JP2006343114A - Flexible sensor tube - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately grasp the positions of humans, when an in-rubble search robot finds a person buried in rubble. <P>SOLUTION: Since the in-rubble search robot 4 requires connection from an external air compressor via a pneumatic tube and signal information cables of a CCD camera etc., the pneumatic tube connecting the in-rubble search robot to the external air compressor and the signal information cables of the CCD camera, etc. mounted to the robot are covered with a tube of a multi-joint structure, constituting a flexible sensor tube 1. Each joint angle 2 is detected by a sensor, such as a potentiometer 6. By computing the overall shape of the tube of the multi-joint structure on the basis of output signals of the sensor, the position of the in-rubble search robot 4, positioned at a tip part of the tube of the multi-joint structure, is identified. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-localization technology for a robot that searches for people buried in rubble of a house collapsed due to an earthquake or the like.

  Freely enter rubble in places where people are difficult to enter because they are narrow and dangerous, such as under the rubble of houses that have collapsed due to the earthquake disaster, etc. Research into a rubble search robot that can detect the situation of people buried inside with a camera sensor or the like has been studied.

  The search robot in the rubble proposed by the present inventor is composed of a plurality of carts and joints connecting them, and has a configuration that can easily move at a disaster site with many rough terrain or at steps and grooves. This rubble search robot uses a crawler attached to the top and bottom of the robot body so that it can be pushed into the rubble from the top trolley of the robot, and can be operated and searched with a CCD camera attached to the top trolley. Yes (see Non-Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, people can freely approach places that are difficult to reach, such as narrow places, high places, or dangerous places, such as inspections at high places, investigations behind narrow pipes, and investigations under rubble such as disasters. A series of disk-like parts grasped by a sensor such as a camera provided at the tip is known (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-329478 A Robot within the homepage of the International Rescue System Research Organization

In the above-described rubble search robot, the search robot needs to grasp the position of the search robot in order to sink under the rubble of the collapsed house. This is because when the search robot finds a person buried in the rubble, the position is grasped and the rescue operation is performed promptly.
In general, as a method for identifying the self position, there is a method using radio waves such as GPS. However, there are many situations where the radio environment is bad at the disaster site, it is not an open space under the rubble, and in addition, in general, there are metal fragments in the rubble where many metal pieces are mixed, resulting in radio interference. For example, it is not appropriate as a self-localization method for a search robot in rubble. Even if the position of the search robot is identified by GPS, the position resolution is about 5 to 10 m, and it is difficult to pinpoint the position of the search robot, that is, the person buried in the debris. is there.

  In addition, when the search robot discovers a person buried in the rubble, it is possible to generate a sound or light such as a buzzer or siren, but the sound and light should leak from the gap between the rubble. At the point, it is difficult to identify the location of the search robot, that is, the person buried in the rubble. In particular, a large number of rescuers are mobilized for rescue operations, and under the work of removing rubble, the work noise is loud, and it is necessary to interrupt the work when trying to identify the position with the sound of a buzzer, siren, etc. This will impair the efficiency of rescue operations.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-localization identifying means for a search robot in a debris that is buried under the debris and cannot be seen from the outside in order to find a person buried in the debris of a house collapsed due to an earthquake or the like. To do.

In view of the necessity of connecting the above-described rubble search robot to an external air compressor with a signal information cable such as a pneumatic tube or a CCD camera, the present inventor The flexible sensor tube according to the invention has been completed.
That is, a pneumatic tube that connects the robot in the rubble and an external air compressor or a signal information cable such as a CCD camera attached to the robot is covered with a tube with a multi-joint structure, and each joint angle is detected by a sensor such as a potentiometer, By calculating the overall shape of the articulated tube from the output signal of the sensor, the position of the search robot in the debris located at the tip of the articulated tube is identified.

  Accordingly, from a first aspect of the present invention, a tube having a multi-joint structure, wherein a change amount detection sensor such as a potentiometer is provided in a movable portion of each joint, and one or a plurality of sensors are grouped, and the group The signal of the sensor is taken into the signal processing unit in units, the signal processing unit is connected to a communication network, and the processing operation unit connected to the communication network has an articulated structure based on the signal data of the sensor. A flexible sensor tube is provided that includes means for calculating the shape of the tube.

Here, the reason why one or a plurality of sensors are made into one group and the signal of the sensor is taken into the signal processing unit for each group is as follows.
The search robot in the rubble is assumed to move about tens of meters in the rubble. For this reason, the total length of the flexible sensor tube of the present invention attached to the search robot in the debris is also required to be about several tens of meters. The flexible sensor tube is composed of a tube having a multi-joint structure, each joint has a length of about several centimeters, and each joint is composed of a chain of joints having one degree of freedom or n degrees of freedom. The movable portion of each joint is equipped with a change amount detection sensor for detecting a joint angle such as a potentiometer. The number of change detection sensors is required to be at least the number of joints, and the output signal from the sensors is also equal to or greater than the number of joints.
The number of joints is assumed to be 1000, assuming that the total length of the flexible sensor tube is 30 m, the length of each joint is 3 cm, and the joint is composed of a joint of one degree of freedom.
If it is intended to obtain a flexible and high-performance flexible sensor tube, the number of joints increases, and the degree of freedom of each joint also increases. If the degree of freedom of each joint increases, the total length of the flexible sensor tube increases, or the length of each joint decreases, the number of change detection sensors increases, and the output signal of the change detection sensor increases accordingly. become.
Therefore, it is necessary to capture many output signals from the change amount detection sensors. In order to reduce the number of signal cables, a predetermined number of joints are grouped into one group, and signals from the change amount detection sensors are taken into the signal processing unit for each group. It was configured. The number of joints in one group is determined by the design of the flexible sensor tube and the design of the signal processing unit that captures the signal of the change amount detection sensor. It is preferable that the signal processing unit is composed of one board, and the number of input / output terminals is normally 8 to 32, and the number of joints in one group is suitably 8 to 32.

In the first aspect, the signal processing units are connected to a communication network. The communication network is also connected to a processing operation unit. The processing calculation unit takes in the signal data of the change amount detection sensor such as the joint angle sent from each signal processing unit via the communication network, and calculates the entire shape of the flexible sensor tube. The processing calculation unit is disposed at one end of the flexible sensor tube on the side opposite to the side where the search robot in the rubble is located. The overall shape of the flexible sensor tube calculated by the processing calculation unit is calculated three-dimensionally as position information of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, with one end of the flexible sensor tube serving as the origin as the origin, and the origin of the flexible sensor tube The three-dimensional position inside the rubble of the search robot in the rubble located at one end opposite to is identified.
As a result, when the search robot in the rubble discovers a person buried in the rubble, it becomes possible to pinpoint the position of the search robot in the rubble, in other words, the position of the person buried in the rubble. is there. Since the position of the person buried in the rubble can be pinpointed, the rescue operation can be performed quickly, and many victims can be rescued.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the tube of the articulated structure which comprises a flexible sensor tube is hard resin. Since it passes through the inside of the rubble, the tube with the multi-joint structure that constitutes the flexible sensor tube must be durable, and there is a degree of freedom to accurately calculate the overall shape based on the joint angle. It is preferable that the part other than the joint part of the joint is hard and has a constant shape. Furthermore, it is preferable that the flexible sensor tube is light considering the load of the search robot in the debris located at the tip of the flexible sensor tube.

  In addition to the above resin, the tube body or the exterior may be made of light metal by thin plate processing or die casting as shown in FIG. A composite material using carbon or the like can also be used. For example, it is possible to configure the tube by combining the outermost side of the tube with metal and the inner side with resin. Moreover, in FIG. 4, the structure which hides the exposed joint part in a tube like FIG. 7 is also possible. If configured as shown in FIG. 7, it can be expected that the movement of the tube along with the movement of the robot becomes smooth.

  Further, it is also possible to provide a driving means at the joint portion of the multi-joint structure of the flexible sensor tube so that the tube can be moved alone. The driving means is, for example, a crawler or a wheel similar to the rubble search robot. By providing a driving means in the flexible sensor tube itself, the load pulled by the search robot in the debris can be reduced, and the movement in the debris can be performed smoothly.

  Next, from the second aspect of the present invention, one end of the flexible sensor tube in the first aspect is attached to the traveling robot, and the position of the traveling robot is calculated by calculating the shape of the articulated tube of the flexible sensor tube. A self-localization system for a traveling robot that makes it possible to identify a vehicle is provided.

  Here, the traveling robot means a robot that performs autonomous traveling or a robot that travels by remote control, and includes the above-described search robot for debris. When remotely operating the rubble search robot, it is remotely operated via a wired travel control signal cable, similar to the signal information cable such as a pneumatic tube or a camera.

  In the case where the traveling robot is a rubble search robot, it is preferable to include a biological life function detecting means. Here, the living body life function detecting means transmits, for example, an electromagnetic wave by using a transmission device for transmitting an electromagnetic carrier signal at a constant frequency, and the transmitted electromagnetic wave is buried under the rubble. The reflected waves reflected by the victim's heart and lungs are captured by a receiver, and the reflected waves are analyzed by a computer via a demodulator, and the frequency distribution of electromagnetic waves whose phase is modulated by heartbeat and lung expansion / contraction By judging the pattern, the life function of the person who is buried under the rubble is detected.

  Next, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in a system in which a robot follows a leader, one end of the flexible sensor tube according to the first aspect is attached to the body of the leader, and both the feet of the leader and the flexible sensor tube A robot tracking system is provided that includes means for detecting relative motion between the ends of the robot.

In the third aspect, the flexible sensor tube of the first aspect is used in order for the following robot to recognize the spatial movement information of the leader.
Conventionally, in order for the robot to follow to recognize the spatial movement information of the leader, a means is known in which the robot includes a plurality of cameras and uses a stereo camera to capture the position of the leader. However, with the means of capturing the position of the leader using a stereo camera, if an obstacle such as a wall enters between the leader and the tracking robot, the camera cannot detect the point attached to the leader, In addition, there is a problem that lighting equipment is necessary particularly at night, which is greatly influenced by surrounding lighting conditions.
By using the flexible sensor tube according to the first aspect, the following robot recognizes the spatial movement information of the leader to avoid such a problem.
That is, when one end of the flexible sensor tube according to the first aspect is attached to the robot and the other end is attached to the body of the leader, the robot can identify the position of the leader at the other end from the overall shape of the flexible sensor tube. Furthermore, by providing a means for detecting the relative motion between the leader's feet and one end of the flexible sensor tube, a robot that tracks the miracle of the leader's feet can be recognized, and on an irregular road surface such as debris The robot can follow the passable space and landing location indicated by the leader.

Next, from the 4th viewpoint of the present invention, in the flexible sensor tube of the 1st viewpoint, the flexible sensor tube further provided with the junction means or the branching means is provided.
Here, the joining means serves to join two flexible sensor tubes and extend the length. The joints at the end of the flexible sensor tube can be joined together, or the joints at the end of the flexible sensor tube can be joined using separate joint members.
This joint between joints means not only a joint of a joint mechanism but also a joint such as a pneumatic tube or a signal information cable.

The branching means plays a role of branching so that a plurality of flexible sensor tubes can be extended so that branches and leaves are separated from one flexible sensor tube.
Also in this branching means, not only the joint of the joint mechanism but also the joint such as the pneumatic tube and the signal information cable is performed as in the above-described joining means.

Since the flexible sensor tube according to the present invention has the above-described structure, the flexible sensor tube has an effect of being able to identify the position of the search robot in the debris that has entered under the debris and is not visible from the outside.
Further, in the system in which the robot follows the leader, by using the flexible sensor tube of the present invention, there is an effect that the passing space and the landing place of the leader can be identified.
Furthermore, by providing biological information acquisition means by transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves to the search robot in the debris, accurate biological information that is not affected by radio waves on the ground and that avoids obstacles in the ground that shield radio waves is acquired. can do. In this case, the accumulation of information during the traveling of the robot makes it possible to acquire three-dimensional information from multiple directions, making it more accurate to specify the position of the living body, and information on the traveling route of the robot itself as information for rescue It can be used.

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

An embodiment of the flexible sensor tube according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conceptual diagram and a schematic configuration diagram of a traveling robot self-position identification system using a flexible sensor tube, respectively. 3 and 4 show a configuration diagram and an external view of an embodiment of the flexible sensor tube, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 1, the search robot 4 in the debris is composed of a carriage 11 and a joint 12, and crawlers attached to the top and bottom of the robot main body are used to thrust into the debris from the top carriage of the robot. Maneuvering and human body search are performed with the attached CCD camera. The flexible sensor tube 1 is connected to the rear carriage of the rubble search robot 4. Here, the power source 10 is a device or a power supply device that sends air pressure necessary as power for the search robot 4 in the debris. The portable display 9 also serves as a processing computer such as a mobile PC, and calculates the entire shape of the flexible sensor tube 1 and displays it on the portable display 9.
As shown in the schematic configuration diagram of FIG. 2, the flexible sensor tube 1 is wound around and stored in the storage drum 14, and is unwound from the storage drum 14 as the search robot 4 in the debris advances. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram in which a portion indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2 is enlarged.
The configuration diagram of FIG. 3 shows 11 link portions of a part of the flexible sensor tube and 10 joints therebetween. X indicates a joint location having a degree of freedom in the X-axis (horizontal axis) direction, and Y indicates a joint location having a degree of freedom in the Y-axis (vertical axis) direction. Each joint is equipped with a small potentiometer, and angle data of the joint angle can be detected.
A potentiometer 6 for measuring a joint angle is disposed at the X and Y locations, and a signal line 15 is wired from each potentiometer 6 to a processing operation unit (processing computer) 7.
As shown in the external view of FIG. 4, the flexible sensor tube is constituted by a chain of a link portion 3 having a length of about 5 cm and a joint 2 having one degree of freedom. Here, the link part 3 is about 5 cm square, and has a cavity 13 with a diameter of about 3 cm inside. This cavity serves as a passage for a signal information cable such as a pneumatic tube or a camera.
Here, the number of joints is determined from the required total length of the flexible sensor tube. In the case of 200 joints, the total length of the flexible sensor tube is about 10 m.

If the output signals of all the potentiometers of 200 joints are collected with independent signal cables, 200 signal lines are required, which is not practical.
Therefore, 10 joints are grouped into 10 groups, and 10 potentiometers are integrated into one signal processing unit (CPU board) 5. The 200 joints are divided into 20 groups, and 20 CPU boards are distributed to process the potentiometer signals.
Each CPU board is connected by a wired communication network. The wired communication network is disposed in the link cavity 13 described above.

The data of all the potentiometers are aggregated via a communication network to a processing computer provided at one end of the flexible sensor tube, and the shape of the flexible sensor tube is calculated based on the aggregated data. Thereby, the three-dimensional position of the search robot in the debris where the end of the flexible sensor tube is located is identified.
The information on the shape and position is displayed on the portable display together with the terrain information.

Next, a robot tracking system using the flexible sensor tube of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a robot following system using a flexible sensor tube.
One end of the flexible sensor tube 1 is attached to the tracking robot 21, and the other end is attached to the waist of the leader 20. In order to know the relative movement of the leader's waist and both feet, a potentiometer is provided to detect the movement of the joint from the leader's waist to both feet.
Accordingly, the tracking robot 21 can identify the three-dimensional position of the waist of the leader 20 from the overall shape of the flexible sensor tube 1 and detects the movement of the joint from the waist of the leader 20 to both feet. The position of both feet can be known from the sensor data.

A flexible sensor tube 22 from the waist to both feet may be used as means for detecting the movement of the joint from the waist of the leader to both feet. It can be expected to be applied to various applications by jointing or branching multiple flexible tubes. FIG. 6 shows a conceptual diagram of a flexible sensor tube using a joining means and a branching means.
In FIG. 6A, two flexible sensor tubes are connected by the joining means 30, and the entire length is extended. FIG. 6B shows a structure in which three flexible sensor tubes are connected to one flexible sensor tube using the branching means 31.

  In general, heart beating and respiratory activity are known to have a significant effect on high frequency electromagnetic signals. Specifically, it is a specific frequency range of 0.5 to 3.4 Hz (usually 1 to 2 Hz) in the case of the heartbeat of a person and 0.1 to 1.5 Hz in the case of respiratory activity. In addition, since the frequency pattern of pulse and respiration is different between humans and animals, it can be used to detect the presence of humans, especially the existence of survivors. In addition, since the frequency pattern is different for each person, it is possible to know the number of surviving persons.

  By using a transmitter to transmit an electromagnetic carrier signal at a certain frequency, the electromagnetic waves are transmitted, and the reflected electromagnetic waves reflected by the heart and lungs of the human being buried are captured by a receiver and analyzed by a processing computer. The frequency distribution of electromagnetic waves whose phase is modulated by the heartbeat and respiratory activity of a person can be displayed in a graph, and the existence of a survivor can be determined from the pattern.

  Therefore, by attaching an electromagnetic wave transmission / reception antenna to the search robot in the debris and analyzing the reflected wave with a separate processing computer via the flexible sensor tube, in addition to the image information of the camera etc., the survivor You can get information to help your discovery activities.

Specifically, the electromagnetic wave is transmitted from the electromagnetic wave transmitting antenna attached to the rubble search robot, the reflected electromagnetic wave is received, and the reflected electromagnetic wave is received when the processing computer determines that the living body is based on the frequency distribution and pattern of the reflected electromagnetic wave. Start the search robot in the rubble in the direction.
The search robot in the rubble travels in the direction of receiving electromagnetic waves, but transmits and receives electromagnetic waves while traveling, corrects the position information of the living body by acquiring new information, and accordingly corrects the course. Thus, after starting, the search robot exchanges information with the living body in a dynamic and interactive manner, and repeats the course correction to arrive at the living body. Further, the information obtained by the present embodiment is not limited to information for specifying the position of the living body. Information such as the travel route in the search robot's rubble and surrounding images captured during operation can be used as basic information for a later rescue plan. Since there are various obstacles in the rubble, it is often impossible to take a straight route toward the specified living body position as a rescue route, but the travel route of the search robot and image information around the travel route are rescued. This is extremely valuable information for route determination. That is, not only the point information of the living body position but also the line and surface information that are the processes leading to the point information can be acquired. Furthermore, after the survivor is discovered, an optimal rescue plan can be created by causing the search robot to capture and transmit the survivor's biometric information and surrounding image information.

  Further, the search robot in the rubble may be moved autonomously by the reflected electromagnetic wave. That is, it is also possible to acquire biological information by reflected electromagnetic waves, and according to the biological information acquired from the biological information, the search robot in the rubble automatically determines the course and reaches the living body.

  Further, it has been found that the human body detection device using the reflected electromagnetic wave is easily affected by the cardiopulmonary of surrounding workers when used on the ground. Therefore, if the human body detection device using the reflected electromagnetic wave is attached to the rubble search robot and penetrated into the rubble / underground, the influence of the ground worker can be reduced. Furthermore, even if there is a metal in the rubble, electromagnetic waves are shielded and useless, but detection can be made by passing or avoiding the part where the metal is located by advancing a search robot in the rubble.

  Even if the human body exists at a position that cannot be reached by the search robot in the rubble, if the presence of the human body can be detected by transmitting electromagnetic waves after intruding the search robot in the rubble to a point where it can enter, what is in the direction of electromagnetic wave transmission? A human body exists m to several tens of meters ahead, and uniaxial information for specifying the human body position is determined. Thereafter, the search robot in the rubble is made to enter multiple times from different points and the same processing is performed to acquire a plurality of axis information, thereby calculating the point where the plurality of axes overlap, that is, the position where the human body exists. It is also possible to display the position on the processing computer based on the calculation result.

  In principle, this human body detection system using electromagnetic waves may be difficult to identify when multiple human bodies overlap, because multiple return waves from the heart and lungs may be mixed. The ambiguity can be eliminated by moving the search robot in the rubble and retransmitting the electromagnetic wave from the position where the human body does not overlap.

  Also, by adding a switching function between the wide area and narrow area to the antenna for electromagnetic wave transmission / reception, switching to wide area scanning when the search robot in the rubble begins to dive, and switching to narrow area scanning when approaching by pinpoint. Can quickly detect the human body. The antenna unit may be mounted in parallel or by switching means.

The flexible sensor tube according to the present invention has a possibility that it can be used as a self-position identifying means of a search robot in rubble.
Further, in a system in which the robot follows the leader, it is also useful as a means for identifying the passing space and landing place of the leader.
Furthermore, the flexible sensor tube of the present invention is expected to be used in various applications by including a joining means and a branching means.

Conceptual diagram of a traveling robot self-position identification system using flexible sensor tubes Schematic configuration diagram of traveling robot self-position identification system using flexible sensor tube Configuration diagram of one embodiment of flexible sensor tube External view of one embodiment of flexible sensor tube Schematic of robot following system using flexible sensor tube Conceptual diagram of flexible sensor tube using joining means and branching means The external view of the other Example of a flexible sensor tube is shown, (a) is the flexible sensor tube extended straight, (b) shows the mode of the meandering flexible sensor tube.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flexible sensor tube 2 Joint 3 Link part 4 Search robot in rubble 5 Signal processing part (CPU board)
6 Potentiometer 7 Processing calculation unit (processing computer)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 Wired communication network 9 Portable display 10 Power source 11 Cart which comprises search robot in rubble 12 Joint which comprises search robot in rubble 13 Cavity 14 Storage drum 15 Signal line 20 Leader 21 Tracking robot 22 Flexible from waist to both feet Sensor tube 30 Joining means 31 Branching means X Joint having degrees of freedom in the X-axis (horizontal axis) direction Y Joint having degrees of freedom in the Y-axis (vertical axis) direction

Claims (14)

  It is a multi-jointed tube, and a change amount detection sensor such as a potentiometer is provided in the movable part of each joint, and one or a plurality of sensors are grouped, and the signal of the sensor is taken into the signal processing unit for each group. The signal processing units are connected to a communication network, and the processing calculation unit connected to the communication network includes means for calculating the shape of a multi-jointed tube based on the signal data of the sensor. The characteristic flexible sensor tube.   The flexible sensor tube according to claim 1, wherein the multi-jointed tube is made of a hard resin, a composite material, a metal, or a combination thereof.   The flexible sensor tube according to claim 1, wherein a joint portion of the tube having the multi-joint structure is stored in the tube.   The flexible sensor tube according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a driving unit is provided at a joint portion of the tube having the multi-joint structure to enable movement of the tube alone.   One end of the flexible sensor tube according to claim 1 is attached to the traveling robot, and the position of the traveling robot is identified by calculating the shape of the articulated tube. Position identification system.   6. The traveling robot self-position identification system according to claim 5, further comprising information acquisition means for movable axes existing in the robot.   7. A human body location specifying system, wherein the traveling robot in the traveling robot self-position identification system according to claim 5 or 6 comprises a living body life function detecting means.   The human body position specifying system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the living body life function detecting means includes an electromagnetic wave transmitting / receiving antenna, and detects the life function of the human body using reflected electromagnetic waves.   9. The human body position specifying system according to claim 8, wherein the electromagnetic wave transmitting / receiving antenna has a switching function between a wide area scan and a narrow area scan.   10. The human body position is specified by dynamically correcting the measurement position by the living body life function detecting means and combining information on specifying the human body position at a plurality of measurement positions. The human body localization system according to any one of the above.   11. The human body position specifying system according to claim 10, further comprising information related to a route traveled by the traveling robot in addition to the human body position specifying.   3. A system in which a robot follows a leader, wherein one end of the flexible sensor tube according to claim 1 or 2 is attached to the body of the leader, and relative movement between both the tip of the leader and one end of the flexible sensor tube. A robot follow-up system comprising means for detecting   The flexible sensor tube according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a joining means. A flexible sensor tube according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a branching means.