JP3241001U - Quadruped robot with ultra-wide viewing angle - Google Patents

Abstract

A four-legged robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle capable of sensing the terrain under the abdomen of the robot and obstacles around the robot and meeting the requirements for autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance of the four-legged robot.
A four-legged robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle is provided with a wide-angle lens or a fish-eye lens (2) having a viewing angle that covers a blind spot (100) below the abdomen of the robot. It can sense obstacles around the robot, realize an ultra-wide field of view, effectively reduce the visual blind spot of the quadruped robot, and assist the robot in choosing a foothold to prevent slipping, falling into holes, or swinging. By preventing the legs from hitting obstacles during movement, or by preventing the robot from hitting obstacles around the robot while moving, the quadruped robot can be prevented from running out of control or being damaged, and the ability to detect motion can be improved. It can satisfy the robot's autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance requirements.
[Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a quadruped robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle, which belongs to the technical field of quadruped robots.

At present, with the rapid development of quadruped robot technology, the use of quadruped robots is becoming more and more widespread, and the autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance functions of quadruped robots have become important indicators of their intelligence. .

However, existing quadrupedal robots usually mount a combination of multiple depth cameras around the robot in order to sense obstacles and terrain around the robot to achieve sensing of the robot's surroundings. requires the installation of a large number of depth cameras. If too many depth cameras are installed, the volume of the fuselage will increase, the overall production cost will increase, and the design difficulty of the overall structure of the fuselage will increase.

A Chinese patent (publication number: CN106526613A) discloses a large-area collision avoidance mechanism for a robot, including a robot's walking and braking control module, an infrared ranging electronic module, an infrared emitting tube and an infrared receiving sensor. The infrared ranging electronic module is connected to the walking and braking control module of the robot, the infrared emitting tube and the infrared receiving sensor are respectively connected to the infrared ranging electronic module, the emitting direction of the infrared emitting tube and the receiving direction of the infrared receiving sensor are They are installed parallel in the same direction. The present invention further includes a wide-angle lens, wherein the imaging plane of the wide-angle lens is mounted on the effective focal plane of the infrared emitting tube and the infrared receiving sensor, and the mounting dimensions of the infrared emitting tube and the infrared receiving sensor are those of the wide-angle lens. It is smaller than the imaging effective focal plane, and the detection angle of the infrared receiving sensor is greater than or equal to the emission angle of the infrared emitting tube.

The above application expands a beam emitted from an infrared emitting tube with a large wide-angle lens, forms a reflected wave when the expanded beam collides with an obstacle, and after the reflected wave passes through the large wide-angle lens, an infrared receiving sensor to achieve the purpose of large-area non-contact collision avoidance.

The above solutions can reduce the number of depth cameras and reduce the overall production cost, but in the case of quadruped robots, they can help robots choose footholds to prevent foot slips and holes, or during rocking. Immediate sensing of the terrain under the robot's abdomen and obstacles around the robot is very important in order to prevent the feet from hitting obstacles during movement, or to prevent the robot from hitting obstacles around the robot during movement. is important. However, the sensor and large wide-angle lens of the above solution (Publication No.: CN106526613A) are assembled at the front end of the fuselage, effectively detecting only the robot's walking ahead, and immediately detecting the terrain under the robot's abdomen and the obstacles around the robot. There is visual blind spot and cannot meet the requirements of quadrupedal robot autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance.

In order to solve the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to equip the quadruped robot with a wide-angle lens or a fish-eye lens with a viewing angle that covers the robot's lower abdomen blind spot, so that the terrain below the robot's abdomen and the obstacles around the robot can be detected. To provide a quadruped robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle capable of sensing an object and satisfying requirements for autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance of the quadruped robot.

In order to achieve the above objects, the technical means of the present invention are as follows.

A four-legged robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle includes a body with a storage room, a head provided at the end of the body, a tail, and legs attached to the body,
A blind spot is formed between the abdomen of the robot and the ground below the legs and the body,
One or two or all of the body, head, tail, and legs are provided with a wide-angle lens or a fisheye lens capable of scanning ground information and/or obstacle information around the robot;
The wide-angle lens or fish-eye lens is mounted downward or inclined downward or similar downward, and its line of sight can cover the blind spot between the abdomen and the ground.

In this invention, by attaching a wide-angle lens or a fish-eye lens that has a viewing angle that covers the robot's lower abdomen blind spot to the quadruped robot, the robot can sense the terrain under the robot's abdomen and obstacles around the robot, and has an ultra-wide field of view. Effectively reduce the visual blind spots of quadruped robots, assist robot foothold selection to prevent foot slips and holes, or prevent feet from hitting obstacles during swinging, or robots during movement can be prevented from hitting obstacles around the robot. It can avoid the runaway and damage of the quadruped robot, improve the motion sensing ability, and satisfy the requirements of the quadruped robot's autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance.

In addition, the present invention can meet the most basic terrain detection and 360 degree obstacle avoidance requirements by simply installing a set of wide-angle or fish-eye lenses with a downward viewing angle on the body, head or tail. Since the number of ducts is reduced and the number of mounting positions is small, the overall dimensions are more compact, and at the same time the overall manufacturing cost and the overall structural design difficulty of the fuselage can be reduced.

As a preferred technical means, the apex of the wide-angle lens or fish-eye lens protrudes from its mounting surface, and the viewing angle range is 130 degrees to 300 degrees, so that the terrain under the abdomen of the robot and obstacles around the robot can be effectively sensed. , ensure that the line of sight of the lens covers the robot's lower blind spot, that is, it can sense the terrain under the robot's abdomen, which is simple and practical.

As a preferred technical means, the mounting surface is assembled with at least one projection around the lens to protect the wide-angle lens or the fish-eye lens, so that the lens can be prevented from being worn or collided.

As a preferred technical means, the extension height of the projection is greater than the projection height of a wide-angle lens or a fish-eye lens, which is simple and practical.

As a preferred technical means, the protrusions are one or more sets of rod-like or sheet-like structures, which reduce the shielding to the wide-angle lens or fisheye lens, protect the lens, and at the same time prevent the wide-angle lens or fisheye lens from being affected. Minimize.

Preferably, the fish-eye lens is a binocular or multi-view fish-eye depth camera or a structured light depth camera or a TOF depth camera, and its viewing angle is a hemispherical viewing angle.

A person skilled in the art can choose according to the actual situation.

A preferred depth camera obtains depth information by processing the image parallax of a binocular or multi-view depth camera with a CPU. Look down the depth camera horizontally to check the current ground shape and surrounding obstacles, look up the depth camera horizontally to check the current ceiling and surrounding obstacles or pedestrians, and move the depth camera forward or backward. When installed, it can see obstacles or pedestrians in front of or behind the quadruped robot.

As a preferred technical means, mounting holes for mounting a wide-angle lens or a fish-eye lens are drilled in one or all of the body, head, and tail, and the lenses are embedded in the mounting holes to facilitate fixing of the lenses. , the contact area between the lens and the outside can be reduced, and the lens can be effectively protected.

As a preferred technical means, a hole communicating with the storage chamber of the body is provided around the mounting hole or the mounting hole, which facilitates wiring and is simple in structure and practical.

Preferred technical means include:
The number of wide-angle lenses or fisheye lenses is plural,
The number of said legs is four, and it is assembled around the body, which is simple and practical.

Preferred technical means include:
A fisheye lens with the lens facing upward is attached to the upper end surface of the body,
A fisheye lens with a lens facing forward is assembled to the front end surface of the head,
A fish-eye lens is attached to the rear end surface of the tail portion, the lens facing rearward.

The four-legged robot's surrounding environment can be sensed three-dimensionally and crosswise, and the terrain under the robot's abdomen and the obstacles around the robot can be sensed in real time, further satisfying the requirements for autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance of the four-legged robot. It can avoid runaway and damage of the leg robot and improve the motion sensing ability.

In this invention, by attaching a wide-angle lens or a fish-eye lens with a viewing angle that covers the robot's lower abdomen blind spot to the quadruped robot, the robot can sense the terrain under the robot's abdomen and obstacles around the robot, realizing an ultra-wide field of view. Effectively reduce the visual blind spots of quadruped robots, assist robot foothold selection to prevent foot slips and holes, or prevent feet from hitting obstacles during swinging, or robots during movement can be prevented from hitting obstacles around the robot. It can prevent the quadruped robot from running out of control and damage, improve the motion sensing ability, and satisfy the requirements of the quadruped robot's autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance.
In addition, the present invention can meet the most basic terrain detection and 360 degree obstacle avoidance requirements by simply installing a set of wide-angle or fish-eye lenses with a downward viewing angle on the body, head or tail. Since the number of ducts is reduced and the number of mounting positions is small, the overall dimensions are more compact, and at the same time the overall manufacturing cost and the overall structural design difficulty of the fuselage can be reduced.

1 is a diagram showing a preferred structure of the present invention; FIG. It is a figure which shows the case where the structure shown in FIG. 1 is converted into a certain angle. 1 is a diagram showing the optimal structure of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where the structure shown in FIG. 3 is converted into a certain angle; 5 is a diagram showing a case where the structure shown in FIG. 4 is converted into an angle; FIG.

1 body 2 fisheye lens 3 head 4 tail 5 leg 100 abdomen lower blind spot

In order to make the purpose, technical means and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings and examples. It should be noted that the specific embodiments described herein are for the purpose of understanding the invention only, and are not intended to limit the invention.

Rather, the invention includes all substitutions, modifications, equivalent methods and forms commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Moreover, in order to provide a better understanding of the present invention, the following detailed description sets forth in detail certain portions of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can fully understand the present invention without these detailed descriptions.

Note that when two devices are "fixedly connected", the two devices may be directly connected or may be connected via an intermediate device. Conversely, when a device is positioned "directly" on top of another device, there is no intermediate device. The terms "top", "bottom", "front", "back" and similar terms are used herein for descriptive purposes only.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a four-legged robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle includes a body 1 having a storage chamber, a head 3 provided at the end of the body 1, a tail 4, and legs attached to the body 1. 5 , the number of said legs 5 being four, which is assembled around the body 1 .

A blind spot 100 below the abdomen of the robot is formed below the legs 5 and the body 1,
One or two or all of the body 1, head 3, tail 4, and legs 5 are assembled with a wide-angle lens and/or a fisheye lens 2 capable of scanning ground information and/or obstacle information around the robot. ,
The wide-angle lens and/or fish-eye lens 2 is mounted downward or inclined or similar downward, and its line of sight can cover the blind spot 100 below the abdomen.

The present invention incorporates a wide-angle lens and/or a fisheye lens 2 with a viewing angle that can cover the blind spot 100 below the abdomen of the quadruped robot, so that the terrain below the abdomen of the robot and obstacles around the robot can be further sensed. It can help the robot to choose a foothold to prevent foot slips and holes, or prevent the foot from hitting obstacles during rocking, or prevent the robot from hitting obstacles around the robot during movement. . It can avoid the runaway and damage of the quadruped robot, improve the motion sensing ability, and satisfy the requirements of the quadruped robot's autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance.

In addition, the present invention can effectively reduce the number of depth cameras by adopting the wide-angle lens and/or fisheye lens 2, and the structure of the quadruped robot is more compact, while the overall manufacturing cost and the overall size of the fuselage 1 are reduced. The difficulty of structural design can be reduced.

Examples of the lens viewing angle range of the present invention are as follows.

The apex of the wide-angle lens and/or fish-eye lens 2 protrudes from its mounting surface, and the viewing angle range is 130 degrees to 300 degrees, so that the terrain under the abdomen of the robot and obstacles around the robot can be sensed more effectively. can.

In the present invention, the specific embodiments of adding the lens protection structure are as follows.

Said mounting surface is assembled with at least one protrusion for protecting the wide-angle lens and/or the fisheye lens 2 around the lens to prevent wear or collision of the lens.

The extension height of the projection is greater than the projection height of the wide-angle lens and/or the fisheye lens 2, which is simple and practical.

The protrusions are one or more sets of rod-like or sheet-like structures to reduce shielding to the wide-angle lens and/or the fisheye lens 2, protect the lens, and at the same time prevent the wide-angle lens and/or the fisheye lens 2 from being affected. can be reduced as much as possible.

In the present invention, the specific embodiments of the structure of the fisheye lens 2 are as follows.

The fish-eye lens 2 is a binocular or multi-view fish-eye depth camera, a structured light depth camera, or a TOF depth camera, and its viewing angle is a hemispherical viewing angle. A person skilled in the art can choose according to the actual situation.

In the present invention, the specific embodiments of providing mounting holes are as follows.

Mounting holes for mounting a wide-angle lens and/or a fisheye lens 2 are drilled in one or all of the body 1, head 3, and tail 4, and the lenses are embedded in the mounting holes to facilitate fixing of the lenses. , the contact area between the lens and the outside can be reduced, and the lens can be effectively protected.

A hole communicating with the storage chamber of the body 1 is provided on the mounting hole or around the mounting hole to facilitate wiring, and the structure is simple and practical.

As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the preferred embodiment of the invention is as follows.

The number of said wide-angle lenses and/or fisheye lenses 2 is plural,
A wide-angle lens and/or a fish-eye lens 2 with the lens facing upward is attached to the upper end surface of the body 1,
A wide-angle lens and/or a fish-eye lens 2 with a lens facing forward is attached to the front end surface of the head 3,
A wide-angle lens and/or a fish-eye lens 2 is attached to the rear end surface of the tail section 4 with the lens facing rearward.

The four-legged robot's surrounding environment can be sensed three-dimensionally and crosswise, and the terrain under the robot's abdomen and the obstacles around the robot can be sensed in real time, further satisfying the requirements for autonomous movement and obstacle avoidance of the four-legged robot. It can prevent runaway and breakage of the legged robot and improve the motion sensing ability.

In the present invention, the specific examples of assembly relationship between the body 1, the head 3 and the tail 4 are as follows.

One of the head portion 3 and the tail portion 4 is molded integrally with the body 1, and the other is screwed into the body 1 via a connecting member.

In the present application, the fixed connection can be screwed, welded, riveted, plugged, or connected via an intermediate member, and those skilled in the art can choose according to the actual situation.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it should not be construed as limiting the present invention, and all modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made without departing from the spirit and principles of the present invention shall be protected by the present invention. Included in the scope.

Claims (10)

A four-legged robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle including a body having a storage chamber, a head provided at the end of the body, a tail and legs assembled to the body,
a blind spot is formed between the abdomen of the robot and the ground below the legs and the torso;
one or two or all of said torso, said head, said tail and said legs are provided with a wide-angle or fish-eye lens capable of scanning ground information and/or robot surrounding obstacle information;
A quadrupedal robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle, wherein the wide-angle lens or the fish-eye lens is attached downward or inclined downward, and the line of sight can cover a blind spot between the abdomen and the ground. The four-legged robot with a super wide viewing angle according to claim 1, wherein the apex of said wide-angle lens or fish-eye lens protrudes from its mounting surface and has a viewing angle range of 130 degrees to 300 degrees. The four-legged robot with ultra-wide viewing angle according to claim 2, wherein the mounting surface is provided with at least one protrusion around the lens for protecting the wide-angle lens or the fish-eye lens. 4. The four-legged robot with a super wide viewing angle according to claim 3, wherein the extension height of the projection is greater than the projection height of the wide-angle lens or the fish-eye lens. 5. The quadruped robot with super wide viewing angle according to claim 4, wherein the protrusions are one or more sets of rod-like or sheet-like structures. 2. The wide-angle lens or fish-eye lens is a binocular or multi-view fish-eye depth camera, a structured light depth camera or a TOF depth camera, and the viewing angle thereof is a hemispherical viewing angle. 6. A four-legged robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle according to any one of -5. 7. The four-legged robot of claim 6, wherein one or all of the body, the head, and the tail are provided with mounting holes for mounting the wide-angle lens or the fish-eye lens. . 8. The four-legged robot with an ultra-wide viewing angle according to claim 7, wherein a hole communicating with the storage chamber of the body is provided around the mounting hole or the mounting hole. The four-legged robot with ultra-wide viewing angle according to claim 8, wherein the number of said wide-angle lenses or fish-eye lenses is plural, and the number of said legs is four, which are assembled around said body. The fish-eye lens with the lens facing upward is attached to the upper end surface of the body, the fish-eye lens with the lens facing forward is attached to the front end surface of the head, and the fish-eye lens with the lens facing rearward is attached to the rear end surface of the tail. 10. The ultra-wide viewing angle quadruped robot according to claim 9, characterized in that it is assembled with .

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