JP5850560B2 - Remote control robot - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control robot, and more particularly to a remote control robot capable of exchanging voices with a human being located at a remote location using the Internet or the like.

  As an example of this type of remote control robot, for example, there is a remote control robot called “Android” proposed by the present inventor in Non-Patent Document 1 and having an appearance (appearance) very similar to a human. For example, a gesture operation similar to a human can be performed by remote control as shown in Patent Document 1.

  Such a remote control robot is appropriately placed at a place as a substitute for a human (operator) showing its appearance. In that state, the system as in Patent Document 1 is configured, and the built-in robot mechanism is operated in accordance with an instruction from an operator existing at a remote location or according to operation data indicating the operation of the remote operator. Performs the action (behavior) indicated by the operator.

In the remote control robot of Patent Document 1, it has been confirmed by an experiment of the inventors that an operator (human) who does not exist at the place gives a feeling of being as if it is at the place. In other words, it was found that the remote control robot having a human appearance has an important meaning in order to achieve harmony or harmony between the robot and the human beings around it.
Ishiguro, H. and Nishio, S. 'Building artificial humans for understanding humans', Journal of Artificial Organs, vol.10, no.3, pp.133-142, 2007 JP 2008-23604 [B25J 13/08, A63H 11/00, 3/33, 3/36, 3/40]

  However, in order to produce an android that closely resembles humans, the whole body of the human being is molded, and the mold is used to form a material having a touch similar to that of human skin, such as a silicone resin jacket, It is necessary to incorporate all the robot mechanisms having a large number of degrees of freedom (for example, 46 degrees of freedom) in the jacket.

  That is, the conventional human-like remote control robot, for example, Android, not only is expensive to manufacture, but also has a complicated mechanism and operation method for controlling a large number of degrees of freedom.

  Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a novel remote control robot.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a remote control robot that can be manufactured at low cost.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a remote control robot capable of simplifying the operation method.

  The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. Note that reference numerals in parentheses, supplementary explanations, and the like indicate correspondence relationships with embodiments to be described later in order to help grasp the present invention, and do not limit the present invention.

The first invention is made of a flexible material, and corresponds to a human torso and can be seen as a torso, a head part that is above the torso and corresponds to a human head and can be seen as a head, and from both sides of the torso part An outer portion including an arm portion that extends and corresponds to a human arm and hand and is visible to the arm and hand, and a leg portion that extends downward from the lower end of the torso portion and corresponds to a human leg and foot and is visible to the leg and foot And the outer cover further includes a front portion of the head portion corresponding to a human mouth and above the mouth portion that can be seen as a mouth, and a mouth portion that is equivalent to a human eye and that is visible The size ratio of the mouth and eyes should be the same as that of a human adult, the height relative to the size of the head should be a child, the eyes and mouth should be symmetrical, The body part, the head part, the arm part, the leg part of the jacket The robot further includes a robot mechanism including a body mechanism, a head mechanism, an arm mechanism, a leg mechanism, a mouth mechanism, and an eye mechanism formed at positions corresponding to the mouth portion and the eye portion, the mouth mechanism for moving the mouth portion. The mouth mechanism includes eye drive means for moving the eye portion, and further includes a padding provided between the robot mechanism body and the jacket, a first speaker for outputting sound according to the sound data, and surrounding sound. It is a remote control robot provided with the 1st microphone to acquire.

  In the first invention, the remote control robot (10: reference numeral exemplifying a corresponding part in the embodiment, the same applies hereinafter) is a jacket (12) made of a flexible material such as silicone resin. A robot mechanism (14) housed in the jacket (12), a padding (30) provided between the jacket (12) and the robot mechanism (14), and a first speaker for outputting voice according to the voice data ( 32) and a first microphone (34) for acquiring surrounding sounds.

The outer cover (12) corresponds to the human torso and looks like a torso (16), and the head part (16) above the torso part (16) corresponds to the human head and looks like a head (18) An arm portion (26) extending from both sides of the torso portion (16) corresponding to and appearing as a human arm and hand, and extending downward from the lower end of the torso portion (16) to a human leg and foot A leg part (28) that looks like a leg and a leg, and a front part of the head part (18) on the mouth part (22) and the mouth part (22) that look like a human mouth and look like a mouth It includes an eye portion (24) that corresponds to the human eye and is visible. The ratio of the size of the mouth and eyes (size and position) should be the same as that of a human adult, the height relative to the size of the head (life) should be that of the child, and the eyes and mouth It is formed symmetrically including the nose.

  The robot mechanism (14) is attached to the body part (16), head part (18), arm part (26), leg part (28), mouth part (22) and eye part (24) of the outer cover (12). The body mechanism (17), the head mechanism (19), the arm mechanism (27), the leg mechanism (29), the mouth mechanism (23), and the eye mechanism (25), which are formed at corresponding positions, are included. Among them, the mouth mechanism (23) has mouth driving means including a motor (66) for moving the mouth portion (22), and the eye mechanism (25) moves the eye portion (24), for example, a motor (76 , 76, 86).

  According to the first invention, the remote control robot is formed in an appearance shape based on a human minimal design, and has a minimum degree of freedom in the mouth portion and the eye portion. Therefore, the remote control robot of the present invention can be understood as a human at first glance, and the gender and age can be freely imagined on the robot. Therefore, a dialog person who interacts with the operator through the remote control robot can use the remote control robot as the operator. You can feel yourself.

  In an experiment using the “android” (human-like robot) proposed by the inventor in Non-Patent Document 1, for example, in an experiment using the remote operation system described in Patent Document 1, the subject (operator: the person) whose robot was made very similar I talked to them while showing a monitor showing the robot and the other party (a person who was near the robot and communicated with the subject). At that time, the movement of the person's lips and the movement of the head were analyzed by image processing and transmitted to the robot through the Internet, and the robot's lips and head were linked to the movement of the person. By confirming the situation on the monitor, the person feels the robot like his / her body. When the robot is touched by someone (partner), the subject (person) feels as if his body was touched. The inventor has confirmed such a phenomenon by research on remote control robots so far.

  “Android” in Non-Patent Document 1 is something that resembles the inventor himself, and through this android, the inventor himself has realized the above phenomenon.

  Through these experiments, the inventor found that even if the appearance of the robot does not resemble the person himself, the person feels the robot as his body through dialogue and actions. In other words, the inventor of the present invention has gained the belief that the remote control robot does not necessarily have an appearance very similar to that of the person himself, through many experiments.

  Therefore, in the present invention, based on the knowledge obtained by the inventor in this way, the inventor has conceived of giving the remote control robot an appearance based on human minimal design. “Human minimal design” can be understood as a person at first glance, but it can be recognized by both the child and the elderly, the man and the woman, and the human being can interpret the age and gender in any way. It shall mean the shape.

The shape of the above-mentioned jacket is what embodies this human minimal design. Since the present invention has such a unique appearance and has several degrees of freedom, the dialog person can strongly feel the dialog partner (operator) on the remote control robot itself. For example, by making the face bilaterally symmetric, it is possible to give a strong effect of being seen by both men and women. In addition, the ratio of the size of each part of the face (size and position of eyes, nose, mouth) is the same as that of a human adult, but the height (life) relative to the size of the head is a child. By doing so, it is effective for both adults and children.

The second invention is dependent on the first invention, the tip of the arm portion is tapered and formed to be entirely curved so as to protrude forward, and the arm mechanism can displace the tip of the arm portion A remote operation robot including a displacement member for driving the displacement member and a driving unit for driving the displacement member according to operation data.

In the second invention, the tip of the arm portion is not provided with a shape (including a finger) corresponding to a hand or a foot, and is simply tapered. This is based on the concept of minimal design. In other words, even if there is no hand portion, it is sufficient that it is at least visible to humans and does not become an obstacle to dialogue. Further, for example, in the embodiment, the tip plate (100) corresponds to a displacement member, and the displacement member is driven by driving means including a motor (94). Furthermore, since the entire arm portion is bent forward and the tip portion can be displaced, an operator who remotely operates the remote control robot can make an intention (for example, by changing the tip of the arm portion) Such as gestures in which a child holds a “cug” .

A third invention is a remote control robot according to the first or second invention , wherein the leg portion is formed as one leg-shaped leg portion extending downward from a lower end of the body portion. .

In the third invention, the leg portion is formed as one leg portion. This is based on the idea that whether there are two legs or only one leg is not important in terms of function. Further, the tip of the leg portion is not provided with a shape corresponding to a foot (including a finger), and is simply tapered. This is based on the concept of minimal design. In other words, even if there is no hand or foot part, at least it should be visible to humans, and it does not become an obstacle to dialogue, but on the other hand, there is an effect that it can be simplified as much as possible.

  A fourth invention is a remote operation system including a remote operation robot according to any one of the first to third inventions, and a remote control device for remotely operating the robot by connecting to the remote operation robot through a network. The remote operation device includes a second microphone that acquires the voice of the operator and a second speaker that outputs the voice, and the voice of the operator acquired by the second microphone is output from the first speaker. This is a remote operation system in which sound acquired by a microphone is output from a second speaker.

In the fourth invention, the remote control robot (10) according to any one of the first to third inventions and the remote control for remotely operating the remote control robot (10) connected to the remote control robot (10) through the network ( 114 ). A remote control system (110) including a device (116). The remote control device (116) includes a second microphone (120) that acquires the voice of the operator and a second speaker (118) that outputs the voice. Then, the operator's voice acquired by the second microphone (120) is output by the first speaker (32), and the voice acquired by the first microphone ( 34 ) is output by the second speaker (118). Therefore, both the operator and the dialog can interact through the remote control robot in a strong sense of reality.

  A fifth invention is according to the fourth invention, wherein the remote control device detects a state of the operator, a state detection unit, and a state in which state data representing the state of the operator is transmitted to the remote control robot via the network. A remote control system including data transmission means, wherein the mouth driving means and the eye driving means are driven according to the state data.

  In the fifth aspect, in the case of the embodiment, the state detection means is constituted by an operator camera (166) and a CPU (158) that detects the state of the operator by processing a video signal from the operator camera. The The CPU (158) transmits status data representing the status of the operator to the control device (112), that is, the remote control robot (10) via the network (114). As a result of the mouth driving means and the eye driving means being driven according to the state data, the state of the operator at that time is reproduced in the remote operation robot (10). Therefore, a conversation person who is interacting with the operator through the remote operation robot can feel the operator very strongly on the remote operation robot.

  The remote control robot proposed by the inventor in Non-Patent Document 1 etc. was a remote control android that looked like a real person, but the inventor who repeated many experiments did not make it exactly like a real person, It has been discovered that if the operating robot has an external shape based on human minimal design, a dialog person who interacts with the operator through the remote control robot can feel the remote control robot as the operator himself. The present invention has been made based on this discovery.

  According to the present invention, the remote control robot is formed in an appearance shape based on a human minimal design, and has a minimum degree of freedom in the mouth or eyes. Therefore, the remote control robot of the present invention can be understood as a human at first glance, and the gender and age can be freely imagined on the robot. Therefore, a dialog person who interacts with the operator through the remote control robot can use the remote control robot as the operator. You can feel yourself. The appearance shape based on such a human minimal design is considerably simplified. Therefore, it is possible to make the remote control robot feel like an operator like “Android” which makes the operator feel like a human being, but on the other hand, the production cost is greatly reduced compared to “Android” it can.

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

FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing an example of an external appearance of a remote control robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (A) is a front view, FIG. 1 (B) is a side view, and FIG. 1 (C) is a plan view. It is. FIG. 2 is a computer graphic that well represents the unevenness of the body surface of the remote control robot of FIG. 1 embodiment. FIG. 2 (A) corresponds to FIG. 1 (A), and FIG. 2 (C) corresponds to FIG. 1 (C). FIG. 3 is a front view solution diagram showing an example of the structure of the remote control robot of FIG. 1 embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view mainly showing the front side, showing an example of the robot mechanism of FIG. 1 embodiment. FIG. 5 is a perspective view mainly showing the back side, showing an example of the robot mechanism of FIG. 1 embodiment. FIG. 6 is an illustrative plan view showing an example of the robot mechanism of FIG. 1 embodiment. FIG. 7 is an illustrative view showing one example of a state in which a conversation person who talks with an operator through the robot of FIG. 1 embodiment is holding the robot. FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a remote control system using the robot of FIG. 1 embodiment. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing in detail the control device of FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing in detail the remote control device of FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the remote control system of FIG. 8 embodiment. FIG. 12 is an illustrative view showing an example of the appearance of a remote control robot according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 (A) is a front view, FIG. 12 (B) is a side view, and FIG. FIG. FIG. 13 is an illustrative front view showing an example of the structure of the remote control robot of FIG. 12 embodiment. FIG. 14 is a perspective view mainly showing a front side showing an example of the robot mechanism of FIG. 12 embodiment. However, the portion corresponding to the skull is omitted. FIG. 15 is a perspective view mainly showing the back side showing an example of the robot mechanism of FIG. 12 embodiment. However, the portion corresponding to the skull is omitted. FIG. 16 is an illustrative plan view showing an example of the robot mechanism of FIG. 12 embodiment. However, the portion corresponding to the skull is omitted. FIG. 17 is a side view showing an example of the robot mechanism of FIG. 12 embodiment. However, the portion corresponding to the skull is omitted. FIG. 17 is a side view showing an example of the robot mechanism of FIG. 12 embodiment. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing in detail the control device of FIG. 12 embodiment. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control device of FIG.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a remote control robot (which may be simply referred to as “robot” in this specification) 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is generally composed of a human minimal design. ) Has the appearance (appearance) to be called. In FIG. 1, the unevenness is difficult to understand and the three-dimensional effect cannot be expressed sufficiently, so a drawing created by computer graphics technology is attached as FIG. 2 for reference. 1 (A) and 2 (A) both show the front, FIG. 1 (B) and FIG. 2 (B) show the right side, and FIG. 1 (C) and FIG. 2 (C) both show (C). Indicates a plane.

  In an experiment using the “android” (human-like robot) proposed by the inventor in Non-Patent Document 1, for example, in an experiment using the remote operation system described in Patent Document 1, the subject (operator: the person) whose robot was made very similar I talked to them while showing a monitor showing the robot and the other party (a person who was near the robot and communicated with the subject). At that time, the movement of the person's lips and the movement of the head were analyzed by image processing and transmitted to the robot through the Internet, and the robot's lips and head were linked to the movement of the person. By confirming the situation on the monitor, the person feels the robot like his / her body. When the robot is touched by someone (partner), the subject (person) feels as if his body was touched. The inventor has confirmed such a phenomenon by research on remote control robots so far.

  “Android” in Non-Patent Document 1 is something that resembles the inventor himself, and through this android, the inventor himself has realized the above phenomenon.

  Through these experiments, the inventor found that even if the appearance of the robot does not resemble the person himself, the person feels the robot as his body through dialogue and actions. In other words, the inventor of the present invention has gained the belief that the remote control robot does not necessarily have an appearance very similar to that of the person himself, through many experiments.

  Therefore, in the present invention, based on the knowledge obtained by the inventor in this way, the idea is to give the remote control robot 10 an appearance based on human minimal design as described above. “Human minimal design” can be understood as a person at first glance, but it can be recognized by both the child and the elderly, the man and the woman, and the human being can interpret the age and gender in any way. It shall mean the shape.

  The appearance of the robot 10 forming the human minimal design is formed of a flexible body 12 having a touch similar to that of the human skin, such as a silicone resin or urethane (foamed) resin. As shown in FIG. 3, a robot mechanism body 14 is built in the outer jacket 12.

  The outer cover 12 is intended to give the effect of being visible to both men and women by making the face completely symmetrical. In addition, the ratio of the size of each part of the face (size and position of eyes, nose, mouth) is the same as that of a human adult, but the height (life) relative to the size of the head is a child. By embedding, it emphasizes the effects that both adults and children can see.

In this embodiment, the size of the robot 10 is set to such a size that a conversation person (a person who interacts with an operator who makes the robot 10 feel) can be lifted on a knee, for example. The size corresponding to the height of a person is about 80 cm as an example. In other words, because of the size of about a little larger doll, also interlocutor is a child even in the elderly, with-out easily familiar location, can interact with the operator. However, the size is not limited to this value, and the robot 10 and the interlocutor can interact with the operator while having a close sense of distance by holding them or sitting next to each other. A certain width can naturally be set.

  The jacket 12 is formed as a single jacket as a whole. The outer cover 12 corresponds to a human torso and is seen as a torso (for convenience, referred to as a “torso part”) 16 and is disposed above the torso part 16 and corresponds to a human head. And a portion (referred to as a “head portion” for convenience) 18 that can be seen as a head. The jacket that forms the head portion 18 and the jacket that forms the body portion 16 are continuous by the jacket of the neck portion 20.

  On the front surface of the head portion 18, a mouth portion 22 corresponding to a human mouth and visible as a mouth is formed. The mouth portion 22 is like a tear formed in the outer cover 12, and can be opened and closed by a mouth mechanism described later. However, it is not always necessary to form a tear in the jacket 12 at the mouth portion 22. Even if the mouth mechanism described later is incorporated, the mouth portion 22 moves, so that a person watching the robot 10 seems to move the mouth portion 22 and talk about something.

  Further, on the front surface of the head portion 18 and on the mouth portion 22, an eye portion 24 corresponding to the human eye and visible is formed. The eye portion 24 is exposed from a hole formed in the outer cover 12, and is displaced left and right and up and down by an eye mechanism described later. In the following description, a pair of left and right parts such as the eye part 24 and the arm part 26 are indicated using the same reference number without distinction between right and left, but when necessary, a subscript “L” for distinction is used. Or “R” may be used.

  On both sides of the trunk portion 16, portions (referred to as “arm portions” for convenience) 26 corresponding to the human arms and hands and which can be seen as arms and hands by the outer casing continuous from the trunk portion 16 are outward. It is formed to protrude. As can be clearly understood from FIG. 1C in particular, the arm portion 26 is formed to be entirely curved so that the tip protrudes forward. This is a shape that mimics the shape of an arm such as when a child holds a “cug”. Of course, it is not always necessary to form such a curvature.

  Below the body portion 16, a portion (referred to as a “leg portion” for convenience) 28 that corresponds to a human leg and foot and that can be seen as a leg and a foot is provided below the outer skin that is continuous from the body portion 16. It is formed to extend. The human leg has two legs, whereas the leg part 28 is formed as one leg part, as can be seen from the figure. This is because, for example, in a situation where the robot 10 is remotely operated, it is assumed that the robot 10 is held on the lap of the conversation person (partner), so there are only two legs or only one leg. It is based on the idea that it is not important in terms of function. In addition, a dialogue person here talks with the person through remote operation of a person (in the above example, it corresponds to a subject (person)) who assumes that the robot 10 is his or herself. The person who does it. For example, it is assumed that one family member living in a remote place is an operator and the other one is a dialog person.

  In the embodiment, the tip of each of the arm portion 26 and the leg portion 28 is not provided with a shape corresponding to a hand or a foot (including a finger), and is simply tapered. This is based on the concept of minimal design. In other words, it is based on the idea that even if there is no hand or foot part, it should be at least visible to humans and does not become an obstacle to dialogue.

  In addition, such a single-piece outer cover 12 cannot be formed by a single molding process. Therefore, the inventors make the front portion 12a and the rear portion 12b in separate steps as shown in FIG. 1B, and, for example, thermally bond the edge of the front portion 12a and the edge of the rear portion 12b. Thought about connecting by. The reference number “12c” in FIG. 1B indicates the joint. However, after making the upper part and the lower part separately, the outer cover 12 may be made to unite both. That is, how to make the jacket 12 is free.

  A robot mechanism body 14 having the shape and structure shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 is housed in the outer cover 12 having an outer shape that embodies a human minimal design. Although not shown in the outer cover 12, for example, an opening and closing means such as a fastener is provided behind the trunk portion 16 (corresponding to the back), and when the robot mechanism body 14 is stored, it is opened and then closed. That's fine. However, it is not necessary to be able to open and close like a fastener, and it is conceivable that a part of the jacket 12 is opened in the manufacturing process in a factory or the like and the robot mechanism body 14 is closed so that it cannot be opened after being stored. . This is because if the user can easily open the door, there is a possibility of causing a failure or an accident.

  Although details of the robot mechanism 14 will be described later, the size of the robot mechanism 14 is considerably smaller than the size of the outer cover 12, as shown in FIG. Therefore, something is required between the jacket 12 and the robot mechanism 14. In this embodiment, as such an inclusion (stuffing) 30, a small-diameter bead made of a resin such as foamed polystyrene or foamed urethane is used. However, a cubic or spherical flexible material having a size larger than that of the resin beads, for example, a foamed resin (for example, urethane) may be filled between the outer cover 12 and the robot mechanism body 14 as the filling 30.

  The reason for using the padding 30 is that without the padding 30, the outer cover 12 is slack and the unique shape of the outer cover 12 cannot be maintained. On the other hand, the reason why the padding 30 is made of beads or a flexible material is that the padding 30 inhibits the movement (displacement) of the movable part of the robot mechanism body 14 such as the head mechanism, the mouth mechanism, the eye mechanism, and the arm mechanism. This is to prevent it from being done. That is, when the filling 30 is soft or is an easily deformable assembly (bead), the filling 30 can be easily deformed by the force when the movable part moves.

  However, although not shown, it is also possible to form the outer cover 12 thick so that there is no gap between the robot mechanism body 14. In this case, since it may become heavy, the device of weight reduction will be needed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, on the front surface of the robot mechanism 14, a speaker 32 for outputting the speech voice of the robot 10 and a voice of a talker who talks with the operator through the robot 10 are picked up. A microphone 34 is provided. In the embodiment, the speaker 32 is provided at the position of the body portion 16 and the microphone 34 is provided at the position of the mouth portion 22, but these positions are not limited to this position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3 and described in detail later, the robot mechanism 14 is attached to the body portion 16, the head portion 18, the mouth portion 22, the eye portion 24, the arm portion 26 and the leg portion 28 of the jacket 12. The body mechanism 17, the head mechanism 19, the mouth mechanism 23, the eye mechanism 25, the arm mechanism 27, and the leg mechanism 29, each corresponding to a position, are included.

  2 to 4, the robot mechanism body 14 includes a body box 36 to be disposed at a position corresponding to the body portion 16 of the jacket 12. This body box 36 forms the body mechanism 17. In the embodiment, the body box 36 is formed by assembling, for example, an aluminum thin plate with screws, and accommodates a part of the motor of the robot mechanism 14 and electric circuit parts for control. The fuselage box 36 is made of a metal such as aluminum in order to give a certain degree of strength or to protect the electric circuit components from the influence of surrounding electric noise as much as possible. However, the material is not limited to this. Absent. The fuselage box 36 has a pentagonal side surface, and the front surface is separated into upper and lower plates across a mountain line. An opening 38 for attaching the first speaker 32 (FIG. 3) is formed in the upper plate on the front surface.

  On the ceiling plate 40 of the body box 36, a circular bearing plate 42 is fixed by screws or the like. Although not mentioned individually, it should be pointed out in advance that the components provided above the bearing plate 42 constitute the head mechanism 19.

  A rotating plate 44 is laminated on the bearing plate 42, and a motor shaft 46 that passes through the ceiling plate 40 and is supported by a bearing (not shown) provided on the bearing plate 42 at the center of the rotating plate 44. It is fixed. Therefore, when the motor shaft 46 is rotated by a motor (not shown: in the box 36 in FIG. 4) provided directly below the ceiling plate 40, the rotation plate 44 fixed to the motor shaft 46 is centered on the motor shaft 46. Is rotated in the horizontal direction (left-right direction).

  Due to the rotation of the rotating plate 44 around the motor shaft 46, the head portion 18 of the robot 10 rotates (or rotates) in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. By rotating the head portion 18 in the direction of the arrow A, the robot 10 can express an action of shaking the head portion 18 side by side, and for example, it is possible to inform the conversation person that it is negative (“NO”) or disliked.

  On the upper surface of the rotating plate 44, an angle 50 having a U-shaped front surface and a triangular side surface is fixed integrally with the rotating plate 44, and at the apex portion of the angle 50, the rotating shaft 52 has left and right rising plates. And is supported by bearings (not shown) provided for each. A support box 54 that is sandwiched between the right and left rising plates of the angle 50 and that is rectangular in plan and formed with rising plates on each side is disposed. The support shaft 52 is fixed to the rising plates on the left and right sides of the support box 54 at both ends. The rotation shaft 52 is connected to a motor shaft of a motor 56 installed in the support box 54 via a connection mechanism (not shown), for example, a gear. Therefore, when the motor 56 is rotated, a motor shaft (not shown) is rotated, and the rotating shaft 52 that receives power from the motor shaft is rotated, and the support box 54 is integrally fixed to the rotating shaft 52. Rotates around the rotation axis 52.

  Due to the rotation of the support box 54 around the rotation axis 52, the head portion 18 of the robot 10 tilts in the direction of arrow B (front and rear) shown in FIG. By tilting the head portion 18 in the direction of arrow B, the robot 10 can express an action of swinging the head portion 18 vertically, and for example, affirmative (“YES”) or nickname can be communicated to the talker.

  An opening 58 for mounting the first microphone 34 shown in FIG. 3 is formed in the rising plate on the front side of the support box 54.

  In particular, as can be seen from FIG. 5, a motor shaft 60 is supported by bearings (not shown) on the rising plates on the front and rear sides in the upper portion of the support box 54. The lower portions of the rising plates on the front and rear sides of the support box 62 on which the rising (actually falling) plates are formed are fixed. Therefore, when the motor 64 is rotated, the support box 62 rotates integrally with the motor shaft 60.

  Due to the rotation of the support box 62 around the motor shaft 60, the head portion 18 of the robot 10 tilts in the direction of arrow C (left and right) shown in FIG. By tilting the head portion 18 in the direction of arrow C, the robot 10 can express an action of “tilting the neck” by the head portion 18, and for example, it is possible to convey a questionable feeling or a feeling of sweetness to the interlocutor.

  The head mechanism 19 of the robot mechanism 14 is thus formed. The head mechanism 19 has three degrees of freedom as described above, and a motor (not shown) for controlling the amount of change in each degree of freedom. 4) and motors 56 and 64 are examples of driving means of the head mechanism 19.

  However, the head mechanism 19 does not necessarily have three degrees of freedom, and the head mechanism 19, that is, the head portion 18, may not move by eliminating all the degrees of freedom. Alternatively, the head mechanism 19 may be provided with only a motor (not shown: in the box 36 in FIG. 4) and a mechanism driven by the motor so that only the horizontal swing (arrow A in FIG. 1) can be performed. The head mechanism 19 may be provided with only the motor 58 and the mechanism driven thereby, so that only the vertical swing (arrow B in FIG. 1) can be performed. The head mechanism 19 includes only the motor 64 and the mechanism driven thereby. May be provided so that only the head can be tilted (arrow C in FIG. 1). Alternatively, any two combinations of these three degrees of freedom can be set.

  Furthermore, each degree of freedom (arrow A, B or C) is basically designed so that the amount of change can be controlled continuously, but it is also possible to adopt a control that changes only stepwise. . An extreme example of a step change is a two-step change. For example, if the head swings in the direction of arrow A, a change of only right-front-left can be assumed, and if the head swings in the direction of arrow B, Only the top-front-bottom change can be assumed, and if the head is tilted in the direction of arrow C, only the right-front-left change can be assumed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a motor 66 for operating the mouth mechanism 23 is attached to the rising plate on the front surface of the support box 62, and left and right pieces of a U-shaped angle 70 are fixed to the motor shaft 68. . Therefore, when the motor 66 is rotated, the angle 70 is rotated around the motor shaft 68 by the motor shaft 68.

  By rotation of the angle 70 around the motor shaft 68, the mouth portion 22 of the robot 10 is opened and closed in the direction of arrow D (up and down) shown in FIG. That is, the angle 70 moves corresponding to the lower palate in the mouth portion 22. Therefore, when the angle 70 moves downward in the arrow D direction, the lower lip is pushed down in the mouth portion 22, and the mouth portion 22 opens. When the angle 70 moves upward in the direction of arrow D, the lower lip returns to its original position and the mouth portion 22 is closed. By synchronizing the opening / closing operation of the mouth portion 22, that is, the vertical movement operation of the angle 70, with the sound from the speaker 32 (FIG. 3), a conversation person who is talking to the operator through the robot 10 becomes very natural. The voice of the operator can be heard from the robot 10. Accordingly, the dialog person can feel the operator strongly to the robot 10. As an example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-26485, the mouth shape is estimated (by the second computer 126) while delaying the speech while estimating the mouth shape based on the acoustic features. And the utterance can be synchronized.

  In addition, the mouth mechanism 23 is basically designed so that the opening degree of the mouth can be controlled continuously, but it is also conceivable to control the opening degree only in stages. An extreme example of a step change is a two-step change, only opening or closing the mouth.

  As described above, the motor 66 and the angle 70 are the main components of the mouth mechanism 23. In particular, the motor 66 moves the mouth mechanism and is an example of a drive mechanism for the mouth mechanism.

  Above the mouth mechanism 23, an eye mechanism 25 constituting the eye portion 24 shown in FIG. As with the eye portion 24, the eye mechanism will be described without distinction between left and right. Support plates 74 that support the left and right eyeballs 72 of the eye portion 24 are provided. The eyeball 72 has a hemispherical shape in this embodiment, and black eyes as shown in FIG. 1 are drawn on its front surface. The motor 76 is fixed to the back surface of the support plate 74 so that the motor shaft 78 of each motor 76 faces upward. A gear 80 is fixed to the tip of the motor shaft 78. A gear 82 that meshes with the gear 80 is provided in front of the gear 80. The gear 82 is fixed to a rotating shaft 84 (FIG. 6) that extends downward in the vertical direction on the rear side of the rotating shaft 84. The front side of the rotation shaft 84 is fixed to the center of the eyeball 72. When the motor 76 is rotated and the motor shaft 78 is rotated, the rotation shaft 84 is rotated by the linkage of the two gears 80 and 82, and the eyeball 72 whose center is connected to the rotation shaft 84 has the rotation direction of the gear 82. Rotates in the opposite direction.

  When the eyeball 72 rotates according to the rotation of the gear 80 around the motor shaft 78, the eye portion 24 of the robot 10 is displaced in the direction of arrow E (left and right) shown in FIG. That is, the black eye of the eyeball 72 moves from side to side. If the movement of the eye portion 24 is linked to the movement of the eye of the operator who is interacting, the conversation person can listen to the operator's facial expression from the robot 10 very naturally. Therefore, the dialogue person can feel the operator more strongly to the robot 10.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a motor 86 is fixed between two motors 76 to a mounting plate 88 that forms a head portion, and a motor shaft 90 of the motor 86 extends in the horizontal direction. It is connected to the side surface of one (left in FIG. 6) motor housing. Therefore, when the motor 86 is rotated and the motor shaft 90 is rotated, the motor 76 is rotated around one point on the side surface of the housing. The motor 76 is directly fixed to the support plate 74 as described above. Therefore, when the motor 76 rotates in such a manner, the support plate 74 tilts in the vertical direction.

  In accordance with the rotation of the support plate 74 around the motor shaft 90 of the motor 86, the left and right eyeballs 72 are displaced in the vertical direction together. That is, the black eye of the eyeball 72 moves up and down. If the movement of the eye portion 24 is linked to the movement of the eyes of the operator who is interacting, the conversation person can listen to the operator's facial expression from the robot 10 very naturally. Therefore, the conversation person can feel the operator even more strongly in the robot 10.

  The eye mechanism 25 has been described so far. The eye mechanism 25 is an example of an eyeball driving unit that includes an eyeball 72 that is also received so as to be displaceable in the vertical and horizontal directions, and motors 76 and 86 that move the eyeball 72 in the vertical and horizontal directions.

  However, the eye mechanism 25 does not necessarily have two degrees of freedom, and the eye mechanism 25, that is, the eye portion 24, may not move by eliminating all the degrees of freedom. Alternatively, the eye mechanism 25 may be provided with only the motor 76 and the mechanism driven thereby, and the eyeball 72 may be moved only in the left-right direction (arrow E in FIG. 1). The eye mechanism 25 is driven by the motor 86 and driven thereby. It is also possible to provide only the mechanism to be moved so that the eyeball 72 moves only in the vertical direction (arrow F in FIG. 1).

  Furthermore, in the eye mechanism 25, the degree of freedom (arrow E or F) is basically designed so that the amount of change can be controlled continuously, but control that changes only in stages is also conceivable. An extreme example of a step change is a two-step change. For example, in the direction of arrow E, a change of only right-front-left is assumed, and in a direction of arrow F, a change of only top-front-down is assumed. it can.

  A horizontal plate 92 of, for example, FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastics) is attached to the back surface of the body box 36. The horizontal plate 92 extends in the horizontal direction and is a component of the arm mechanism 27 (FIG. 3) for the arm portion 26 in the robot 10 of FIG. A motor 94 is fixed to the front surface (both ends) of the horizontal plate 92 so that the motor shaft 96 faces upward. An angle 98 having the same shape as the angle 70 of the mouth mechanism is fixed to the tip of the motor shaft 96, and a tip plate 100 as a tip member made of, for example, the same material as the horizontal plate 92 is fixed to the vertical surface of the angle 98. . Therefore, when the motor 94 is rotated, the angle 98, that is, the tip plate 100 rotates in the front-rear direction around the motor shaft 96. That is, the tip plate 100 as a tip member is provided at both ends of the horizontal plate 92 so as to be displaceable back and forth, and the motor 94 constitutes drive means for moving the tip plate 100 back and forth.

  Due to the rotation of the tip plate 100 around the motor shaft 96, the arm portion 26 of the robot 10 is displaced in the direction of arrow G (front and rear) shown in FIG. By the movement of the arm head portion 26 in the direction of the arrow G, the robot 10 can express, for example, a gesture in which the child puts his hand forward when he wants to “cug” (hug). Can communicate to the interlocutor.

  As described above, the arm mechanism 27 includes the horizontal plate 92 and the tip plate 100 provided at the tip of the horizontal plate 92 so as to be displaceable back and forth, and the motor 94 is an example of a displacement driving means for the tip member.

  Note that the planar shape of the distal end plate 100, which is an example of the distal end member of the arm mechanism 27, is substantially triangular so that the distal end of the arm portion 26 of the robot 10 is tapered. Yes. However, this tip member is not limited to a flat plate shape like the tip plate 100, and this tip member is for moving the tip of the arm portion 26 of the jacket 12 back and forth when it is displaced back and forth. Therefore, a bar shape or the like may be used as long as the function can be clearly understood.

  Further, in the arm mechanism 27 of the embodiment, in order to express the curved shape of the arm portion 26 shown in FIG. 1C, the tip plate 100 is moved to the horizontal plate 92 so that the tip of the tip plate 100 protrudes forward. Is attached to the angle 98, that is, the motor shaft 96 so that the position inclined at an obtuse angle becomes the initial position (home position). However, it is also possible to set the initial position to be aligned with the horizontal plate 92 (become flush with each other) and to design the tip to face forward when an operation command is given.

  In addition, the arm mechanism 27 is basically designed so that the bending angle of the tip plate 100 can be controlled continuously, but it is also conceivable that the arm mechanism 27 only changes stepwise. An extreme example of a step change is a two-step change, with the tip moving forward or not.

  The two metal bellows tubes 102 are attached to the lower surface of the body box 36 so as to extend downward so that the distance between them decreases toward the bottom. A tip plate 104 made of, for example, an aluminum thin plate and having a substantially triangular shape is attached to the tip of the metal bellows tube 102 so that the side corresponding to the apex angle of the triangle is down. The metal bellows tube 102 and the tip plate 104 constitute a leg mechanism 29 for the leg portion 28 of the robot 10.

Since the metal bellows tube 102 is used for the leg mechanism 29, the leg portion 28 (FIG. 1) of the robot 10 can be easily bent. Therefore, the conversation person can talk with the operator while holding the robot 10 or sitting next to it while having a close sense of distance with the conversation person. Thereby, the dialog person can feel the presence of the operator more strongly through the robot 10. As an example, a dialoguer 108 who interacts with an operator through the robot 10 may bend the leg portion 28 somewhat and hold the robot 10 on his lap as shown in FIG. However, the manner in which the robot 10 is placed close to the conversation person is not limited to the aspect in which the robot 10 is placed on the conversation person's lap as shown in FIG.

  In addition, when connecting the control apparatus 112 (FIG. 8) mentioned later and the electric circuit of the robot 10 with a wire connection, the wired connection port 106 which protrudes from the lower surface of the fuselage box 36 is used, and the connection line ( For the cord), an appropriate hole may be formed in the jacket 12 and the cord 12 may be put out of the jacket 12 through the hole.

  Referring to FIG. 8, a remote operation system (hereinafter simply referred to as “system”) 110 of this embodiment includes a robot 10. As described above, the robot 10 is a robot having an appearance shape based on a minimal design of a human and having a minimum necessary degree of freedom such as the arm portion 26. The robot 10 reproduces the voice and state of the operator mainly by the operation of the robot mechanism 14 based on the voice and state data (voice data and state data) of the operator detected at a remote place. For this purpose, a horizontal swing motor (not shown in the box 36 in FIG. 4), a vertical swing motor 56, a tilting motor 64, and a mouth opening / closing motor provided in the robot mechanism 14 are provided. A control device 112 is provided for controlling the motor 66, the left and right eye displacement motors (two) 76, the eye vertical displacement motor 86, and the arm tip longitudinal displacement motor 94, respectively. The control device 112 is typically composed of a personal computer.

  Note that when the control device 112 and each motor of the robot 10 are connected by wire, the wire connection port 106 shown in FIG. 4 is used as described above. It may be coupled by wireless communication means. Furthermore, it is conceivable that such a control device 112 is built in the outer cover 12 of the robot 10 or mounted on the surface of the outer cover 12. In particular, when an elderly person uses the robot 10 on a daily basis, it is more convenient to integrate the robot 10 and the control device 112.

  The control device 112 is connected to the remote control device 116 via a network 114 such as the Internet or a telephone communication line. The remote control device 116 may also be a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer. A remote speaker 116 is connected to a second speaker 118, a second microphone 120, and a monitor 122. Although not shown, it should be appreciated that the remote control device 116 includes input devices such as a keyboard and a computer mouse.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing in detail the control device 112 of FIG. Referring to FIG. 9, control device 112 includes a first computer 124 and a second computer 126. For example, the first computer 124 is a main computer, and the second computer 126 is a sub computer. However, if the processing capability is high, it can be configured by one computer.

  The first computer 124 includes a CPU 128, and a memory 130, a communication board 132, a LAN board 134, and a camera board 136 are connected to the CPU 128 via an internal bus. The memory 130 includes, for example, a main storage device such as a hard disk device (HDD), a ROM, and a RAM.

  The camera board 136 performs A / D conversion on camera signals from the omnidirectional camera 138, the PTZ camera 140, and the robot camera 142, and supplies them to the CPU 128 as camera signal data. The control data is mainly panned, tilted, zoomed, etc. to the PTZ camera 140. It is an interface for outputting control data.

  The omnidirectional camera 138 is installed in a room or place (section) where the robot 10, that is, the conversation person 108 exists, and can photograph the entire room or place (360 degrees). Video data corresponding to the camera video of the omnidirectional camera 138 is supplied to the CPU 128. The CPU 128 not only detects a change in the situation of the place based on the video data, but also transmits the image data to the remote operation device 116. The remote operation device 116 outputs the received video data to the monitor 122. Therefore, the video from the omnidirectional camera 138 is displayed on the monitor 122, and the operator can know the state of the room or place where the interlocutor exists through the monitor 122.

  The PTZ camera 140 is a camera that can control (adjust) each of pan, tilt, and zoom according to an operator's instruction. For example, when a remote operator inputs pan, tilt, and zoom instructions, corresponding control signals (commands) are given from the remote operation device 116 to the first computer 124 via the network 114. Then, the CPU 128 of the first computer 124 drives and controls the PTZ camera 140 according to the command. Video data corresponding to the video shot by the PTZ camera 140 is also provided to the CPU 128. The CPU 128 not only detects changes in the situation of the interlocutor 108 or the like based on the video data, but also transmits the video data to the remote control device 116. The remote operation device 116 outputs the received video data to the monitor 122. Therefore, the image of the PTZ camera 140 is also displayed on the monitor 122. Through the monitor 122, the operator can know the state of the interlocutor 108.

Although not described above, a robot camera 142 that is built in the head portion 18 (a position corresponding to a forehead for humans) of the jacket 12 of the robot 10 and can photograph the outside of the jacket 12 may be provided. Good. The robot camera 142 is an image sensor, for example, and constitutes part of the vision of the robot 10. That is, the robot camera 142 is used to detect an image viewed from the robot 10. In this embodiment, data (video data) corresponding to the video (moving image or still image) of the robot camera 142 is given to the CPU 128 via the camera board 136. The CPU 128 not only detects a change in the captured video based on the video data, but also transmits the video data to the remote operation device 116 via the network 114. Then, the remote operation device 116 outputs the video to the monitor 122 reproduces the Zode over data movies received. Therefore, the captured image of the robot camera 142 is displayed on the monitor 122, and the operator can know the state of the conversation person 108 acquired by the robot camera 142 through the monitor 122.

  The communication board 132 is an interface for data communication with another computer (in this embodiment, the second computer 126). For example, the communication board 132 is connected to a communication board 148 of the second computer 126 to be described later using a cable (not shown) such as RS232C. The LAN board 134 is an interface for data communication with another computer (in this embodiment, the remote operation device 116) via the network 114. In this embodiment, the LAN board 134 is connected to the network 114 via a LAN cable (not shown) or a wireless LAN.

The second computer 126 includes a CPU 144, and a memory 146, a communication board 148, a motor control board 150, an audio board 152, and a sensor board 154 are connected to the CPU 144 via an internal bus. The memory 146 includes, for example, a main storage device such as a hard disk device (HDD), a ROM, and a RAM. Although detailed description is omitted, a conversion table (not shown) for reproducing the state data representing the state of the operator transmitted from the remote operation device 116 as the operation of the robot 10 is set in the memory 146. It is assumed that That is, in order to reproduce the operator's status indicated by the status data, the motor (not shown: in the box 36 in FIG. 4) and the motors 56, 64, 66, 76, 86 and 94 and in which direction. It is a table for converting into motor control data whether it should rotate or rotate.

  As described above, the robot 10 has 3 degrees of freedom in the head portion, 1 degree of freedom in the mouth portion, 3 degrees of freedom in the eye portion, 1 degree of freedom in the left and right arm portions, a total of 9 degrees of freedom. Nine motors (not shown: in box 36 in FIG. 4) and motors 56, 64, 66, 76 (two), 86 and 94 (two) to control each of the nine degrees of freedom, speakers 32 and microphone 34. Motors (not shown: in box 36 in FIG. 4) and motors 56, 64, 66, 76 (two), 86 and 94 (two) are connected to motor control board 150 provided in controller 112. Is done. Therefore, according to the motor control data from the CPU 144, the motor control board 150 is connected to the motor (not shown: in the box 36 in FIG. 4) and the motors 56, 64, 66, 76 (two), 86 and 94 (two). Control the direction and amount of rotation.

  The robot 10 includes the speaker 32 and the microphone 34 as described above. The voice data (typically, the voice of the remote operator) output from the CPU 144 is D / A converted by the voice board 152 and given to the speaker 32. Therefore, the speaker 32 outputs the operator's voice. The voice of the interlocutor 108 (FIG. 7) captured by the microphone 34 is D / A converted by the voice board 152 and given to the CPU 144.

  The robot 10 also includes one or more tactile sensors 156 mounted at an appropriate number of locations on the surface of the jacket 12. The tactile sensor or skin sensor 156 is a touch sensor, for example, and constitutes a part of the tactile sense of the robot 10. That is, the tactile sensor 156 is used to detect whether a human or another object touches the robot 10. A sensor signal from the tactile sensor 156 is input to the CPU 144 via the sensor board 154. Therefore, the CPU 144 can detect that a human or another object has touched the robot 10.

  However, a pressure sensor can also be used as the tactile sensor 156. In this case, it is possible to know not only whether or not a human or another object touches the skin of the robot 10, but also how to touch it (strength).

  Similarly, the remote control device 116 shown in FIG. 10 is formed by a computer such as a personal computer. The remote control device 116 includes a CPU 158, and a memory 160, a LAN board 162, and a camera board 164 are connected to the CPU 158 via an internal bus. The memory 160 includes, for example, a main storage device such as a hard disk device (HDD), a ROM, and a RAM. An operator camera 166 is connected to the camera board 164. The operator camera 166 shoots the state of the operator who interacts with the conversation person 108 (FIG. 7) through the robot 10, and the camera signal thereof is input to the CPU 158 as video data via the camera board 164. .

  The CPU 158 generates status data indicating the status of the operator based on the video data. More specifically, the CPU 158 of the remote operation device 116 processes the video data from the operator camera 166 and first detects the operator's head, for example, by detecting a skin color area in the video. Difference data indicating how the state of the head portion is changed from that detected last time is calculated, and the difference data is transmitted to the control device 112 through the network 114. For example, the state of the operator's head is detected as difference data of displacement amounts in the directions of arrows A, B and C shown in FIG.

  The difference data is input from the LAN board 134 of the control device 112 and transmitted to the CPU 144 of the second computer 126 via the CPU 128 and the communication boards 132 and 148. The CPU 144 refers to the conversion table (not shown) set in advance in the memory 146 and refers to the head portion 18 in which direction in the directions of arrows A, B and C shown in FIG. The motor control data of the motor (not shown: in the box 36 of FIG. 4) and the motors 56 and 64 are determined and output to the motor control board 150. The motor (not shown in the box 36 in FIG. 4) and the motors 56 and 64 are controlled according to the rotation direction and rotation amount indicated by the motor control data. Therefore, the state of the head portion of the operator captured by the operator camera 166 is reproduced or reproduced by the head portion 18 of the robot 10. That is, the state of the head portion 18 of the robot 10 at that time is reproduced as following the state of the operator's head portion. Therefore, the conversation person 108 can easily read the state of the operator on the robot 10 by seeing such a displacement of the head portion 18.

  Similarly for the mouth portion 22, the CPU 158 of the remote control device 116 detects the mouth portion in the head portion (skin color portion) of the operator. Then, difference data indicating how the state of the mouth portion is changed from that detected last time is calculated, and the difference data is transmitted to the control device 112 through the network 114. For example, the state of the operator's mouth is detected as difference data of the displacement amount in the direction of arrow D shown in FIG.

  The difference data is input from the LAN board 134 of the control device 112 and transmitted to the CPU 144 of the second computer 126 via the CPU 128 and the communication boards 132 and 148. The CPU 144 refers to a conversion table (not shown) set in advance in the memory 146 and displaces the mouth portion 22 in what direction in the direction of arrow D shown in FIG. The motor control data of the motor 66 is determined and is output to the motor control board 150. The motor 66 is controlled according to the rotation direction and rotation amount indicated by the motor control data. Accordingly, the state of the mouth portion of the operator captured by the operator camera 166 is reproduced or reproduced by the mouth portion 22 of the robot 10. That is, the state of the mouth portion 22 of the robot 10 at that time is reproduced as following the state of the operator's mouth portion. Therefore, the interlocutor 108 can easily recognize that the operator is speaking to the interlocutor by seeing such movement of the mouth portion 22.

  The same applies to the eyes. The CPU 158 of the remote operation device 116 detects an eye portion in the operator's head portion (skin color portion). Difference data indicating how the state of the eye part is changed from that detected last time is calculated, and the difference data is transmitted to the control device 112 through the network 114. For example, the state of the operator's eyes is detected as difference data of displacement amounts in the directions of arrows E and F shown in FIG.

  The difference data is input from the LAN board 134 of the control device 112 and transmitted to the CPU 144 of the second computer 126 via the CPU 128 and the communication boards 132 and 148. The CPU 144 refers to the conversion table previously set in the memory 146 and determines how much the eye portion 24 should be displaced in which direction in each of the arrow E and F directions shown in FIG. , Determine motor control data for the motors 76 (two) and 86, and output them to the motor control board 150. The motors 76 (two) and 86 are controlled in accordance with the rotation direction and rotation amount indicated by the motor control data. Therefore, the state of the operator's eyes captured by the operator camera 166 is reproduced or reproduced by the eyes 24 of the robot 10. That is, the state of the eye part 24 of the robot 10 at that time is reproduced as following the state of the operator's eye part. Accordingly, the interlocutor 108 can easily read the operator's facial expression on the robot 10 while seeing such a change in the eye portion 24.

When the remote control device 116 is a computer as described above, for example, an arm is input by a predetermined input operation such as an input with a pointing device (not shown) such as a mouse or a specific key input such as a cursor key (not shown). A remote operation command (operation data) for instructing the displacement of the mechanism 27 in the front-rear direction of the tip plate 100 can be sent. For example, when an upward cursor key is pressed, a command for moving the tip plate 100 forward is sent, and when a numerical value is subsequently input, operation data for commanding an angle with respect to the horizontal plate 92 is transmitted to the control 112 via the network 114. Can do. By pressing the downward cursor key and inputting the number thereafter, operation data indicating how many times the tip plate 100 is retracted relative to the horizontal plate 92 can be transmitted. However, if there are only two positions (front or rear) as the position of the tip plate 100, only the operation of the cursor key is sufficient.

  In such a remote operation system 110, when some data is transmitted from the remote operation device 116 to the control device 112, the processing of FIG. However, since the control of the robot mechanism 14 of the robot 10 is mainly performed by the second computer 126 (FIG. 9), the processing of FIG. 11 is the operation of the second computer 126, that is, the CPU 144.

  In the first step S1, the CPU 144 of the second computer 126 of the control device 112 determines whether the data input via the network 114 and the communication boards 132 and 148 and once stored in the memory 146 is audio data. The voice data is voice data of the operator's voice acquired by the microphone 120. If “YES” in the step S1, the CPU 144 reads out the corresponding voice data from the memory 146 in the step S3, and stores it in the voice board 152. input. Therefore, the operator's voice is output from the speaker 32.

  In step S3, the motor 66 included in the mouth mechanism 23 of the robot mechanism 14 is controlled so that the mouth portion 22 operates in synchronization with the above-mentioned speech from the speaker 32. That is, the mouth portion 22 is opened and closed according to the utterance from the speaker 32.

  In this manner, by synchronizing the opening / closing operation of the mouth portion 22 with the voice of the operator from the speaker 32, the conversation person who is talking to the operator through the robot 10 directly hears the voice of the operator from the robot. 10 can be heard. Accordingly, the dialog person can feel the operator strongly to the robot 10.

  If “NO” in the step S 1, the data from the remote control device 116 is state data indicating the state of the operator or operation data for the arm mechanism 27.

  If it is operation data, “YES” is determined in step S5. In this case, in the next step S7, the CPU 144 reads the operation data once stored in the memory 146 and refers to a conversion table (not shown) in the memory 146 in order to achieve the command content of the operation data. By doing so, control data is generated as to which direction the motor 94 (two) should be rotated. The control data is given to the motor control board 150. The motor control board 150 drives the motor 94 according to the control data. Accordingly, the arm mechanism 27, that is, the arm portion 26 moves back and forth according to the operation data.

  When “NO” is determined in step S5, the data at that time is state data (difference data) indicating the state of the operator. Therefore, as described in detail above, the CPU 144 passes the motor control board 150 through the motor control board 150 and the necessary motor (not shown: in the box 36 in FIG. 4) and the motor 56 and 64, 66, 76 ( 2) and / or 86. As a result, the state of the operator at that time is reproduced in the robot 10, and the dialog person feels the operator more strongly in the robot 10.

  According to the inventors' experiment, in order to realize the robot 10 itself as an operator, it is necessary to change the state of the mouth portion and the head portion in synchronization with the operator.

  The next important factor was that the tip of the arm portion 26 could swing back and forth. By changing the state of the arm portion together with the mouth portion and the head portion, the dialog person can feel the operator more strongly on the robot 10.

  If the state of the eye portion is synchronized with the operator, the robot 10 having an appearance that embodies the minimal design of a human is almost completely aware of the operator.

  FIG. 12 and subsequent figures show another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is an illustrative view showing an example of the external appearance of the remote control robot 10 as in FIG. 1, FIG. 12 (A) is a front view, and FIG. B) is a side view, and FIG. 12C is a plan view. The remote control robot of FIG. 12 embodiment differs from the remote control robot of FIG. 1 embodiment in the following points. However, unless specifically mentioned in the following description, it should be understood that both have the same or similar structure, shape, material, and the like.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the jacket 12 is made of a silicone resin, but in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, a jacket 12 made of soft polyvinyl chloride (soft vinyl) is used. However, although there is no “shell” corresponding to the skull in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the skull member 170 (FIG. 18) made of, for example, ABS resin is used in the embodiment of FIG. Such skull member 170, as best seen in FIG. 18, includes a front member 170a forming the front half of the head, and jaw member 170b, a rear member 170c, which is coupled to the front member 170a. The front member 170a and the rear member 170c of the skull member 170 are formed on a side plate 174 provided on both sides of the mounting plate 88, and are provided with hollow screws 172 (in which a female screw is cut into a hollow rod). 12-15) and fixedly attached by bolts or screws (not shown). The jaw member 170b is coupled to the front member 170a so as to be vertically displaceable by being coupled at both lower ends of the front member 170a.

  Since the outer cover 12 is placed so as to be in close contact with the surface of the skull member 170, there is no gap between the skull member 170 and the outer cover 12, and therefore, the filling 30 (see FIG. 12) is not included.

  The embodiment of FIG. 1 has a total length of about 80 cm, but the embodiment of FIG. 12 is shortened to about 70 cm. Along with this, there are places where the part shapes of the respective parts have also changed, but also in the embodiment of FIG. 12, the degree of freedom of the robot mechanism 14 is 9 axes, as in the embodiment of FIG.

  Further, in FIG. 1 embodiment, one speaker 32 is provided at a portion corresponding to the chest in order to reproduce the voice of the operator (not shown). However, in FIG. In addition, as can be seen from FIG. 12 and FIG. 14, another speaker 32 a is provided at the mouth portion 22. The speaker 32 in the body (torso mechanism) is a speaker that is large enough to generate a sound having a volume sufficient for the conversation person 108 (FIG. 7) to hear the sound. It is of a size that fits in the mechanism. Since the breast portion speaker 32 is covered with the outer jacket 12, it may be felt that the high frequency component is attenuated and the sound is muffled. Therefore, another speaker 32a is provided in the mouth portion 22 that is open. I made it. Thus, according to this embodiment in which the speaker 32a is provided at the mouth portion 22, not only can the high frequency component lost by the speaker 32 be compensated by the speaker 32a, but a clear voice can be transmitted to the conversation person 108. As described above, since the voice from the remote conversation person uttered by the robot 10 is output from the speaker 32a, the feeling that the voice can be heard from the mouth can be enhanced.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the microphone 34 is provided at the throat, but in this embodiment, the microphones 34a and 34a are provided at portions corresponding to the “ears” on both sides of the head. Providing the microphones 34a at both ears has the advantage that the functions of the robot 10 can be made closer to human functions, and the area or range in which sound can be collected with the microphones can be expanded.

  In the embodiment, the microphone 34a has a diameter of about 8 mm, and a hole is made in both ears of the skull member 170 (rear member 170c), and the microphone 34a is attached so as to be inserted therein and fixed. Preferably, the microphones 34a and 34a are attached obliquely so as to face the front, and further, a through hole (not shown) is formed in a portion of the outer jacket 12 outside the microphones 34a and 34a, so Capturing sounds, for example, voice of the interlocutor 108 when facing the interlocutor 108 as shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, in order to suppress the influence of the vibration of the skull member 170 due to the motor operation, the microphone 34a may be attached to the skull member 170 via a vibration blocking member such as foamed urethane resin so as not to directly contact the skull member 170. .

  Another microphone is installed inside the head part (skull member 170) of the robot mechanism 14, and the sound information acquired by the other microphone is compared with the sound information acquired by the ear microphones 34a and 34a, and the motor operating sound is compared. May be suppressed (cancelled).

  In the embodiment of FIG. 1, it has been described that the camera 142 may be provided in the “forehead” portion. However, in this embodiment, the camera 142 is provided in the chest portion as shown in FIG. For example, a hole (not shown) having a diameter of 6 mm is formed in a location about 5 cm below the chin of the outer cover 12, and a camera circuit board ( Glue and fix (not shown). Therefore, the camera 142 is fixed only to the jacket 12 and is not fixed to the robot mechanism body 14. This is because if the robot mechanism 14 is fixed, the camera 142 may be hidden when the jacket 12 is twisted. That is, if the camera 142 is fixed only to the outer jacket 12, even if the outer jacket 12 is twisted, the camera 142 only moves along with it and is not hidden.

  Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the tip plate 104 is attached to the tip of the metal bellows tube 102 to constitute a leg portion that can be bent, but in the embodiment of FIG. 12, in order to increase the strength of the leg portion. The leg portion is formed only by the leg plate 103, which is a single plate as a whole. The leg plate 103 is made of, for example, FRP.

  A posture sensor 180 that measures the posture of the robot 10 as shown in FIG. 19 may be attached to the body portion of the robot mechanism 14. The attitude sensor 180 may be an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor. Such an attitude sensor 180 is connected to the CPU of the first computer 124 via a sensor board 154 as shown in FIG. Information or data from the posture sensor 180 may be presented to the operator via the network 114. The operator can know how the dialogue person 108 is handling the robot 10 from the information or data of the posture sensor.

  Furthermore, with respect to the posture sensor 180, as an example, when the user comes to a state where the robot 10 is placed on a stand or the like (not shown) and is on standby, the robot 10 is lifted by the posture sensor 180. (Since the tactile sensor 156 alone may react even when installed on the stand), the remote control device 116 (FIG. 8) is activated and the user starts a conversation with the operator. You can use it to let people know that you are going.

  For example, in the first step S11 of FIG. 20, the CPU 144 determines whether or not the robot 10 is returned to a stand such as a cradle (not shown). For the determination in step S11, for example, an arbitrary detection means such as a pressure sensor or an optical sensor is provided in a corresponding part of a stand (not shown), and when the detection means detects the robot 10, the robot 10 It can be determined that it has been returned to.

  If “NO” is determined in the step S11, the process is terminated as it is. However, if “YES” is determined, the CPU 144 determines the robot 10 based on the posture data from the posture sensor 180 in the next step S13. Judge whether the posture has changed. If “NO” is determined in the step S13, the process is ended as it is.

If "YES" is determined in the step S13, in a succeeding step S15, the CPU 144 sends an activation signal for activating the remote control device 116 to the network 114 via the communication boards 148 and 132 and the LAN board 134. Send. This activation signal is input to the system 158 (FIG. 10) via the LAN board 162. In response, the CPU 158 executes processing for starting up the remote control device 116. Then, for example, to the operator from the second speaker 118 (FIG. 8), "seems to want to talk is ○○'s." Such was the notification as, conversation with the interlocutor of posture, such as shown in the previous FIG. 7 The operator can be encouraged to start.

  In both of the above-described two examples, resin beads were used as the filling 30. However, the stuffing 30 may be made of, for example, urethane foam formed in the shape of the gap between the outer cover 12 and the robot mechanism 14 in addition to the cubic or spherical flexible material as described above. In this way, the gap 30 can be reliably filled by making the padding 30 substantially the same shape as the gap. However, in this case, the stuffing is not a single item, the right arm, the left arm, the front of the body (including the legs) and the back of the body (including the legs) are separated separately, so that the stuffing can be easily performed. The movable part is easy to move. Furthermore, the arm joint is easy to move because the arm padding is separate from the body padding.

10. Remote control robot (robot)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Outer jacket 14 ... Robot mechanism 16 ... Torso part 17 ... Torso mechanism 18 ... Head part 19 ... Head mechanism 20 ... Neck part 22 ... Mouth part 23 ... Mouth mechanism 24 ... Eye part 25 ... Eye mechanism 26 ... Arm part 27 ... arm mechanism 28 ... leg portion 29 ... leg mechanism 30 ... padding 32 ... speaker 34 ... microphone

Claims (5)

A torso part that is made of a flexible material and corresponds to the human torso and appears to be a torso, a head part that is above the torso part and that corresponds to the human head and appears to be a head, and a human arm that extends from both sides of the torso part And an arm portion corresponding to the hand and visible to the arm and the hand, and a leg portion extending downward from the lower end of the torso portion and corresponding to a human leg and foot and visible to the leg and foot,
The outer cover further includes a front portion of the head portion, the mouth portion corresponding to a human mouth and visible to the mouth, and the top portion of the mouth portion corresponding to the human eye and corresponding to the human eye. Including
The ratio of the size of the mouth part and the eye part is the same as that of a human adult, and the height relative to the size of the head part is a child,
The eye part and the mouth part are formed symmetrically,
A trunk mechanism, a head mechanism, which is housed in the jacket, and is formed at a position corresponding to the trunk portion, the head portion, the arm portion, the leg portion, the mouth portion, and the eye portion of the jacket; A robot mechanism including an arm mechanism, a leg mechanism, a mouth mechanism, and an eye mechanism;
The mouth mechanism includes mouth drive means for moving the mouth portion;
The eye mechanism includes eye driving means for moving the eye part, and further, a padding provided between the robot mechanism body and the outer cover,
A remote control robot comprising: a first speaker that outputs sound according to sound data; and a first microphone that acquires surrounding sound. The tip of the arm portion has a tapered shape and is curved so as to protrude forward, and the arm mechanism further includes a displacement member for allowing the tip of the arm portion to be displaced, and the displacement member. The remote control robot according to claim 1, comprising drive means for driving according to the operation data. The remote operation robot according to claim 1 , wherein the leg portion is formed as a leg portion having one tapered shape extending downward from a lower end of the body portion . A remote operation system comprising: the remote operation robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3; and a remote control device connected to the remote operation robot via a network and remotely operating the remote operation robot.
The remote control device includes a second microphone for acquiring an operator's voice and a second speaker for outputting a voice,
The remote operation system in which an operator's voice acquired by the second microphone is output from the first speaker, and a voice acquired by the first microphone is output from the second speaker. The remote control device includes state detection means for detecting the state of the operator, and state data transmission means for transmitting state data representing the state of the operator to the remote operation robot via the network.
The remote control system according to claim 4, wherein the mouth driving means and the eye driving means are driven according to the state data.