JP2021064212A - Carrier robot - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a carrier robot which efficiently sells commodities.SOLUTION: A carrier robot 10 includes a travel mechanism 12 having a travel function, a travel control part for controlling travel of the travel mechanism 12, a body part 14 supported by the travel mechanism 12 to load commodities that are possible to be purchased by a user, and a commodity information acquisition part for acquiring commodity information of a commodity 62 to be loaded on the body part 14. The travel control part controls travel of the travel mechanism toward a destination derived on the basis of the commodity information of the loaded commodity 62.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for using a transfer robot having an autonomous traveling function.

Patent Document 1 describes a bottom portion, a first pillar portion and a second pillar portion extending vertically from both ends in the horizontal direction of the bottom portion, and an upper end portion of each of the first pillar portion and the second pillar portion. An article storage portion that forms an opening by a top portion connected to the above, and an article storage aid provided so as to form a pair between the first pillar portion and the second pillar portion with the opening sandwiched between them are fixed. Disclose an article transfer robot provided with a fixing portion for doing so. In Patent Document 1, the article transporting robot follows behind the user who is shopping, and while the user is shopping, the article is taken in and out of the article storage assisting tool fixed to the opening of the article transporting robot. It is assumed that the usage scene will be used.

International Publication No. 2019/49366

When a transport robot capable of transporting goods holds a product and sells it to a customer, it is preferable if the transport robot sells the product at an appropriate place because it can be sold efficiently.

An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer robot that efficiently sells products.

In order to solve the above problems, the transfer robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is a product that is supported by a traveling mechanism having a traveling function, a traveling control unit that controls the traveling of the traveling mechanism, and a traveling mechanism, and can be purchased by a user. It is provided with a main body unit for loading the product and a product information acquisition unit for acquiring product information of the product to be loaded on the main body unit. The travel control unit controls the travel of the travel mechanism toward the destination derived based on the product information of the loaded product.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a transfer robot that efficiently sells products.

1 (a) and 1 (b) are views showing a perspective view of the luggage transfer robot of the embodiment. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are views showing a perspective view of a luggage transfer robot in an upright posture. It is a figure which shows the perspective view of the baggage transfer robot which carries a load and is in an upright posture. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are diagrams for explaining the relative movement of the main body with respect to the traveling mechanism. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are diagrams for explaining the structure of the luggage transfer robot. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the baggage transfer robot. It is a perspective view of the transfer robot which sells a product. It is a figure for demonstrating the movement path of a transfer robot. It is a figure which shows the functional block of an information processing unit.

1 (a) and 1 (b) show perspective views of the transfer robot 10 of the embodiment. The height of the transfer robot 10 may be, for example, about 1 to 1.5 meters. The transfer robot 10 includes a traveling mechanism 12 having an autonomous traveling function, and a main body portion 14 supported by the traveling mechanism 12 for mounting an object such as luggage. The traveling mechanism 12 includes a first wheel body 22 and a second wheel body 24, the first wheel body 22 has a pair of front wheels 20a and a pair of middle wheels 20b, and the second wheel body 24 has a pair of rear wheels. A wheel 20c is provided. 1 (a) and 1 (b) show a state in which the front wheels 20a, the middle wheels 20b, and the rear wheels 20c are arranged in a straight line.

The main body portion 14 has a frame body 40 formed in a rectangular shape, and the inside of the frame body 40 constitutes a storage space on which an object such as a luggage is placed. The frame body 40 includes a pair of right side walls 18a and a left side wall 18b, a bottom plate 18c connecting the pair of side walls on the lower side, and an upper plate 18d connecting the pair of side walls on the upper side. A pair of ridges (ribs) 56a, 56b, 56c (hereinafter, referred to as "ridges 56" unless otherwise specified) are provided on the inner surfaces of the right side wall 18a and the left wall 18b. The main body 14 is connected to the traveling mechanism 12 so as to be relatively movable. The transport robot 10 of the embodiment has a home delivery function of loading a load, autonomously traveling to a set destination, and delivering the load to a user waiting at the destination. Hereinafter, regarding the orientation of the main body 14, the direction perpendicular to the opening of the frame 40 in a state where the main body 14 is upright with respect to the traveling mechanism 12 is the "front-back direction of the main body 14", and the direction vertically penetrates the pair of side walls. Is referred to as "the left-right direction of the main body portion 14". Further, regarding the direction of the traveling mechanism 12, the direction connecting the front wheels 20a and the rear wheels 20c is referred to as "the front-rear direction of the traveling mechanism 12", and the direction parallel to the rotation axis of the front wheels 20a is referred to as "the left-right direction of the traveling mechanism 12".

2 (a) and 2 (b) show perspective views of the transfer robot 10 in an upright posture. The front wheels 20a and the rear wheels 20c of the traveling mechanism 12 approach each other, and the first wheel body 22 and the second wheel body 24 tilt each other with respect to the ground contact surface, so that the transfer robot 10 takes an upright posture. For example, when the transfer robot 10 reaches the destination and takes a standing posture in front of the user at the destination, the user can easily pick up the load addressed to himself / herself placed on the main body 14.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the transfer robot 10 in an upright posture with a load loaded. FIG. 3 shows how the first baggage 16a, the second baggage 16b, and the third baggage 16c are loaded on the main body 14. The first luggage 16a, the second luggage 16b, and the third luggage 16c are mounted on the main body portion 14 by being placed on or engaged with the protrusions 56 formed on the inner surfaces of the right side wall 18a and the left side wall 18b.

The first baggage 16a, the second baggage 16b, and the third baggage 16c shown in FIG. 3 have a box shape, but the object placed on the main body 14 is not limited to the box shape. For example, a container for accommodating an object may be placed on a pair of ridges 56 so that the object can be put in the container. Further, a hook may be provided on the inner surface of the upper plate 18d of the frame body 40, the object may be put in a bag with a handle, and the handle of the bag may be hung on the hook to hang the bag.

In addition to luggage, various items can be stored in the storage space inside the frame 40. For example, by accommodating the refrigerator in the frame 40, the transfer robot 10 can function as a moving refrigerator. Further, the transfer robot 10 can function as a moving store by accommodating the product shelves on which the products are mounted in the frame body 40. Further, by providing display devices on both sides of the opening of the frame body 40, the transfer robot 10 can function as a moving display.

4 (a) and 4 (b) are views for explaining the relative movement of the main body 14 with respect to the traveling mechanism 12. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the side wall of the frame body 40 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction. The frame body 40 is rotatably supported by a connecting shaft extending in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling mechanism 12, and can be tilted in any of the front-rear directions. By alternately repeating the tilting motion in the front-rear direction, the frame body 40 enables the swinging motion in the front-rear direction.

FIG. 4B shows a state in which the frame body 40 is rotated approximately 90 degrees around the axis in the vertical direction. The frame body 40 is rotatably supported by a connecting shaft extending in the vertical direction with respect to the traveling mechanism 12, and the frame body 40 and the traveling mechanism 12 rotate relative to each other around the connecting shaft. As shown in b), the frame body 40 rotates. The frame 40 may be rotatable 360 degrees.

5 (a) and 5 (b) are diagrams for explaining the structure of the transfer robot 10. FIG. 5A shows the structure of the traveling mechanism 12, and FIG. 5B mainly shows the structure of the main body portion 14. Actually, the traveling mechanism 12 and the main body 14 are provided with a power supply unit and a control unit, but they are omitted in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b).

As shown in FIG. 5A, the traveling mechanism 12 includes front wheels 20a, middle wheels 20b, rear wheels 20c, first wheel body 22, second wheel body 24, shaft body 26, connecting gear 28, and standing actuator 30. It has a shaft body support portion 32, an object detection sensor 34, a front wheel motor 36, and a rear wheel motor 38.

The first wheel body 22 has a pair of side members 22a and a cross member 22b that connects the pair of side members 22a and extends in the vehicle width direction. The pair of side members 22a are provided so as to extend in the direction perpendicular to both ends of the cross member 22b. The pair of front wheels 20a are provided at the front end positions of the pair of side members 22a, and the pair of middle wheels 20b are provided at positions on both ends of the cross member 22b. A front wheel motor 36 for rotating a wheel shaft is provided on each of the pair of front wheels 20a.

The second wheel body 24 has a cross member 24a extending in the vehicle width direction and a connecting member 24b extending in the vertical direction from the center position of the cross member 24a. The connecting member 24b is inserted into the cross member 22b of the first wheel body 22 and is connected to the first wheel body 22 so as to be relatively rotatable. Rear wheels 20c are provided on both ends of the cross member 24a.

A rear wheel motor 38 for rotating a wheel shaft is provided on each of the pair of rear wheels 20c. The pair of front wheels 20a and the pair of rear wheels 20c can be rotated independently by each motor, and the traveling mechanism 12 can be bent left and right by the difference in the amount of rotation of the left and right wheels.

Inside the cross member 22b, a shaft body 26 extending in the vehicle width direction and a shaft body support portion 32 for supporting both ends of the shaft body 26 are provided. The connecting member 24b of the second wheel body 24 is rotatably connected to the shaft body 26 by the connecting gear 28. The standing actuator 30 can rotate the connecting member 24b around the axis of the shaft body 26. The first wheel body 22 and the second wheel body 24 can rotate relative to each other by being driven by the standing actuator 30, and can take the standing postures shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b). It is possible to return to the horizontal posture shown in (a) and 1 (b).

The traveling mechanism 12 has a rocker bogie structure capable of traveling on a step on the road. The shaft body 26 connecting the first wheel body 22 and the second wheel body 24 is located offset from the wheel shaft of the middle wheel 20b, and the wheel shaft of the front wheel 20a and the wheel shaft of the middle wheel 20b in the direction perpendicular to the vehicle width. Located between. As a result, the first wheel body 22 and the second wheel body 24 can be bent according to the shape of the road surface during traveling with the shaft body 26 as a fulcrum.

The object detection sensor 34 is provided on the first wheel body 22 and detects an object in the traveling direction. The object detection sensor 34 may be a millimeter wave radar, an infrared laser, a sound wave sensor, or a combination thereof. The object detection sensor 34 may be provided not only at the front portion of the first wheel body 22 but also at various positions of the first wheel body 22 and the second wheel body 24 in order to detect an object in the rear or lateral direction.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the transfer robot 10 includes a frame body 40, a connecting shaft 42, an outer peripheral tooth portion 43, a rotary actuator 44, a connecting shaft 45, an inclined actuator 46, a first camera 50a, and a second camera 50b. A communication unit 52 is provided. The frame body 40 includes displays 48a, 48b, 48c (hereinafter, referred to as "display 48" unless otherwise specified), hooks 54, a pair of first ridges 56a, a pair of second ridges 56b, and a pair. The third ridge portion 56c of the above is provided. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 5B shows the connecting shaft 42, the outer peripheral tooth portion 43, the rotary actuator 44, the connecting shaft 45, and the tilting actuator 46 in a simplified manner. The portion 43 and the rotary actuator 44 may be provided separately from the connecting shaft 45 and the tilting actuator 46.

The ridge portion 56 is provided so as to project from the inner surface of the right side wall 18a and the left side wall 18b in order to place luggage or the like. A hook 54 for hanging a load is formed on the inner surface of the upper plate 18d of the frame body 40. The hook 54 may be always exposed from the inner surface of the upper plate of the frame body 40, but may be provided so as to be accommodated in the inner surface of the upper plate so that the hook 54 can be taken out when necessary.

The displays 48a and 48b are provided on the outer surfaces of the right side wall 18a and the left side wall 18b, respectively, and the display 48c is provided on the outer surface of the upper plate 18d so that an image can be displayed. The bottom plate 18c and the top plate 18d are provided with a first camera 50a and a second camera 50b (referred to as "camera 50" when these are not distinguished), respectively. It is preferable that the transfer robot 10 is equipped with a camera other than the first camera 50a and the second camera 50b so that all surrounding conditions can be monitored. The camera 50 may be provided at a position for photographing the accommodation space of the frame body 40. The upper plate 18d is further provided with a communication unit 52, which can communicate with an external server device via a wireless communication network.

The bottom plate 18c is rotatably attached to the outer peripheral tooth portion 43 of the connecting shaft 42 via a gear (not shown) on the rotary actuator 44 side, and is connected to the first wheel body 22 by the connecting shaft 42. The rotary actuator 44 rotates the frame body 40 about the axis with respect to the connecting shaft 42 by relatively rotating the outer peripheral tooth portion 43 and the gear. The rotary actuator 44 makes it possible to rotate the frame body 40 as shown in FIG. 4 (b).

The tilting actuator 46 rotates the connecting shaft 45 to tilt the connecting shaft 42 in the vertical direction. The connecting shaft 45 extending in the left-right direction is integrally provided at the lower end of the connecting shaft 42, and the tilting actuator 46 rotates the connecting shaft 45 to realize the tilting motion of the connecting shaft 42. By tilting the connecting shaft 42, the tilting actuator 46 can tilt the frame body 40 in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 6 shows a functional block of the transfer robot 10. The transfer robot 10 includes a control unit 100, a reception unit 102, a communication unit 52, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 104, a sensor data processing unit 106, a map holding unit 108, an actuator mechanism 110, a display 48, a front wheel motor 36, and a rear wheel motor 10. A wheel motor 38 is provided. The control unit 100 includes a travel control unit 120, a motion control unit 122, a display control unit 124, and an information processing unit 126, and the actuator mechanism 110 includes an upright actuator 30, a rotary actuator 44, and a tilt actuator 46. The communication unit 52 has a wireless communication function, can perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the communication unit of another transfer robot 10, and can receive information transmitted from a mobile terminal device such as a user's smartphone. The GPS receiver 104 detects the current position based on the signal from the satellite.

In FIG. 6, each element described as a functional block that performs various processes can be composed of a circuit block, a memory, and other LSIs in terms of hardware, and is loaded in the memory in terms of software. It is realized by a program or the like. Therefore, it is understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof, and is not limited to any of them. Further, the drawings of the functional blocks, which will be described later, are the same as those in FIG.

The map holding unit 108 holds map information indicating the road position. The map holding unit 108 is not limited to the road position, and may hold map information indicating the passage position of each floor in a building having a plurality of floors such as a commercial facility. As will be described later, the transfer robot 10 of the embodiment autonomously travels so as to follow behind a user who is shopping at a commercial facility. Therefore, it is preferable that the map holding unit 108 holds the map information in the commercial facility.

The transfer robot 10 has a plurality of action modes and acts in the set action modes. Of the plurality of action modes, the basic action mode is an action mode in which the user autonomously travels to the destination and delivers the luggage to the user waiting at the destination. Hereinafter, the basic action mode of the transfer robot 10 will be described.

<Basic behavior of transfer robot 10>
The transfer robot 10 is waiting at the collection point, and when the delivery destination is input by the staff of the collection place, the transfer robot 10 autonomously travels to the input delivery destination. The traveling route may be determined by the transfer robot 10, but may be set by an external server device. The input of the delivery destination is performed by a predetermined wireless input tool, and when the staff inputs the delivery destination from the wireless input tool, the communication unit 52 receives the delivery destination and notifies the travel control unit 120. The wireless input tool may be a dedicated remote controller, or may be a smartphone on which a dedicated application is installed.

The transfer robot 10 is provided with an interface for inputting a delivery destination, and the staff may input the delivery destination from the interface. For example, when the display 48 is configured as a touch panel, the display control unit 124 may display a delivery destination input screen on the display 48, and the staff may input the delivery destination from the delivery destination input screen. When the reception unit 102 receives the touch operation of the touch panel, the information processing unit 126 identifies the delivery destination from the touch position and notifies the travel control unit 120. When the staff at the collection site instructs the transport robot 10 to start delivery after placing the load on the frame 40 and inputting the delivery destination, the travel control unit 120 starts autonomous travel to the set delivery destination. The staff may set a plurality of delivery destinations and place the luggage for each delivery destination in the accommodation space of the frame 40.

The frame body 40 is provided with a mechanism for locking (fixing) the loaded luggage to the frame body 40. While the transfer robot 10 is traveling, the luggage is fixed to the frame 40 by the lock mechanism so that the load does not fall during the travel and is not taken out by a third party who is not the recipient.

The travel control unit 120 controls the travel mechanism 12 so as to travel on the set travel route by using the map information held by the map holding unit 108 and the current position information supplied from the GPS receiver 104. .. Specifically, the travel control unit 120 drives the front wheel motor 36 and the rear wheel motor 38 to drive the transfer robot 10 to the destination.

The sensor data processing unit 106 acquires information about objects existing around the transfer robot 10 based on the detection data by the object detection sensor 34 and the captured image by the camera 50, and provides the travel control unit 120 with information about the objects. The target object includes a static object such as a structure or a side groove that hinders traveling, and a movable object (moving object) such as a person or another transfer robot 10. The travel control unit 120 determines the traveling direction and the traveling speed so as to avoid a collision with another object, and drives and controls the front wheel motor 36 and the rear wheel motor 38.

When the transfer robot 10 reaches the destination where the user who is the recipient is, the travel control unit 120 stops the motor drive. The user has obtained a passcode for unlocking the package addressed to him / her from an external server device in advance. When the user transmits the passcode to the transfer robot 10 using a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone, the communication unit 52 receives the unlocking passcode, and the information processing unit 126 unlocks the luggage. At this time, the motion control unit 122 drives the standing actuator 30 to cause the transfer robot 10 to take the standing posture. As a result, the user recognizes that the baggage can be received, and it becomes easy for the user to pick up the baggage addressed to himself / herself placed on the main body portion 14. When the luggage is received by the user, the travel control unit 120 autonomously travels to the next destination.

Although the basic action mode of the transfer robot 10 has been shown above, the transfer robot 10 can also perform actions in other action modes. There may be various action modes of the transfer robot 10, and a program for realizing each action mode may be pre-installed. The user who uses the transfer robot 10 sets a desired action mode in the transfer robot 10 before using the transfer robot 10, and the transfer robot 10 acts in the set action mode. Hereinafter, the “shopping support action mode” in which the transport robot 10 supports the user's shopping will be described.

The transfer robot 10 that operates in the shopping support action mode is arranged at various places in the commercial facility and waits for a usage request from the user. In this mode, the transfer robot 10 acts as a so-called "luggage holder" of the user. The user who wishes to use the user registers his / her own figure in the transfer robot 10 and causes the transfer robot 10 to recognize that it is a follow-up target. The transfer robot 10 may photograph the whole body of the user with the camera 50 and extract the feature data thereof so that the other person and the user can be distinguished by image analysis. The user may have a transmitter that emits a predetermined beacon signal so that the transfer robot 10 can recognize the tracking target. In any case, in the shopping support action mode, it is necessary that the transfer robot 10 can follow the user, and the means thereof does not matter.

By placing the shopping cart inside the frame 40 of the transfer robot 10, the user can put the purchased product or the purchased product in the shopping basket. This eliminates the need for the user to have a heavy shopping cart. Further, the transfer robot 10 may specify the product placed inside the frame 40 and execute the purchase settlement process of the product. This eliminates the need for users to line up at the cash register.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the transfer robot 10 that sells the product 62. The main body 14 of the transfer robot 10 holds the box 60 inside the frame 40. The box body 60 is, for example, a refrigerator and houses a plurality of products 62. The transfer robot 10 loads and moves a plurality of products 62, and executes sales.

When the user purchases the product 62 from the transfer robot 10, the transfer robot 10 is made to read a predetermined sign to notify the transfer robot 10 of the purchase intention. The transfer robot 10 receives a predetermined signature of the user by the reception unit 102, and stands by or approaches the user on the spot. The predetermined sign may be, for example, a preset trigger word, and the transfer robot 10 detects the trigger word with a microphone (not shown). Further, the predetermined sign may be a gesture of the user such as waving a hand.

The user detects the product 62 to be purchased with a camera 50 or the like, and purchases the product by electronic payment such as QR code (registered trademark) payment, credit card payment, or IC payment. The transfer robot 10 identifies the product 62 to be purchased by the user with the camera 50 or the like, calculates the amount of the product 62, reads the user's electronic payment information with the camera 50 or the communication unit 52, and executes the payment of the purchase. As a method of specifying the product 62 to be purchased, the camera 50 may read the identification information such as the barcode attached to the product 62, or the communication unit 52 may receive the product information from the IC tag attached to the product 62. In this way, the user can purchase the product 62 from the transfer robot 10.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the movement path of the transfer robot 10. In the floor map of the facility shown in FIG. 8, offices and sports gyms are arranged in each section. At this facility, the transfer robot 10 gets off the elevator 64 and sells the product 62.

The transfer robot 10 moves in the facility based on the position information of the transfer robot 10 and the map information of the facility, and goes to each section for sale. Here, the transfer robot 10 moves to the destination set by the loaded product 62. As a result, the transfer robot 10 can be sold to a customer who has a high possibility of purchase by moving according to the loaded product 62.

Since the transfer robot 10 grasps the inventory of the loaded products 62 and moves to the destination according to the inventory, the sales efficiency of the products 62 can be improved. Initially, many products 62 are loaded on the transfer robot 10, but as the products are sold, the number of products 62 decreases. There is a high possibility that the product 62 will not sell even if the product 62 is moved to the sports gym with the number of products 62 decreasing and only dessert is loaded on the transport robot 10. On the other hand, beauty companies where many women work are likely to sell desserts. Since the transfer robot 10 sets the destination based on the inventory information of the products 62 loaded on the transfer robot 10, the product 62 that is running low can be efficiently sold.

FIG. 9 shows a functional block of the information processing unit 126. The information processing unit 126 has a product information acquisition unit 130, an inventory information generation unit 132, a settlement unit 134, a destination derivation unit 136, and a position calculation unit 138.

The product information acquisition unit 130 acquires the product information of the product 62 loaded on the transfer robot 10. The product information of the product 62 loaded by the seller is touch-input to the display 48, the reception unit 102 receives the input information, and the product information acquisition unit 130 acquires the product information from the reception unit 102. Further, the product 62 is attached with an IC tag, the communication unit 52 receives the product information from the IC tag of the product 62 in the box body 60, and the product information acquisition unit 130 acquires the product information from the communication unit 52. Good.

The settlement unit 134 executes settlement for purchasing the product 62. The user touch-inputs the product information of the product 62 to be purchased on the display 48, or causes the communication unit 52 to read the identification information of the product 62, and the settlement unit 134 calculates the amount of the product 62 and displays it on the display 48. The user provides the payment information to the transfer robot 10 with an IC chip or a mobile terminal using electronic payment, and the payment unit 134 setstles the purchase of the product 62 based on the user's payment information. The payment unit 134 may send the user's payment information to another payment server device, and receive the payment result from the server device via the communication unit 52. The settlement unit 134 generates information indicating the settlement result and displays it on the display 48. The settlement unit 134 sends the product information of the purchased product 62 to the inventory information generation unit 132.

When the settlement for purchasing the product 62 is completed, the settlement unit 134 stores the purchase history information in the memory (not shown) of the transfer robot 10. The purchase history information includes the product information of the purchased product 62, the purchase position information, and the purchase time, and is stored each time the product 62 is purchased.

The inventory information generation unit 132 generates inventory information for grasping the product 62 loaded by the transfer robot 10 based on the product information received from the product information acquisition unit 130. The inventory information includes a plurality of product information of the products 62 loaded on the transfer robot 10. The inventory information generation unit 132 receives the product information of the product 62 purchased from the settlement unit 134, and excludes the purchased product information from the inventory information. As a result, the inventory information is updated every time the product 62 is purchased. Inventory information may be reset or updated at the input of the seller.

The position calculation unit 138 calculates the position information of the transfer robot 10 based on the GPS information received by the GPS receiver 104. A time stamp is attached to the location information.

The destination derivation unit 136 derives the destination of the transfer robot 10 based on the inventory information, that is, based on the product information of the product 62 loaded on the transfer robot 10. The destination derivation unit 136 may derive a plurality of destinations and a movement order of the plurality of destinations. In this case, the destination derivation unit 136 derives the sales route of the transfer robot 10 based on the inventory information. For example, a plurality of destinations that are highly likely to be sold are extracted based on the purchase history information, and a sales route of the transfer robot 10 is derived based on the positions of the extracted plurality of destinations.

The destination derivation unit 136 derives the destination of the transfer robot 10 based on the map information of the facility and the purchase history information in addition to the inventory information. The destination derivation unit 136 derives a place that is presumed to have a high possibility of purchase as the destination of the transfer robot 10. In this way, by deriving the destination of the transfer robot 10 based on the purchase history information, it is possible to sell according to the purchase behavior of the past customer. Further, a server device (not shown) may collect purchase history information from a plurality of transfer robots 10 and provide the collected purchase history information to each transfer robot 10.

The destination derivation unit 136 derives the destination of the transfer robot 10 based on the inventory information, the map information of the facility, and the purchase history information when the number of products or the type of products shown in the inventory information becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value. You may. That is, when the remaining products 62 are reduced, the sales place corresponding to the products 62 in stock is derived. When the number of products or the type of products shown in the inventory information is larger than a predetermined value, the travel control unit 120 may travel the transfer robot 10 according to a preset sales route. The destination deriving unit 136 may derive a section as a destination, and may derive a personal desk in the section.

The destination derivation unit 136 may derive the sales time or the sales end time of the transfer robot 10 based on the inventory information. In the product information, attribute information indicating the time zone such as lunch or dinner lunch, snacks for snacks, and liquor for night is set in advance, and the destination derivation unit 136 describes the inventory information and the inventory products. The sales time of the transfer robot 10 may be set based on the attribute information and the current time. For example, the destination out-licensing unit 136 sets the sales time of the transfer robot 10 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and the sales end time at 1:00 pm when many products for lunch are loaded at 11:00 am. .. Further, the destination out-licensing unit 136 sets the sales time of the transfer robot 10 from 0:00 pm to 3:00 pm when a large number of lunch products and snack products are loaded at 12:00 pm. In this way, the transfer robot 10 is set with a sales time according to the attributes of the loaded products.

The destination deriving unit 136 sends the derived destination to the traveling control unit 120. The travel control unit 120 controls the travel of the travel mechanism 12 toward the received destination. When the travel control unit 120 detects a predetermined sign on the way to the destination, the travel control unit 120 may stop and sell the vehicle to the user. When the transfer robot 10 arrives at the destination, the destination out-licensing unit 136 may derive a new destination.

It should be noted that the examples are merely examples, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible for the combination of each component, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment, the transfer robot 10 holds the inventory information, and the destination of the transfer robot 10 is derived based on the inventory information. However, the server device may derive the destination of the transfer robot 10. .. In this modification, the transfer robot 10 transmits the position information of the transfer robot 10 and the inventory information or the settlement information to the server device, and the server device transmits the position information and the inventory information of the transfer robot 10 to the server device. Derived the destination information of. The derived destination information is transmitted to the transfer robot 10. In this way, the information processing executed by the transfer robot 10 may be executed by the server device. The transfer robot 10 and the server device form a robot control system when they cooperate with each other.

The user may call the transfer robot 10 to the user's position using the mobile terminal. For example, the user's mobile terminal transmits the position information of the mobile terminal and the instruction information for calling the transfer robot 10 to the transfer robot 10 via the server device, and the transfer robot 10 moves toward the received position information of the mobile terminal. You can do it.

1 Robot control system, 10 Transfer robot, 12 Travel mechanism, 14 Main body, 20a Front wheel, 20b Middle wheel, 20c Rear wheel, 22 First wheel body, 24 Second wheel body, 30 Standing actuator, 34 Object detection sensor, 36 Front wheel motor, 38 rear wheel motor, 40 frame, 42 connecting shaft, 44 rotary actuator, 46 tilt actuator, 48 display, 50a 1st camera, 50b 2nd camera, 52 communication part, 54 hook, 56a 1st ridge part , 56b 2nd ridge, 56c 3rd ridge, 100 control, 102 reception, 104 GPS receiver, 106 sensor data processing, 108 map holding, 110 actuator mechanism, 120 running control, 122 motion Control unit, 124 display control unit, 126 information processing unit, 130 product information acquisition unit, 132 inventory information generation unit, 134 settlement unit, 136 destination derivation unit, 138 position calculation unit.

Claims (1)

A traveling mechanism with a traveling function and
A travel control unit that controls the travel of the travel mechanism, and
The main body, which is supported by the traveling mechanism and loads products that can be purchased by the user,
It is provided with a product information acquisition unit that acquires product information of products to be loaded on the main body.
The travel control unit is a transfer robot that controls travel of the travel mechanism toward a destination derived based on product information of a loaded product.

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