JP2018008318A - Thin elastic skin for robots - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a skin structure for robots that allows a natural motion and appearance while maintaining strength and durability.SOLUTION: A thin elastic skin for robots has a reinforcement material at least partially used in an elastic base material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an elastic skin constituting a surface of a robot.

Conventionally, the surface of the robot has been covered with an elastic skin.

However, there are also reasons for strength and durability, and only thick materials exist.
Such epidermis is often used for humanoid robots called so-called "androids", but because of its thick thickness, for example, when used on the face, facial expressions are poor, and when people see it, it feels strange It is the cause.

In addition, for example, when used for a hand, the epidermis is not easily deformed, and there is a problem that a servo that moves a finger requires a large output.

In the future, robots are likely to become more and more similar to humans, so a robot structure that can enrich the facial expression for communication and perform detailed and energy-saving operations is desired.

In order to achieve the above object, the thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 1 of the present invention is characterized in that a reinforcing material is disposed on at least one portion on the inner surface side of the elastic base material constituting the surface of the robot. .

According to this configuration, since the strength and durability can be secured by the reinforcing material, the skin can be configured to be thin.
As a result, a robot with a rich expression and a robot that moves in detail can be realized.

The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that the reinforcing material is a stretchable woven fabric or a nonwoven fabric using a stretchable yarn.

According to this configuration, even when the place where the reinforcing material is disposed is extended by the operation of the robot, the skin can follow, so that natural expression is possible while maintaining strength and durability.

A thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the elastic base material has a multi-layer structure or a thickness that varies depending on a part.

According to this configuration, it is possible to reproduce the texture of muscles and fat under the skin in humans by changing the hardness of the base material to a multilayer structure of the epidermis.

For example, in humans, in areas where muscles exist under the skin like the cheeks, a harder layer that mimics the muscles is formed under the epidermis to reproduce the tactile sensation and appearance closer to humans. In addition, by keeping the area between the eyebrows thin with only the epidermis, the wrinkles can be reproduced in a more natural state.

Further, by manufacturing the muscle location with a hard base material, it is possible to easily attach a servo as a substitute for the muscle.

Further, by adopting a structure in which the thickness is changed without using a multilayer structure, a skin structure having the above characteristics can be easily manufactured.

A thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 4 of the present invention is a sheet (so-called electronic paper) whose color is changed by electric addition on at least a part of the inner surface of the thin elastic skin for robot according to claims 1 to 3. It is characterized by embedding.

According to this configuration, the color of the surface of the epidermis can be changed by changing the color of the sheet. For example, when this structure is used for a face, a rich expression such as changing the face color depending on the situation can be reproduced.

The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 5 of the present invention is characterized in that the sheet whose color is changed by the electric addition is any one of an LED sheet, an organic EL, and an electronic paper.

According to this configuration, it can be realized at low cost if the discoloration sheet is formed of LEDs.
If the color change sheet is composed of organic EL, uniform color can be realized with low power.
If the discoloration sheet is composed of electronic paper, a uniform color can be realized with extremely low power, and the electronic paper itself does not emit light, so that it is not conspicuous even in a dark place and a natural surface color can be realized.

The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 6 of the present invention is characterized in that a fine hole is provided in the outermost layer of the thin elastic skin for the robot.

According to this configuration, sweat can be reproduced by oozing water from fine holes.

The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 7 of the present invention is characterized in that a cooling device is installed on at least a part of the inner surface of the thin elastic skin for the robot.

According to this configuration, by operating the cooling device and lowering the temperature of the epidermis, condensation can be generated and sweat can be reproduced.

The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 4 of the present invention is characterized in that the cooling device is a Peltier element.

According to this configuration, since the cooling device can be reduced in size, it can be easily installed inside the skin.

In the thin elastic skin for robots with the above configuration, a reinforcing material is placed in the base material that makes up the skin, so that the skin can be made durable and thin, allowing more natural movements and facial expressions. Makes it easier to communicate with people.

Partial cross-sectional perspective view of an elastic base material with reinforcement applied to the robot's head Partial cross-sectional perspective view showing a state in which a thin elastic skin for a robot constructed in a multilayer structure is applied to the head of the robot Partial cross-sectional perspective view of the robot head showing the expression changed by the servo Partial cross-sectional perspective view of a robot head showing a state in which a discoloration sheet is arranged on the back of the skin structure Partial cross-sectional perspective view of the robot head showing the state of the skin structure with fine holes Partial cross-sectional perspective view of the robot head showing the cooling device installed on the back of the skin

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view in which an elastic base material with a reinforcing material is applied to the head of a robot.

As shown in the figure, the thin elastic skin for a robot according to the present invention is located outside the frame 1 serving as a skeleton of the robot, and is configured by arranging a reinforcing material 3 in an elastic base material 2. Yes.
The elastic base material 2 may be silicon or urethane resin, but is not limited thereto.
The reinforcing material may be in the form of a woven fabric or a non-woven fabric. If the material is a resin, polypropylene, aramid, nylon, polyester, polyethylene, polyurethane, or the like may be considered. As long as it is a fiber other than resin, carbon, silk, cotton, etc. can be considered, but it is not limited to this.

In this case, when the skin is pulled and a force is applied to the base material 2 of the elastic body, the force is also shared by the reinforcing material 3, so that the strength and durability as the skin are improved.
Carbon and aramid fibers are particularly suitable for parts that require strength.
In addition, it is conceivable that stretchable yarns made of nylon or polyester are used for the portions where stretchability is required, and the reinforcing material is also stretchable. By giving the reinforcing material elasticity, it can be applied to many movable parts.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing a state in which a thin elastic skin for a robot having a multilayer structure is applied to the head of the robot.
In the figure, the elastic base material 2 is divided into a first layer 4 and a second layer 5 located at the outermost part, and a linkage 7 of a servo 6 for moving the epidermis is connected to the second layer 5. Yes.

In this way, for example, by softening the hardness of the second layer 5, it is possible to reproduce the texture of the muscles by making the fat under the skin of human beings and the hardness of the second layer 5 hard.

The number of layers may be, for example, a second layer imitating fat under the first layer 4 and a third layer imitating muscle under the first layer 4. Don't do it.

Moreover, since the material of the 1st layer 4 and the 2nd layer 5 may use the same thing and may change, it does not limit here.

In this way, it is possible to reproduce a tactile sensation and appearance closer to those of a human.

Further, for example, if the second layer 5 is not provided in a place where the eyes are squeezed, and the first layer 4 is kept thin, the wrinkles are more naturally generated when the epidermis is moved by the servo 6 or the like. Can be reproduced in a close state.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional perspective view of the robot head showing a state in which the expression 7 is changed by moving the linkage 7 attached to the second layer 5.
In the figure, the servo 6 is operated to move the second layer 5 and the linkage 7 imitating cheek muscles upward.

As a result, the second layer 5 imitating the cheeks swells, wrinkles occur in the center of the first layer pressed by the second layer 5 and reproduces laughter, and the edge of the mouth is also raised. A natural smile can be reproduced.

Further, the above features can be easily manufactured by adopting a configuration in which the thickness is changed instead of the multilayer structure as described above.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the robot head when the discoloration sheet 8 is arranged behind or inside the skin structure.
In FIG. 4- (a), the color changing sheet 8 is arranged on the back side of the substrate 2, and in FIG. 4- (b), the color changing sheet 8 is arranged between the first layer 4 and the second layer 5. The discoloration sheet 8 is connected to the sheet controller 9, and changes the color tone of the sheet 6 by the output from the sheet controller 9.

The discoloration sheet 8 is preferably an LED sheet, organic EL, or electronic paper from the viewpoints of thinness, flexibility, and power consumption.
Each of them can be realized at low cost if the discoloration sheet 8 is composed of LEDs.
If the discoloration sheet 8 is composed of an organic EL, uniform colors can be realized with low power. Since Android is highly likely to be battery powered, a system with low power consumption is desirable.
If the discoloration sheet 8 is made of electronic paper, non-uniform colors can be realized with extremely low power, and the electronic paper itself does not emit light, so that it is not conspicuous even in a dark place and a natural surface color can be realized.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of an android head showing a skin structure in which fine holes are provided in the skin.
A hole 10 penetrating the base material 2 is provided in the base material 2 of the skin. A liquid reservoir 11 and a pressurizer 12 are installed behind the hole 10.

If it does in this way, sweat can be reproduced by letting out water from the hole 10 provided in the base material 2.

The hole 10 may be formed by mixing salt with the base material where the hole 10 is provided at the time of molding the skin and then dissolving the salt after molding, or a method of making a hole with a laser, but the method of providing the hole is limited to this. It is not a thing.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a robot head showing a skin structure in which a cooling device 13 is installed on the back or inside of the skin.
In the figure, a cooling device 13 is arranged on the back side of the substrate 2. The cooling device 13 is connected to the cooling device controller 14, and the cooling device 13 is operated by an output from the cooling device controller 14 according to the situation.

In this way, by operating the cooling device 13 and lowering the temperature of the epidermis, condensation can be generated and sweat can be reproduced.

The cooling device 13 is particularly suitable because the Peltier element is thin and has no movable part, and can be realized with a simple configuration.

An embodiment of the thin elastic skin for a robot having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.
The thin elastic skin for a robot according to the invention is located outside the frame 1 serving as a skeleton of the robot, and is configured by arranging a reinforcing material 3 in a base material 2 of an elastic body.
The substrate 2 is divided into a first layer 4 and a second layer 5 located on the outermost part, and a linkage 7 of a servo 6 for moving the skin is connected to the second layer 5.

In the figure, the linkage 7 is connected to the second layer 5 imitating the muscles of the cheeks. When the robot is to be laughed, the servo 7 moves the linkage 7 upward.
As a result, the second layer 5 imitating the cheeks swells, wrinkles occur in the center of the first layer pressed by the second layer 5 and reproduces laughter, and the edge of the mouth is also raised. A natural smile can be reproduced.

Further, for example, when the second layer 5 is not provided in a place like a squint and the thickness of the entire epidermis is kept thin only by the first layer 4, wrinkles appear when the epidermis is moved by the servo 6 or the like. Can be reproduced in a more natural state.

Next, when changing the face color, the flow for changing the face color will be described with reference to FIG. 4.
The color of the normal discoloration sheet 8 and the frame 1 is set to “white”, and the color of the base material 2 is colored in advance so that it looks like a skin color when the white of the discoloration sheet 8 and the frame 1 comes behind. By changing the color changing sheet 8 to red with the signal from the controller 9, a blush state is created and a more detailed expression is realized.

Next, the flow of expressing sweat will be described with reference to FIG.
When expressing sweat, the pressurizer 12 is operated to pressurize the liquid reservoir 11 containing a liquid such as water.
Then, it is connected to the liquid reservoir 11. The liquid is sent out to the surface of the base material 2 through the hole 10 to express sweat.

Next, another example of the flow of expressing sweat will be described with reference to FIG.
When expressing sweat, the cooling device 13 is operated by sending a signal from the cooling device controller 14 to the cooling device 13.
When the cooling device is a Peltier element, a voltage may be added.
Then, the surface temperature of the base material 2 is lowered by the cooling device 13, and water droplets are generated on the surface of the base material 2 due to condensation, thereby expressing sweat.

Frame 1
Base material 2
Reinforcing material 3
1st layer 4
Second layer 5
Servo 6
Linkage 7
Discoloration sheet 8
Sheet controller 9
Hole 10
Liquid pool 11
Pressurizer 12
Cooling device 13
Cooling device controller 14

Claims (8)

A thin elastic skin for a robot, characterized in that a reinforcing material is disposed on at least one portion on the inner surface side of the elastic base material constituting the surface of the robot. 2. The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing material is a stretchable woven fabric or a nonwoven fabric using a stretchable yarn. 3. The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 1, wherein the elastic base material has a multi-layer structure or has a thickness that varies depending on a part. 4. A thin elastic skin for robots, wherein a sheet whose color changes due to electric addition is embedded in at least a part of the inner surface of the thin elastic skin for robots according to claim 1. 5. The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 4, wherein the sheet whose color is changed by the electric addition is any one of an LED sheet, an organic EL, and an electronic paper. The thin elastic skin for a robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a fine hole is provided in an outermost layer of the thin elastic skin for the robot. The thin elastic skin for a robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a cooling device is installed on at least a part of the inner surface of the thin elastic skin for the robot. The thin elastic skin for a robot according to claim 7, wherein the cooling device is a Peltier element.