50 for action generation will be described.

  Functionally classifying the processing contents of the main control unit 50 relating to the behavior generation of the robot 1, as shown in FIG. 6, a state recognition unit that recognizes external and internal states based on sensor outputs of external and internal sensors. 70, an action determination unit 71 that determines the next action of the robot 1 based on the recognition result of the state recognition unit 70, an action generation unit 72 that causes the robot 1 to express the action selected and determined by the action determination unit 71. Can be divided into

  In this case, the state recognition unit 70 recognizes a specific state based on the external sensor signal S1 provided from various external sensors and the internal sensor signal S1 provided from various internal sensors, and recognizes the recognition result as a state recognition signal S10. The action determination unit 71 is notified.

  In practice, the state recognition unit 70 performs recognition and identification processing of a human face existing within the imaging range of the CCD cameras 60A and 60B based on the image signal S1A given from the CCD cameras 60A and 60B (FIG. 5). It performs various image processing such as the existence of an obstacle and a distance measurement process to the obstacle by the stereo measurement method, and notifies the action determination unit 72 of these recognition results.

  In addition, the state recognition unit 70 constantly monitors the audio signal S1B given from the microphone 71 (FIG. 5), and recognizes various input sounds detected based on the audio signal S1B and the user or the like included in the audio signal S1B. The spoken words are recognized on a word-by-word basis, and these recognition results are notified to the action determining unit 71.

  Furthermore, based on the pressure detection signal S1C given from each touch sensor 63 (FIG. 5), the state recognition unit 70 recognizes a physical action from the user or a physical contact with the user or another external tangible object. Then, the action determination unit 71 is notified of these recognition results.

Furthermore the condition recognition unit 70, provided respectively from the battery sensor 64 (FIG. 5) and the energy remaining amount detection signal S2A supplied from the acceleration sensor 65 acceleration given from (FIG. 5) detection signal S2B and potentiometers _P 1 _{to P 17} based on the angle detection signal _S2C 1 ～S2C internal sensor signal S2, such as ₁₇ to be, aware of the remaining energy amount and the robot 1 posture of the battery 52 and the like, and notifies them recognition result to the action determining unit 71.

  The action determining unit 71 determines a next action of the robot 1 according to an external or internal situation, and a reflex action according to an external or internal situation as a next action of the robot 1. A reflex action determining module for determining the action, and the action determined by the situation-dependent action determining module or the reflex action determining module based on the state recognition signal S10 given from the state recognizing section 70 as the action determining signal S11. Notify

Behavior generation unit 72, based on the action determination signal S11 given from the action determining unit 71, sends a corresponding sub-control section 53A~53D drive signal S12 to the actuator _A 1 _{to A 17} required via (FIG. 4) Or an audio signal S3 necessary for the speaker 62, or an LED drive signal S13 to an LED (Light Emitting Diode) (not shown) provided at the position of the "eye" of the head unit 4 or the like.

Thus behavior generation unit 72, or by driving the actuator _A 1 _{to A 17} required on the basis of the drive signal S12 to a predetermined state, or to output sound based on the audio signal S3 from the speaker 62, based on LED drive signal S13 The LED blinks in a blinking pattern.

  In this way, the main control unit 50 can cause the robot 1 to express a desired action.

(3) Safety Measures in the Robot 1 (3-1) Safety Monitoring by the Safety Management Unit 73 Next, safety measures taken for the robot 1 for humans, objectives, and machine maintenance will be described.

  In the robot 1, the vicinity of each joint mechanism (the neck joint mechanism 13, the shoulder joint mechanism 20, the elbow joint mechanism 24, the hip joint mechanism 36, the knee joint mechanism 38, the ankle joint mechanism 41, etc.) is shown. Touch sensors 63 (FIG. 5) for detecting a user's finger being pinched, contact with an external object, and the like are provided throughout the body including the touch panel. In the robot 1, as described above, based on the image signal S1A output from the CCD cameras 60A and 60B, the state recognition unit 70 detects an obstacle and measures distance to the obstacle by a stereo measurement method. Is always going on.

  In this robot 1, when any one of the touch sensors 63 detects pinching of the user's finger, or when the touch sensor 63 or the image recognition process detects contact with an external object or the like, the safety management unit Under the control of 73 (FIG. 6), according to the posture of the robot 1 at that time, the state of pinching, the distance to an obstacle, and the like, the original action that is most appropriate for the situation at that time and has been executed so far. A coping operation capable of returning as soon as possible can be executed.

Actually, in the case of the robot 1, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the arm units 5A and 5B and the insides of the elbows, the leg units 6A and 6B, the thigh block 30 and the shin each inner block 31, the leg units 6A, on the rear surface lower part of the thigh block 30 in 6B is the surface contact switch _63F 1 _{~63F 5} as a touch sensor 63 for safety respectively disposed I have.

In addition, the right and left outer sides of the waist of the torso unit 2 of the robot 1, the upper end of the thigh block 30 of each of the leg units 6A and 6B, and the thigh block 30 and the shin of each of the leg units 6A and 6B. each front side of the block 31, the leg units 6A, in the top outer and bottom of the foot block 32 in 6B, the tact switch _63T 1 _{~63T 6} is provided as a touch sensor 63 for safety, respectively ing.

And in the robot 1, the external sensor signal S1 and internal sensor signal S2 given from the various external sensors and internal sensors containing these surfaces contact switch _63F 1 _{~63F 5} and tact switches _63T 1 _{~63T 6,} the presence or absence of an obstacle Ya A state recognition signal S10 including various recognition results of the state recognition unit 70 including the distance to the obstacle is provided to the safety management unit 73.

  The safety management unit 73 includes a safety monitoring unit 73A and a coping operation generation unit 73B. Based on the supplied various types of external sensor signal S1, internal sensor signal S2, and state recognition signal S10, the safety monitoring unit 73 illustrated in FIG. In accordance with the procedure RT1, the user is injured when a finger or the like is pinched, and the robot 1 itself or the external object is damaged by the robot 1 contacting or colliding with the external object, or the target behavior of the robot 1 is hindered by an obstacle. The safety monitoring unit 73A monitors the occurrence of a dangerous situation such as a possibility that the situation may occur.

That safety monitoring section 73A, when the power source of the robot 1 is turned the safety monitoring procedure RT1 were initiated in step SP0, each touch sensor 63 (the surface contact switches in the following step SP1 _63F 1 ~63F ₅ and tact switches 63T _{1 to} 63T ₆ ), any one of the touch sensors 63 operates (detects pressure) or performs image recognition processing based on each pressure detection signal S1C provided from each of the state recognition units 70 and the state detection signal S10 provided from the state recognition unit 70. Waits for an obstacle to be detected.

  If the safety monitoring unit 73A eventually obtains a positive result in step SP1 by activating one of the touch sensors 63 or detecting an obstacle, the process proceeds to step SP2, where the current posture or state of the robot 1 is determined. Then, it is determined whether or not the robot 1 should execute the coping operation based on a situation such as the operation content (hereinafter, referred to as an aircraft situation) and the position of the operated touch sensor 63.

  If the safety monitoring unit 73A obtains a negative result in step SP2, it returns to step SP1, and if it obtains a positive result, it proceeds to step SP3, at which time the robot 1 is already executing any coping operation. Determine whether or not.

  When the safety monitoring unit 73A obtains a negative result in step SP3, the process proceeds to step SP4, in which the safety monitoring unit 73A sends a command to the coping operation generation unit 73B to execute coping operation (coping operation execution command). Returning to step SP1, the same processing is repeated thereafter.

  On the other hand, if the safety monitoring unit 73A obtains a positive result in step SP3, the process proceeds to step SP5, in which the safety monitoring unit 73A instructs the coping operation generation unit 73B to change the coping operation (hereinafter, this is referred to as coping operation). After that, the process returns to step SP1, and the same process is repeated thereafter.

  On the other hand, when the coping operation execution command is given from the safety monitoring unit 73A, the coping operation generation unit 73B starts the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2 shown in FIG. 11 in step SP10, and in the subsequent step SP11, executes the coping operation currently being executed. If there is an operation, it is determined whether or not the coping operation should be continued.

  Specifically, this determination is based on the degree and position of the newly generated danger situation, and determines whether to deal with the danger situation currently performing the coping operation or the newly detected danger situation. It is done by doing.

  When the coping operation generating unit 73B obtains a positive result in step SP11, the process proceeds to step SP12, where the coping operation generating unit 73B determines the degree of the danger situation, the position of the activated touch sensor 63, the current body condition of the robot 1, and the like. At this time, the robot 1 selects a coping operation to be performed, and sends a command to execute the coping operation (hereinafter, referred to as a coping operation generation command) to the action determining unit 71.

  Thus, when the coping operation generation command is given from the coping operation generating unit 73B, the action determining unit 71 determines the coping operation as an action to be immediately executed by the robot 1, and generates an action determining signal S11 according to the determination result. It is sent to the generation unit 72. As a result, this coping operation is immediately executed by the robot 1.

  When the robot 1 has already started executing the coping operation, the coping operation generating unit 73B does not send a coping operation generation command to the action determining unit 71 in step SP12. 1 continues the coping operation selected in the coping operation generation unit 73B in advance.

  Further, the coping operation generating unit 73B then proceeds to step SP14, determines whether or not to cope with the dangerous situation, and returns a negative result to step SP11.

  On the other hand, if a new danger situation to be dealt with preferentially occurs and a positive result is obtained in step SP11, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP13 to determine the degree of danger situation at that time, Based on the position of the touch sensor 63 and the current state of the robot 1, a new coping operation to be executed by the robot 1 for the new dangerous situation is selected.

  The coping operation generation unit 73B then issues a command to change the coping operation currently being executed by the robot 1 to the newly selected coping operation as a coping operation for the danger situation (hereinafter, this is referred to as a coping operation change command). Is sent to the action determining unit 71.

  Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 determines the newly selected coping action as the next action of the robot 1 in response to the coping action change command, and generates an action determining signal corresponding to the determination result. 72. Thus, the newly selected coping operation is immediately executed by the robot 1.

In the case of this embodiment, when a coping operation change command is given, the behavior determining unit 71 performs a new coping operation while omitting a portion overlapping with the coping operation performed by the robot 1 up to that time. The corresponding actuators A _{1 to} A _{17 and the} like are controlled via the action generation unit 72 so as to be executed by the robot 1, whereby the coping operation can be performed more quickly by the robot 1. .

  Then, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP14, determines whether the coping operation for the dangerous situation at this time may be completed, and returns a negative result to step SP11.

  Further, the coping operation generation unit 73B thereafter repeatedly executes the processing of steps SP11 to SP14 until a positive result is obtained in step SP14, and when a positive result is obtained in this step SP14, the process proceeds to step SP15, and the coping operation generation processing proceeds to step SP15. The procedure RT2 ends.

  As described above, the safety management unit 73 can always perform the monitoring of the presence or absence of the occurrence of the dangerous situation and the control processing for causing the robot 1 to execute the corresponding coping operation when the dangerous situation occurs, in parallel. In this way, it is possible to appropriately cope with a situation in which a higher priority danger situation occurs during the execution of the coping operation.

(3-2) Specific processing of the safety monitoring unit 73A (3-2-1) Specific processing of the safety monitoring unit 73A in the sensor operation monitoring step Here, the safety monitoring unit 73A performs a safety monitoring processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10). In step SP1, when it is detected that any one of the touch sensors 63 has been operated or that an obstacle has been detected by the image recognition processing, the operation or the obstacle detection is performed in accordance with the validity confirmation processing procedure RT3 shown in FIG. Check the validity.

  That is, the safety monitoring unit 73A constantly monitors the pressure detection signal S1C provided from each touch sensor 63 and the state recognition signal S10 provided from the state recognition unit 70 in step SP1 of the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1.

  Then, based on the pressure detection signal S1C or the state recognition signal S10, the safety monitoring unit 73A recognizes that either the touch sensor 63 has been activated or that an obstacle has been detected by the image recognition processing, and thus the validity confirmation processing procedure RT3 is performed. Starting in step SP20, in subsequent step SP21, the activated touch sensor 63 is specified based on the pressure detection signal S1C from each touch sensor 63 or the state recognition signal S10 from the state recognition unit 70, or by image recognition processing. Specify that an obstacle has been detected.

Subsequently, the safety monitoring unit 73A proceeds to step SP22, and as described above, the state recognition signal S10 given from the state recognition unit 70, the action determination signal S11 given from the action determination unit 71, and each actuator A _{1 at} that time. to a ₁₇ on the basis of such a (FIG. 5) provided from the output torque detection signal _S2D 1 _{~S2D 17} (FIG. 5), the current body condition of the robot 1, to a position or an obstacle of the touch sensor 63 actuated It is determined whether the operation of the touch sensor 63 or the detection of an obstacle is effective in view of the distance and the like.

For example, when the robot 1 does not move any of the arm units 5A and 5B at all, the touch sensor 63 (the surface contact switches 63F ₁ and 63F ₂ shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) arranged on the upper limb of the robot 1 is used. And the tact switch 63T ₁ ) is actuated, there is almost no possibility that the user's finger will be pinched by the joint mechanism (the shoulder joint mechanism 20 and the elbow joint mechanism 24) of the upper limb of the robot 1. In such a case, it is considered that there is no problem even if the operation of the touch sensor 63 is ignored. That is, the criterion for determining a dangerous situation such as pinching, for example, is changed according to the operation situation of the robot 1.

Further, even if the surface contact switch 63F ₂ (FIGS. 7 and 8) inside the elbow joint is pressed while the robot 1 is moving the elbow joint mechanism 24 (FIG. 1), the elbow joint mechanism 24 is moved. is extremely small output torque of the actuator a ₈ of and there are no plans to bend more elbow joint mechanism 24 is also believed that there are no safely ignore the operation of such a surface contact switch 63F _2. That is, the danger situation and the coping action or action of the danger situation are determined in consideration of one or both of the body performance of the actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₇ of the robot 1 and the next scheduled action.

Further, in the case of the robot 1, the acceleration detection signal S2B output from the acceleration sensor 65 (FIG. 5) and the acceleration detection signal S2B are provided on the back side of the foot block 32 (FIGS. 7 and 8) of each leg unit 6A, 6B. When it is detected that the user has been lifted based on the tact switches 63T ₆ and 63T ₆ that have been lifted, the torque output of all the actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₇ is stopped after the own posture is changed to a predetermined lifting position. When the robot 1 is held up, any joint mechanism (the neck joint mechanism 13, the shoulder joint mechanism 20, the elbow joint mechanism 24, the hip joint mechanism 36, the knee joint mechanism) is used to bring the whole body into a weakened state. Section 38 and the ankle joint mechanism section 41), there is no room for the user's finger or the like to be caught. There is no problem. That is, the dangerous situation is determined in consideration of the situation and the state where the robot 1 is placed.

Similarly, when the robot 1 is placed on the charging station, the joint mechanisms of the left and right leg units 6A and 6B (the hip joint mechanism 36, the knee joint mechanism 38, and the ankle). since the torque output of each actuator a ₁₂ to a ₁₇ of the joint mechanism 41) is stopped for the whole lower limb weakness state, joint mechanism (hip joint mechanism 36, the knee joint mechanism 38 and the ankle joint mechanism In 41), there is no room for the user's finger or the like to be pinched. Therefore, at this time, there is no problem even if the operation of the touch sensor 63 disposed on the lower leg of the robot 1 is ignored.

  Furthermore, for example, even if an obstacle is detected while the robot 1 is performing a walking operation, if the obstacle is at a position deviating from the movement path of the robot 1, the obstacle of the robot 1 is moved by the obstacle. Is not hindered, and there is no problem even if the existence of the obstacle is ignored. That is, the dangerous situation is determined in consideration of the distance between the robot 1 and the detected obstacle.

  Therefore, when any one of the touch sensors 63 operates or detects an obstacle by image recognition processing, the safety monitoring unit 73A considers the operation of the touch sensor 63 or the detection of the obstacle while considering the current body condition of the robot 1. If the detection is valid, that is, considering the current state of the robot 1, the user is injured by pinching a finger at the location, and the external object or the robot 1 itself is contacted by an external object or the like. It is determined whether there is a possibility that damage may occur or the operation of the robot 1 may be hindered.

  When the safety monitoring unit 73A obtains a negative result (such as a result determined to be a dangerous situation) in step SP22, the process proceeds to step SP24 to end the validity check processing procedure RT3, and thereafter, the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1 ( Return to FIG. 10). On the other hand, if the safety monitoring unit 73A obtains a positive result in step SP22, it proceeds to step SP2 of the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1.

  In this way, the safety monitoring unit 73A can accurately determine the danger situation when any of the touch sensors 63 is activated or an obstacle is detected by the image recognition processing, while taking into account the body situation of the robot 1 at that time. The presence or absence of the occurrence is detected.

(3-2-2) Specific Processing of Safety Monitoring Unit 73A in Danger Situation Detection Step On the other hand, the safety monitoring unit 73A performs the processing in step SP2 of the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10) as shown in FIG. It is executed according to the judgment processing procedure RT4.

  That is, when the safety monitoring unit 73A proceeds to step SP2 of the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1, the safety monitoring processing procedure RT4 starts in step SP30, and in step SP31, the operation is enabled in step SP1 of the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1. Then, the volume of the safety space associated with the touch sensor 63 determined to be or the safety space associated with the environment determined to be effective for obstacle detection is calculated.

Here, the “safety space” refers to a space formed between the parts of the body of the robot 1 or between the body and the environment. In the present embodiment, with respect to a safety space formed by two links connected via one joint mechanism, the two links whose degree of risk is set in accordance with the angle formed by these two links The space between them is defined. For example leg units 6A, As for between thighs block 30 and the leg portion block 31 of 6B, the side of the space after the knee joint mechanism 38 pointing an arrow PO ₁ in FIG. 14 corresponds to this.

Further, in the case of the present embodiment, as for the safety space formed by two links sequentially connected via one or a plurality of links, the safety level is set according to the distance between these two links. Space between two links. For example arm units 5A, As for between 5B forearm block 16 and the body unit 2, the space between the forearm block 16 and the body unit 2 pointed by the arrow PO ₂ in FIG. 16 corresponds to this.

  Further, in the case of the present embodiment, the safety space formed by the body and environment of the robot 1 is dangerous or dangerous depending on the distance between the body and an object, for example, an external obstacle or a part of the own body. It is defined as a space in which a weight related to safety, for example, a risk level is set. In the present embodiment, for example, the space between the robot 1 and the obstacle 74 in FIG. 18 corresponds to this.

  However, these definitions of “safety space” are merely examples, and other definitions can be applied.

  In the robot 1, a safety space is set corresponding to each location where a danger situation is detected by the touch sensor 64 or the like.

  On the other hand, the “volume” of a safe space refers to a scale that quantitatively represents the size of the safe space. In the present embodiment, as for a safety space formed by a single joint mechanism, for example, as shown in FIG. 14A, two links connected via the joint mechanism and each of these two links Is defined as the "volume" of the cylinder 75 which is in contact with the bent side of the column and whose central axis is perpendicular to the two links.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16A, for example, as shown in FIG. 16A, a safety space formed by two links sequentially connected via one or more links The volume of the cylinder 76 inscribed at the position where the two links are closest is defined as this “volume”. Further, as for the safety space formed between the robot 1 and the environment, for example, as shown in FIG. The volume of the sphere 77 whose radius is the distance from the robot 1 to the obstacle is defined as the “volume”.

  However, the definition of “volume” of these safety spaces is only an example, and if the size of the safety space can be quantitatively expressed, other definitions such as approximating the above volume by area, angle, etc. It is also possible to apply.

By the way, according to the definition of the “volume” of the safety space according to the present embodiment as described above, the calculation of the “volume” of the safety space is performed via one joint mechanism 81, for example, as shown in FIG. If the safety space is formed by the first and second links 82A and 82B that are connected to each other, the cross-sectional shape of the first and second links 82A and 82B is assumed to be rectangular, and the first and second links 82A and 82B are assumed to be rectangular. link 82A, circle tangent in each a bent side of the joint mechanism 81 of the 82B (hereinafter referred to as safety space defined circle) can be replaced with area calculation of SSC _1.

In this case, when the initial angle of the joint mechanism 81 is “0”, the current angle is θ, the radius of the circle is r, and the distance from the rotation center J of the joint mechanism 81 to the arrangement position of the touch sensor 63 (the circle Assuming that d is equal to the distance between the center O and the perpendicular legs H ₁ and H ₂ dropped to the center lines K ₁ and K ₂ of the first and second links 82A and 82B, respectively, the first and second links are assumed to be d. The angle θ _k formed by the links 82A and 82B of

It can be expressed as. The center O of the safety space defined circle SSC ₁ is present on the interior angle bisector of the corner theta _k, and first and second link 82A, among the normal to 82B, the first or second link 82A, since there on what passes through the contact point between 82B and safety space defined circle SSC, radius _{r 1} of the safety space defined circle SSC ₁ is the following formula

It is expressed as Therefore, the area a of the safety space defining circle SSC ₁ in this case is defined as a region depending on the output angle of the joint mechanism 81 as follows:

Can be calculated using

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 21 (A), if the volume of the safety space corresponds to the first and second links 83A, 83C sequentially connected via the plurality of joint mechanisms 83A, 83B, 1 and the second link 83A, can be replaced with these and safety space definition of a circle SSC ₂ area calculation contacting each between 83C. The area of the safety space defined circle SSC _2, the corresponding respective joint mechanism 84A, can be calculated based on the angle of refraction 84B, the shape of each link 83a to 83c.

Further, as shown in FIG. 21 (B), regarding the calculation of the volume of the safety space between the robot 1 and the environment, the safety space definition circle SSC having the robot 1 as the center and the radius from the robot 1 to the obstacle is used. ₃ can be replaced with the area calculation. The area of the safety space defined circle SSC ₃ can be calculated based on the distance from the robot 1 to the obstacle.

Therefore safety monitoring unit 73A in step SP31 of the risk determination procedure RT4, and the angle detection signal _S2C 1 _{~S2C 17} supplied from the potentiometer _P 1 _{to P 17} corresponding example, each link stored in the external memory 50A (The upper arm block 15, the forearm block 16, and the hand block 17 of each arm unit 5A, 5B, the body unit 2, the thigh block 3 and the shin block 31 of each leg unit 6A, 6B, etc. The volume of the corresponding safety space is obtained by the above-described calculation based on the information regarding the shape of ()) and / or the state recognition signal S10 supplied from the state recognition unit 70.

  Returning to FIG. 13, subsequently, the safety monitoring unit 73A proceeds to step SP32, and determines the degree of danger of the safety space at that time based on the volume of the safety space obtained as described above.

Here, “danger level” refers to the degree of danger situation in the safety space. In the robot 1 according to the present embodiment, this “danger” is stepwisely ignored (eg, FIG. 15 (A), FIG. 17 (A), FIG. 19 (A)) in which the safety is judged to be sufficiently safe. Alternatively, a warning stage (for example, FIG. 15 (B), FIG. 17 (B), FIG. 19 (B)) in which it is determined that there is still enough time to come into contact with an obstacle (object), It is divided into an emergency stage (for example, FIG. 15C, FIG. 17C, and FIG. 19C) in which it is determined that there is a possibility of contact with an obstacle. Particularly, the safety space behind the knee joint mechanism 38 of each of the leg units 6A and 6B (see FIG. 14) and the safety space formed by the robot 1 and the environment are further defined as "risk degree", and Is established or an emergency avoidance stage (for example, FIG. 15D) is determined in which it is determined that the vehicle is very close to the obstacle. These “risks” are defined in consideration of, for example, the torque output capabilities of the actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₇ , the joint angles formed by the links, the scheduled behavior, and the like. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and other factors may be considered.

  In the robot 1, as means for determining the degree of danger of the safety space based on the volume of the safety space, a first table as shown in FIG. Is stored in advance in the external memory 66 (FIG. 5). The first safety space table 85 includes, for each safety space formed by the single joint mechanism, the position of the safety space (the column of “space”) and the sensor (“sensor”) associated with the safety space. Column), the arrangement position of the sensor (the column of “sensor position”), the joint axis that governs the volume of the safety space (the column of the “target joint”), the ignoring stage, the alert stage in the safety space, and Each upper limit value of the volume for the emergency stage (the “Threshold 1”, “Threshold 2”, and “Threshold 3” columns), the avoidance amount in the case of emergency avoidance (the “Emergency avoidance amount” column), and First and second coping operation tables 90 and 91 (FIGS. 27 and 28) (FIG. 27 and FIG. 28) defining coping operation contents associated with the safety space (the "coping operation type" column) are described in association with each other. It is.

  Therefore, when any one of the touch sensors 63 registered in the first safety management table 85 is activated, the safety monitoring unit 73A refers to the first safety management table 85 to determine the activated touch sensor. The position of the safety space corresponding to 63, the arrangement position of the touch sensor 63, the axis to be driven when performing an emergency avoidance operation described later, and the safety space for the ignoring stage, the alert stage, and the emergency stage Can be immediately recognized.

  In the robot 1, as shown in FIG. 23 and FIG. 24, for each of the safety spaces formed by multiple links and the safety space formed between the robot and the environment, A sensor associated with the safety space, the position of the sensor, the joint axis for increasing or decreasing the volume of the safety space, the upper limit values of the volumes for the ignoring, warning, and emergency stages in the safety space; A second and a third description in which the avoidance amount in the case of avoidance and second and third coping operation tables 91 and 92 (FIGS. 28 and 29) respectively associated with the safety space described later are described in association with each other. (Hereinafter, referred to as second or third safe space management tables) 86 and 87 are stored in the external memory 66 (FIG. 5) in advance.

  Thus, in this step SP32, the safety monitoring unit 73A describes the volume of the safety space obtained in step SP31 in the corresponding first to third safety space management tables 85 to 87 stored in the external memory 66. The corresponding safety spaces are sequentially compared with the upper limit values of the ignoring stage, the warning stage, and the emergency stage, and the current risk level of the safety space is determined based on the comparison result.

For example, when the effective operation is the touch sensor 63 (the surface contact switch 63F _{5 in} FIG. 9) on the rear side of the left knee joint mechanism unit 38, the safety monitoring unit 73A calculates the left knee joint mechanism calculated in step SP31. The volume of the safety space on the rear side of the unit 38 is determined by the upper limit values m ₃ (s _i ) and n ₃ (s _i of the corresponding neglect stage, alert stage, and emergency stage in the first safety management table 85 (FIG. 22). ), L ₁ (s _i ). The safety monitoring section 73A, when its volume is equal to or less than the upper limit m ₃ of ignoring step determines that the current risk of the safety space is ignored step, the upper limit m ₃ of the volume of ignoring step If was less large and vigilance stages upper limit n _{1 (s i)} than (s _i), it is determined that the current risk of the safety space is alert stage, the volume of alert stage When it is larger than the upper limit value n ₃ (s _i ) and equal to or less than the upper limit value l ₁ (s _i ) of the emergency stage, it is determined that the current degree of danger of the safety space is the emergency stage, and its volume is Is larger than the upper limit l ₁ (s _i ) of the emergency stage, it is determined that the current degree of danger of the safety space is the emergency avoidance stage.

  When the safety monitoring unit 73A determines that the current risk level of the safety space obtained in this way is in the ignoring stage, the process proceeds to step SP35, and the risk level determination processing procedure RT4 (FIG. 13). And returns to the safety monitoring procedure RT1 (FIG. 10), and then returns to step SP1 of the safety monitoring procedure RT1.

  On the other hand, if the safety monitoring unit 73A determines that the current danger level of the safety space is the alert stage, the emergency stage, or the emergency avoidance stage, the process proceeds to step SP34, and the safety monitoring process procedure RT1 (FIG. 10) ), And then proceeds to step SP2 of the safety monitoring procedure RT1.

  In this manner, the safety monitoring unit 73A causes the robot 1 to execute a coping operation based on the volume of the corresponding safety space when any of the touch sensors 63 is activated or an obstacle is detected by the image recognition processing. It is made possible to judge whether or not to do so.

22 to 24, m ₁ (s _i ) to m ₁₉ (s _i ), n ₁ (s _i ) to n ₁₉ (s _i ), and l ₁ (s _i ) to l ₃ (s _i ). , P ₁ (s _i ) to p ₃ (s _i ) are, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25A to 25C, respectively, each having a predetermined size (for example, an average index finger of an adult male). (Thickness) as a unit. Then, in this embodiment, the safety monitoring unit 73A sequentially switches these parameter values according to the machine condition (s _i ) of the robot 1 at that time. That is, in FIGS. 22 to 24, _{s i} represents the aircraft _{status, m 1 (s i) ~m} 19 (s i), n 1 (s i) ~n 19 (s i), l 1 (s _i ) to l ₃ (s _i ) and p ₁ (s _i ) to p ₃ (s _i ) represent specific parameter values preset for the aircraft condition, respectively.

That is, in the case of the robot 1, as described later, all the possible body conditions that the robot 1 can take are described as “station (s ₃ )”, which is a state mounted on a charger station, and held up. There are a certain “lifting (s ₄ )”, a state of “returning to origin (s ₅ )” in the process of getting up from a falling state, and a state in which the left and right leg units are each brought into contact with the ground. It is classified into five categories of “standing state (s ₁ )” and “other than floor exercise (s ₂ )” (see FIGS. 27 to 29). of the aircraft situation (s _i) (where, i = 1,2, ......, 5 ) robot 1 at the time depending on whether belongs to which category is, to switch the corrective action to be expressed to the robot 1 with respect to the dangerous situation To have.

  Then, in the external memory 66 (FIG. 5), the first to third safety space management tables 85 to 87 are respectively associated with the categories of the respective machine statuses, for example, as shown in FIGS. 25A to 25C. The default values of the parameter values for the aircraft condition are stored.

Thus, in step SP32 of the risk degree determination processing procedure RT4 (FIG. 13), the safety monitoring unit 73 compares the volume of the safety space calculated in the preceding step SP31 with the corresponding first to third safety space management tables 85 to 87. When comparing with the upper limit value of the corresponding safety space ignoring step or the like defined in the above, first, the body condition of the robot 1 at that time is determined by the action determination signal S11 (FIG. 6) from the action determination unit 71 and each potentiometer P _{1 to} P ₁₇ (FIG. 5), based on the angle detection signals S2C _{1 to} S2C _{17 and the} like, and based on the determination result, the corresponding first to third safety space management tables 85 to 87 at that time. each parameter value corresponding to the aircraft status _{m 1 (s i) ~m 19} (s i), n 1 (s i) ~n 19 (s i), l 1 (s i) ~l 3 ( _i), is read from _{p 1 (s i) ~p 3} (s i) the external memory 66, and rewrites the first to third safety space management table 85-87, executes the comparison processing .

  In this way, in the robot 1, even in the process of detecting the degree of danger to each safety space, the danger situation detection can be performed in an optimal state for the body condition for each body condition of the robot 1 at that time. Has been done.

(3-3) Specific processing of the coping operation generation unit 73B (3-3-1) Processing of the coping operation generation unit 73B in the progress status determination step Next, in step SP11 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 2). The processing content of the coping operation generation unit 73B will be described.

In the robot 1 according to the present embodiment,
1． If only a part of an arbitrary body of the robot 1 is stopped, the part may interfere with another part of the operating body.
2． During the operation using the leg units 6A and 6B, since the posture of the robot 1 is maintained almost only by the lower limb, the behavior of the lower limb and the behavior of the upper limb can be separated.
3． Considering the three considerations that a high-risk danger situation may occur during the coping operation, the danger situation is defined as "if any of the safety spaces has reached the danger stage,""When the risk of the safety space formed with the environment has reached the emergency stage,""When the risk of any of the upper limb safety spaces has reached the emergency stage," and "When any of the lower limb safety When the risk of space reaches the emergency stage ”.

Then, the coping operation generation unit 73B
1． Even if the danger level of the safety space in which the danger situation in which the coping operation is being performed has changed, the current coping operation is continued to the end without switching the coping operation
2． Only when a danger situation having a higher priority than the danger level corresponding to the currently performed coping operation occurs in another safety space, the coping operation is switched.
3． The danger situations are as follows: "when the risk of any safety space reaches the alert stage,""when the risk of the safety space formed with the environment reaches the emergency stage," or "one of the upper limbs. When the risk of the safety space of the lower limb reaches the emergency stage ”and the case of the risk of the lower limb safety space reaches the emergency stage, the priority order increases in order, It is determined whether to continue the current coping operation in step SP11 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11).

  That is, when proceeding to step SP11 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11), the coping operation generation unit 73B checks whether or not a coping operation change command has been given from the safety monitoring unit 73A. Proceed to SP12.

  On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP11, the coping operation generation unit 73B generates a danger situation in which coping operation is currently being performed by the same method as described above in step SP2 of the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1. Then, the position of the safety space and its danger, and the position of the safety space in which the danger situation is newly detected and its danger are detected. Then, the coping operation generation unit 73B determines which of the priority of the currently dealt with danger situation or the newly created danger situation is higher.

  When the coping operation generation unit 73B determines that the danger situation in which the coping operation is currently performed has a higher priority, the process proceeds to step SP12, and if the danger situation newly occurred has a higher priority. When it is determined, the process proceeds to step SP13.

(3-3-2) Process of Coping Operation Generation Unit 73B in Coping Operation Generation Step On the other hand, the coping operation generation unit 73B shows the processing of the first step SP12 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11) in FIG. It is executed in accordance with the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 shown.

  That is, when proceeding to step SP12 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2, the coping operation generation unit 73B starts the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 in step SP40, and is currently performing some coping operation in step SP41. It is determined whether or not.

  If a positive result is obtained in step SP41, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP43. If a negative result is obtained, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP42, and proceeds to step SP11 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2. A coping operation to be executed at that time is selected based on the detected position of the safety space where the danger situation to be coped with occurs and the degree of danger.

  Here, in the robot 1, as a means for selecting a coping operation to be executed at that time based on the position of the safety space in which the danger situation to be coped is occurring and the degree of the danger, FIGS. As shown in FIG. 29, all the possible aircraft states that the robot 1 can take are changed from a “station” that is placed on a charger station, a “hold” that is held up, and a falling state. `` Returning to origin '', which is in the process of getting up, `` Standing state '', in which the left and right leg units are operating with the left and right legs touching each other, and `` Floor exercise '' in other states 5 categories.

  Then, the external memory 66 (FIG. 5) executes, for each of these machine situations, when the danger level of the danger situation occurring at that time is the neglect stage, the alert stage, the emergency stage, or the emergency avoidance stage, respectively. First to third tables 90 to 92 (hereinafter, referred to as first to third coping operation tables, respectively) defining the contents of coping operations to be performed are stored. The first coping operation table 90 specifies coping operations to be executed when a danger situation occurs in any of the safety spaces defined in the upper limb portion of the robot 1 for each body state at that time. In the second coping operation table 91, coping operations to be executed when a danger situation occurs in any of the safety spaces defined in the lower limb portion of the robot 1 are defined for each body state at that time. Things. Further, the third coping operation table 92 defines coping operations for each machine state at the time when a danger situation occurs in a safe space between the environment and the environment.

  Further, as described above with reference to FIGS. 22 to 24, the first to third safety management tables 85 to 87 include, for each of the safety spaces mounted in the first to third safety space management tables 85 to 87, Corresponding first to third coping operation tables 90 to 92 to be referred to when selecting a coping operation are described (the column of “coping operation type” in FIGS. 22 to 24).

Thus, when proceeding to step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5, the coping operation generation unit 73B uses the corresponding first to third safety space management tables 85 to 87 to set the safety in which the danger situation has occurred. together to check whether the first to third operation shooting table 90-92 which a space is associated, the action decision signal S11 given from the behavior determining unit 71 (FIG. 6), the potentiometer _P 1 _{to P 17} based on such an angle detection signal _S2C 1 _{~S2C 17} given from, to determine the current aircraft condition of the robot 1.

  Then, the coping operation generation unit 73B uses the first to third operation coping tables 90 to 92 associated with the safety space in which the dangerous situation to be dealt with at this time has been confirmed as described above. The action to be performed at that time is selected based on the body condition of the robot 1 at that time and the current danger degree of the safety space in which the danger situation to be dealt with is notified from the safety monitoring unit 73A. I do.

  Further, the coping operation generation unit 73B then proceeds to step SP44 to cause the robot 1 to execute the coping operation selected as described above, and further proceeds to step SP45 to end the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5. .

  The specific contents of each coping operation executed in step SP43 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 are described in the above-described first to third coping operation tables 90 to 92 described with reference to FIGS. 27 to 29, respectively. Although the details differ according to the position of the safety space where the danger situation occurred and the degree of danger at that time, the danger situation is described as `` the danger level of any safety space has reached the alert stage. In each category of "when the risk of any of the upper limb safety spaces reaches the emergency stage" or "when the risk of any of the lower limb safety spaces reaches the emergency stage" Is roughly the same.

  In other words, if the danger level of the safety space in which the danger situation occurred was at the alert stage, regardless of where the safety space was defined, the coping actions were roughly the same. . If the safety space in which the danger situation occurred is defined in the upper limb portion of the robot 1 and the degree of danger is in an emergency stage, the safety space is defined in any position of the upper limb of the robot 1. Regardless of whether the safety action is performed, the coping operation has roughly the same content, and similarly, the safety space in which the dangerous situation has occurred is defined in the lower limb portion of the robot 1, and When the degree of danger is in the emergency stage, the coping operation has roughly the same content regardless of the position of the lower limb of the robot 1 where the safety space is defined.

  Then, the coping operation generation unit 73B sets the coping operation selected in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 to the coping operation for "when the danger degree of any one of the safety spaces has reached the caution stage" (FIGS. 27 to 27). 29, each of the coping operations described in each of the “alert stages” of the first to third coping operation tables 90 to 92 shown in FIG. 29). The movement of the robot 1 is gently stopped while securing the body of the robot 1 in the procedure.

  That is, when the coping operation generation unit 73B selects the coping operation for “when the danger degree of any of the safety spaces has reached the caution stage” in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 26), the following step is performed. In step SP43, the warning coping operation processing procedure RT6 (FIG. 30) is started in step SP50, and in step SP51, the safety space in which the danger level has reached the warning stage is defined in the upper limb portion of the robot 1. , The joint mechanisms (neck joint mechanism 13, shoulder joint mechanism 20, elbow joint mechanism 24, and hip joint mechanism 44) of the upper limb portion associated with the safety space within 0.5 seconds and accompanying A command to stop and weaken the movement of the joint mechanism of the upper limb is sent to the action determining unit 71 (FIG. 6).

Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends an action determining signal S11 according to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 responds to the upper limb portion of the robot 1 at that time according to the action determining signal S11. The corresponding actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₁ are controlled so that the movement of the joint mechanism is gradually stopped and then the joint mechanism is released (that is, the output torque becomes “0”).

  Subsequently, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP52, and the robot 1 is currently performing an operation of moving the joint mechanism units (the hip joint mechanism unit 36, the knee joint mechanism unit 38, and the ankle joint mechanism unit 41) of the lower limb portion. It is determined based on the action determination signal S11 given from the action determination unit 71 whether or not there is, and if a negative result is obtained, the process proceeds to step SP54 to end the alert handling operation processing procedure RT6.

  On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP52, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP53, and all the joint mechanisms (the hip joint mechanism 36 and the knee joint mechanism 38) of the lower limb of the robot 1 within one step. Then, a command to stop the movement of the ankle joint mechanism 41) is sent to the action determining unit 71.

Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends the action determining signal S11 to the action generating unit 72 in accordance with the instruction, and the action generating unit 72 controls the robot 1 so as not to fall down in accordance with the action determining signal S11, while controlling the lower limb thereof. The corresponding actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₁ are controlled so as to gradually stop the movement of the portion within one step.

  Then, the coping operation generation unit 71 proceeds to step SP54 and ends the alert coping operation processing procedure RT6.

  On the other hand, the coping operation generation unit 73B determines that the coping operation selected in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 is a coping operation for “when the risk of any one of the upper limb safety spaces has reached an emergency stage” (see FIG. 27, each of the coping operations described in the column of “emergency stage” in the first coping operation table shown in FIG. 27) is performed in accordance with the upper limb emergency coping operation processing procedure RT7 shown in FIG. Is ignored, and the whole body movement of the robot 1 is immediately stopped.

  That is, the coping operation generation unit 73B selects a coping operation for “when the risk of any one of the upper limb safety spaces has reached the emergency stage” in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 26). In a succeeding step SP43, an upper limb emergency handling operation processing procedure RT7 (FIG. 31) is started in a step SP60, and in a succeeding step SP61, all the joint mechanisms (the neck joint mechanism 13, the shoulder joint mechanism 13) of the upper limb portion of the robot 1 are started. 20, an instruction to immediately stop the movements of the elbow joint mechanism 24 and the hip joint mechanism 44) is sent to the action determining unit 71 (FIG. 6).

Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends an action determining signal S11 corresponding to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 performs all the upper limb portions of the robot 1 at that time according to the action determining signal S11. The corresponding actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₁ are controlled so as to immediately stop the movement of the joint mechanism.

Subsequently, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP62, and sends a command to the action determination unit 71 that the joint mechanism unit whose movement has been immediately stopped should be weakened. Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends the action determining signal S11 corresponding to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 releases the joint mechanism according to the action determining signal S11 ( That is, the corresponding actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₁ are controlled so that the output torque becomes “0”.

  In subsequent step SP63, the coping operation generation unit 73B determines whether or not the robot 1 is currently performing an operation of moving the joint mechanism unit of the lower limb based on the action determination signal S11 given from the action determination unit 71. If a negative result is obtained, the process proceeds to step SP65 to end the upper limb emergency handling operation procedure RT7.

On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP63, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP64 and issues an instruction to stop the movement of all the joint mechanisms of the lower limb portion of the robot 1 within one step. It is sent to the decision unit 71. Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends the action determining signal S11 to the action generating unit 72 in accordance with the command, and the action generating unit 72 gently stops the movement of the lower limb portion within one step according to the action determining signal S11. The corresponding actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₁ are controlled so as to perform the operation.

  Then, the coping operation generating section 71 proceeds to step SP65 and ends the upper limb emergency coping operation processing procedure RT7.

On the other hand, the coping operation generation unit 73B determines that the coping operation selected in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 26) corresponds to “when the risk of any of the lower limb safety spaces has reached the emergency stage”. A coping operation (any of the coping operations described in the “emergency stage” column of the second coping operation table 91 shown in FIG. 28), and the position of the safety space that has reached the emergency stage is indicated by an arrow in FIG. If not the rear side of the knee joint mechanism 38 pointing in PO ₁ is generally immediately stop the motion of the whole body of the robot 1 while ignoring the aircraft conservation procedure of the first leg emergency coping operation processing procedure RT8 shown in FIG. 32 Let it.

  That is, in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 26), the coping operation generation unit 73B sets “the danger degree of any of the lower limb safety spaces other than the rear side of the knee joint mechanism unit 38 to the emergency stage. In the following step SP43, the first lower limb emergency coping operation processing procedure RT8 (FIG. 31) is started in step SP70, and in the following step SP71, all joints of the upper limb portion of the robot 1 are selected. A command to immediately stop the movement of the mechanical units (the neck joint mechanical unit 13, the shoulder joint mechanical unit 20, the elbow joint mechanical unit 24, and the hip joint mechanical unit 44) is sent to the behavior determining unit 71 (FIG. 6).

Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends an action determining signal S11 corresponding to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 performs all the upper limb portions of the robot 1 at that time according to the action determining signal S11. The corresponding actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₁ are controlled so as to immediately stop the movement of the joint mechanism.

  Next, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP72 and determines whether the robot 1 is currently operating any of the joint mechanisms (the hip joint mechanism 36, the knee joint mechanism 38, and the ankle joint mechanism 41) of the lower limb. If no, a negative result is obtained, and the process proceeds to step SP74. If a positive result is obtained, the process proceeds to step SP73, and a command to immediately stop the operation of the joint mechanism of the lower limb portion is determined. It is sent to the unit 71.

Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends an action determining signal S11 corresponding to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 determines all the joint mechanisms in the lower limb portion of the robot 1 according to the action determining signal S11. operate so as to immediately stop parts, controls the corresponding actuators _a 12 _{to a 17.}

In the following step SP74, the coping operation generation unit 73B sends to the action determination unit 71 a command indicating that all joint mechanisms of the lower limb of the robot 1 should be weakened. Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends an action determining signal S11 according to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 determines all joints of the lower limb portion of the robot 1 according to the action determining signal S11. the mechanism to weakness to control the actuator a ₁₂ to a ₁₇ (i.e. the output torque so that a "0") corresponding.

  Then, the coping operation generation unit then proceeds to step SP75 and ends the first lower limb emergency coping operation processing procedure RT8.

  On the other hand, the coping operation generation unit 73B determines that the coping operation selected in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 26) is "when the risk of any of the lower limb safety spaces reaches the emergency stage. (Each coping operation described in the “emergency stage” column of the second coping operation table 91 shown in FIG. 28), and the position of the safety space that has reached the emergency stage is determined by the knee joint mechanism. When it is behind the unit 38, the movement of the whole body of the robot 1 is immediately stopped immediately after ignoring the body maintenance in the procedure of the second lower limb emergency response operation processing procedure RT9 shown in FIG. And perform an evasive operation.

  In other words, the coping operation generation unit 73B determines in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 26) that "the risk of the safety space behind the lower limb knee joint mechanism unit 38 has reached an emergency stage". When the coping operation is selected, the second lower limb emergency coping operation processing procedure RT9 (FIG. 33) is started in step SP80 in the following step SP43, and the subsequent steps SP81 to SP83 are performed in the first lower limb emergency as described above with reference to FIG. The processing is performed in the same manner as steps SP71 to SP73 of the coping operation processing procedure RT8.

  Then, when proceeding to step SP84, the coping operation generation unit 73B executes the same method as the method described above in step SP2 of the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10) to determine the degree of danger of the safety space in which the danger situation occurs at that time. Is detected, and it is determined whether or not the risk is in the “urgent avoidance stage”.

If a negative result is obtained in step SP84, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP86. If a positive result is obtained, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP85. The parameter values p ₁ and p ₂ described in the column of “emergency avoidance amount” and the rear side of the knee joint mechanism 38 described in the column of “target joint” of the first safety management table 85 are described. An axis (knee pitch axis 37 (FIG. 3)) for increasing or decreasing the volume of the defined safety space is read out, and the axis (knee pitch axis 37) is driven by an amount corresponding to the parameter values p ₁ and p ₂ . A command to cause the robot 1 to execute the emergency avoidance operation is sent to the action determining unit 71 (FIG. 6).

Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends an action determining signal S11 corresponding to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72, as shown in FIG. part 38 to move in the opening direction and to drive the corresponding actuator a _15.

At this time behavior generator 72 halves the output angle phi ₃ of emergency avoidance operation of the knee joint mechanism 38, the bending angle of the bending angle phi ₁ and shin block 31 side of the thigh block 30 side phi ₂ and the corresponding actuators A _{12 to} A ₁₄ in the hip joint mechanism 36 and the corresponding actuators A in the ankle joint mechanism 41 as well as the actuator A ₁₅ in the knee joint mechanism 38 so as to be simultaneously output. _16, also drives simultaneously _{a 17.} In this manner, in the robot 1, the possibility of the robot 1 falling over due to the emergency avoidance operation of the knee joint mechanism 38 when standing up can be reduced.

  Then, in the following step SP86, the coping operation generation unit 73B releases all the joint mechanism units of the lower limb portion of the robot 1 in the same manner as in step SP74 of the first lower limb emergency coping operation processing procedure RT8 (FIG. 32). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step SP87 to end the second lower limb emergency stage coping operation processing procedure RT9.

  On the other hand, the coping operation generation unit 73B determines that the coping operation selected in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 is "when the risk of the safety space formed with the environment has reached the emergency stage". 29 (each of the coping operations described in the "emergency stage" column of the third coping operation table shown in FIG. 29), the environmental emergency coping operation processing procedure RT10 shown in FIG. 35 is performed. The movement of the robot 1 is immediately stopped ignoring the maintenance of the body, or the robot 1 continues the target action at that time while avoiding an obstacle.

  That is, the coping operation generation unit 73B performs the coping operation for “when the risk of the safety space formed with the environment has reached the emergency stage” in step SP42 of the coping operation selection execution processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 26). Upon selection, in step SP43, an environmental emergency response operation processing procedure RT10 (FIG. 35) is started in step SP90. In step SP91, the robot 1 is controlled based on the current action priority, the presence or absence of an avoidance route, and the like. It is determined whether an emergency stop is required.

  The coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP92 when there is no need to continue the current behavior of the robot 1 or when there is no avoidance method, and thereafter, proceeds from step SP92 to step SP94 with reference to FIG. Processing is performed in the same manner as in steps SP81 to SP83 of the second emergency handling operation processing procedure RT9 described above.

  Further, the coping operation generation unit 73B thereafter proceeds to step SP95, detects the degree of danger of the environmental safety space by the same method as the method described above in step SP2 of the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 10), and It is determined whether or not the risk is in the “emergency avoidance stage”.

If a negative result is obtained in step SP95, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP100. If a positive result is obtained, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP96. If necessary according to the situation at that time, FIG. the parameter value p ₃ described in the column of "emergency avoidance amount" of the third safety management table 87 described above reads a command to the effect to be executed an emergency avoidance operation corresponding to the robot 1 in the action determining unit 71 for Send out. Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends the action determining signal S11 according to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 causes the robot 1 to execute the stop avoidance operation corresponding to the action determining signal S11. as controls the corresponding actuator _a 1 _{to a 17.}

  In this case, as the emergency avoidance operation, for example, when the obstacle 100 is stationary, the obstacle 100 is moved by hand as shown in FIG. In the case where the robot 1 approaches the robot 1, the robot 1 may fall in a direction to avoid the obstacle 100 as shown in FIG.

  Then, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP100 and ends the environmental emergency coping operation processing procedure RT10.

  On the other hand, in step SP91, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP98 when it is necessary to continue the current action or when there is any avoidance method, and proceeds to step SP98 to perform the safety monitoring processing procedure RT1 (FIG. In step SP2 of 10), while repeatedly detecting the degree of danger of the environmental safety space by the same method as described above, the apparatus waits for the degree of danger to be in the “emergency avoidance stage”.

Then, when the coping operation generating unit 73B obtains an affirmative result in step SP98 due to the danger degree of the environmental safety space eventually becoming the “urgent avoidance stage”, the process proceeds to step SP99, and while avoiding the obstacle or the like, Is sent to the action determining unit 71 to execute the avoidance action for continuing the action. Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends the action determining signal S11 corresponding to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 causes the robot 1 to execute the avoidance operation corresponding to the action determining signal S11. the controls corresponding actuator _a 1 _{to a 17.}

  In addition, as the avoiding operation in this case, for example, when the robot 1 continues the walking operation, the robot 1 may bypass an obstacle as shown in FIGS. 39 (B), the robot 1 bends to avoid the obstacle 101, or only a part of the body (for example, the arm units 5A, 5B) as shown in FIGS. 39 (A) and (B). It is conceivable to move so as to avoid the obstacle 102.

  Then, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP100 and ends the environmental emergency coping operation processing procedure RT10.

  In this way, the coping operation generating unit 73 secures the safety for the user according to the arrangement position of the activated touch sensor 63 and the volume of the safety space at that time, and as shown in FIG. Is larger, the robot 1 executes a coping operation that can return to the original action as soon as possible (that is, a decrease in the operating efficiency of the robot 1 due to the coping operation is reduced).

  In other words, in the ignoring stage where the volume of the safety space at the time of detection is large, no action is taken even if the touch sensor 63 is operated, etc., and in the caution stage where the volume of the safety space is smaller than this, while securing the safety, In addition, a coping operation is performed in consideration of the maintenance of the body of the robot 1, thereby preventing unnecessary damage necessary for the robot 1 to return (stand up) from a falling state in addition to preventing damage to the body of the robot 1. The operation efficiency of the robot 1 is prevented from lowering.

  In an emergency stage in which the volume of the safety space is smaller than that in the alert stage, there is a possibility that the operation efficiency of the robot 1 may be reduced due to a fall or the like. Further, the coping operation is changed depending on whether the operation has occurred in the upper limb or the lower limb safety space. Furthermore, in the emergency avoidance phase where the volume of the safety space is even smaller than that in the emergency phase, it takes more time to perform the emergency avoidance operation in addition to falling down, so the operating efficiency becomes worse. I do.

  In the robot 1, by changing the coping action according to the volume of the safety space at the time of detection of the danger situation, the safety is ensured and the operation efficiency is prevented from lowering, so that the danger situation is generated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the entertainment property of the entertainment robot due to the above.

  Note that the “ignoring stage”, the “alert stage”, the “emergency stage”, and the “avoidance stage” in FIG. 40 and the like will be described. This refers to a stage in which the level of danger can be ignored even when the level is reached and the walking operation is continued. The "warning stage" means that when the degree of danger reaches a predetermined level, the walking operation is stopped after waiting for both feet to land. The “emergency stage” means that the walking operation is immediately stopped when the risk reaches a predetermined level. The “avoidance stage” refers to a stage in which another avoidance operation such as dropping a foot is performed when the degree of risk reaches a predetermined level. More generally, the "ignoring phase" continues the action, the "warning phase" operates until it is easy to resume, then stops, the "emergency phase" stops immediately, and the "avoidance phase" uses other controls. This refers to performing the avoidance control by another control or the like. However, these definitions are not limited to the above, and may be other gradual actions according to the risk level.

  On the other hand, in step SP12 of the coping action generation processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11), the coping action generation unit 73B executes the fall monitoring processing procedure RT11 shown in FIG. 41 in parallel with the coping action selection execution processing procedure RT5 described above with reference to FIG. By executing, the fall monitoring during the coping operation of the robot 1 and the control process of the coping operation of the robot 1 when the robot 1 falls are executed.

  That is, when proceeding to step SP12 of the coping action generation processing procedure RT2, the coping action generation unit 73B starts this fall monitoring processing procedure RT11 in step SP110 in parallel with the coping action selection execution processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 23), and continues. In step SP111, whether or not the robot 1 has started to fall is constantly monitored based on the acceleration detection signal S2B (FIG. 5) supplied from the acceleration sensor 65 (FIG. 5).

  Then, if a positive result is obtained in step SP111, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP112 to weaken the whole body of the robot 1 in accordance with the fall countermeasure control procedure RT12 shown in FIG.

  That is, when the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP112 of the fall monitoring processing procedure RT11, it starts the fall coping control processing procedure RT12 in step SP120, and proceeds from step SP121 to step SP122 to the second lower limb described above with reference to FIG. By performing the same processing as in steps SP81 to SP83 of the emergency response operation processing procedure RT9, all the joint mechanisms (the neck joint mechanism 13, the shoulder joint mechanism 20, the elbow joint mechanism 24) of the upper limb of the robot 1 are processed. And the hip joint mechanism 44) and all the joint mechanisms of the lower limb (the hip joint mechanism 36, the knee joint mechanism 38, and the ankle joint mechanism 41) are immediately stopped.

Subsequently, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP123, and sends a command to the action determination unit 71 that the entire body of the robot 1 should be weakened. Thus, at this time, the action determining unit 71 sends the action determining signal S11 corresponding to the command to the action generating unit 72, and the action generating unit 72 deactivates all the joint mechanisms of the robot 1 according to the action determining signal S11. So that all the actuators A _{1 to} A ₁₇ are controlled so that the output torque becomes “0”.

  Then, the coping operation generation unit 73B thereafter proceeds to step SP124, ends the fall countermeasure control processing procedure RT12, returns to the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11), and thereafter performs the steps of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2. Proceed to SP14.

  As described above, when the robot 1 detects a fall during some sort of coping operation, the coping operation generation unit 73B transitions the whole body of the robot 1 to a weakened state, thereby reducing damage to the robot 1 when the robot 1 falls. It has been done.

(3-3-3) Processing of Coping Operation Generation Unit 73B in Coping Completion Determination Step On the other hand, the coping operation generation unit 73B performs the processing of step SP14 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11) as shown in FIG. This is executed according to the completion determination processing procedure RT13.

  That is, when proceeding to step SP14 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2, the coping operation generation unit 73B starts the coping completion determination processing procedure RT13 in step SP130, and in the subsequent step SP131, the pressure supplied from each touch sensor 63. Based on the detection signal S1C and the state recognition signal S10 from the state recognition unit 70, it is determined whether any of the touch sensors 63 is currently operating or an obstacle is detected by image recognition processing.

  If a positive result is obtained in step SP131, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP133. If a negative result is obtained, the coping operation generating unit 73B proceeds to step SP132 to detect the acceleration supplied from the acceleration sensor 65 (FIG. 5). Based on the signal S2B, it is determined whether or not the body of the robot 1 is in a stationary (stationary) state.

  When a negative result is obtained in step SP132, the coping operation generation unit 73B proceeds to step SP133, returns to step SP11 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2, and ends the coping completion determination processing procedure RT13 (step SP134). On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP132, the process proceeds to step SP134, and proceeds to step SP15 of the coping operation generation processing procedure RT2, followed by terminating the coping completion determination processing procedure RT13 (step SP135).

  In this way, the coping operation generation unit 73B terminates the coping operation only when the operation of all the touch sensors 63 is stopped after the coping operation is started and the body of the robot 1 is settled. The operation of the robot 1 is controlled.

(4) Operation and Effect In the above configuration of the present embodiment, in the robot 1, the touch sensor ₆₃ for safety disposed throughout the body _{(63F 1 ~63F 5, 63T 1} ~63T 4) And the image recognition processing, the content and the degree (stage) of danger such as pinching of the user's finger or contact with an external object in the joint mechanism are detected, and an appropriate value is determined according to the content and the degree of the detected danger. Perform the coping action.

  Therefore, in the robot 1, for example, an accident in which a user is accidentally injured by a finger being pinched by a joint mechanism, an accident in which the aircraft and / or the external object is damaged due to the aircraft coming into contact with an external object, and the like are caused. This can be effectively and effectively prevented from occurring.

  Further, in this case, the robot 1 performs a coping operation in such a danger situation while also taking into consideration the maintenance of its own body, so that it is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of damage to the body due to a fall or the like. Can be.

  Further, in the robot 1, as described above with reference to FIG. 40, not only does the operation of the robot 1 stop when a dangerous situation occurs, but also as early as possible in accordance with the degree of danger of the safety space in which the dangerous situation has occurred. Since the coping operation is set so as to be able to return to the action of the robot 1, it is possible to reduce a decrease in the operating efficiency of the robot 1 due to the occurrence of the dangerous situation.

According to the above configuration, such as by the touch sensor ₆₃ for safety disposed throughout the body _{(63F 1 ~63F 5, 63T 1} ~63T 4), the pinching of the user's finger in the joint mechanism By detecting a dangerous situation and performing an appropriate coping operation in accordance with the detected dangerous situation, an accident such as a user being injured by mistake, and Alternatively, it is possible to prevent accidents such as damage to an external object from occurring before and effectively, and thus to realize a robot capable of significantly improving safety.

(5) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the humanoid robot 1 configured as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to various other types of robot devices.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the touch sensor 63 for safety measures is provided at the location described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 in the body of the robot 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of or in addition to these, they may be provided at further different locations.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the touch sensor 63, the CCD cameras 60A and 60B, and the state recognition unit as a software module for performing image recognition processing are provided as danger situation detection means for detecting whether or not a danger situation has occurred in the safety space. Although the case where 70 is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other means can be widely applied according to the definition of the safety space.

In the above embodiment, and the potentiometer _P 1 _{to P 17} as a risk degree detecting means for detecting the degree of danger situations, the actuator _A 1 _{to A} 17, CCD camera 60A, as a software module for 60B and image recognition processing Although the description has been given of the case where the state recognition unit 70 or the like is applied, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other means can be widely applied according to the definition of the safe space. For example, a distance sensor can be applied as a means for detecting the degree of danger in a safe space between the environment.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, control for performing a control process for executing a predetermined coping operation in accordance with the danger situation detected by the danger situation detection means and the degree of the danger situation detected by the danger degree detection means is performed. Although a case has been described in which the safety management unit 73 as a means is provided separately from the action determination unit 71, the function of the safety management unit 73 may be provided to the action determination unit 71.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which a coping operation is performed afterward on a dangerous situation. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The corresponding action may be executed by the robot 1. In addition, as a precautionary measure, for example, it is possible to make the contact portion with a person a safe shape and prevent a dangerous situation by the shape itself.

In the above embodiment, the safety monitoring section 73A of the safety management section 73, in step SP31 of the risk determination procedure RT4, by calculating the area of the safety space defined circle _{SSC 1 ~SSC} 1 by (3) calculated, it has dealt with the case of determining the degree of risk based on the area, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, the area a safe space definition circle SSC ₁ described above and the current angle θ about 20 The risk of the safety space may be directly determined from the value of the current angle θ, assuming that it is proportional. Further, in this case, the relationship between the current angle θ and the risk may be tabulated and provided to the robot 1 so that the risk can be determined from the table and the current angle.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely applied to various robot devices used for other purposes in addition to entertainment robots.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an external configuration of the robot according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an external configuration of the robot according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a degree of freedom in each joint mechanism of the robot. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an internal configuration of the robot. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an internal configuration of the robot. It is a block diagram provided for explanation of the processing content of the main control part regarding action generation. FIG. 4 is a front view for explaining an arrangement position of a touch sensor for safety measures. FIG. 4 is a front view for explaining an arrangement position of a touch sensor for safety measures. FIG. 4 is a rear view for explaining the arrangement position of a touch sensor for safety measures. It is a flowchart which shows a safety monitoring processing procedure. It is a flowchart which shows a coping operation | movement generation processing procedure. It is a flowchart which shows a validity check processing procedure. It is a flowchart which shows a risk determination processing procedure. It is a conceptual diagram provided for explanation of the safety space formed by the single joint mechanism. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a degree of risk in a safety space formed by a single joint mechanism. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for describing a safety space formed by multiple links. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram serving to explain a degree of risk in a safety space formed by multiple links. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for describing a safety space formed between a robot and an environment. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a degree of danger in a safety space formed between a robot and an environment. It is an approximate line figure used for explanation of volume calculation about a safe space formed of a single joint mechanism part. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a volume calculation for a safety space formed by multiple links or between the environment and the environment. It is a chart showing a 1st safe space management table. It is a chart showing a 2nd safe space management table. It is a chart showing a 3rd safe space management table. It is a table | surface which shows the parameter value example in a 1st-3rd safe space management table. It is a flowchart which shows a coping operation selection execution processing procedure. 9 is a chart showing a first coping operation table. 9 is a chart showing a second coping operation table. 13 is a chart showing a third coping operation table. It is a flowchart which shows the warning coping operation processing procedure. It is a flowchart which shows the upper limb emergency handling operation | movement processing procedure. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st leg emergency coping operation | movement processing procedure. It is a flowchart which shows the 2nd lower limb emergency handling operation | movement processing procedure. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an emergency avoidance operation in the knee joint mechanism of the robot. It is a flowchart which shows the environmental emergency response operation | movement processing procedure. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of an emergency avoidance operation | movement. It is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an avoidance operation. It is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an avoidance operation. It is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an avoidance operation. It is a conceptual diagram used for explaining the size of the volume of a safety space, and the fall of an operation rate by coping. It is a flowchart which shows a fall monitoring processing procedure. It is a flowchart which shows a fall handling control processing procedure. It is a flowchart which shows a coping completion continuation processing procedure.

Explanation of reference numerals

1 ... Robot, 5A, 5B ... Arm unit, 6A, 6B ... Leg unit, 20 ... Shoulder joint mechanism, 24 ... Elbow joint mechanism, 36 ... Hip joint mechanism, 38 ... Knee joint mechanism, 41 ...... ankle joint mechanism unit, 50 ...... main controller, 60A, 60B ...... CCD camera, 63 ...... touch _sensor, 63F 1 _{~63F 5} ...... surface contact _switch, 63T 1 _{~63T 4} ... ... Tact switch, 71... Action determination unit, 73... Safety management unit, 73 A... Safety monitoring unit, 73 B... Coping operation generation unit, 80... Safety space management table, A _{1 to} A ₁₇ . P ₁ ~P 17 _...... potentiometer, S1A ...... image signal, S1C ...... pressure detection signal, _S2C 1 ~S2C 17 _...... angle detection signal, _S2D 1 ~S2D 17 _...... output torque detection signal.

Claims (16)

In a mobile robot device,
A danger situation detecting means for detecting a danger situation;
Danger degree detection means for detecting the degree of the danger situation detected by the danger situation detection means,
Control means for performing control processing for executing a predetermined coping operation in accordance with the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous situation detecting means and the degree of the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous degree detecting means. A robot device characterized by the above-mentioned. A safety space is defined corresponding to each of the dangerous situations detected by the dangerous situation detection means,
The above-mentioned danger degree detecting means,
The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the degree of the dangerous situation is detected based on a volume of the safety space associated with the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous situation detecting means. The control means includes:
The control processing for performing the coping operation according to the position where the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous situation detecting means occurs and the degree of the dangerous situation is performed. The robot device as described. The control means includes:
4. The robot according to claim 3, wherein the control processing is performed to execute the coping operation that differs depending on whether the position where the danger situation occurs is the upper limb or the lower limb of the robot device. 5. apparatus. Priorities are set in advance according to the position at which the dangerous situation has occurred and / or the degree of the dangerous situation,
The control means includes:
During the control process for executing the coping operation, when the danger situation detecting means detects the new high-priority danger situation, the coping operation according to the newly detected danger situation is performed. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control processing is switched so as to be executed. In a control method of a mobile robot device,
A first step of detecting a dangerous situation and detecting a degree of the detected dangerous situation;
A second step of performing a control process for causing the robot apparatus to execute a predetermined coping operation in accordance with the detected dangerous situation and the degree of the dangerous state. A safety space is defined for each of the above danger situations,
In the first step,
The control method for a robot device according to claim 6, wherein the degree of the dangerous situation is detected based on a volume of the safety space associated with the detected dangerous situation. In the second step,
The robot according to claim 6, wherein the control process is performed to cause the robot apparatus to execute the coping operation according to the detected position where the dangerous situation occurs and the degree of the dangerous situation. How to control the device. In the second step,
9. The control process for causing the robot device to execute the coping operation that differs depending on whether the position where the danger situation occurs is the upper limb or the lower limb of the robot device. A control method for a robot device according to claim 1. Priorities are set in advance according to the position at which the dangerous situation has occurred and / or the degree of the dangerous situation,
In the second step,
During the control process for causing the robot apparatus to execute the coping operation, when the new high-priority danger situation is detected, the coping operation according to the newly detected danger situation is performed by the robot. The control method of a robot device according to claim 6, wherein the control process is switched so as to be executed by the device. In a mobile robot device,
A danger situation detecting means for detecting a danger situation;
A robot apparatus comprising: control means for performing control processing for executing a predetermined coping operation in accordance with a position where the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous situation detecting means has occurred. In a control method of a mobile robot device,
A first step of detecting a dangerous situation;
A second step of performing a control process for causing the robot apparatus to execute a predetermined coping operation in accordance with a position where the dangerous situation detected by the dangerous situation detecting means has occurred. How to control the device. In a robot device having a movable portion in which a plurality of links are configured via joints,
Driving means for driving the movable portion,
Control means for controlling the driving means;
Object detection means for detecting an object;
Action determining means for determining the action of the robot device,
A risk detecting means for detecting a risk related to the object and the movable portion,
The control means includes:
A robot apparatus for operating the movable part to reduce or avoid the danger based on the degree of danger and the behavior determined by the behavior determination means. Set up a safety space around the above movable parts,
The above risk is
The robot device according to claim 13, wherein the relationship between the object and the movable portion is obtained by mapping the relationship on the safety space. In a control method of a robot device having a movable portion in which a plurality of links are configured via joints,
A first step of determining the behavior of the robot device;
A second step of detecting a risk associated with the object and the movable part when detecting the object;
A third step of operating the movable section to reduce or avoid the risk based on the detected risk and the determined behavior. Set up a safety space around the above movable parts,
In the second step,
16. The control method for a robot device according to claim 15, wherein the risk is obtained by mapping a relationship between the object and the movable part on the safety space.