JP6726442B2 - Robot equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to control of robots.

2. Description of the Related Art In a robot having a traveling function, a warning is issued or an avoidance action is taken when an approach of an object is detected in order to avoid collision with surrounding people or objects.

JP-A-2007-78476

For example, if the detected object is an object, there is no point in issuing a warning, and if the object is a person, the person may avoid it even if this is not avoided. That is, in the conventional technology, unnecessary warning or avoidance action may be performed.
The present invention aims to prevent unnecessary warnings and avoidance actions.

According to one aspect of the present invention, in a travelable robot apparatus having a function of detecting an object existing around the own apparatus and performing a notification operation, it is determined whether the detected object is a person. Performing the notification operation when it is not determined whether or not the detected object is a person, and then performing the notification operation when the object is detected at the same position as the detected position. To provide a robot device that performs avoidance behavior without any action.
In a preferred aspect, the apparatus further includes a specifying unit that specifies the position of the detected object and a storage unit that stores the position of an obstacle other than a person. When the object is detected, the object is registered in the storage unit. If it is registered, the avoidance action is performed, while if it is not registered, it is determined whether the object is a person.
In a preferred aspect, the notification operation is executed when it is not determined whether or not the detected object is a person, and then an avoidance action is performed when the object is detected at the same position as the detected position. ..
In a preferred mode, when an object is detected a second time at the same position, it is registered that the detected object is an obstacle other than a person.
In a preferred aspect, a determination unit that determines the direction in which the detected person's face is facing is further provided, and the content of the notification operation is changed according to the determined direction.
In a preferred mode, the content of the notification operation is changed according to the moving direction of the detected object with the position of the own device as a reference. In a preferred mode, the content of the notification operation is changed according to the speed of the detected object.
In a preferred aspect, when the detected object is present in an inner area set around the device itself, an avoidance action is performed, and the detected object is an outer area set outside the inner area. If it exists in the area, the avoidance action is not performed.

The functional diagram of the robot 900. An example of the inner region R1 and the outer region R2 set in the traveling robot 900. An operation example of the robot 900. A modified example of the robot 900. An example of the information described in the table T1.

FIG. 1 is a functional diagram of the robot 900. The robot 900 includes a control unit 100, a moving mechanism 200, a detection unit 300, a travel management unit 400, a communication unit 500, and a notification unit 600.
The moving mechanism 200 includes a drive mechanism such as a wheel, a motor, a shaft, and a gear, a speed adjusting mechanism, and a mechanism for changing the traveling direction by changing the direction of the wheel under the control of the control unit 100. Further, under the instruction from the control unit 100, an action (avoidance action) for avoiding an obstacle is executed according to a predetermined algorithm.

The detection unit 300 is an LRF (laser range finder), an ultrasonic sensor, or the like, and scans a predetermined space to detect whether or not an object exists in that range. Measure the distance and direction to the object. In addition, the detection unit 300 analyzes the received signal and determines whether the object is a person or a person (object) other than the person. Information about the acquired object is supplied to the control unit 100.
Instead of or in addition to the detection mechanism using electromagnetic waves or ultrasonic waves, a lens or an image sensor and an image analysis circuit may be provided, and the presence of an object may be detected by image capturing to determine the distance.

The travel management unit 400 includes a position grasping unit 410, an acceleration sensor 420, and a storage unit 430. The position grasping unit 410 acquires information indicating the position of the robot 900 in real time. For example, the position grasping unit 410 includes a wireless transmission/reception device and acquires position information according to a positioning method such as GISS (GPS). Alternatively, by communicating with a base station of the mobile communication network or a wireless relay device provided in the traveling area, the own position information may be received continuously or periodically. The acceleration sensor 420 acquires the speed, acceleration, and direction of the robot 900 in real time. With the position grasping unit 410 and the acceleration sensor 420, the robot 900 always grasps the traveling state including its own position, orientation, and speed. The storage unit 430 is an HDD or a semiconductor memory, and stores a map of an area in which the robot 900 runs. Information on the position of the obstacle in the area is stored as coordinates in the map.

The notification unit 600 includes a light emitting unit 610 and a sound emitting unit 620. The light emitting unit 610 is realized by an LED element and its control circuit, and emits light or blinks under the instruction of the control unit 100. The sound emitting unit 620 is realized by a speaker, an amplifier, an acoustic signal processing circuit, a memory storing acoustic signals (siren sound data, synthesized voice data, melody sound data), and the like, and emits acoustic waves based on the acoustic signals.
The communication unit 500 is realized by a communication interface and inputs a traveling instruction, a traveling route, and parameters for supplying to the notification unit 600 from the computer device to the robot 900, or outputs the state of the robot 900 to the computer device.

The control unit 100 is realized by a processor such as a CPU, and includes a traveling control unit 110 and a notification control unit 120. The traveling control unit 110 determines whether the object detected by the detection unit 300 is in the inner region R1 and whether it is in the outer region R2. In addition, the control unit 100 specifies the position of the target on the map. Then, the control unit 100 compares the map with the map and determines whether or not the specified target object has been registered.
The notification control unit 120 supplies to the notification unit 600 a control signal including at least a signal instructing on/off. The notification control unit 120 changes the control content of the notification unit 600 according to the presence/absence of an object, whether the detected object is a person or an object (or indistinguishable), and the position of the detected object.

FIG. 2 is an example of an inner region R1 and an outer region R2 set by the robot 900 while traveling. The inner area R1 and the outer area R2 are areas that serve as a reference when the robot 900 performs notification (warning) and avoidance behavior.
The inner region R1 and the outer region R2 are set according to the traveling direction of the robot 900. The inner region R1 is set around the robot 900, and the outer region R2 is set outside the inner region R1. The shapes of the inner region R1 and the outer region R2 are elliptical, and have the major axes (L1, L2) in the traveling direction and the minor axes (S1, S2) in the vertical direction. In a preferred aspect, the size of at least one of the inner region R1 and the outer region R2 may change according to the traveling speed of the robot 900. Specifically, as the speed increases, the sizes of both the inner region R1 and the outer region R2 are increased. This is because if the speed is high, it is necessary to issue a warning to a farther opponent.

FIG. 3 is an operation example of the robot 900. The robot 900 travels along a travel route designated in advance or determined by a route selection algorithm. During traveling, the control unit 100 uses the detection unit 300 to constantly monitor objects (those that may be obstacles to traveling or have a risk of collision) around the robot 900 (S102). When the object is detected, the position of the object is specified (S104). When the specified position is inside the inner region R1 (S105; YES), the robot 900 performs the avoidance action (S200). This is because the presence of the object in the inner area R1 is highly likely to cause a collision, and therefore it is estimated that the urgency of avoidance is high.

When the specified position is outside the inner region R1 and inside the outer region R2 (S106; YES), the control unit 100 determines whether the position is already registered in the storage unit 430 (S108). If it is registered, it means that it is an object (stationary object), and there is a risk of collision unless it is avoided, so the control unit 100 takes an avoidance action (S200). If it is not registered, and if it is within the outer region R2, it is determined whether the object is a person or an object (S110). This is because, if the object is a person, it is possible to have the other party take an avoidance action.

When it is determined that the person is a person (S114), a predetermined notification operation is executed (S300), and the person is urged to take an avoidance action. If the object is determined (S112), the notification operation is not performed. This is because it is useless to notify. If it is not possible to determine whether the object is a person or an object due to the limit of the ability of the sensor, it is first registered in the storage unit 430 that an obstacle that is a person or an object exists at the position of the object (S400). For safety, the notification operation is executed (S300).
Then, the detected person moves by being notified and moves, or an object detected by the robot 900 taking an avoidance action changes the distance to the object while the robot 900 is running, and thus falls within the range of the outer region R2. When nothing is detected, the control unit 100 ends the notification operation (S500).

When the robot 900 and the object plunge into the range of the inner region R1, the avoidance action is executed (S200), and the notification operation ends (S500).
When the object that cannot be confirmed is registered twice at the same position, the control unit 100 determines that the object is not a person but an object (stationary object), and based on this determination, the map stored in the storage unit 430. To update.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment, when the risk of collision is high, the avoidance action is always taken, so that the safety is secured. If the urgency is not so high at the moment, but there is a certain degree of collision risk, the object distinguishes between a person and an object (other than a person), and unnecessary notification or avoidance action is not performed. As a result, the person who receives the notification does not feel uncomfortable and the originally set traveling route is not unnecessarily changed.

FIG. 4 is a modified example of the robot 900. The detection unit 300 includes an orientation determination unit 310, a speed measurement unit 320, a moving direction determination unit 330, and a storage unit 340.
When the object is movable (for example, a person), the detection unit 300 measures the direction of the object (for example, the direction of the face), the speed of the object, and the moving direction. The measurement is performed by image analysis, for example.
The storage unit 340 stores the table T1.

FIG. 5 is an example of information described in the table T1. The content determination unit 121 stores the voice control parameter and the light control parameter in association with the combination of the speed, direction, and moving direction of the object. The voice control parameter includes information items of volume and sound output content. The light control parameter includes a lighting pattern and an information item of issuing intensity.

The content determination unit 121 refers to the table T1 by using at least one of the information of the direction determination unit 310, the speed measurement unit 320, and the movement direction determination unit 330, and determines at least one of the presence or absence of the notification operation and the notification content. decide. A control signal to be supplied to the notification unit 600 is generated based on the determined content.
For example, when it is determined that the speed of the detected object corresponds to “fast”, the direction is “front” with respect to the robot 900, and the movement direction is toward the robot 900 (see the same figure). Pattern 1), a signal instructing to emit a voice message (such as "Robot is present. Danger. Please leave.") at a volume higher than usual and to blink the LED at a higher intensity than usual. Is supplied to the notification unit 600. This is because it is highly likely that the detected object will collide with the robot 900 when it takes such an action. On the other hand, in the case of pattern 4, since the possibility of collision is low, a notification mode is adopted to the extent that the presence of the robot 900 is transmitted to the person so as not to make the person uncomfortable.

The mode of notification is not limited to light and sound. For example, the robot 900 sends a message to a mobile terminal owned by a person or controls a vibration function, a speaker function, and an issuing function of the mobile terminal via the communication unit 500, so that the user can receive the message. The approach of the robot 900 may be notified.

You may determine whether the detected object is a robot. In the case of a robot, the notification operation may not be performed, and the robots may communicate with each other to determine which (or both) should change the traveling route.

The configurations, shapes, sizes, and positional relationships described in the above embodiments are merely schematic ones so that the present invention can be understood and implemented. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, but can be modified into various forms without departing from the scope of the technical idea shown in the claims.

900... Robot, 100... Control unit, 110... Travel control unit, 120... Notification control unit, 200... Moving mechanism, 300... Detection unit, 400... Travel management unit , 410... Position grasping section, 420... Acceleration, 430... Storage section, 600... Notification section, 610... Light emitting section, 620... Sound emitting section, 500... Communication section , 310... Orientation determination unit, 320... Speed measurement unit, 330... Moving direction determination unit, 340... Storage unit, 121... Content determination unit, R1... Inner area, R2. ..Outer region

Claims (6)

In a travelable robot apparatus having a function of detecting an object existing around the self apparatus and performing an alarm operation,
Determining whether the detected object is a person,
If it is not determined whether the detected object is a person or not, the notification operation is executed, and thereafter, when the object is detected at the same position as the detected position, the notification operation is not performed. A robot device that performs evasive action. Same in the case of detecting an object in the second in position, the robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detected object, characterized in that the register to be an obstacle other than human. Further comprising determination means for determining the direction in which the detected person's face is facing,
The robot apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the content of the notification operation is changed according to the determined direction. The of the detected object, position according to the moving direction on the basis of its own device, the robot apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that to vary the contents of the notification operation. The robot apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the content of the notification operation is changed according to the speed of the detected object. When the detected object exists in the inner area set around the device itself, an avoidance action is performed,
The detected object is the case than the inner region present in the outer region is set outside the robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that does not perform the avoidance behavior apparatus.

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