JP2010061442A - Autonomous mobile device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an autonomous mobile device capable of performing appropriate travel control matching a route clearance of a movement route. <P>SOLUTION: The autonomous mobile device 1 is provided with electric motors 12 driving omni wheels 13 and an electronic controller 30 controlling the electric motors 12. The electronic controller 30 is provided with a global map acquisition part 31 acquiring a global map showing an obstacle area wherein an obstacle exists, a route planning part 32 planning a movement route from the global map, a route clearance acquisition part 33 acquiring the route clearance of the movement route, and a storage part 34 storing the movement route and the route clearance of the movement route. The electronic controller 30 is provided with an own position detection part 35 detecting its own position during movement, and a travel control part 36 acquiring the route clearance in the own position from the storage part 34 and controlling the electric motors 12 according to the route clearance in the own position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile device, and more particularly to an autonomous mobile device that moves along a planned movement route.

Conventionally, an autonomous mobile device that autonomously moves from a starting point (start position) to a destination (goal position) along a planned route while avoiding contact with an obstacle is known. As such an autonomous mobile device, Patent Document 1 discloses a mobile robot (autonomous mobile device) that autonomously controls a moving speed and a moving direction according to surrounding environmental conditions (for example, ambient brightness). Yes. This mobile robot moves at a high speed when the surrounding environmental conditions are good, and reduces the moving speed when the surrounding environmental conditions are bad to avoid contact with an obstacle.
JP 2007-213111 A

  When running control of the autonomous mobile device, the control cycle and control delay cannot be made zero. Therefore, the actual behavior of the autonomous mobile device has a slight error (response delay) with respect to the intended behavior. This error becomes more prominent as the moving speed increases. On the other hand, the margin (path width) of the path along which the autonomous mobile device moves is not always constant. Therefore, in the mobile robot described in Patent Document 1, when the autonomous mobile device passes through a narrow path (route) or avoids an obstacle in the narrow path, for example, the autonomous mobile device contacts the obstacle due to the influence of the error described above. There was a fear.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous mobile device capable of performing appropriate traveling control according to the route margin of the moving route.

  An autonomous mobile device according to the present invention includes an environmental map acquisition unit that acquires an environmental map showing an obstacle area where an obstacle exists, and a route planning unit that plans a movement route from the environmental map acquired by the environmental map acquisition unit Detected by the route margin acquisition means for acquiring the route margin of the movement route planned by the route planning means, the movement means for moving the own machine, the self-position detection means for detecting the self-position, and the self-position detection means. And a travel control means for controlling the moving means according to the route margin at the self-position, and acquiring the route margin at the self-position from the self-position and the route margin obtained by the route margin obtaining means. Features.

  According to the autonomous mobile device of the present invention, a travel route is planned from the acquired environmental map, and a route margin of the travel route is acquired. On the other hand, the route margin at the self-position is grasped from the detected self-location and the route margin of the acquired movement route. Then, the moving means is controlled according to the grasped route margin at the self-position. Therefore, when traveling along the travel route, it is possible to perform appropriate travel control according to the route margin at the travel point (self position).

  The autonomous mobile device according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores a travel route planned by the route planning unit and a route margin acquired by the route margin acquisition unit, and the travel control unit is detected by the self-position detection unit. It is preferable to obtain the route margin at the self-position from the self-location and the route margin stored in the storage means.

  In this case, the movement route and the route margin of the movement route are acquired and stored in advance. For this reason, it is not necessary to obtain a route margin of the moving route during traveling, so that the calculation load can be reduced and the control delay during traveling can be reduced.

  In the autonomous mobile device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the traveling control means sets the moving speed of the own aircraft in accordance with the route margin at the own position, and controls the moving means based on the moving speed.

  In this way, the moving speed can be adjusted according to the route margin at the moving point. Therefore, it can move at an appropriate moving speed according to the route margin at the moving point. Therefore, for example, it is possible to move at a reduced speed in a narrow passage, and conversely, a wide passage can be moved at an increased speed.

  Further, in the autonomous mobile device according to the present invention, the travel control means has obstacle avoidance control means for setting avoidance force for avoiding the obstacle according to the route margin at the own position, and the obstacle avoidance control It is preferable to control the moving means based on the avoidance force set by the means.

  If it does in this way, the avoidance force for avoiding an obstacle can be adjusted according to the route margin of a moving point. Therefore, for example, it is possible to avoid obstacles slowly and smallly in narrow passages, and conversely, obstacles can be avoided quickly and with sufficient margins in wide passages.

  According to the present invention, the route margin at the self-location is acquired and the moving means is controlled according to the route margin at the self-location, so that appropriate travel control according to the route margin of the travel route is performed. Is possible.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  First, the configuration of the autonomous mobile device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the autonomous mobile device 1.

  The autonomous mobile device 1 acquires a surrounding environment map (a map showing an area where an obstacle exists and an area where an obstacle does not exist, hereinafter also referred to as a “global map”), and a starting point on the global map given by the user The travel route connecting between the (start position) and the destination (goal position) is planned, and the route margin of the travel route is acquired. In addition, the autonomous mobile device 1 autonomously moves from the start position to the goal position along the planned movement route and, when moving, travel control (for example, according to the route margin of the own position (movement point)) (for example, Adjust the movement speed). Therefore, the autonomous mobile device 1 includes a laser range finder 20 that measures the distance between the main body 10 provided with the electric motor 12 and the omni wheel 13 driven by the electric motor 12 at a lower portion thereof, and obstacles existing around. And planning the movement route, driving the electric motor 12 so as to move along the movement route, obtaining a route margin at its own position (movement point), and controlling the electric motor 12 according to the route margin. The electronic control device 30 is provided. Hereinafter, each component will be described in detail.

  The main body 10 is, for example, a metal frame formed in a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape, and the above-described laser range finder 20 and the electronic control device 30 are attached to the main body 10. The shape of the main body 10 is not limited to a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape. Four electric motors 12 are arranged in a cross shape and attached to the lower portion of the main body 10. Omni wheels 13 are attached to the drive shafts 12A of the four electric motors 12, respectively. That is, the four omni wheels 13 are mounted on the same circumference at intervals of 90 ° along the circumferential direction.

  The omni wheel 13 is provided so as to be rotatable around two wheels 14 that rotate about the drive shaft 12A of the electric motor 12 and an axis that is orthogonal to the drive shaft 12A of the electric motor 12 on the outer periphery of each wheel 14. Further, the wheel has six free rollers 15 and is movable in all directions. The two wheels 14 are attached with a phase shifted by 30 °. Due to such a configuration, when the electric motor 12 is driven and the wheel 14 rotates, the six free rollers 15 rotate together with the wheel 14. On the other hand, when the grounded free roller 15 rotates, the omni wheel 13 can also move in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel 14. Therefore, the autonomous mobile device 1 is moved in any direction (all directions) by independently controlling the four electric motors 12 and individually adjusting the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the four omni wheels 13. Can do. That is, the electric motor 12 and the omni wheel 13 function as moving means described in the claims.

  An encoder 16 for detecting the rotation angle of the drive shaft 12A is attached to the drive shaft 12A of each of the four electric motors 12. Each encoder 16 is connected to the electronic control unit 30, and outputs the detected rotation angle of each electric motor 12 to the electronic control unit 30. The electronic control unit 30 calculates the movement amount of the autonomous mobile device 1 from the input rotation angle of each electric motor 12.

  The laser range finder 20 is attached to the front part of the autonomous mobile device 1 so as to face the front direction (front) of the own device. The laser range finder 20 emits a laser and reflects the emitted laser on a rotating mirror to scan the periphery of the autonomous mobile device 1 in a fan shape with a central angle of 240 ° in the horizontal direction. The laser range finder 20 detects, for example, a laser reflected and returned by an object such as a wall or an obstacle, and detects a detection angle of the laser (reflected wave) and returns after being reflected by the object. By measuring the time (propagation time) until it comes, the angle and distance from the object are detected. The laser range finder 20 is connected to the electronic control device 30, and outputs distance information and angle information with respect to the detected surrounding object to the electronic control device 30.

  The electronic control device 30 comprehensively governs the control of the autonomous mobile device 1. The electronic control unit 30 includes a microprocessor for performing computation, a ROM for storing a program for causing the microprocessor to execute each process described later, a RAM for temporarily storing various data such as computation results, and the storage contents thereof. It consists of a backup RAM or the like that is held. The electronic control unit 30 also includes an interface circuit that electrically connects the laser range finder 20 and the microprocessor, a driver circuit that drives the electric motor 12, and the like.

  As described above, the electronic control unit 30 plans a movement route, drives the electric motor 12 to move along the movement route, obtains a route margin at its own position (movement point), and The electric motor 12 is controlled according to the margin. Therefore, the electronic control unit 30 includes a global map acquisition unit 31 that acquires a global map, a route plan unit 32 that plans a movement route, a route margin acquisition unit 33 that acquires a route margin of the movement route, a movement route, and the movement route A storage unit 34 that stores the route margin, a self-position detection unit 35 that detects the self-position, and a travel control unit 36 that controls the electric motor 12 according to the route margin at the self-position are provided. Each of these units is constructed by a combination of the hardware and software described above.

  The global map acquisition unit 31 uses, for example, SLAM technology to generate a global map in which an area where an obstacle exists (obstacle area) and an area where no obstacle exists are recorded. That is, the global map acquisition unit 31 functions as an environmental map acquisition unit described in the claims. Here, the global map is a map composed of a plane obtained by dividing a horizontal plane into blocks of a predetermined size (for example, 1 cm in length and width). A grid with obstacles is given a value greater than “0”, for example. A grid with no value is given a value less than “0”. When a global map is generated using the SLAM technology, first, the global map acquisition unit 31 reads a self position acquired by a self position detection unit 35 described later. Details of the self-position acquisition method will be described later. Next, the global map acquisition unit 31 creates a local map with the laser range finder 20 generated when acquiring its own position as the origin from the coordinate system with the laser range finder 20 as the origin to the global map coordinate system. The local map is projected onto the global map by converting the coordinates according to the position. The global map acquisition unit 31 repeatedly executes this processing while moving, and generates a global map of the entire surrounding environment by sequentially adding (adding) the local map to the global map.

  The route plan unit 32 includes an extended region generation unit 37, an integrated map generation unit 38, a movable region extraction unit 39, and a route search unit in order to plan a movement route from the global map generated by the global map acquisition unit 31. 40. The route planning unit 32 functions as route planning means described in the claims.

  The extended area generation unit 37 extends the outline of the obstacle area included in the global map generated by the global map acquisition unit 31 by the radius of the own device, and expands the obstacle area (hereinafter, “extended obstacle area”). And the contour of the extended obstacle region is further expanded stepwise with a predetermined expansion width to generate a plurality of extended regions. For example, a known Minkowski sum can be used to generate the extended region. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the extended obstacle region 320 is generated by expanding the outline (boundary) of the obstacle region 300 by an amount corresponding to the radius r of the autonomous mobile device 1. With this process, the size of the autonomous mobile device 1 can be regarded as a point with respect to the extended obstacle region 320. Further, the extended area generation unit 37 expands the outline of each extended obstacle area 320 in three stages by a predetermined extended width, that is, three extended areas, that is, a first extended area 321, a second extended area 322, and A third extension region 323 is generated (see FIG. 3). In the present embodiment, the radius r of the own device is used as the predetermined expansion width. That is, the extended area generation unit 37 generates the first extended area 321 by extending the outline of the extended obstacle area 320 by an amount corresponding to the radius r of the autonomous mobile device 1, and the outline of the first extended area 321. Is expanded by an amount corresponding to the radius r to generate the second expansion region 322, and the contour of the second expansion region 322 is expanded by the radius r to generate the third expansion region 323.

  The integrated map generation unit 38 includes a plurality of expansion regions generated by the expansion region generation unit 37 (in this embodiment, an expansion obstacle region 320, a first expansion region 321, a second expansion region 322, and a third expansion region 323). Are accumulated and accumulated to generate an accumulation map. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, a value of “1” is set for all grids included in the extended obstacle area 320, the first extended area 321, the second extended area 322, and the third extended area 323. An accumulation map is generated by adding (weight) and accumulating the extended obstacle area 320 and the extended areas 321 to 323 in an overlapping manner. That is, in the integrated map, the integrated value (weight) of the region where the first extended region 321, the second extended region 322, and the third extended region 323 overlap is “3”. Similarly, the integrated value (weight) of an area where only the second extension area 322 and the third extension area 323 overlap (area excluding the first extension area 321 from the second extension area 322) is “2”. In addition, the value (weight) of the area of only the third extension area 323 (area excluding the second extension area 322 from the third extension area 323) is “1”. Therefore, the integrated value of each region (each grid) on the integrated map represents a value corresponding to the distance from the extended obstacle region 320 (that is, the obstacle) with the radius r of the autonomous mobile device 1 as a unit. A region (grid) with a larger integrated value is closer to an obstacle, and a region (grid) with a smaller integrated value is farther from the obstacle. Therefore, the distance (margin) from the obstacle can be grasped from the integrated value of each region (each grid) on the integrated map.

  The movable region extracting unit 39 extracts a region (movable region) that can move without contacting an obstacle from the integrated map generated by the integrated map generating unit 38. As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, an area other than the extended obstacle area 320 (an area excluding the shaded area in FIG. 4) is extracted as a movable area 340 on the integration map. In addition, the movable area extraction unit 39 performs a thinning process on the extracted movable area 340. The thinning process of the movable region 340 can be performed using, for example, a known Hilitch thinning method. That is, the movable area extraction unit 39 performs thinning by scraping the movable area 340 from the extended obstacle area 320 pixel by pixel until the movable area 340 becomes a line. Therefore, the linear movable region 341 obtained by thinning represents a movable region farthest from an obstacle present around.

  The route searching unit 40 plans a moving route by searching for the shortest route connecting the start position and the goal position from the thinned movable region 341 extracted by the movable region extracting unit 39. More specifically, first, the route search unit 40 performs a node search of the thinned movable area 341. That is, all the nodes 342 are searched and expressed as a node map as shown in FIG. Here, a branch point (or connection point) of the thinned movable area 341 is a node 342, and a thin movable area 341 connecting the node 342 and the node 342 is a link 343. Next, the route search unit 40 performs a shortest route search using a search algorithm such as a known A * algorithm (A star algorithm), and determines a moving route. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the route search unit 40 uses a start position 351 and a goal position 352 as a base point, and, for example, uses an A * algorithm to pass through which node 342 and which link 343 are minimum. The route 350 is determined by calculating whether the cost (shortest route) is reached.

  The route margin obtaining unit 33 obtains a route margin in the subgoal from the extended areas 321 to 323 on the integrated map to which the passing points (hereinafter also referred to as “subgoals”) on the moving route planned by the route searching unit 40 belong. . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the path margin acquisition unit 33 belongs to which extension areas 321 to 323 the subgoal 360 on the determined path 350 belongs (or belongs to the extension areas 321 to 323). To obtain route margin information for each subgoal 360. Here, the integrated value (for example, “1”, “2”, “3”, and the integrated value of the region that does not belong to any extended region is “0”) on the integrated map described above. It can be used as margin information. Then, the path margin acquisition unit 40 adds the acquired path margin information of each subgoal 360 to the path information represented by the subgoal point sequence (coordinate sequence) in association with each subgoal 360. In this way, the travel route information to which the route margin information is added is acquired. That is, the route margin acquisition unit 33 functions as a route margin acquisition unit described in the claims.

  The storage unit 34 includes, for example, the backup RAM described above, and stores the route information planned by the route planning unit 32 and the route margin information of the movement route acquired by the route margin acquisition unit 33. That is, the storage unit 34 functions as a storage unit described in the claims.

  The self-position detecting unit 35 estimates the self-position, that is, the position of the moving machine. Therefore, the self-position detecting unit 35 functions as self-position detecting means described in the claims. More specifically, the self-position detection unit 35 first generates a local map based on distance information / angle information with respect to surrounding objects read from the laser range finder 20 via the sensor information acquisition unit 42. Based on the rotation angle of each electric motor 12 read from the encoder 16, the amount of movement of the own machine is calculated. Next, the self-position detection unit 35 probabilistically estimates the self-position from the generated local map and the movement amount of the self-machine using a Bayes filter (Bayes's theorem).

  The travel control unit 36 acquires a route margin at the self-position from the self-position detected by the self-position detection unit 35, the route information stored in the storage unit 34, and the route margin information, and according to the route margin. By controlling the electric motor 12, the traveling of the own machine is controlled. That is, the travel control unit 36 functions as a travel control unit described in the claims. More specifically, the travel control unit 36 first detects a subgoal that matches or is closest to its own position from a subgoal point sequence (coordinate sequence) included in the route information, and stores it corresponding to the subgoal. The route margin information in the subgoal is acquired. Note that the route margin information does not adopt the value of the closest subgoal, but is a subgoal that is located on the goal side of the detected closest subgoal and that is included in a certain range from the self position. Among the route margin information, the narrowest (large value) may be adopted.

  Next, the traveling control unit 36 sets a target moving speed according to the acquired route margin information. For example, the traveling control unit 36 sets the target moving speed to 4 km / h when the route margin information is “0”, and sets it to 3 km / h when the route margin information is “1”. When the route margin information is “2”, the speed is set to 2 km / h, and when the route margin information is “3”, the speed is set to 1 km / h. That is, the target moving speed is set so that the speed of the own aircraft becomes slower as the path margin becomes smaller (that is, the path width becomes narrower). Instead of setting the target moving speed according to the route margin information, a coefficient is set according to the route margin information, and this coefficient is multiplied by the target moving speed set based on other parameters. Also good. In this case, for example, when the route margin information is “0”, the coefficient is set to “1”, and when the route margin information is “1”, the coefficient is set to “3/4”. When “2” is “2”, the coefficient is set to “2/4”, and when the route margin information is “3”, the coefficient is set to “1/4”. That is, the coefficient is set so that the moving speed becomes slower as the route margin becomes smaller.

  The travel control unit 36 also includes an obstacle avoidance control unit 41 that sets an avoidance force (hereinafter also referred to as “repulsive force”) for avoiding an obstacle according to the route margin at the self position. An obstacle is avoided by driving the electric motor 12 based on the repulsive force set by the control unit 41. The obstacle avoidance control unit 41 functions as an obstacle avoidance control unit described in the claims. Here, in the present embodiment, the virtual potential method is adopted as a control method for moving the aircraft to the goal position while avoiding an obstacle. This virtual potential method generates and superimposes a virtual attractive potential field for the goal position and a virtual repulsive potential field for the obstacle to be avoided, thereby avoiding contact with the obstacle. This is a method for generating a route to the destination. In the present embodiment, a route margin is adopted as one of parameters for setting the repulsive force of the virtual potential method.

  More specifically, the traveling control unit 36 first calculates a virtual attractive force for moving toward the goal position based on the self position. On the other hand, the obstacle avoidance control unit 41 calculates a virtual repulsive force for avoiding the obstacle based on the self-position, the moving speed, the position and speed of the obstacle, and the coefficient set according to the route margin information. To do. Here, as the coefficient set according to the route margin information, for example, the same coefficient as the coefficient multiplied by the target moving speed described above can be used. That is, the coefficient is set so that the virtual repulsive force becomes smaller (that is, the avoidance becomes gentler) as the route margin becomes smaller. Subsequently, the traveling control unit 36 calculates a virtual force vector by vector combining the obtained virtual attractive force and the virtual repulsive force. Then, the traveling control unit 36 drives the electric motor 12 (omni wheel 13) according to the obtained virtual force vector, thereby controlling the traveling of the own device so as to move to the goal position while avoiding the obstacle. To do.

  In the present embodiment, since the route margin at the self-position is grasped, the detected object is a passage wall or an obstacle based on the distance from the object detected by the laser range finder 20. You can guess if there is. Here, if the detected object is not an obstacle but a wall, the calculation for calculating the avoidance operation described above (calculation for obtaining the virtual repulsive force) can be omitted.

  Next, the operation of the autonomous mobile device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of route planning processing by the autonomous mobile device 1. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the travel control process performed by the autonomous mobile device 1. The route planning process shown in FIG. 8 is performed by the electronic control device 30, and is executed, for example, in response to a user instruction operation before autonomous movement. 9 is performed by the electronic control device 30, and is repeatedly executed at a predetermined timing when the autonomous mobile device 1 is moving autonomously.

  First, the processing procedure of the route planning process shown in FIG. 8 will be described. In step S100, a global map is generated based on distance information, angle information, and the like with surrounding objects read from the laser range finder 20. Since the global map generation method is as described above, detailed description thereof is omitted here. Next, in step S102, first, for each obstacle region 300 included in the global map, the outline is expanded by the radius r of the own device to generate an extended obstacle region 320. In step S102, the extended obstacle area 320 is further expanded in three stages by a predetermined expansion width (in the present embodiment, the radius r of the own device), and three expansion areas, that is, a first expansion area 321 and a second expansion area. An area 322 and a third extended area 323 are generated (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

  In the subsequent step S104, the extended obstacle region 320, the first extended region 321, the second extended region 322, and the third extended region 323 generated in step S102 are overlapped and integrated to generate an integrated map (FIG. 3). Subsequently, in step S106, an area excluding the extended obstacle area 320 is extracted from the integrated map generated in step S104 as a movable area 340 that can move without contacting the obstacle (FIG. 4). reference). Next, in step S108, the extracted movable area 340 is thinned. Since the thinning process for the movable area 340 is as described above, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  In the subsequent step S110, a node search of the thinned movable area 341 is executed (see FIG. 5). Subsequently, in step S112, using the start position and the goal position as a base point, for example, using the A * algorithm, a search is made as to which node 342 and which link 343 on the integration map pass the minimum cost (shortest path). The path 350 is determined (see FIG. 6).

  In the subsequent step S114, the route margin information (“0”, “0”, “0”, “0”, “2”) for each subgoal 360 depends on which extension region 321 to 323 the subgoal 360 on the determined route 350 belongs to. 1 ”,“ 2 ”,“ 3 ”) are acquired (see FIG. 7). Then, the obtained route margin information of each subgoal 360 is added to the route information represented by the subgoal point sequence (coordinate sequence) in association with each subgoal 360, whereby the route margin information is added. Information is acquired. The route information to which the route margin information acquired in step S114 is added (that is, route information and route margin information) is stored in the storage unit 34 in step S116.

  Next, the travel control process shown in FIG. 9 will be described. In step S200, the local position generated based on the distance / angle information with respect to the object, and the own position during traveling using the Bayes filter from the movement amount of the own machine calculated based on the rotation angle of each electric motor 12 Is estimated. In the subsequent step S202, the subgoal that matches or is closest to the self-position is detected from the subgoal point sequence (coordinate sequence) included in the route information, and the route margin information in the subgoal stored corresponding to the subgoal is obtained. Is done. As described above, the route margin information is not a value of the closest subgoal, but is a subgoal located on the goal side with respect to the detected nearest subgoal, and is within a certain range from the self position. You may make it employ | adopt the narrowest (large value) among the path | route margin information of the some subgoal contained.

  Next, in step S204, a target moving speed is set according to the acquired route margin information. Here, the target movement speed is set such that the smaller the route margin becomes (that is, the narrower the passage width), the slower the own speed. Since the method for setting the target moving speed is as described above, detailed description is omitted here.

  Subsequently, in step S206, a virtual repulsive force for avoiding an obstacle is set according to the route margin information acquired in step S202. Here, the virtual repulsive force is set so that the virtual repulsive force becomes smaller (that is, the avoidance becomes smaller) as the route margin becomes smaller. Since the method for setting the virtual repulsive force is as described above, detailed description thereof is omitted here. Further, in step S206, a virtual attractive force for moving toward the goal position is calculated based on the self position, and a virtual force vector is calculated by vector synthesis of the obtained virtual attractive force and virtual repulsive force.

  In subsequent step S208, the electric motor 12 (omni wheel 13) is driven based on the target moving speed set in step S204 and the virtual force vector obtained in step S206. Therefore, the moving speed and the avoiding force (repulsive force) are adjusted to optimum values according to the margin of the moving route (passage width).

  According to this embodiment, a travel route is planned from the acquired global map, and a route margin of the travel route is acquired. On the other hand, the route margin at the self-position is grasped from the detected self-location and the route margin of the acquired movement route. Then, the electric motor 12 is controlled in accordance with the grasped route margin at the self-position. Therefore, when traveling along the travel route, it is possible to perform appropriate travel control according to the route margin at the travel point.

  More specifically, according to the present embodiment, the target moving speed is set according to the route margin at the moving point. Therefore, it can move at an appropriate moving speed according to the route margin at the moving point. Therefore, it is possible to move at a reduced speed in a narrow passage, and conversely, a wide passage can be moved at an increased speed.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the repulsive force for avoiding the obstacle can be adjusted according to the route margin at the moving point, the obstacle is slowly and smallly avoided in the narrow passage, and conversely, the wide In the passage, it is possible to avoid obstacles quickly and largely.

  According to the present embodiment, the travel route and the route margin of the travel route are acquired and stored in advance. For this reason, it is not necessary to obtain a route margin of the moving route during traveling, so that the calculation load can be reduced and the control delay during traveling can be reduced.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the extended obstacle region 320 is expanded stepwise and integrated, and the route margin in the subgoal is obtained from the extended regions 321 to 323 to which the subgoal belongs. It is not limited to. For example, the route margin may be obtained by calculating the Euclidean distance from the obstacle for each subgoal.

  When the above-described method is adopted as a method for obtaining the route margin, in the above embodiment, the expansion width when expanding the extended obstacle region 320 is the radius r of the own device. Without being limited to the radius r, it can be set arbitrarily. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the expansion obstruction area | region 320 was expanded to three steps, you may expand to two steps or four steps or more. Furthermore, the values (weights) given to the grids constituting the expansion areas 321 to 323 when integrating the expansion areas 321 to 323 are not limited to “1”, and any value can be set.

  In the above embodiment, the target moving speed and the like are set according to the route margin of the moving point during autonomous movement. However, when the moving route is planned and the route margin information is acquired, the above-described target moving speed and A coefficient or the like may be obtained for each subgoal and stored in the storage unit 34 in advance.

  In the above embodiment, the A * algorithm is used for the shortest path search, but other algorithms such as Dijkstra method and best priority search may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the global map is generated using the SLAM technology. However, the global map may be generated using a method other than the SLAM. Moreover, you may transplant the global map produced | generated with the other apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the distance to the obstacle is measured using the laser range finder 20, but instead of or in addition to the laser range finder, for example, a stereo camera, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like may be used.

  In the said embodiment, although the omni wheel 13 which can move to all directions was employ | adopted as a wheel, it is good also as a structure which uses a normal wheel (a steering wheel and a drive wheel). Further, the number of omni wheels 13 is not limited to four, and may be three or six, for example.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the autonomous mobile apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the expansion method (Minkowski sum calculation) of an obstruction area | region. It is a figure for demonstrating the production | generation method of an integrating | accumulating map. It is a figure for demonstrating the extraction method and thinning method of a movable area | region. It is a figure for demonstrating the search method of a node. It is a figure for demonstrating the search method of the shortest path | route. It is a figure for demonstrating the acquisition method of a route margin. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the route planning process by the autonomous mobile apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the traveling control process by the autonomous mobile device which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Autonomous mobile device 10 Main body 12 Electric motor 13 Omni wheel 14 Wheel 15 Free roller 16 Encoder 20 Laser range finder 30 Electronic control device 31 Global map acquisition part 32 Path plan part 33 Path margin acquisition part 34 Storage part 35 Self-position detection part 36 Travel control unit 37 Extended region generation unit 38 Integrated map generation unit 39 Movable region extraction unit 40 Route search unit 41 Obstacle avoidance control unit

Claims (4)

An environmental map acquisition means for acquiring an environmental map showing an obstacle area where the obstacle exists;
Route planning means for planning a movement route from the environmental map acquired by the environmental map acquisition means;
Route margin obtaining means for obtaining a route margin of the travel route planned by the route planning means;
Moving means for moving the aircraft;
Self-position detecting means for detecting the self-position;
A route margin at the self-position is acquired from the self-position detected by the self-position detection unit and the route margin acquired by the route margin acquisition unit, and the moving unit is set according to the path margin at the self-position. An autonomous mobile device comprising a travel control means for controlling the vehicle. Storage means for storing the travel route planned by the route planning unit and the route margin acquired by the route margin acquisition unit;
The said travel control means acquires the path | pass margin in this self position from the self position detected by the said self position detection means, and the path | pass margin memorize | stored in the said memory | storage means. Autonomous mobile device.   3. The autonomous system according to claim 1, wherein the travel control unit sets a moving speed of the aircraft according to a route margin at the self position, and controls the moving unit based on the moving speed. Mobile equipment. The travel control means has obstacle avoidance control means for setting an avoidance force for avoiding an obstacle according to a route margin at the self position, and is based on the avoidance force set by the obstacle avoidance control means. The autonomous mobile device according to claim 1, wherein the mobile unit is controlled.

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