JP2007184785A - Optical tag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical tag capable of transmitting various pieces of information over a wide range so that even a low-speed tag reader can receive them. <P>SOLUTION: A superposition tag 10 is provided at a body 2 and blinks light to transmit the property information of the body 2. In detail, category information and detail information are stored as the property information and a single light emitting element is made to blink at a low speed and a high speed according to the category information and detail information. The category information and detail information are therefore transmitted simultaneously from the superposition tag 10. The detail information reaches the position of a boundary line C1 and is detected by a high-speed tag reader 20. The category information reaches the position of a farther boundary line C2 and is detected by the low-speed tag reader 30. The optical tag can transmit various pieces of property information including category information and detail information and, especially, the category information can be transmitted over a wide range so that the category information can be received even by the low-speed tag reader. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical tag, and more particularly to an optical tag that is provided in an arbitrary object and transmits attribute information of the object as blinking light.

As a conventional optical tag of this type, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. This prior art includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) that emits infrared rays and a drive circuit thereof, and blinks the LED in accordance with identification information of an object. Such blinking of infrared rays is detected by a detection device (tag reader) including an image sensor and restored to identification information.
JP 2004-208229 A

  By the way, as the attribute information of the object, there is information indicating the function, size, owner, etc. in addition to the identification information. In addition to this type of detailed information, there is also category information indicating the category to which the object belongs. Therefore, the optical tag is required to transmit such a variety of information.

  However, the conventional technology cannot sufficiently cope with diversification of information to be transmitted. In other words, it is possible to send and receive a variety of information by using a high-speed tag reader that increases the blinking speed of the LED and supports high-speed blinking. No information can be received. In addition, since the high-speed tag reader has a short exposure time, there is a problem that an area where information can be received becomes narrow.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide an optical tag capable of transmitting various information in a wide range and capable of being received by a low-speed tag reader.

  The optical tag according to the invention of claim 1 is an optical tag (10) for transmitting information as blinking light, and is a single light emitting element (16), and storage means for storing first information and second information as information. (12) and a blinking means (14) for causing the light emitting element to blink slowly and blink rapidly according to the first information and the second information.

  In the invention of claim 1, the first information and the second information are stored by the storage means. The blinking means causes the single light emitting element to blink slowly and blink rapidly according to the stored first information and second information. Accordingly, the first information and the second information are transmitted simultaneously. The first information reaches a wider range than the detailed information and can be detected by the low-speed tag reader. On the other hand, the second information can be detected by a high-speed tag reader.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to transmit a variety of information including the first information and the second information, and in particular, it is possible to transmit the first information in a wide range so that it can be received by a low-speed tag reader.

  The optical tag according to the invention of claim 2 is dependent on claim 1, and the flashing means converts the first information and the second information into a slow flashing waveform and a fast flashing waveform, each comprising a lighting period and a non-lighting period, respectively. Then, the high-speed flashing waveform is distributed and superimposed only during the lighting period of the low-speed flashing waveform.

  In the invention of claim 2, the first information and the second information are converted into a slow blink waveform and a fast blink waveform, respectively. Here, the slow flashing waveform is composed of a lighting period and a non-lighting period, and the fast flashing waveform is also composed of a lighting period and a non-lighting period. The high-speed flashing waveform is superimposed in a distributed manner only during the lighting period of the low-speed flashing waveform.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the amplitude of the low-speed blinking waveform (luminance difference between when it is turned on and when it is turned off) is large, the reach range of the first information is widened.

  An optical tag according to a third aspect of the present invention is dependent on the first aspect, wherein the blinking means converts the first information into a slow blinking waveform composed of a lighting period and a dimming period, and the second information is turned on and off. It is converted into a high-speed flashing waveform composed of periods, and the high-speed flashing waveform is continuously superimposed on the lighting period and dimming period of the low-speed flashing waveform.

  In the invention of claim 3, the first information and the second information are converted into a slow blinking waveform and a fast blinking waveform, respectively. Here, the fast flashing waveform is composed of a lighting period and an extinguishing period, while the slow flashing waveform is composed of a lighting period and a dimming period. The fast flashing waveform is continuously superimposed throughout the lighting period and dimming period of the slow flashing waveform.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the high-speed blinking is always performed, the transmission speed of the second information is improved.

  The optical tag according to the invention of claim 4 is an optical tag (10a) for transmitting information as blinking of light, two light emitting elements (16a, 16b) for emitting light of different wavelengths, first information and first information as information A storage means (12) for storing two information and a flashing means (14a) for rapidly flashing one of the two light emitting elements according to the second information, and the flashing means is a flashing speed of the flashing means according to the first information. It is characterized by switching at a slower speed.

  In the invention of claim 4, the first information and the second information are stored by the storage means. The blinking means blinks one of the two light emitting elements at high speed according to the second information. At this time, the blinking target is switched at a speed slower than the blinking speed of the blinking means according to the first information. Accordingly, the second information can be detected by the high-speed tag reader (20) to which the second filter (22) including both of the two wavelengths corresponding to the two light emitting elements is included in the transmission band. The first information can be detected by the low-speed tag reader (30) to which the first filter (32) including one of the wavelengths in the transmission band is applied.

  According to the invention of claim 4, it is possible to transmit a variety of information including the first information and the second information. In particular, the first information can be transmitted over a wide range and with a low-speed tag reader.

  The optical tag according to the invention of claim 5 is an optical tag (10b) for transmitting information as blinking of light, a single light emitting element (16), and storage means for storing first information and second information as information (12) and a flashing means (14b) for causing the light emitting element to flash slowly according to the first information in the slow flashing mode and for the light emitting element to flash rapidly according to the second information in the fast flashing mode, and the flashing means operates in the slow flashing mode. When a predetermined external action is detected, a high-speed flashing mode is entered.

  In the invention of claim 5, the first information and the second information are stored by the storage means. The blinking means causes the light emitting element to blink slowly according to the first information in the slow blinking mode, and causes the light emitting element to blink rapidly according to the second information in the fast blink mode. Accordingly, the first information is transmitted in the slow blink mode, and the second information is transmitted in the fast blink mode. The first information reaches a wider range than the second information and can be detected by the low-speed tag reader. On the other hand, the second information can be detected by a high-speed tag reader.

  When a predetermined external action is detected during operation in the slow flashing mode, the mode shifts to the fast flashing mode. Accordingly, after detecting the first information with the low-speed tag reader, the receiving side performs detailed external information with the high-speed tag reader by performing a predetermined external action on the transmitting side, that is, the optical tag or the object provided with the optical tag, if necessary. Can be further detected. Specific external actions include vibration, contact, light, and sound.

  According to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to transmit a variety of information including the first information and the second information. In particular, the first information can be transmitted over a wide range and with a low-speed tag reader. In addition, since the mode is switched from the slow flashing mode for transmitting the first information to the fast flashing mode for transmitting the second information according to a predetermined external action, the receiving side first receives the first information, If there is interest, the second information can be further received from the optical tag by applying an external action such as contact to the optical tag.

  In the preferred embodiment, the flashing means returns to the low-speed flashing mode when the high-speed flashing mode continues for a certain time. As a result, normally, the first information is transmitted over a wide range in the slow blink mode, and when receiving a predetermined external action, the second information is transmitted for a certain period of time by shifting to the fast blink mode. Can be sent efficiently as needed.

  Further, the information amount of the second information is larger than the information amount of the first information. Thereby, detailed information can be transmitted through high-speed blinking.

  The first information and the second information are encoded according to the Manchester encoding method. Thereby, highly accurate transmission / reception can be easily performed.

  The robot system (1) according to the invention of claim 6 is provided in an arbitrary object (2), and transmits an optical tag (10) that transmits information related to the object as blinking light, and a motion related to the object. The optical tag is a single light emitting element (16), storage means (12) for storing category information and detailed information as information, and category information and detailed information Equipped with a blinking means (14) for causing the light emitting element to blink slowly and rapidly, the robot detects the category information from the slow blinking of light and generates the position information of the light emitting element, and the low speed tag reader (30), from the fast blinking of light High-speed tag reader (20) for detecting detailed information, first determination means (S73) for determining whether detailed information is detected by the high-speed tag reader when category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader, first determination The second determination means (S75) for determining whether or not the detailed information is necessary based on the category information detected by the low-speed tag reader when the stage determination result indicates no detection, and the second determination means determines that the detailed information is necessary. Motion control means (86, S77) for moving the robot itself toward the object based on the position information generated by the low-speed tag reader.

  In the invention of claim 6, in the optical tag, the category information and the detailed information of the object are stored by the storage means, and the flashing means flashes and flashes the single light emitting element at a low speed and at a high speed according to the stored category information and detailed information. Let In the robot, a low-speed tag reader detects category information from light blinking at low speed and generates position information of the light emitting element. On the other hand, the high-speed tag reader detects detailed information from high-speed blinking of light.

  When the category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader, the first determining means determines whether or not the detailed information is detected by the high-speed tag reader. If this determination result indicates that it has not been detected, the necessity of detailed information is further determined by the second determination means based on the category information detected by the low-speed tag reader. If it is determined that detailed information is necessary, the robot is moved toward the object by the motion control means based on the position information generated by the low-speed tag reader. Therefore, after the category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader, if necessary, detailed information can be detected by the high-speed tag reader by approaching the object that is the category information transmission source.

  According to the invention of claim 6, since the optical tag transmits the category information and the detailed information at the same time through the slow blinking and the fast blinking, the robot can receive various information in a wide range. In particular, when it is located within the reach of the category information and outside the reach of the attribute information, the necessity of detailed information is determined from the category information, and if necessary, it moves within the reach of the category information. Even if it is located outside the reach range of the detailed information, the detailed information can be acquired as necessary.

  A robot system (1a) according to the invention of claim 7 includes an optical tag (10b) provided on an object (2a) having vibration detection means (98) for transmitting attribute information of the object as blinking light, A robot system comprising a robot (8a) that moves in association with an optical tag, a single light emitting element (16), storage means (12) for storing category information and detailed information as information, and slow flashing In the mode, there is a blinking means (14b) for causing the light emitting element to blink slowly according to the category information and for the fast blink mode to blink the light emitting element rapidly according to the detailed information, and the robot detects the category information from the slow blinking of the light and detects the light emitting element. Low-speed tag reader (30) that generates position information, high-speed tag reader (20) that detects detailed information from fast flashing light, and high-speed tag reader when category information is detected by a low-speed tag reader First discriminating means (S73) for discriminating whether or not the detailed information is detected, and discriminating whether or not the detailed information is necessary based on the category information detected by the low-speed tag reader when the discrimination result of the first discriminating means indicates undetected. Second discriminating means (S75), and motion control means (86) for bringing the robot itself into contact with the object based on the position information generated by the low-speed tag reader when the second discriminating means discriminates that the detailed information is necessary. , S77a), and the blinking means shifts to the fast blink mode when vibration is detected by the vibration detection means in the slow blink mode.

  In the invention of claim 7, in the optical tag, the category information and the detailed information of the object are stored by the storage means. The blinking means causes the light emitting element to blink slowly according to the category information in the slow blink mode, and causes the light emitting element to blink rapidly according to the detailed information in the fast blink mode. In the robot, a low-speed tag reader detects category information from light blinking at low speed and generates position information of the light emitting element. On the other hand, the high-speed tag reader detects detailed information from high-speed blinking of light.

  When the category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader, the first determining means determines whether or not the detailed information is detected by the high-speed tag reader. If this determination result indicates that it has not been detected, the necessity of detailed information is further determined by the second determination means based on the category information detected by the low-speed tag reader. If it is determined that detailed information is necessary, the motion control means brings the robot into contact with the object based on the position information generated by the low-speed tag reader. The blinking means shifts from the low-speed blinking mode to the high-speed blinking mode when vibration generated as a result of such contact is detected by the detection means. Therefore, after the category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader, if necessary, the detailed information can be detected by the high-speed tag reader by contacting the object that is the category information transmission source.

  According to the invention of claim 7, since the optical tag transmits the category information in the slow blink mode and the detailed information in the fast blink mode, the robot can receive various information in a wide range. In particular, the optical tag normally operates in the slow blink mode, and the robot determines whether or not detailed information is necessary from the category information, and if necessary, touches the object to shift the optical tag mode to the fast blink mode. Therefore, detailed information can be acquired as necessary.

  An optical tag system (1) according to the invention of claim 8 comprises an optical tag (10a) for transmitting information as blinking light and a receiving device (8) for receiving information transmitted by the optical tag. The optical tag includes two light emitting elements (16a, 16b) that emit light of different wavelengths, storage means (12) that stores first information and second information, and two light emitting elements according to the second information. A flashing means (14a) for rapidly flashing any one of the flashing means is provided, and the flashing means switches the flashing target at a speed slower than the flashing speed of the flashing means according to the first information. The receiving apparatus also includes a high-speed tag reader (20) that detects second information from high-speed blinking of light through a first filter (22) that transmits two wavelengths respectively corresponding to two light-emitting elements, and two light-emitting elements. And a low-speed tag reader (30) for detecting first information from high-speed blinking of light through a second filter (32) that transmits one of two wavelengths respectively corresponding to the first and second wavelengths.

  According to the invention of claim 8, in the optical tag, the first information and the second information are stored by the storage means, and the blinking means blinks one of the two light emitting elements at high speed according to the second information. At this time, the blinking target is switched at a speed slower than the blinking speed of the blinking means according to the first information. On the other hand, in the receiver, from the high-speed blinking of light, a high-speed tag reader having a first filter that transmits two wavelengths respectively corresponding to two light-emitting elements detects the second information, and one of the two wavelengths A low-speed tag reader having a second filter that transmits the first information detects the first information.

  According to the invention of claim 8, various information including the first information and the second information can be transmitted, and in particular, the first information can be transmitted over a wide range and received by a low-speed tag reader. In addition, since the high-speed blinking is always performed, the transmission speed of the second information is improved.

  According to the present invention, a variety of information can be transmitted over a wide range so as to be received by a low-speed tag reader.

  The above object, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile robot system of this embodiment includes an object 2 provided with a superposition tag 10, a mobile robot 4 provided with a high-speed tag reader 20, and a mobile robot 6 provided with a low-speed tag reader 30. And the mobile robot 8 provided with the high-speed tag reader 20 and the low-speed tag reader 30.

  With reference to FIG. 2A, the superimposition tag 10 includes a ROM 12 that stores identification information of the object 2. The identification information in the ROM 12 is classified into category information indicating a category (for example, “container”, “ball”, etc.) and detailed information indicating an identifier (ID), an owner, and the like. These category information and detailed information are encoded according to the Manchester encoding method. In Manchester encoding, encoding is performed so that a long sequence of “0” or “1” does not occur. As a result, the clock can be restored from the encoded data on the receiving side, thereby enabling inexpensive and accurate transmission. The blinking control circuit 14 causes the LED 16 to blink according to the category information and detailed information in the ROM 12. This blinking control process follows the procedure shown in FIG. The LED 16 emits infrared light, but may emit visible light.

  Referring to FIG. 3, first, category information and detailed information are read in step S1. In the subsequent step S3, the category information and the detailed information are converted into the slow blink information and the fast blink information, respectively. In this conversion process, the speed ratio of fast flashing and slow flashing is 10: 1.

  Specifically, the category information is composed of a bit string such as “01011...”, And by assigning “0” and “1” to the turn-off period and the turn-on period, slow blink information corresponding to the category information is obtained. . On the other hand, the detailed information is composed of a bit string such as “1101001101011010011...”, And slow blinking information corresponding to the detailed information can be obtained by performing the same assignment.

  Here, the detailed information has 10 bits as one unit, and these 10 bits include a 7-bit information body (such as ID), a start bit, a stop bit, and a parity bit. For this reason, the speed ratio of high-speed flashing and low-speed flashing is set to 10: 1 so that the period corresponding to 10 bits of detailed information coincides with the period corresponding to 1 bit of category information. In the following, the speed of high-speed flashing is 100 Hz, and the speed of low-speed flashing is 10 Hz.

  In subsequent step S5, the high-speed blinking information corresponding to the detailed information is superimposed on the low-speed blinking information corresponding to the category information. Specifically, the high-speed blink information is allocated in a distributed manner during the lighting period of the low-speed blink information. That is, the high-speed flashing information is divided in units of a period corresponding to 10 bits of detailed information, and the divided high-speed flashing information is sequentially inserted into the lighting period of the low-speed flashing information. As a result, the lighting period of the slow blink information is replaced with the fast blink information. Note that, as a result of setting the blinking speed ratio to 10 to 1 in the conversion process in step S3, allocation without excess or deficiency can be performed.

  In step S7, the LED 16 is caused to blink according to the superimposed blinking information. As a result, the LED 16 emits flashing light according to the waveform of FIG.

  With reference to FIG. 2B, the high-speed tag reader 20 mounted on the mobile robot 4 includes an image sensor 26. The light emitted from the LED 16 of the object 2 passes through the optical filter 22 and the lens 24 and forms an image on the imaging surface of the image sensor 26. The image sensor 26 captures such an optical image at a sufficiently higher speed (for example, 400 fps) than the high-speed lighting of the LED 16 and outputs an image signal corresponding to the captured optical image.

  The high speed image processing circuit 28 of the mobile robot 4 processes the image signal output from the image sensor 26. This image processing is executed at 400 fps, for example, according to the procedure shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, first, in step S21, the output signal of the image sensor 26, that is, the original image is captured, and in the next step S23, the captured original image is binarized. In step 25, an area corresponding to the LED 16 is detected from the binarized original image (hereinafter “binary image”).

  Thereafter, in step S27, position information of the detected area is generated. In step S29, blinking of the binary image included in the detection area is detected. In step S31, detailed information is decoded from this detection result, that is, blinking information shown in FIG. Here, since the processing speed is sufficiently faster than the blinking speed of the LED 16, blinking information (see FIG. 6B) having the same waveform as the original waveform in FIG. 6A is obtained, and detailed information is obtained from this blinking information. Can be decrypted. In step S33, the generated position information and decoded detailed information are output.

  The output of the high-speed image processing circuit 28, that is, detailed information and position information are temporarily stored in the RAM 48. The CPU 44 refers to the information in the RAM 48 and gives a command to the motion control circuit 46 as necessary, for example, approaching the object 2 or contacting the object 2. The motion control circuit 46 controls a driving mechanism (not shown) according to a given instruction. As a result, the mobile robot 4 moves toward or contacts the object 2, for example.

  With reference to FIG. 2C, the low-speed tag reader 30 mounted on the mobile robot 6 includes an image sensor 36. The light emitted from the LED 16 of the object 2 passes through the optical filter 32 and the lens 34 and forms an image on the imaging surface of the image sensor 36. The image sensor 36 captures the optical image at a speed (for example, 40 fps) sufficiently slower than the fast flashing of the LED 16 and sufficiently faster than the slow flashing, and outputs an image signal corresponding to the captured optical image.

  The low speed image processing circuit 38 processes the image signal output from the image sensor 36. This image processing is executed at 40 fps, for example, according to the procedure shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 5, first, in step S51, the output signal of the image sensor 36, that is, the original image is captured, and in the next step S53, the captured original image is binarized. In step 55, an area corresponding to the LED 16 is detected from the binarized original image (hereinafter “binary image”).

  Thereafter, in step S57, position information of the detected area is generated. In step S59, blinking of the binary image included in the detection area is detected. In step S61, the category information is decoded from the detection result, that is, the blinking information shown in FIG. In step S63, the generated position information and decoded category information are output.

  Here, since the processing speed is sufficiently slower than the high-speed flashing and sufficiently higher than the low-speed flashing, the high-speed flashing period in the original waveform in FIG. As a result, blink information (see FIG. 6C) having a waveform similar to the slow blink information generated in step S3 (see FIG. 3) is obtained, and category information can be decoded from this blink information.

  The output of the low-speed image processing circuit 38, that is, the category information and the position information in step S63 is temporarily stored in the RAM 68. The CPU 64 refers to the information in the RAM 68 and gives a command to the motion control circuit 66 as necessary, for example, approaching the object 2 or contacting the object 2. The motion control circuit 66 controls a drive mechanism (not shown) according to a given instruction. As a result, the mobile robot 6 moves toward or contacts the object 2, for example.

  Referring to FIG. 2D, the high-speed tag reader 20 mounted on the mobile robot 8 is configured in the same manner as in FIG. 2B, and outputs detailed information and position information. The configuration is the same as that of FIG. 2C, and category information and position information are output. The output information of the high-speed tag reader 20 and the output information of the high-speed tag reader 20 are temporarily stored in the RAM 88.

  The CPU 84 refers to the information in the RAM 88 and gives a command to the motion control circuit 86 as necessary, for example, moving toward the object 2 or contacting the object 2. The motion control circuit 86 controls a drive mechanism (not shown) according to a given instruction. As a result, the mobile robot 8 moves toward or contacts the object 2, for example.

  The mobile robot system 1 configured as described above operates, for example, as follows.

  Referring to FIG. 1, detailed information transmitted as high-speed blinking of light from the superimposition tag 10 provided on the object 2 is received by the high-speed tag reader 20 and similarly transmitted from the superimposition tag 10 as low-speed blinking of light. Is received by the low-speed tag reader 30. In this case, due to the relationship between the exposure times of both tag readers, the boundary line C1 and the boundary line C2 become the reach limits of the detailed information and the category information, respectively. Here, the boundary line C1 is a circumference with a radius r1 centered on the superimposed tag 10, and the boundary line C2 is a circumference with a radius r2 (> r1) centered on the same superimposed tag 10.

  Therefore, the mobile robot 4 having only the high-speed tag reader 20 can receive detailed information as long as it is located within the boundary line C1. The mobile robot 6 having only the low-speed tag reader 30 can receive category information as long as it is located within the boundary line C2.

  The mobile robot 8 including both the high-speed tag reader 20 and the low-speed tag reader 30 can receive the category information as long as it is located within the boundary line C2, and can receive further detailed information when it is located within the boundary line C1. Accordingly, when the mobile robot 8 is located in the region between the two boundary lines C1 and C2, the low-speed tag reader 30 first receives the category information. As a result, if the object 2 is interested, the mobile robot 8 After moving inward, the high-speed tag reader 20 can receive the detailed information. When performing such an operation, the CPU 84 of the mobile robot 8 executes processing according to the flow of FIG. The program corresponding to this flowchart is stored in the ROM 82.

  Referring to FIG. 7, first, in step S71, it is determined whether category information has been received. If YES, in step S73, it is further determined whether detailed information has been received. If “YES” here as well (at this time, the object 2 is inside the boundary C1), the process proceeds to step S81, and predetermined processing such as moving the object 2 is performed using category information and / or detailed information. Thereafter, the process returns to step S71.

  If “NO” in the step S73 (at this time, the object 2 is between the boundaries C1 and C2), the process shifts to a step S75 to determine whether or not detailed information is necessary. If “NO” here, that is, if the detailed information has already been obtained, the process proceeds to a step S81 to execute a predetermined process. If “YES” in the step S75, the moving process is executed in a step S77, and in the subsequent step S79, it is determined whether or not the detailed information is received. If “NO” in the step S79, the process returns to the step S77, and if “YES”, the process shifts to a step S81 to execute a predetermined process.

  In the above moving process, the CPU 84 instructs the motion control circuit 86 to move toward the object 2 based on the position information in the RAM 88 (see S57 in FIG. 5), and motion control is performed according to this command. A circuit 86 controls a driving mechanism (not shown). As a result, the mobile robot 8 moves toward the object 2 and can receive detailed information if it enters the boundary C1.

  As is apparent from the above, in this embodiment, the superimposition tag 10 is provided on the object 2 and transmits attribute information of the object 2 as blinking light. Specifically, the attribute information is divided into category information and detailed information, and a single LED 16 is flashed slowly and rapidly in a superimposed manner according to the category information and the detailed information. Therefore, category information and detailed information are transmitted simultaneously from the superimposition tag 10. The detailed information reaches the position of the boundary line C1 and is detected by the high-speed tag reader 20. The category information reaches the position of the boundary line C2 farther than the boundary line C1, and is detected by the low-speed tag reader 30.

  This makes it possible to transmit a variety of information including category information and detailed information. In particular, category information can be transmitted over a wide range and received by the low-speed tag reader 30.

  Further, the low speed tag reader 30 generates position information of the object 2 when detecting the category information. The mobile robot 8 includes the low-speed tag reader 30 and the high-speed tag reader 20, and when category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader 30, it determines whether or not detailed information is detected by the high-speed tag reader 20 (S73). If not, it is determined whether or not detailed information is necessary based on the category information detected by the low-speed tag reader 30 (S75). If it is determined that detailed information is necessary, the mobile robot 8 moves toward the object 2 based on the position information generated by the low-speed tag reader 30 (S77). Therefore, after the category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader 30, if necessary, the high-speed tag reader 20 can detect the detailed information by approaching the category information transmission source, that is, the object 2.

  In this embodiment, the high-speed blinking information is assigned only during the lighting period of the low-speed blinking information (see FIG. 6A), but this is assigned over the entire period as shown in FIG. 8A. You can also. Referring to FIG. 8A, the LED 16 is dimmed instead of turning off during the “0” period of the slow blink information, and the fast blink information is also assigned to the dimming period. The blinking control process in this case is shown in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 9, steps S1 and S3 are the same as those in FIG. In the superimposition process in step S5a, the fast blink information is continuously assigned to the lighting period (that is, the non-dimming period) and the dimming period of the slow blink information. In step S7, the LED 16 is caused to blink according to the superimposed blink information having a waveform as shown in FIG.

  Although the detailed information can be transmitted only intermittently in the waveform of FIG. 6A, it can be transmitted continuously according to the waveform of FIG.

  The high-speed tag reader 20 detects the high-speed flashing information of FIG. 8B from the flashing of the LED 16, and the low-speed tag reader 30 detects the low-speed flashing information of FIG. The processes of the high-speed tag reader 20 and the low-speed tag reader 30 are the same as those in FIGS. 4 and 5 except for a threshold value in binarization (S23, S53).

  Thereby, detailed information can be transmitted at higher speed.

  In this embodiment, the mobile robot 8 includes two sets of optical systems (optical filters 22 and 32, lenses 24 and 34, and image sensors 26 and 36) for detecting high-speed blinking and detecting low-speed blinking. However, one optical system can be omitted by performing frame rate conversion. The configuration of the mobile robot 8 in this case is shown in FIG.

  A low-speed tag reader 30a in FIG. 10 includes a frame rate conversion circuit 40 in place of the optical filter 32, the lens 34, and the image sensor 36 in the low-speed tag reader 30 in FIG. Other components are the same as those in FIG. An image signal is given to the frame rate conversion circuit 40 from the image sensor 26 of the high-speed tag reader 20. The frame rate conversion circuit 40 converts the frame rate of the given image signal into a value suitable for the low speed image processing circuit 38. This frame rate conversion process follows the flowchart of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 11, first, a variable m is set to 1 in step S91, and in a subsequent step S93, an image signal is taken into a frame memory Im (not shown) at a frame rate f1 (for example, 400 fps). Next, in step S95, the variable m is incremented. In step S97, it is determined whether or not the variable m matches a constant n (for example, 10). If NO, the process returns to step S93.

  If “YES” in the step S97, the process shifts to a step S99 to generate an average image of the n frame memories I1 to In and output the generated average image at a frame rate f2 (= f1 / n). After output, the process returns to step S91.

  As a result, the frame rate of the image signal is converted from 400 fps to 40 fps, for example. The low speed image processing circuit 38 processes the image signal after the frame rate conversion. Accordingly, the mobile robot 8 can perform the processing shown in FIG. 7 with a simpler configuration.

  In this embodiment, the superimposition tag 10 transmits the category information and the detailed information using only one LED 16, but, like the superposition tag 10a shown in FIG. 12, two LEDs 16a that emit light having different wavelengths. And 16b may be used to transmit these. The configuration on the receiving side may be the same as that shown in FIGS. 2B to 2D except for the transmission wavelength of the optical filters (22, 32).

  The processing of the blinking control circuit 14a in FIG. 12 follows the procedure shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 13, steps S1 and S3 are the same as those in FIG. In step S5b, the blinking control circuit 14a switches the LED to emit light between the “0” period and the “1” period of the slow blinking information. That is, only the LED 16a (first LED) is driven according to the fast blink information during the extinguishing period corresponding to “0” of the slow blink information, and the LED 16b (second LED) according to the fast blink information during the turn on period corresponding to “1” of the slow blink information. Only drive). Thus, the LEDs 16a and 16b emit light that blinks according to the waveform of FIG. 14A and light that blinks according to the waveform of FIG. 14B, respectively.

  In this case, the optical filter 22 on the high-speed tag reader 20 side transmits the light from both the LEDs 16a and 16b, while the optical filter 32 on the low-speed tag reader 30 side transmits only the light from the LED 16a. Therefore, the high-speed tag reader 20 detects the high-speed blinking information shown in FIG. 14B, while the low-speed tag reader 30 detects the low-speed blinking information shown in FIG.

  This also makes it possible to transmit detailed information at a higher speed.

  Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, referring to FIG. 15, mobile robot system 1a of this embodiment includes object 2a and mobile robot 8a in place of object 2 and mobile robot 8 in mobile robot system 1 of FIG. The object 2 a is provided with a variable speed tag 10 b instead of the superimposition tag 10. Other components are the same as those in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 16A, object 2a includes vibration detection circuit 98 and CPU 94 in addition to variable speed tag 10b. The variable speed tag 10b includes a blinking control circuit 14b in place of the blinking control circuit 14 in the superimposed tag 10 (see FIG. 2A). The blinking control circuit 14b has two operation modes of “slow blinking mode” and “fast blinking mode”. In the slow blinking mode, the LED 14 blinks slowly according to the category information, and in the fast blink mode, the LED 14 blinks rapidly according to the detailed information. Let For this reason, high-speed blink information or low-speed blink information is transmitted from the LED 14.

  The vibration detection circuit 98 detects the vibration of the object 2a, and the CPU 94 instructs the blinking control circuit 14b to switch the operation mode in relation to the detection result. The ROM 92 stores a program for operating the CPU 94, and the RAM 96 provides a work area for the CPU 94.

  Referring to FIG. 16B, mobile robot 8a has a configuration similar to that of FIG. However, the program in the ROM 92 is partially different from that in the ROM 82, and therefore operates differently from that in FIG.

  The mobile robot system 1a configured as described above operates as follows. Referring to FIG. 15, boundaries C <b> 1 and C <b> 2 indicate the arrival limits of the fast blink information and the slow blink information, as in FIG. 1. Now, the low speed blinking information is transmitted from the variable speed tag 10b provided on the object 2a, and the mobile robot 8a is located in the region between the boundary and C2. For this reason, the mobile robot 8a can know the category of the object 2a by receiving the slow blink information by the slow tag reader 30 and decoding the received slow blink information.

  If it is determined that the object 2a is an interesting target from the category thus recognized, the mobile robot 8a moves toward the object 2a and contacts the object 2a. As a result of the contact, vibration occurs in the object 2a.

  Referring to FIG. 16A, vibration generated in object 2a is detected by vibration detection circuit 98, and a signal indicating vibration detection is transmitted to CPU 94. Upon receiving the signal, the CPU 94 commands the blinking control circuit 14b to switch from the slow blinking mode to the fast blinking mode. Accordingly, the blinking control circuit 14b shifts from an operation of causing the LED 16 to blink at a low speed according to the category information, and an operation for causing the LED 16 to blink at a high speed according to the detailed information. As a result, as shown in FIG. 17, the output of the LED 16 is switched from the low-speed flashing information to the high-speed flashing information with the vibration detection as a boundary.

  The mobile robot 8a located in the vicinity of the object 2a receives the high-speed blinking information transmitted from the variable speed tag 10b in this way by the high-speed tag reader 20, and decodes the received high-speed blinking information to obtain detailed information of the object 2a. I can know. Then, based on the recognized detailed information, an operation such as moving the object 2a is performed.

  When a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) elapses after switching to the high-speed flashing mode, the CPU 94 instructs the flashing control circuit 14b to return to the low-speed flashing mode. Accordingly, the blinking control circuit 14b shifts from the operation of blinking the LED 16 at high speed according to the detailed information to the operation of blinking the LED 16 at low speed according to the category information.

  In performing the above operation, the CPU 94 of the object 2a executes a process according to the flow shown in FIG. 18, and the CPU 84 of the mobile robot 8a executes a process according to the flow shown in FIG. The programs corresponding to these flowcharts are stored in the ROM 92 and the ROM 82, respectively.

  Referring to FIG. 18, the CPU 94 of the object 2a first sets the operation mode to the slow blinking mode in step S111. In the following step S113, it is determined whether or not vibration is detected by the vibration detection circuit 98. If NO, the process returns to step S111. If “YES” in the step S113, the operation mode is set to the high-speed blinking mode in a step S115, and the process proceeds to the step S117. In step S117, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the setting process in step S115. If YES, the process returns to step S111.

  Referring to FIG. 19, steps S71 to S75, S79 and S81 are the same as those in FIG. In step S77a, the CPU 84 of the mobile robot 8a executes a process of moving toward the object 2a and a process of contacting the object 2a.

  As is apparent from the above, in this embodiment, the object 2a has a vibration detection circuit 98 that detects vibration. The variable speed tag 10b stores category information and detailed information as attribute information of the object 2a. In the slow blink mode, the single LED 16 blinks slowly according to the category information, and in the fast blink mode, the same LED 16 blinks rapidly according to the detailed information. . Accordingly, category information is transmitted in the slow blink mode, and detailed information is transmitted in the fast blink mode. The category information reaches the position of the boundary line C1 and is detected by the high-speed tag reader 20. The category information reaches the position of the boundary line C2 farther than the boundary line C1, and is detected by the low-speed tag reader 30.

  This makes it possible to transmit a variety of information including category information and detailed information. In particular, category information can be transmitted over a wide range and received by the low-speed tag reader 30.

  The variable speed tag 10b shifts to the high speed flashing mode when vibration is detected during operation in the low speed flashing mode. The low speed tag reader 30 generates position information of the object 2a when detecting the category information. The mobile robot 8a has the low-speed tag reader 30 and the high-speed tag reader 20, and when category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader 30, it determines whether or not detailed information is detected by the high-speed tag reader 20 (S73). If not, it is determined whether or not detailed information is necessary based on the category information detected by the low-speed tag reader 30 (S75). If it is determined that detailed information is necessary, the mobile robot 8a moves toward the object 2a and contacts the object 2a based on the position information generated by the low-speed tag reader 30 (S77a). Therefore, after the category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader 30, if necessary, detailed information can be detected by the high-speed tag reader 20 by approaching and contacting the category information transmission source, that is, the object 2a.

  In the above description, an optical tag provided on an arbitrary object and transmitting attribute information of the object as blinking light has been described. However, any information may be transmitted as blinking light. In general, the first information and the second information may be stored as information to be transmitted, and a light emitting element such as an LED may be blinked at a low speed and at a high speed according to the stored first information and second information. In this case, it is preferable that the information amount of the second information is larger than the information amount of the first information, so that detailed information can be transmitted through high-speed blinking.

It is a block diagram which shows one Example of this invention. (A) is a block diagram showing a configuration of an object (and a superposition tag provided thereon) applied to the embodiment of FIG. 1, and (B) is a mobile robot (and this) applied to the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 2C is a block diagram showing another configuration of another mobile robot (and a high-speed tag reader provided therein) applied to the embodiment of FIG. 1. FIG. 4D is a block diagram showing the configuration of another mobile robot applied to the embodiment of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the superimposition tag of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the high-speed tag reader of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the low speed tag reader of FIG. (A) is a waveform diagram showing the output of the superimposed tag of FIG. 2 (A), (B) is a waveform diagram showing the detection result of the high-speed tag reader of FIG. 2 (B), (C) is FIG. It is a wave form diagram which shows the detection result of the low speed tag reader of C). It is a flowchart which shows a part of CPU operation | movement of the mobile robot of FIG. (A) is a wave form diagram which shows the output of the other superposition tag applied to the Example of FIG. 1, (B) is a wave form diagram which shows the detection result of the other high-speed tag reader applied to the Example of FIG. (C) is a waveform diagram showing the detection result of another low-speed tag reader applied to the embodiment of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the superimposition tag of FIG. 8 (A). It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the further another mobile robot applied to the Example of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the frame rate conversion circuit of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the other superimposition tag applied to the Example of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the superimposition tag of FIG. (A) is a waveform diagram showing one of the two outputs of the superimposed tag of FIG. 12, and (B) is a waveform diagram showing the other of the two outputs of the superimposed tag of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the other Example of this invention. (A) is a block diagram showing a configuration of an object (and a variable speed tag provided thereon) applied to the embodiment of FIG. 15, and (B) is a configuration of a mobile robot applied to the embodiment of FIG. FIG. It is a wave form diagram which shows the output of the variable speed tag of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows a part of CPU operation | movement of the object of FIG. 16 (A). It is a flowchart which shows a part of CPU operation | movement of the mobile robot of FIG. 16 (B).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a ... Mobile robot system 2, 2a ... Object 4, 6, 8, 8a ... Mobile robot 10, 10a ... Superposition tag 10b ... Variable speed tag 12, 42, 62, 82, 92 ... ROM
14, 14a, 14b ... flashing control circuit 16, 16a, 16b ... LED
22, 32 ... Optical filter 26, 36 ... Image sensor 28 ... High speed image processing circuit 38 ... Low speed image processing circuit 44, 64, 84, 94 ... CPU
46, 66, 86 ... motion control circuit 98 ... vibration detection circuit

Claims (8)

An optical tag that transmits information as a flashing light,
A single light emitting element,
An optical tag comprising: storage means for storing first information and second information as the information; and blinking means for causing the light emitting element to blink slowly and blink rapidly according to the first information and the second information.   The flashing means converts the first information and the second information into a slow flashing waveform and a fast flashing waveform each composed of a lighting period and a non-lighting period, and turns the fast flashing waveform on the slow flashing waveform. The optical tag according to claim 1, wherein the optical tag is dispersed and superimposed only in a period.   The flashing means converts the first information into a slow flashing waveform composed of a lighting period and a dimming period, converts the second information into a fast flashing waveform composed of a lighting period and a light extinction period, and The optical tag according to claim 1, wherein a high-speed flashing waveform is continuously superimposed on a lighting period and a dimming period of the low-speed flashing waveform. An optical tag that transmits information as a flashing light,
Two light emitting elements that emit light of different wavelengths,
Storage means for storing first information and second information as the information; and blinking means for rapidly blinking one of the two light emitting elements according to the second information,
The optical tag is characterized in that the blinking means switches the blinking object at a speed slower than the blinking speed of the blinking means according to the first information. An optical tag that transmits information as a flashing light,
A single light emitting element,
Storage means for storing the first information and the second information as the information, and in the slow flashing mode, the light emitting element flashes slowly according to the first information, and in the fast flashing mode, the light emitting element flashes rapidly according to the second information. With flashing means,
The optical tag according to claim 1, wherein the flashing means shifts to the fast flashing mode when a predetermined external action is detected during operation in the slow flashing mode. A robot system comprising an optical tag provided on an arbitrary object and transmitting information related to the object as blinking light, and a robot that moves in relation to the object,
The optical tag is
A single light emitting element,
Storage means for storing category information and detailed information as the information; and blinking means for causing the light-emitting element to blink slowly and rapidly according to the category information and the detailed information.
The robot is
A low-speed tag reader that detects the category information from a slow flashing of light and generates position information of the light-emitting element;
A high-speed tag reader that detects the detailed information from high-speed blinking of light;
First discriminating means for discriminating whether or not detailed information is detected by the high-speed tag reader when category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader;
Second determination means for determining whether or not detailed information is necessary based on category information detected by the low-speed tag reader when the determination result of the first determination means indicates undetected; and the detailed information is determined by the second determination means. A robot system comprising motion control means for moving the robot itself toward the object based on position information generated by the low-speed tag reader when it is determined to be necessary. A robot system comprising an optical tag provided on an object having vibration detection means for transmitting information related to the object as blinking light, and a robot that moves in relation to the object,
The optical tag is
A single light emitting element,
Storage means for storing category information and detailed information as the information, and blinking means for causing the light emitting element to blink slowly according to the category information in the slow blink mode and for rapidly blinking the light emitting element according to the detail information in the fast blink mode. ,
The robot is
A low-speed tag reader that detects the category information from a slow flashing of light and generates position information of the light-emitting element;
A high-speed tag reader that detects the detailed information from high-speed blinking of light;
First discriminating means for discriminating whether or not detailed information is detected by the high-speed tag reader when category information is detected by the low-speed tag reader;
Second determination means for determining whether or not detailed information is necessary based on category information detected by the low-speed tag reader when the determination result of the first determination means indicates undetected; and the detailed information is determined by the second determination means. A movement control means for bringing the robot itself into contact with the object based on position information generated by the low-speed tag reader when determined to be necessary;
The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the flashing means shifts to the high-speed flashing mode when vibration is detected by the vibration detection means in the low-speed flashing mode. An optical tag system comprising an optical tag for transmitting information as blinking light, and a receiving device for receiving information transmitted by the optical tag,
The optical tag is
Two light emitting elements that emit light of different wavelengths,
Storage means for storing first information and second information as the information; and blinking means for rapidly blinking one of the two light emitting elements according to the second information,
The blinking means switches the blinking object at a speed slower than the blinking speed of the blinking means according to the first information,
The receiving device is:
A high-speed tag reader that detects the second information from high-speed blinking of light through a first filter that transmits two wavelengths respectively corresponding to the two light-emitting elements, and any of the two wavelengths that respectively correspond to the two light-emitting elements An optical tag system comprising a low-speed tag reader that detects the first information from high-speed blinking of light through a second filter that transmits the light.

Images