JP6846951B2 - Robot setting device, robot system, robot setting method, robot setting program, computer-readable recording medium, and recording equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a robot setting device, a robot system, a robot setting method, a robot setting program, a computer-readable recording medium, and a recording device.

By combining robot vision with a manipulator, the target work is imaged to obtain height information, and then the appropriate position is grasped (picked or picked) and placed in the desired position (placement or placement). Possible robot devices are being developed. Using such a robot device, a large number of workpieces placed in a returnable box, which is called bulk picking, are imaged by the cameras and sensors that make up the robot vision to grasp the posture and grasp the appropriate gripping position. After that, the arm portion of the robot is moved to this gripping position, gripped by an end effector such as a hand portion, and placed at a predetermined position outside the return box.

In order to operate this bulk picking correctly, the robot performing bulk picking teaches (teaching) the gripping position to pick the work and the mounting position to be placed in advance at the setting stage before operation, and serves as a reference. It is necessary to register the gripping position and posture.

However, the conventional teaching of the gripping position and the posture for picking is performed without considering the placement. For this reason, even if the gripping position and posture are not a problem in picking, there may be a setting that causes a problem during placement. For example, consider the bulk picking shown in FIG. In this figure, the L-shaped work WKL stacked at the work position (picking position) on the left side is gripped by the robot end effector EET, and the robot arm ARM is swiveled around the Z axis as the rotation axis. It shall be placed at the placement position (place position) on the right side. That is, it is assumed that the station at the mounting position faces the station at the picking position with the robot in between.

In this case, the movable range of the robot is determined based on the range in which the P point can be positioned with reference to the P point indicating the movable point that hits the wrist of the robot. In the example of FIG. 14, the boundary line of the range in which the point P can be moved is indicated by a chain double-dashed line. The range beyond this boundary line, the right side of the boundary line in FIG. 14, is outside the operating range. In FIG. 14, since the point P is within the operating range, it can be placed in this state.

Here, when teaching (teaching) the gripping position of the work, a plurality of gripping positions are taught (teaching). For example, teaching is performed with the posture shown in FIG. 15 as the gripping teaching position HTP1 and the posture shown in FIG. 16 as the gripping teaching position HTP2. In this example, the gripping instruction position HTP2 is a gripping position obtained by rotating the gripping instruction position HTP1 by 180 degrees around the Z axis.

Here, it is considered that the work WK1 is gripped and placed at the gripping teaching position HTP1 (FIG. 15) in a state where a plurality of workpieces are stacked separately as shown in FIG. In this case, in gripping the gripping instruction position HTP1, as shown in FIG. 17, it is necessary to rotate a large amount along the sixth axis of point P at the time of mounting. Therefore, due to the design of the end effector EET, the end effector EET is swiveled on the sixth axis with the point P moved to the back of the work. However, depending on the reach of the arm portion ARM of the robot, the point P may be out of the operating range as shown in FIG. That is, at this gripping teaching position HTP1, although picking is possible, it cannot be placed.

On the other hand, a case will be examined in which the work WK2 is gripped at the gripping teaching position HTP2 (FIG. 16) as shown in FIG. 18 from the workpieces stacked separately as in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 18, when the gripping instruction position HTP2 is gripped, the rotation angle of the sixth axis at the time of mounting is zero, so that the work WK2 can be mounted. As described above, in both the gripping teaching positions HTP1 and 2, there are cases where picking itself is possible as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, but mounting is not possible (grasping teaching position HTP1). Therefore, it is determined that picking is possible at the time of teaching, and even if such teaching is performed, it cannot be placed during actual operation, resulting in a problem of teaching.

In addition, at the time of teaching, it is also possible to teach the position and posture at the time of placement as well as the picking position. For example, consider an example in which a work WKL gripped in the same posture as in FIG. 15 is placed by using the end effector EET4 as shown in FIG. This work WKL is composed of a thin rod-shaped portion having an L-shaped cross section and a thick rod-shaped portion. It is assumed that the end effector EET4 of FIG. 19 is used for the work WKL to grasp a thin rod-shaped part of the work WKL and teach the work WKL so that the work WKL is placed in an upward posture. In this case, even when the thick rod-shaped portion of the work WK3 having the same shape is gripped as shown in FIG. 20A, the work WK3 is held in the same posture, that is, in the posture in which the thin rod-shaped portion faces upward as shown in FIG. 20B. Let the robot setting device calculate the position and posture of the end effector EET4 so that it can be mounted.

However, in this case, as shown in FIG. 20C, the end effector EET4 conflicts with the floor surface at the gripping position, which makes it difficult to realize. Even in such a case, even if the gripping position is determined to be grippable during teaching, it may not be possible to place the end effector EET4 due to restrictions such as the shape of the end effector EET4 during actual operation, which affects the accuracy of teaching. Was giving.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-855475

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and one of the purposes thereof is a robot setting device, a robot system, a robot setting method, and a robot setting program capable of realizing teaching in consideration of restrictions at the time of mounting. And to provide computer-readable recording media and recording equipment.

Means for Solving Problems and Effects of Invention

According to the robot setting device according to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to measure the three-dimensional shape of the work arranged in the work space and to grip the arm portion provided in the robot and the work provided at the tip of the arm portion. This is a robot setting device for setting the operation of the robot so that the gripped workpiece is placed in a predetermined mounting position by driving and gripping the end effector of the above, and a plurality of gripping candidates when gripping the workpiece. A grip setting unit that can set the position in association with the grip posture of the end effector when gripping each grip candidate position, and a first grip candidate position among a plurality of grip candidate positions set by the grip setting unit. Is gripped by the end effector in the first gripping posture associated with the first gripping candidate position, and the first mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting the work in the mounting position in a desired state. Is associated with the second gripping candidate position among the reference mounting posture setting unit that sets the reference mounting posture and the plurality of gripping candidate positions set by the gripping setting unit. The second mounting posture of the end effector, which is necessary for gripping the work with the end effector in the second gripping posture and mounting the work in the desired state, is set to the first gripping candidate position and the second. The grip setting unit includes a mounting posture calculation unit calculated by arithmetic processing using the difference between the gripping candidate positions, the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture, and the reference mounting posture. Among a plurality of gripping candidate positions, for each of the gripping candidate positions excluding the first gripping candidate position, the mounting posture calculated by the above-described placement posture calculation unit can be set in association with each gripping candidate position. it can. As a result, conventionally, after setting the gripping candidate position of the work and the gripping posture of the end effector, the end effector when the work is gripped and placed under the gripping position posture condition for each of these gripping position posture conditions. It was necessary to individually set the mounting posture on a one-to-one basis while actually operating the end effector. However, according to the above configuration, only one reference mounting posture is set, and the other gripping position postures are set. Since the mounting posture corresponding to the condition can be obtained by calculation, there is an advantage that the work load on the user side can be significantly reduced.

Further, according to the robot setting device according to the second embodiment, in addition to the above configuration, a storage unit that stores operating conditions that define the movable range of the robot arm and / or end effector, and a previously described stationary posture. Robot operation condition determination unit for determining whether or not the operation of the robot arm and / or end effector for taking the mounting posture calculated by the calculation unit satisfies the operation condition stored in the storage unit. The grip setting unit can be configured to exclude from the registration the grip candidate positions corresponding to the mounting postures determined by the robot operation condition determination unit to not satisfy the operation conditions. With the above configuration, it is possible to register only the mounting postures that can actually be mounted among the calculated mounting postures. That is, in the conventional method, since the robot is actually operated to set the mounting position, the mounting position that cannot be mounted is not registered, but the mounting posture is set without operating the robot. In the method of calculating and obtaining, the posture that cannot be placed may be calculated depending on the operating conditions of the robot that is actually connected to the robot setting device. Therefore, it is possible to avoid such a newly generated problem by excluding the mounting posture that does not meet the operating conditions of the robot, that is, the mounting posture that cannot be mounted, from the registration.

Further, according to the robot setting device according to the third embodiment, in addition to any of the above configurations, the grip setting unit may be used with the first grip posture when calculating the mounting posture by the previously described placement posture calculation unit. The second gripping posture in which the difference between the two is larger than the predetermined value can be excluded from the registration. With the above configuration, by excluding the gripping candidate positions that are inappropriately placed so as not to be selected, it is possible to eliminate the examination of unnecessary gripping candidate positions and improve the processing efficiency.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the fourth embodiment, in addition to any of the above configurations, the robot operating conditions for setting the operating conditions of the robot capable of mounting the work at the previously described placement position are further provided. A work gripping candidate position recognition unit for recognizing one or more gripping candidate positions on a work that can be gripped by the robot based on a setting unit and three-dimensional shape data indicating the three-dimensional shape of the work, and the work. The robot operation required for gripping at the gripping candidate position on the work recognized by the gripping candidate position recognition unit and mounting at the previously described placement position is performed according to the robot operation condition set by the robot operation condition setting unit. Based on the determination of the robot motion calculation unit for calculation and the robot motion condition determination unit, the gripping position at which the robot actually grips the work is determined based on the mounting posture determined to satisfy the robot motion condition. It can be provided with a gripping position determining unit for the purpose. With the above configuration, by calculating the gripping candidate position on the premise that the work can be mounted in a predetermined reference mounting posture in advance, it is possible to avoid a situation in which gripping is possible but mounting is not possible.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the fifth embodiment, in addition to the above configuration, the robot operating condition can include the physical operating range of the arm portion and the end effector.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the sixth embodiment, in addition to any of the above configurations, the robot operating condition is set to at least one of the length of the arm portion, the rotation angle of the end effector, or the inclination angle. Can be specified in.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the seventh embodiment, in addition to any of the above configurations, a sensor unit for three-dimensionally measuring the three-dimensional shape of the work arranged in the work space is further provided. The work gripping candidate position recognition unit uses the three-dimensional measurement data of the work measured by controlling the sensor unit as three-dimensional shape data to obtain one or more gripping candidate positions on the work that can be gripped by the robot. Can be configured to recognize.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the eighth embodiment, in addition to any of the above configurations, the sensor unit includes a camera and a projector, and the camera and the projector are arranged above the work space. It can be configured to measure the three-dimensional shape of a plurality of workpieces stacked in the work space.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the ninth aspect, in addition to any of the above configurations, a three-dimensional shape data input unit for acquiring three-dimensional shape data and a three-dimensional shape data are included in the three-dimensional shape data. A work position / orientation recognition unit for recognizing the position and orientation of the included work, a positional relationship registration unit for registering the positional relationship between the work and the end effector, and the position and orientation of the end effector when the work is placed. The end effector position / orientation calculation unit for calculating the position, the conversion unit that converts the position / orientation of the end effector from the coordinate space of the sensor to the coordinate space of the robot, and the placement for registering the position of the end effector at the time of mounting. It can be provided with a location registration unit.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the tenth embodiment, in addition to any of the above configurations, the work gripping candidate position recognition unit uses CAD data indicating the three-dimensional shape of the work as a virtual work space. It can be configured to recognize one or more gripping candidate positions on the work that can be gripped by the robot with respect to the virtual loose stacking data piled up in the virtual work space.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the eleventh embodiment, in addition to any of the above configurations, the three-dimensional measurement data can be generated based on the phase shift method.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting device according to the twelfth embodiment, in addition to any of the above configurations, the robot is made to perform a loose picking operation for sequentially taking out a plurality of works randomly stacked in the work space. be able to.

Furthermore, according to the robot system according to the thirteenth aspect, a robot including any of the above robot setting devices, the end effector for gripping the work, and an arm portion for moving the end effector, and the robot. The robot controller for driving the end effector and the arm portion can be provided so that the work is gripped at the gripping position determined by the gripping position determining unit.

Furthermore, according to the robot system according to the fourteenth aspect, a robot that measures the three-dimensional shape of a work placed in a work space , grips it with an end effector, and places the gripped work in a predetermined mounting position. In the system, the end effector for gripping the work, the arm part for moving the end effector, the sensor part for imaging the shape of the work for measuring the three-dimensional shape of the work, and the work. A grip setting unit that can set a plurality of grip candidate positions for gripping in association with a grip posture of the end effector when gripping each grip candidate position, and a plurality of grip candidates set by the grip setting unit. Among the positions, it is necessary to grip the first gripping candidate position with the end effector in the first gripping posture associated with the first gripping candidate position, and to mount the work in the mounting position in a desired state. The reference mounting posture setting unit that sets the first mounting posture of the end effector as the reference mounting posture, and the second gripping candidate position among the plurality of gripping candidate positions set by the gripping setting unit. The second mounting posture of the end effector required for gripping with the end effector in the second gripping posture associated with the second gripping candidate position and mounting the work at the mounting position in the desired state is obtained. , The mounting posture calculation unit calculated by arithmetic processing using the difference between the first gripping candidate position and the second gripping candidate position, the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture, and the reference mounting posture. , The storage unit that stores the operating conditions that define the movable range of the arm unit and / or the end effector, and the arm unit and / or the end effector for taking the mounting posture calculated by the above-described placement posture calculation unit. The robot operation condition determination unit for determining whether or not the operation of the robot satisfies the operation condition stored in the storage unit, and the placement determined to satisfy the operation condition by the determination of the robot operation condition determination unit. Based on the posture, the gripping position determining unit for determining the gripping position where the robot actually grips the work, and the end effector and the arm so as to grip the work at the gripping position determined by the gripping position determining unit. A robot controller for driving the unit is provided, and the grip setting unit calculates each of the grip candidate positions other than the first grip candidate position among the plurality of grip candidate positions by the above-described stationary posture calculation unit. The mounted posture can be configured to be set in association with each gripping candidate position. As a result, conventionally, after setting the gripping candidate position of the work and the gripping posture of the end effector, the end effector when the work is gripped and placed under the gripping position posture condition for each of these gripping position posture conditions. It was necessary to individually set the mounting posture on a one-to-one basis while actually operating the end effector. However, according to the above configuration, only one reference mounting posture is set, and the other gripping position postures are set. Since the mounting posture corresponding to the condition can be obtained by calculation, there is an advantage that the work load on the user side can be significantly reduced.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting method according to the fifteenth aspect, in order to measure the three-dimensional shape of the work arranged in the work space and to grip the arm portion provided in the robot and the workpiece provided at the tip of the arm portion. This is a method of setting the operation of the robot so that the end effector of the robot is driven and gripped, and the gripped work is placed in a predetermined mounting position. The step of setting in association with the gripping posture of the end effector when gripping the gripping candidate position, and the first gripping candidate position among the plurality of set gripping candidate positions are associated with the first gripping candidate position. The process of setting the first mounting posture of the end effector, which is necessary for gripping with the end effector in the first gripping posture and mounting the work in the desired mounting position, as the reference mounting posture. The second gripping candidate position among the plurality of set gripping candidate positions is gripped by the end effector in the second gripping posture associated with the second gripping candidate position, and the work is placed at the mounting position. The second mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in a desired state is the difference between the first gripping candidate position and the second gripping candidate position, the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture, and It is calculated by arithmetic processing using the reference mounting posture, and the calculated mounting posture is used for each gripping candidate position other than the first gripping candidate position among the plurality of gripping candidate positions. It can include a step of setting in association with the candidate position. As a result, conventionally, after setting the gripping candidate position of the work and the gripping posture of the end effector, the end effector when the work is gripped and placed under the gripping position posture condition for each of these gripping position posture conditions. It was necessary to individually set the mounting posture on a one-to-one basis while actually operating the end effector. However, according to the above configuration, only one reference mounting posture is set, and the other gripping position postures are set. Since the mounting posture corresponding to the condition can be obtained by calculation, there is an advantage that the work load on the user side can be significantly reduced.

Furthermore, according to the robot setting program according to the 16th embodiment, in order to measure the three-dimensional shape of the work arranged in the work space and to grip the arm portion provided in the robot and the workpiece provided at the tip of the arm portion. This is a program for setting the operation of the robot so that the gripped workpiece is placed in a predetermined mounting position by driving and gripping the end effector of the robot, and a plurality of gripping candidate positions when gripping the workpiece are set. , The function of setting in association with the gripping posture of the end effector when gripping each gripping candidate position, and the first gripping candidate position among the plurality of set gripping candidate positions are set to the first gripping candidate position. The first mounting posture of the end effector required for gripping with the end effector in the associated first gripping posture and mounting the work in the desired mounting position is set as the reference mounting posture. The function and the second gripping candidate position among the plurality of set gripping candidate positions are gripped by the end effector in the second gripping posture associated with the second gripping candidate position, and the work is placed in the mounting position. The second mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in the desired state is the difference between the first gripping candidate position and the second gripping candidate position, and the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture. , And the function calculated by arithmetic processing using the reference mounting posture, and the calculated mounting posture of each of the plurality of gripping candidate positions except the first gripping candidate position. Can be realized in the computer with a function of setting in association with each gripping candidate position. As a result, conventionally, after setting the gripping candidate position of the work and the gripping posture of the end effector, the end effector when the work is gripped and placed under the gripping position posture condition for each of these gripping position posture conditions. It was necessary to individually set the mounting posture on a one-to-one basis while actually operating the end effector. However, according to the above configuration, only one reference mounting posture is set, and the other gripping position postures are set. Since the mounting posture corresponding to the condition can be obtained by calculation, there is an advantage that the work load on the user side can be significantly reduced.

Furthermore, the computer-readable recording medium or stored device according to the seventeenth embodiment stores the robot setting program. Recording media include CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, flexible disc, magnetic tape, MO, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD + R, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, Blu-ray, HD. A medium capable of storing a magnetic disk such as a DVD (AOD), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or other programs is included. Further, the program includes a program stored in the above-mentioned recording medium and distributed, and a program distributed by download through a network line such as the Internet. Further, the stored device includes a general-purpose or dedicated device in which the above program is implemented in a state in which it can be executed in the form of software, firmware, or the like. Furthermore, each process and function included in the program may be executed by program software that can be executed by a computer, and each part of the process may be executed by hardware such as a predetermined gate array (FPGA, ASIC), or program software. It may be realized in a form in which and a partial hardware module that realizes a part of the hardware are mixed.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of performing a bulk picking operation using a robot system. It is a block diagram of a robot system. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a sensor part. FIG. 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example in which workpieces are randomly placed in a storage container and stacked, FIG. 4B is a schematic sectional view showing an example in which workpieces are stacked on a floor surface, and FIG. 4C is a tray in which the workpieces are placed in a constant posture. It is a perspective view which shows the state arranged above. FIG. 5A is a schematic view showing an example of gripping a work with an end effector, FIG. 5B is a schematic view showing an example of gripping a work having a cavity from the inner surface, and FIG. 5C shows an example of sucking and gripping a plate-shaped work. It is a schematic diagram. It is a block diagram which shows the robot setting apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of determining a gripping position from a mounting position. It is a block diagram which shows the robot setting apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. It is a functional block diagram which shows the image processing part. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which performs the gripping setting using the mounting condition. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of a procedure for teaching mounting reference gripping in step S1001 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the procedure which teaches the gripping position in step S1004 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure at the time of the operation of the bulk picking using the placement condition. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of performing the picking in bulk with a robot. It is a schematic diagram which shows the gripping instruction position HTP1 of a work. It is a schematic diagram which shows the gripping instruction position HTP2 of a work. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode that the work WK1 is gripped and placed at the gripping instruction position HTP1 of FIG. 15 in a state where a plurality of works are stacked separately. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode that the work WK1 is gripped and placed at the gripping instruction position HTP2 of FIG. 16 in a state where a plurality of works are stacked separately. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of placing the work gripped in the posture of FIG. 15 using an end effector. 20A is a schematic view showing a state in which a gripping teaching position of the work is specified, FIG. 20B is a state in which the work is moved, and FIG. 20C is a schematic view showing a state in which the work cannot be placed in the posture of FIG. 20B.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments shown below are examples for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is not specified as the following. In addition, the present specification does not specify the members shown in the claims as the members of the embodiment. In particular, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the specific description unless otherwise specified, and are merely explanatory examples. It's just that. The size and positional relationship of the members shown in each drawing may be exaggerated to clarify the explanation. Further, in the following description, members of the same or the same quality are shown with the same name and reference numeral, and detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Further, each element constituting the present invention may be configured such that a plurality of elements are composed of the same member and the plurality of elements are combined with one member, or conversely, the function of one member is performed by the plurality of members. It can also be shared and realized.
(Robot system)

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the robot system 1000 for picking a work. In this example, an example is shown in which a plurality of work WKs stacked in a work space are sequentially taken out by a robot and placed in a predetermined position for bulk picking. The robot includes an arm portion ARM and an end effector EET provided at the tip of the arm portion ARM. This robot is driven by the robot controller 6. Further, the robot controller 6 acquires information necessary for controlling the robot from the robot setting device 100. The robot setting device 100 and the robot controller 6 constitute a robot setting device. For example, the work WK, which is a large number of parts randomly placed in the storage container BX, acquires a three-dimensional shape by the sensor unit 2 such as a camera or lighting, and the robot setting device 100 detects the position and orientation of the work. Then, the information is sent to the robot controller 6. The robot controller 6 grips the work WKs one by one by the end effector EET provided at the tip of the arm portion ARM of the robot, and arranges them at a predetermined position on the stage STG, for example, on a conveyor belt.

A functional block diagram of the robot system 1000 is shown in FIG. The robot system 1000 shown in this figure includes a robot setting device 100, a sensor unit 2, a display unit 3, an operation unit 4, a robot main body 5, and a robot operation tool 7. The robot setting device 100 includes a robot setting device 100 and a robot controller 6.

The operation unit 4 makes settings related to image processing. Further, the sensor unit 2 captures an image of the work and acquires a three-dimensional shape. Further, the display unit 3 confirms the setting and the operating state. Furthermore, the robot setting device 100 performs three-dimensional search, interference determination, calculation of gripping solution, and the like. On the other hand, the robot controller 6 controls the robot according to the result of the robot setting device 100. Further, the robot operating tool 7 sets the operation of the robot. In the example of FIG. 2, the operation unit 4 and the robot operation tool 7 are separate members, but these may be common members. Further, in the example of FIG. 2, the robot controller 6 is incorporated in the robot setting device 100, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the robot controller may be provided separately from the robot setting device.

The sensor unit 2 is a member that captures an image of a work space or a work. From the captured image, three-dimensional shape data showing the three-dimensional shape of the workpieces stacked separately is acquired. The methods for acquiring the three-dimensional shape include a pattern projection method, a stereo method, a lens focusing method, an optical cutting method, an optical radar method, an interferometry method, and a TOF method. In this embodiment, the phase shift method is used among the pattern projection methods.

The configuration of the sensor unit 2 is determined according to the selected three-dimensional shape measurement technique. The sensor unit 2 includes a camera, lighting, a projector, and the like. For example, when measuring the three-dimensional shape of a work by the phase shift method, the sensor unit 2 includes a projector PRJ and a plurality of cameras CME1, CME2, CME3, and CME4 as shown in FIG. The sensor unit 2 may be composed of a plurality of members such as a camera and a projector, or may be integrally configured. For example, a 3D image pickup head in which a camera and a projector are integrated into a head shape can be used as a sensor unit.

Further, the generation of the three-dimensional shape data itself can be performed on the sensor unit side. In this case, an image processing IC or the like that realizes a function of generating three-dimensional shape data is provided on the sensor unit side. Alternatively, the three-dimensional shape data is not generated on the image processing unit side, but the raw image captured by the sensor unit is image-processed on the image processing unit side to generate three-dimensional shape data such as a three-dimensional image. May be good.

The robot setting device 100 performs three-dimensional search, interference determination, gripping solution calculation, and the like based on the three-dimensional shape data of the work thus obtained. As the robot setting device 100, a general-purpose computer in which a dedicated robot setting program is installed, a dedicated controller, or the like can be used. Although FIG. 2 shows an example in which the robot setting device 100 is composed of separate members, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and for example, the sensor unit and the robot setting device may be integrated, or the robot may be set in the robot controller. The device can also be incorporated.

The display unit 3 is a member for displaying the three-dimensional shape of the work acquired by the robot setting device 100 and confirming various settings and operating states, and a liquid crystal monitor, an organic EL display, a CRT, or the like can be used. .. The operation unit 4 is a member for performing various settings such as image processing, and an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse can be used. Further, by using the display unit 3 as a touch panel, the operation unit and the display unit can be integrated.

For example, when the robot controller 6 or the robot setting device 100 is a computer on which the robot setting program is installed, a graphical user interface (GUI) screen of the robot setting program is displayed on the display unit 3. Various settings can be made from the GUI displayed on the display unit 3, and processing results such as simulation results can be displayed. In this case, the display unit 3 can be used as a setting unit for making various settings.

The robot controller 6 controls the operation of the robot based on the information captured by the sensor unit 2. Further, the robot operating tool 7 is a member for setting the operation of the robot main body 5, and a pendant or the like can be used.

The robot body 5 includes a movable arm portion ARM and an end effector EET fixed to the tip of the arm portion ARM. The robot body 5 is driven by the robot controller 6 to operate the arm unit ARM, picks one work WK, moves it to a desired position, places it, and then releases it. Therefore, the tip of the arm portion ARM is provided with an end effector EET for gripping the work WK. Further, the mounting position on which the work WK is mounted may be, for example, on a tray or a conveyor.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of work WKs are randomly stored in a storage container BX such as a returnable box. The sensor unit 2 is arranged above such a work space. The sensor unit 2 includes a camera and lighting, and the sensor unit 2 can measure the three-dimensional shape of the work WK. The robot controller 6 identifies the work WK to be gripped from a plurality of works based on the three-dimensional shape of the work WK measured by the sensor unit 2, and controls the robot so as to grip the work WK. To do. Then, while holding the work WK, the arm portion ARM is operated to move it to a predetermined mounting position, for example, on the stage STG, and the work WK is mounted in a predetermined posture. In other words, the robot controller 6 identifies the work WK to be picked by the sensor unit 2, grips the work WK with the end effector EET, and mounts the gripped work WK in a predetermined reference mounting posture. The operation of the robot is controlled so as to be mounted at the mounting position, which is the position, and the end effector EET is released.

Here, in the present specification, bulk picking refers to work WK that is randomly stacked in a storage container BX as shown in FIG. 4A by a robot and placed in a predetermined position. An example in which the work WKs stacked in a predetermined area are gripped and placed without using the storage container as shown in FIG. 4B, or the works arranged and stacked in a predetermined posture as shown in FIG. 4C. It is used in the sense of including an example in which WKs are sequentially gripped and placed.

Further, in the example of FIG. 1, the sensor unit 2 is fixed above the work space, but a position where the work space can be imaged is sufficient, and the sensor unit 2 can be arranged at an arbitrary fixed position such as diagonally, laterally, or downward. However, the mode of arranging the sensor unit at a movable indefinite position such as on the arm unit ARM is excluded. Further, the number of cameras and lights included in the sensor unit 2 is not limited to one, and may be plural. Furthermore, the connection with the sensor unit 2, the robot, and the robot controller 6 is not limited to the wired connection, but may be a wireless connection.

Further, gripping the work means sandwiching the outside of the work WK as shown in FIG. 5A, and inserting the claw portion of the end effector EET2 into the inside of the work WK2 having a cavity as shown in FIG. 5B to expand the work. It is used in the sense of including an example of holding the work WK3 by suction and an example of an end effector EET3 that sucks and holds the plate-shaped work WK3 as shown in FIG. 5C. Hereinafter, as an example of gripping the work, a mode of gripping the outer surface of the work from both sides will be described. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a large number of workpieces are stored in the storage container BX and randomly stacked, and one workpiece is gripped by the end effector EET for each of the plurality of workpieces WK. The setting of the gripping position (teaching work) in the bulk picking operation in which the work of placing the container in the mounting position is repeated will be described below.

When performing the bulk picking operation in the robot system 1000, teaching is performed in advance to perform the bulk picking operation. Specifically, the part of the work to be gripped by the end effector in what posture, the gripping position, and the like are registered. Such a setting is performed by a robot operating tool 7 such as a pendant.
(Teaching work)

In the conventional teaching work, the user manually operates the robot to manually set the gripping position where the robot is gripped by the end effector and the mounting position where the work gripped at this gripping position is placed. I was registered at. In this method, when there are a plurality of gripping positions for the work or there are a plurality of works, the number of positions to be registered increases, and the teaching work takes time and effort. Therefore, in order to save labor in such teaching work, first, for one work, a reference gripping position and the position of the end effector when the work is mounted at this gripping position (mounting position). To register. As a result, the relative positional relationship between the gripping position and the mounting position of the work is determined. Then, for other gripping positions of the same work, only the gripping positions are registered. The mounting position for each gripping position is calculated based on the determined positional relationship. As a result, it is possible to omit the work of individually operating the robot to register the mounting position for each gripping position, and it is possible to reduce the labor of the teaching work.

However, in this automatic calculation method, when each mounting position is calculated by calculation without actually operating the robot, the mounting position cannot be implemented due to physical restrictions during actual operation. Sometimes. For example, the movable range of the arm part that constitutes the robot, the limit of the posture that can be taken, the physical range that can be moved (the movement limit in the horizontal direction and the height direction), or the work is stored, which is determined by the length of the arm part. Since there are foreign substances on the wall and surroundings of the storage container, these foreign substances may interfere with the arm portion and become an impossible posture. Since such physical restrictions actually exist, some virtual placement positions obtained by calculation may not be available in reality. As a result, even if the teaching work of the robot system can be completed, a state may occur in which the robot system cannot operate as planned during actual operation, and a large rework occurs in which the robot operation plan itself must be reviewed. There was a risk.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the occurrence of such rework is reduced by detecting and removing such an unusable mounting position in advance at the stage of the teaching work.
(Grip position setting function based on mounting position)

On the other hand, in the conventional teaching work, the gripping position is often registered by the ease of gripping the work by the end effector. However, even if one or more gripping positions are registered as easy-to-grip positions, there is a problem that the work gripped by the end effector at such gripping positions is not always suitable for mounting. .. That is, even if gripping is possible, if the vehicle cannot be placed in the gripped posture, gripping in that posture is not appropriate.

On the other hand, in the robot setting device according to the present embodiment, paying attention to the mountable position, how to grip the robot setting device to make such mountable possible from the mountable position and posture. By calculating whether it is good or not, the posture and position for realizing the grip that can be placed are obtained. That is, the condition of the gripping state is calculated by back calculation from the result of the mounting state, which makes it possible to connect the mountingable state and the gripping state. In other words, by excluding the gripping position that is not suitable for mounting from the target, it is possible to obtain only the solution of the gripping position that has a solution of the mounting position. Since it cannot be placed at this gripping position at times, it is possible to avoid reworking the registration work, and the teaching work can be performed efficiently. The details will be described below.
(Example of teaching work)

FIG. 6 shows a functional block diagram of a robot system including a robot setting device that realizes a function of teaching a gripping position based on the above-mentioned mounting position. The robot system 1000 shown in this figure includes a robot setting device 100, a sensor unit 2, and a robot.

The sensor unit 2 three-dimensionally measures the three-dimensional shape of the work arranged at the working position. The sensor unit 2 is controlled by the sensor control unit 2b. In this example, the sensor control unit 2b is provided separately from the sensor unit 2, but the sensor control unit may be incorporated in the sensor unit. The robot unit includes an arm unit ARM and an end effector EET. This robot is controlled by the robot setting device 100, grips the work at the gripping position, and mounts the work at the mounting position. Here, the position and orientation of the end effector with respect to the work when gripping the work is imaged and registered by the sensor unit 2.

The robot setting device 100 of FIG. 6 includes a storage unit 9 and a calculation unit 10. The calculation unit 10 includes a setting unit 8, a mounting posture calculation unit 10e, a work gripping candidate position recognition unit 10a, a robot motion calculation unit 10b, a robot operation condition determination unit 10c, and a gripping position determination unit 10d. The setting unit 8 includes a grip setting unit 8c, a reference mounting posture setting unit 8a, and a robot operation condition setting unit 8b.

The setting unit 8 is a member for performing various settings, and serves as an interface for receiving user operations. Preferably, a graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on the display unit 3 can be used so as to accept various settings via an input device such as an operation unit or a robot operation tool connected to the outside.

The grip setting unit 8c included in such a setting unit 8 is for setting a plurality of grip candidate positions when gripping the work in association with the grip posture of the end effector when gripping each grip candidate position. It is a member. Further, the reference mounting posture setting unit 8a sets the first grip candidate position among the plurality of grip candidate positions set by the grip setting unit 8c in the first grip posture associated with the first grip candidate position. It is a member for setting the first mounting posture of the end effector, which is necessary for gripping with the end effector and mounting the work in the mounting position in a desired state, as the reference mounting posture.

The mounting posture calculation unit 10e sets the second grip candidate position among the plurality of grip candidate positions set by the grip setting unit 8c in the second grip posture associated with the second grip candidate position. It is a member for calculating the second mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting the work in a desired state at the mounting position. The calculation of the second mounting posture is performed by arithmetic processing using the difference between the first gripping candidate position and the second gripping candidate position, the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture, and the reference mounting posture. Further, the grip setting unit 8c sets the mounting posture calculated by the mounting posture calculation unit 10e as each grip candidate position for each of the grip candidate positions excluding the first grip candidate position among the plurality of grip candidate positions. Set in association with each other. As a result, conventionally, after setting the gripping candidate position of the work and the gripping posture of the end effector, the end effector when the work is gripped and placed under the gripping position posture condition for each of these gripping position posture conditions. It was necessary to individually set the mounting posture on a one-to-one basis while actually operating the end effector. However, according to the above configuration, only one reference mounting posture is set, and the other gripping position postures are set. Since the mounting posture corresponding to the condition can be obtained by calculation, there is an advantage that the work load on the user side can be significantly reduced. When the mounting posture calculation unit 10e calculates the mounting posture, the grip setting unit 8c may be configured to exclude the second grip posture whose difference from the first grip posture is larger than a predetermined value from the registration. Good. As a result, the gripping candidate positions that may be inappropriately placed are excluded in advance, and it is possible to eliminate the examination of unnecessary gripping candidate positions and improve the processing efficiency.

Further, the storage unit 9 is a member for holding various settings, and a non-volatile memory, a hard disk, a storage medium, or the like can be used. The storage unit 9 stores, for example, operating conditions that define the operable range of the arm unit and / or the end effector of the robot.

On the other hand, the arithmetic unit 10 is an arithmetic circuit that realizes a plurality of functions, for example, by a microprocessor (MPU), a CPU, an LSI, a gate array such as an FPGA or an ASIC, hardware or software such as a DSP, or a mixture thereof. realizable. Further, each component does not necessarily have to be the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 6 and the like, and the function thereof is substantially the same, and one element has the functions of a plurality of elements in the configuration shown in FIG. Those are included in the present invention.

The work gripping candidate position recognition unit 10a included in the calculation unit 10 is a member for recognizing a gripping candidate position on the work that can be gripped by the robot based on the three-dimensional measurement data of the work. Here, the sensor unit 2b controls the sensor unit 2 to acquire the three-dimensional measurement data obtained by measuring the work, and recognizes the gripping candidate position on the work from the three-dimensional measurement data. The robot motion calculation unit 10b grips the gripping candidate position on the work recognized by the work gripping candidate position recognition unit 10a, and mounts the robot motion calculation unit 10b on the mounting position in the reference mounting posture set by the reference mounting posture setting unit 8a. It is a member for calculating the movement of the robot required for placing.

Whether the robot operation condition determination unit 10c satisfies the operation condition stored in the storage unit 9 for the operation of the robot arm unit and / or the end effector for taking the mounting posture calculated by the mounting posture calculation unit 10e. It is a member for determining whether or not. The grip setting unit 8c excludes from the registration the grip candidate positions corresponding to the mounting postures determined by the robot operation condition determination unit to not satisfy the operation conditions. As a result, it is possible to register only the mounting postures that can actually be mounted among the calculated mounting postures. That is, in the conventional method, since the robot is actually operated to set the mounting position, the mounting position that cannot be mounted is not registered, but the mounting posture is set without operating the robot. In the method of calculating and obtaining, the posture that cannot be placed may be calculated depending on the operating conditions of the robot that is actually connected to the robot setting device. Therefore, it is possible to avoid such a newly generated problem by excluding the mounting posture that does not meet the operating conditions of the robot, that is, the mounting posture that cannot be mounted, from the registration.

The gripping position determining unit 10d is a member for determining the final gripping position based on the mounting posture determined to satisfy the operating condition by the determination of the robot operating condition determining unit 10c.

The user can manually register one or more gripping candidate positions in advance. Alternatively, the gripping candidate position may be configured to be automatically calculated and registered on the robot setting device side. Further, the work gripping candidate position recognition unit 10a is configured to automatically select a gripping candidate position that can be actually gripped according to the current posture and position of the work among a plurality of gripping candidate positions given in advance. You may. Further, the work gripping candidate position recognition unit 10a allows the user to select a gripping candidate position that can be actually gripped according to the current posture and position of the work from among a plurality of gripping candidate positions given in advance. Can also be configured to accept.

The gripping position determining unit 10d determines the priority of the gripping position in the order in which the postures of the end effectors at the time of mounting corresponding to the plurality of gripping candidate positions are closer to the reference mounting posture, and the robot is actually based on this priority. Can be configured to determine the gripping position for gripping the workpiece. As a result, it is possible to realize gripping and mounting in a more preferable posture by selecting a position close to the reference mounting posture from a plurality of gripping candidate positions.

Using the above robot setting device, necessary settings are made prior to the actual operation of picking the robots in bulk. Specifically, among the setting work, the teaching work is performed in which the user teaches the robot system side the gripping position, the mounting position, the gripping posture, and the like of the work. In the following, an example of gripping the work with an end effector will be described, and the description will be replaced with gripping as an example of picking (grasping). However, as described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the mode in which the end effector grips the work, and can be applied to other gripping modes.

When gripping the work, the priority of the gripping candidate positions is determined so as to determine the final gripping position from the plurality of gripping position candidates taught by the user in advance. Here, the priority of the gripping position is determined in the order in which the position and orientation of the end effector at the time of mounting corresponding to each gripping candidate position are close to the position and posture of the end effector when the mounting position is taught in advance. .. For example, in the examples of FIGS. 17 to 18, by giving priority to gripping the work WK2 over gripping the work WK1, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the robot tries to move out of the operating range.

Further, by setting an upper limit value for the difference between the position and orientation of the end effector when taught as the mounting position and the position and orientation of the end effector at the time of mounting in the grip selected at the time of picking, the work WK1 of FIG. It is also possible to prevent selection of gripping or gripping where the end effector EET4 of FIG. 20 collides with the floor.

Next, an example of the procedure for determining the gripping position from the mounting position will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7.

First, in step S701, the work placement position is determined. Here, the work is placed at a predetermined mounting position, and this position is set as the work mounting position. For example, the user manually places the work at the place where the work is to be placed by grasping and moving the work with a robot.

Next, in step S702, the reference mounting posture is registered. The robot is operated so that the end effector is positioned at a position where the workpiece mounted on the work mounting position can be gripped. The posture of the end effector at this time is recorded in the storage unit 9 as the reference mounting posture.

Next, in step S703, the mounting reference grip is registered. Here, the work placed at the work mounting position is gripped by the robot in the reference mounting posture, and the robot is operated to convey the work within the field of view of the sensor unit and place the work. The position of the end effector at the time of mounting in this field of view is recorded in the storage unit 9 as the mounting reference grip.

Then, in step S704, the reference gripping information is registered. Here, the robot is retracted out of the field of view of the sensor unit, the position and orientation of the work placed in the field of view are recognized, and the robot is recorded in the storage unit 9. The positional relationship between the position and orientation of the work and the mounting reference gripping is recorded in the storage unit 9 as reference gripping information. The position and orientation of this work is the first gripping candidate position.

Further, in step S705, the registered grip information is registered. Here, an additional gripping position is registered with respect to the work, and the relative positional relationship between the position and orientation of the work and the gripping position is recorded. The gripping position at this time is used as the registered gripping information. This registered grip information becomes the second grip candidate position.

Next, in step S706, the mounting posture of the end effector is calculated. As a result of gripping, the position and posture of the end effector when the work is placed in the predetermined work mounting position described above are the relative positional relationship and the reference of the gripping position of each end effector of the registered gripping information and the reference gripping information. It can be calculated based on the placement posture. The position / posture of the end effector calculated in this way is defined as the mounting posture.

Further, in step S707, the grip determination of each registered grip information is performed. Here, the closeness between the mounting posture and the reference mounting posture is evaluated with respect to all the registered gripping information, and it is determined whether or not the gripping can be performed in order from the closest registered gripping information.

In this way, the gripping position can be determined from the mounting position. As a result, it is possible to optimize only the gripping conditions as in the conventional case and avoid a case where the robot cannot be mounted due to restrictions on the operating range of the robot. In particular, in the robot setting device according to the present embodiment, an arbitrary grip on the work is performed based on the position and orientation of the end effector at the time of mounting registered in advance and the gripping position and posture of the end effector with respect to the work at that time also registered in advance. The mounting position and posture of the end effector can be calculated and the gripping position suitable for mounting can be selected.
(Embodiment 2)

In the above example, an example in which the work is actually placed in the work space and the teaching work is performed while the robot grips the work or the sensor unit 2 takes an image is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and a part or all of the work is virtually performed without necessarily performing all the work of actually preparing the actual work, operating the robot, and taking an image with the sensor unit. You can also. For example, CAD data of the work can be used to perform the calculation in the virtual workspace. Such an example is shown in FIG. 8 as the second embodiment. The robot system shown in this figure includes a calculation unit 10, a display unit 3, and an operation unit 4.

In this configuration, instead of the 3D shape data of the work, a work model using CAD data and a robot model (end effector model, work model) storage container using CAD data of the end effector and arm are modeled. Three-dimensional search, interference determination, gripping solution calculation, etc. are performed by calculation in the virtual workspace using the storage container model, the sensor model that imitates the sensor unit, and the like. According to this configuration, it is possible to set in a virtual work space without using a robot, and there is an advantage that teaching work and the like can be performed more easily.
(Functional block diagram of arithmetic unit 10)

Here, an example of the functional block diagram of the calculation unit 10 is shown in FIG. The calculation unit 10 shown in this figure includes a three-dimensional shape data input unit 1a, a work position / orientation recognition unit 1b, a positional relationship registration unit 1c, an end effector position / orientation calculation unit 1d, a conversion unit 1e, and a mounting position. It is provided with a registration unit 1f.

The three-dimensional shape data input unit 1a acquires the three-dimensional shape data from the sensor unit 2. In this example, a three-dimensional image generation unit is provided on the sensor unit 2 side, and a three-dimensional shape data input unit uses the three-dimensional image generated by the three-dimensional image generation unit on the sensor unit 2 side as three-dimensional shape data. Obtained in 1a. However, as described above, for example, the raw image captured by the sensor unit 2 may be image-processed on the image processing unit side to generate three-dimensional shape data such as a three-dimensional image.

The work position / orientation recognition unit 1b is a member for recognizing the position and orientation of the work included in the three-dimensional shape data.

The positional relationship registration unit 1c is a member for registering the positional relationship between the work and the end effector.

The end effector position / orientation calculation unit 1d is a member for calculating the position and orientation of the end effector when the work is placed.

The conversion unit 1e defines the correspondence between the position of a certain position in the sensor coordinate space and the position of the robot in the coordinate space. Here, the coordinate position is converted from the coordinate space of the sensor unit 2 to the coordinate space of the robot according to the calibration data of the vision-robot.

The mounting position registration unit 1f is a member for registering the position of the end effector at the time of mounting.
(Procedure for gripping setting using mounting conditions)

Next, a procedure for performing the gripping setting using the mounting conditions will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S1001, the placement reference gripping is taught.
(Mounting and gripping conditions)

Next, in step S1002, the mounting and gripping conditions are set. The mounting and gripping condition includes, for example, setting the upper limit of the inclination angle with respect to the posture of the end effector at the taught mounting position. Further, it may be included that the calculated position of the end effector is within the operating range of the robot. In this case, for example, a method such as using a standard determination function of the robot or calculating whether or not the control point of the robot is within the operable range of the robot can be used. Still other mounting and gripping conditions may include interference between an interfering object around the mounting position and the robot end effector. In this case, an obstacle object (for example, the floor) can be arranged based on the position of the work to be placed on the virtual work space, and the presence or absence of interference with the end effector in the placement posture can be determined.

Further, in step S1003, the work is arranged in the imaging field of view of the sensor unit.

Further, in step S1004, the gripping position is taught.

Next, in step S1005, it is determined whether or not to add the gripping position. When adding, the process returns to step S1004 and the above step is repeated. On the other hand, if it is not added, the process proceeds to step S1006, the grip setting work is completed, and the actual operation is started as necessary. The actual operation is, for example, the operation of bulk picking using the mounting and gripping condition.
(Procedure to teach gripping the mounting standard)

Here, in step S1001 of FIG. 10, the details of the procedure for teaching the placement reference gripping will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1101, the work is installed at a predetermined work placement position.

Next, in step S1102, the robot end effector is moved to a position where the work can be gripped.

Further, in step S1103, the position and orientation of the end effector is recorded in the storage unit 9 as the reference placement posture.

Further, in step S1104, the work at the work mounting position is gripped in the reference mounting posture.

Then, in step S1105, the work is conveyed by the robot and placed in the imaging field of view of the head portion.

Further, in step S1106, the position and orientation of the end effector is recorded as the mounting reference grip.

Further, in step S1107, the work is released and the end effector is retracted out of the imaging field of view.

Further, in step S1108, the position and orientation of the work are recorded at the head portion.

Finally, in step S1109, the relative positional relationship between the work and the robot end effector at the time of gripping is recorded as reference gripping information.
(Procedure for teaching the grip position)

Further, in step S1004 of FIG. 10, an example of a procedure for teaching the gripping position will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1201, the position and orientation of the work are recorded at the head portion.

Next, in step S1202, the robot end effector is moved to a position where the work can be gripped.

Further, in step S1203, the position and orientation of the robot end effector are recorded.

Finally, in step S1204, the relative positional relationship between the work and the robot end effector when gripped is recorded.
(Procedures for operating bulk picking using placement conditions)

As described above, by completing the teaching work, registering the gripping position and the mounting position of the work, and completing the setting work, the bulk picking operation can be performed. Finally, an example of a procedure at the time of operation of bulk picking using the placement condition will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1301, the work group stacked separately is imaged by the head portion to recognize the position and orientation of each work.

Next, in step S1302, one work is selected from the recognized works.

Further, in step S1303, one grip is selected from the taught grips.

Furthermore, in step S1304, the calculated mounting position is calculated.

Next, in step S1305, the difference value between the mounting posture and the reference mounting posture is calculated.

Then, in step S1306, it is determined whether or not the calculated difference value is smaller than the predetermined minimum difference value, and if it is smaller, the minimum difference value is updated in step S1307, and then the process proceeds to step S1308. On the other hand, if it is not small, the process proceeds to step S1308 as it is.

In step S1308, it is determined whether or not uncalculated grip remains, and if so, the process returns to step S1303 and the above step is repeated. On the other hand, if there is no remaining work, the process proceeds to step S1309 to determine whether or not uncalculated work remains. If it remains, the process returns to step S1302 and the above step is repeated. If it does not remain, it is determined in step S1310 whether or not it is within the range of the mounting gripping condition, and if it is within the range, the work and grip at the time of the minimum difference value are selected and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is out of the range, the process is terminated as it is.

In this way, it is possible to perform the operation of bulk picking using the placement conditions.

As described above, according to the robot setting device according to the present embodiment, on the premise that the work can be placed in advance, the actual operation is started by setting the gripping position posture conditions such as the gripping position and the gripping posture. Later, it is possible to avoid the case where it is discovered that the robot cannot be placed at the registered gripping position and the robot motion plan is forced to be reviewed.

In addition, at the stage of gripping setting, it is determined whether or not the mounting posture obtained from the registered gripping position satisfies the mounting and gripping condition, and if it is determined that the mounting posture does not satisfy the mounting and gripping condition, a warning is issued. May be good. For example, the robot operation condition determination unit 10c determines whether or not such a mounting posture is within the range of the mounting gripping condition, and if it is out of the range, notifies the user that the setting is inappropriate and re-uses it. Prompt for setting. As a result, in addition to being able to make appropriate settings, it is possible to eliminate the need to calculate whether or not it is within the range of the mounting and gripping conditions during operation, and it is also possible to obtain an advantage that the processing load during operation can be reduced.
(Additional gripping conditions)

Alternatively, it is conceivable to additionally set a gripping condition different from the mounting gripping condition. Additional gripping conditions include, for example, interference determination between surrounding obstacles and the end effector. When such additional gripping conditions are set, the registered grips are sorted in ascending order of the difference, and the additional gripping conditions are determined in that order, instead of handling only the grips having the minimum difference. It may be configured to select the grip that first meets the conditions.

Furthermore, when a grip that does not meet the conditions is discovered, it is possible to redetermine whether or not all the registered grips are within the range of the mounting grip conditions by changing the reference mounting posture.

The robot setting device, robot system, robot setting method, robot setting program, computer-readable recording medium, and recording device of the present invention can be suitably used for verifying the operation of bulk picking of a robot.

1000 ... Robot system 100 ... Robot setting device 1a ... Three-dimensional shape data input unit; 1b ... Work position / orientation recognition unit; 1c ... Positional relationship registration unit; 1d ... End effector position / orientation calculation unit; 1e ... Conversion unit; 1f ... Positioning position registration unit 2 ... Sensor unit; 2b ... Sensor control unit 3 ... Display unit 4 ... Operation unit 5 ... Robot body 6 ... Robot controller 7 ... Robot operating tool 8 ... Setting unit; 8a ... Reference mounting posture setting unit; 8b ... Robot operation condition setting unit; 8c ... Grip setting unit 9 ... Storage unit 10 ... Calculation unit; 10a ... Work grip candidate position recognition unit; 10b ... Robot motion calculation unit;
10c ... Robot operation condition determination unit; 10d ... Gripping position determination unit; 10e ... Placement posture calculation unit EET, EET2, EET3, EET4 ... End effector ARM ... Arm unit STG ... Stage WK, WKL, WK1, WK2, WK3 ... Work HTP1, HTP2 ... Gripping teaching position PRJ ... Projector CME1, CME2, CME3, CME4 ... Camera BX ... Storage container

Claims (17)

The three-dimensional shape of the work placed in the work space is measured, and the arm portion provided in the robot and the end effector for gripping the workpiece provided at the tip of the arm portion are driven and gripped, and the gripped work is gripped by a predetermined value. It is a robot setting device for setting the operation of the robot so that it is mounted at the mounting position.
A grip setting unit capable of setting a plurality of grip candidate positions when gripping a work in association with a grip posture of an end effector when gripping each grip candidate position.
Among the plurality of gripping candidate positions set by the gripping setting unit, the first gripping candidate position is gripped by the end effector in the first gripping posture associated with the first gripping candidate position, and the work is placed. A reference mounting posture setting unit that sets the first mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in a desired position at a position as a reference mounting posture, and a reference mounting posture setting unit.
Of the plurality of gripping candidate positions set by the gripping setting unit, the second gripping candidate position is gripped by the end effector in the second gripping posture associated with the second gripping candidate position, and the work is placed. The second mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in the desired state at the position,
Difference between the first gripping candidate position and the second gripping candidate position,
It is provided with a mounting posture calculation unit calculated by arithmetic processing using the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture and the reference mounting posture.
Among the plurality of gripping candidate positions, the gripping setting unit sets the mounting posture calculated by the previously described placement posture calculation unit as each gripping candidate position for each of the gripping candidate positions excluding the first gripping candidate position. A robot setting device that is configured so that it can be set in association with each other. The robot setting device according to claim 1.
A storage unit that stores operating conditions that define the operable range of the robot arm and / or end effector, and
A robot for determining whether or not the operation of the arm portion and / or the end effector of the robot for taking the mounting posture calculated by the above-described placement posture calculation unit satisfies the operation condition stored in the storage unit. Equipped with an operating condition judgment unit
The grip setting unit is a robot setting device configured to exclude from registration the grip candidate positions corresponding to the mounting postures determined by the robot operation condition determination unit to not satisfy the operation conditions. The robot setting device according to claim 1 or 2.
The grip setting unit is configured to exclude from registration the second grip posture in which the difference from the first grip posture is larger than a predetermined value when the mounting posture is calculated by the above-described placement posture calculation unit. Robot setting device. The robot setting device according to claim 2, further
A robot operating condition setting unit for setting operating conditions for a robot that can place a work in the previously described placement position, and a robot operating condition setting unit.
A work gripping candidate position recognition unit for recognizing one or more gripping candidate positions on the work that can be gripped by the robot based on the three-dimensional shape data indicating the three-dimensional shape of the work.
The robot operation required for gripping at the gripping candidate position on the work recognized by the work gripping candidate position recognition unit and placing the robot at the previously described placement position is set by the robot operation condition setting unit. A robot motion calculation unit for calculating according to conditions, and
A robot including a gripping position determining unit for determining a gripping position at which the robot actually grips a work based on a mounting posture determined by the determination of the robot operating condition determining unit to satisfy the robot operating condition. Setting device. The robot setting device according to claim 4.
A robot setting device in which the robot operating conditions include the physical operating range of the arm portion and the end effector. The robot setting device according to claim 4 or 5.
A robot setting device in which the robot operating conditions are defined by at least one of the length of the arm portion, the rotation angle of the end effector, and the inclination angle. The robot setting device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising:
A sensor unit for three-dimensionally measuring the three-dimensional shape of the work placed in the work space is provided.
The work gripping candidate position recognition unit recognizes one or more gripping candidate positions on the work that can be gripped by the robot by using the three-dimensional measurement data of the work measured by controlling the sensor unit as three-dimensional shape data. A robot setting device that is configured to do so. The robot setting device according to claim 7.
The sensor unit includes a camera and a projector.
A robot setting device configured to measure the three-dimensional shapes of a plurality of workpieces stacked in the work space by a camera and a projector arranged above the work space. The robot setting device according to claim 7 or 8, further
A 3D shape data input unit for acquiring 3D shape data,
A work position / orientation recognition unit for recognizing the position and orientation of the work included in the 3D shape data,
A positional relationship registration unit for registering the positional relationship between the work, the end effector, and
The end effector position / orientation calculation unit for calculating the position and orientation of the end effector when the work is placed, and the end effector position / orientation calculation unit.
A robot setting device including a conversion unit that converts the position and orientation of the end effector from the coordinate space of the sensor to the coordinate space of the robot and a mounting position registration unit for registering the position of the end effector at the time of mounting. The robot setting device according to any one of claims 7 to 9.
The work gripping candidate position recognition unit grips the virtual loose stacking data obtained by stacking CAD data indicating the three-dimensional shape of the work in the virtual work space, which is a virtual work space, by the robot. A robot setting device configured to recognize one or more gripping candidate positions on a possible workpiece. The robot setting device according to any one of claims 7 to 10.
A robot setting device in which the three-dimensional measurement data is generated based on the phase shift method. The robot setting device according to any one of claims 4 to 11.
A robot setting device that allows a robot to perform a bulk picking operation that sequentially takes out multiple workpieces randomly stacked in a work space. The robot setting device according to any one of claims 4 to 12.
A robot including the end effector for gripping the work and an arm portion for moving the end effector.
A robot system including a robot controller for driving the end effector and the arm portion so as to grip the work at the gripping position determined by the gripping position determining unit. The three-dimensional shape of the work placed in the work space is measured, and the arm portion provided in the robot and the end effector for gripping the workpiece provided at the tip of the arm portion are driven and gripped, and the gripped work is gripped by a predetermined value. It is a robot system for mounting in the mounting position.
The end effector for gripping the work and
The arm portion that moves the end effector and
In order to measure the three-dimensional shape of the work, a sensor unit for imaging the shape of the work, and
A grip setting unit capable of setting a plurality of grip candidate positions when gripping a work in association with a grip posture of the end effector when gripping each grip candidate position.
Among the plurality of gripping candidate positions set by the gripping setting unit, the first gripping candidate position is gripped by the end effector in the first gripping posture associated with the first gripping candidate position, and the work is placed. A reference mounting posture setting unit that sets the first mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in a desired state at a position as a reference mounting posture, and a reference mounting posture setting unit.
Of the plurality of gripping candidate positions set by the gripping setting unit, the second gripping candidate position is gripped by the end effector in the second gripping posture associated with the second gripping candidate position, and the work is placed. The second mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in the desired state at the position,
Difference between the first gripping candidate position and the second gripping candidate position,
A mounting posture calculation unit calculated by arithmetic processing using the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture and the reference mounting posture.
A storage unit that stores operating conditions that define the operable range of the arm unit and / or the end effector, and
Robot operation for determining whether or not the operation of the arm unit and / or the end effector for taking the mounting posture calculated by the above-described placement posture calculation unit satisfies the operation condition stored in the storage unit. Condition judgment unit and
A gripping position determining unit for determining the gripping position at which the robot actually grips the work based on the mounting posture determined to satisfy the operating condition by the determination of the robot operating condition determining unit.
A robot controller for driving the end effector and the arm portion is provided so as to grip the work at the gripping position determined by the gripping position determining unit.
Among the plurality of gripping candidate positions, the gripping setting unit sets the mounting posture calculated by the previously described placement posture calculation unit as each gripping candidate position for each of the gripping candidate positions excluding the first gripping candidate position. A robot system that is configured so that it can be associated and set. The three-dimensional shape of the work placed in the work space is measured, and the arm portion provided in the robot and the end effector for gripping the workpiece provided at the tip of the arm portion are driven and gripped, and the gripped work is gripped by a predetermined value. It is a method of setting the operation of the robot so that it is mounted at the mounting position.
A step of setting a plurality of gripping candidate positions when gripping a work in association with a gripping posture of an end effector when gripping each gripping candidate position.
Among the plurality of set gripping candidate positions, the first gripping candidate position is gripped by the end effector in the first gripping posture associated with the first gripping candidate position, and the work is desired to be placed at the mounting position. The process of setting the first mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in the state as the reference mounting posture, and
Among the plurality of set gripping candidate positions, the second gripping candidate position is gripped by the end effector in the second gripping posture associated with the second gripping candidate position, and the work is placed in the desired mounting position. The second mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in the state of
Difference between the first gripping candidate position and the second gripping candidate position,
Calculated by arithmetic processing using the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture and the reference mounting posture, and the calculated mounting posture is the first gripping among the plurality of gripping candidate positions. A robot setting method including a step of setting each gripping candidate position excluding the candidate position in association with each gripping candidate position. The three-dimensional shape of the work placed in the work space is measured, and the arm portion provided in the robot and the end effector for gripping the workpiece provided at the tip of the arm portion are driven and gripped, and the gripped work is gripped by a predetermined value. It is a program for setting the operation of the robot so that it is mounted at the mounting position.
A function to set a plurality of gripping candidate positions when gripping a work in association with a gripping posture of an end effector when gripping each gripping candidate position.
Among the plurality of set gripping candidate positions, the first gripping candidate position is gripped by the end effector in the first gripping posture associated with the first gripping candidate position, and the work is desired to be placed at the mounting position. A function to set the first mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in the state as the reference mounting posture, and
Among the plurality of set gripping candidate positions, the second gripping candidate position is gripped by the end effector in the second gripping posture associated with the second gripping candidate position, and the work is placed in the desired mounting position. The second mounting posture of the end effector required for mounting in the state of
Difference between the first gripping candidate position and the second gripping candidate position,
A function calculated by arithmetic processing using the difference between the first gripping posture and the second gripping posture and the reference mounting posture, and
The computer realizes a function of setting the calculated mounting posture in association with each gripping candidate position for each of the gripping candidate positions other than the first gripping candidate position among the plurality of gripping candidate positions. Robot setting program for. A computer-readable recording medium or device that records the program according to claim 16.

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