JP7361547B2 - robot system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a robot system that includes a first robot that travels in a space above a ceiling panel and a second robot that travels in a space below the ceiling panel.

When placing communication cables and the like behind the ceiling of a building, a robot is required to move over structural members that protrude above the ceiling. For this reason, a robot has been proposed that is equipped with wheels made up of a plurality of flexible and resilient spoke plates arranged radially around a hub, and that can run over a protrusion in the ceiling using remote control. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-70172

Incidentally, many robots that can autonomously run based on images captured by an imaging device have been proposed. However, since a plurality of structural members having the same shape are arranged in the space above the ceiling panel, the scenery is not distinctive, and the captured images often do not include very distinctive images. In this case, the data required for autonomous travel, such as the robot's position and traveling direction in the space above the ceiling panel, is insufficient, and it may be difficult for the robot to travel autonomously.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a robot that can autonomously run in a space above a ceiling panel.

The robot system of the present invention includes a first robot that includes a first transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves and that travels in a space above a ceiling panel, and an ultrasonic wave that is transmitted from the first transmitter of the first robot. or a second robot that is equipped with a second receiver that receives electromagnetic waves, that travels in a space below the ceiling panel, and that exchanges data with the first robot; , the relative position of the first robot with respect to the second robot is detected based on ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves received by the second receiver while traveling in front of the first robot in the traveling direction; and the detected relative position , the absolute position of the space above the ceiling panel of the first robot and the traveling direction are calculated and transmitted to the first robot, and the first robot calculates the absolute position of the space above the ceiling panel of the first robot and transmits it to the first robot. and the vehicle autonomously travels based on the traveling direction.

In this way, the second robot running in front of the first robot in the space below the ceiling panel detects the absolute position and running direction of the first robot, and the first robot detects the absolute position and running direction of the first robot. Since the first robot autonomously travels based on the absolute position and traveling direction, the first robot can suitably autonomously travel in the space above the ceiling panel where the scenery is uncharacteristic. Furthermore, even if a ceiling panel is interposed between the first robot and the second robot, the second robot running in the space below the ceiling panel can determine the absolute position and running direction of the first robot running in the space above the ceiling panel. This allows the first robot to run suitably autonomously.

In the robot system of the present invention, the second robot includes a second transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves, and the first robot includes a second transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves that are transmitted from the second transmitter. 1 receiver, and detects position information and shape information of an object that exists in the space above the ceiling panel in front of the first robot in the traveling direction, and the sensor device detecting the position information of the object and the shape information of the object by comparing the ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves emitted from the device and the ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves received by the first receiver; The second robot may cause the first robot to run or stop based on the position information and shape information of the object acquired by the sensor device.

As a result, the second robot running in the space below the ceiling panel can detect the position and shape of an object placed in the space above the ceiling panel even if the ceiling panel is interposed, and the first robot can move autonomously in a suitable manner. can be done. In addition, since the second robot moves or stops the first robot based on the position information and shape information of the object in front of the first robot in the running direction, the sensor of the first robot determines whether or not it can overcome the object in front of the first robot in the running direction. If the judgment cannot be made, the first robot can be appropriately stopped to prevent damage to the first robot or the ceiling panel.

In the robot system of the present invention, the second robot transmits the position information and the shape information of the object to the first robot when causing the first robot to travel, and the first robot transmits the position information and the shape information of the object to the first robot. A running pattern for getting over the object may be generated based on the position information and the shape information of the object received from the second robot, and the robot may autonomously run based on the generated running pattern.

This allows the first robot to autonomously run over objects of various shapes.

In the robot system of the present invention, the second robot may run along a wire arranged in a space below the ceiling panel.

As a result, the second robot can run almost parallel to the ceiling panel directly below the ceiling panel, and can accurately detect the position of the first robot, the traveling direction, and the detection of objects in the space above the ceiling panel. can.

In the robot system of the present invention, the first robot may include an imaging device that images the space above the ceiling panel.

This allows remote inspection of the space above the ceiling panel.

In the robot system of the present invention, the second robot runs along a wire arranged in a space below the ceiling panel, moves directly below the first robot, and disconnects the battery of the first robot. It can also be charged by contact.

Thereby, the capacity of the battery mounted on the first robot can be reduced, and the first robot can be made smaller and lighter.

The present invention can provide a robot that can autonomously run in the space above the ceiling panel.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a robot system according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view of an inspection robot. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a leading robot. It is a control block diagram showing a robot system of an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the inspection robot approaches a beam on the upper side of the ceiling panel. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the inspection robot rides on a beam above the ceiling panel. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the inspection robot climbs over a beam on the upper side of a ceiling panel and rides on top of an air conditioner. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the inspection robot has climbed onto the air conditioner above the ceiling panel. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the inspection robot is stopped at the end of the air conditioner above the ceiling panel. It is a perspective view showing the lower surface of the body of an inspection robot. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the battery of the inspection robot is charged with the charger of the lead robot.

Hereinafter, a robot system 100 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the robot system 100 includes an inspection robot 30 that is a first robot that runs in a space 10 above the ceiling panel 11, and an inspection robot 30 that runs in front of the inspection robot 30 in a space 20 below the ceiling panel 11. and a leading robot 50 which is a second robot.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inspection robot 30 is a crawler-type autonomous robot that includes a crawler mechanism 32 for traveling and a flipper 33 for climbing over steps. The inspection robot 30 includes a body 31, a crawler mechanism 32 attached to both sides of the body 31, and flippers 33 extending toward the front or rear of the vehicle on both sides of the crawler mechanism 32. The crawler mechanism 32 and flipper 33 are driven by a drive motor 39 mounted inside the body 31. Furthermore, a battery 40 that supplies power to the drive motor 39 is attached inside the body 31 (see FIG. 4). Further, a charger 41 for charging the battery 40 is attached to the lower surface of the body 31 (see FIG. 10).

An inspection sensor 35 for inspecting the upper space 10 of the ceiling panel 11 is attached to the top of the body 31. The inspection sensor 35 may include, for example, an imaging device such as a 360° camera, an infrared sensor, a radar, and other sensors. A first transmitter/receiver 37 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves to and from the leading robot 50 is attached to the front side of the body 31 . The first transmitter/receiver 37 includes a first transmitter 37a and a first receiver 37b. Furthermore, a traveling sensor 36 is attached to the front side of the body 31 to detect images and object data for the inspection robot 30 to travel independently. Furthermore, inside the body 31, a first communication device 38 is installed that transmits and receives data between an inspection robot control device 42 that controls the traveling of the inspection robot 30 and acquires inspection data, and the lead robot 50. (See Figure 4). Note that the inspection robot control device 42 and first communication device 38 will be explained later with reference to FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lead robot 50 is a wire-moving robot that runs on a wire 22 stretched across the lower space 20 of the ceiling panel 11. As shown in FIG. Here, the space 20 below the ceiling panel 11 is, for example, a living room, and a reference point 23 is set on the floor 21 of the living room. Both ends of the wire 22 are fixed to a wall (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 3, the leading robot 50 includes a body 51, pulleys 52 attached to both sides of the body 51, and overhead running rollers 53 and 54 provided at the front and rear ends of the body 51. There is. The pulleys 52 sandwich the wire 22 between an upper pulley 52u and a lower pulley 52d, which are arranged in a pair above and below, to move the body 51 relative to the wire 22 and suspend the body 51 from the wire 22. Two pulleys 52 are attached to each front side surface of the body 51, and one pulley 52 is attached to each rear side surface. The ceiling traveling rollers 53, 54 are composed of posts 53a, 54a rising upward from the upper surfaces of the front and rear ends of the body 51, and rollers 53b, 54b attached to the upper ends of each post 53a, 54a. The heights of the rollers 53b and 54b relative to the body 51 are the same. When the body 51 is suspended from the wire 22 by the pulley 52 as shown in FIG. 1, the rollers 53b and 54b come into contact with the lower surface of the ceiling panel 11. When the body 51 moves relative to the wire 22, the rollers 53b and 54b rotate while in contact with the lower surface of the ceiling panel 11. The ceiling traveling rollers 53 and 54 maintain a constant distance between the lower surface of the ceiling panel 11 and the body 51 when the body 51 moves relative to the wire 22.

A drive motor 61 that drives the pulley 52 and a battery 62 that supplies power to the drive motor 61 are attached inside the body 51 (see FIG. 4). Further, a charger 55 is attached to the upper surface of the body 51 to charge the battery 40 of the inspection robot 30 in a non-contact manner via the charger 41 of the inspection robot 30.

Further, a second transmitter/receiver 57 is attached to the center of the body 51 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves to and from the inspection robot 30. The second transmitter/receiver 57 includes a second transmitter 57a and a second receiver 57b. The second transmitting/receiving device 57 is attached to the rotating mechanism 58 so that the transmitting/receiving surface for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves faces diagonally upward toward the rear. The rotation mechanism 58 can change the vertical angle and horizontal angle of the transmitting/receiving surface of the second transmitting/receiving device 57 . Further, the rotation mechanism 58 is mounted on a slider 59 that is movable in the width direction of the body 51. Therefore, the second transmitter/receiver 57 is mounted on the body 51 so that the vertical angle, the horizontal angle, and the horizontal position of the transmitting/receiving surface can be adjusted. The lower surface of the body 51 also communicates with a reference point 23 arranged in the lower space 20 of the ceiling panel 11 shown in FIG. An absolute position detection sensor 56 is attached to obtain the absolute position.

Furthermore, a second communication device 60 is installed inside the body 51 to exchange data between a leading robot control device 63 that controls the traveling of the leading robot 50 and the inspection robot 30 (see FIG. reference). Note that the leading robot control device 63 and the second communication device 60 will be explained later with reference to FIG. 4.

Next, the configuration of the control system of the inspection robot 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the inspection sensor 35, running sensor 36, drive motor 39, charger 41, first transmitter/receiver 37, and first communication device 38 of the inspection robot 30 are connected to the inspection robot control device 42, respectively. It is connected. The inspection robot control device 42 is composed of a computer that includes a processor such as a CPU and a memory, and the inspection robot travel control unit 43 and the inspection data acquisition unit 44 are controlled by the processor and memory working together. Realizes two control blocks.

Data such as the image of the space 10 above the ceiling panel 11 acquired by the inspection sensor 35 is output to the inspection data acquisition section 44, and the inspection data acquisition section 44 stores the data such as the image and also communicates with the first communication device. Output to 38. The first communication device 38 outputs the inspection data to the mobile terminal 75 of the user 74 shown in FIG. 1 via the communication line 70. Here, the communication line 70 may be the Internet, a LAN line, or a telephone line.

The inspection robot travel control unit 43 adjusts the drive motor 39 based on data such as a front image acquired by the travel sensor 36 to cause the inspection robot 30 to travel autonomously. The inspection robot travel control unit 43 also acquires the absolute position and travel direction of the inspection robot 30 from the lead robot 50 via the first communication device 38, as well as the position and shape data of objects located in front of the robot in the travel direction. Then, the inspection robot travel control unit 43 generates a travel pattern using these data and the image data inputted from the travel sensor 36, and drives the drive motor 39 with the generated travel pattern to drive the inspection robot 30. Make it run independently. Thereby, the inspection robot travel control section 43 causes the inspection robot to run over an object present in the space 10 above the ceiling panel 11.

Next, the configuration of the control system of the lead robot 50 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 4, the second transmitter/receiver 57, second communication device 60, drive motor 61, absolute position detection sensor 56, and charger 55 of the lead robot 50 are each connected to the lead robot controller 63. . The lead robot control device 63 is composed of a computer that includes a processor such as a CPU and a memory, and the processor and memory work together to control the lead robot travel control section 64, the object detection section 65, Four control blocks are realized: an inspection robot position detection section 66 and an inspection robot running/stopping control section 67.

The inspection robot position detection section 66 receives an ultrasonic signal or an electromagnetic wave signal transmitted from the first transmitter 37a of the inspection robot 30 and received by the second receiver 57b. Furthermore, the absolute position of the leading robot 50 in the space 20 below the ceiling panel 11 is input to the inspection robot position detection section 66 from the absolute position detection sensor 56 . The inspection robot position detection section 66 calculates the relative position of the inspection robot 30 with respect to the leading robot 50 based on the signal input from the second receiver 57b, and calculates the relative position of the inspection robot 30 with respect to the lead robot 50 based on the signal input from the second receiver 57b, and calculates the relative position of the inspection robot 30 with respect to the calculated relative position and the signal input from the absolute position detection sensor 56. The absolute position and running direction of the inspection robot 30 are calculated based on the absolute position of the lead robot 50 and output to the lead robot run control section 64 and the inspection robot run/stop control section 67. Here, the absolute position of the inspection robot 30 is the absolute position with respect to the reference point 23 arranged in the lower space 20 of the ceiling panel 11.

The object detection unit 65 of the leading robot 50 transmits a predetermined ultrasonic signal or electromagnetic wave signal to the inspection robot 30 from the second transmitter 57a. The inspection robot 30 outputs the ultrasonic signal or electromagnetic wave signal received by the first receiver 37b to the first communication device 38. The first communication device 38 transmits the ultrasonic signal or electromagnetic wave signal input from the first receiver 37b to the second communication device 60 of the leading robot 50 via the communication line 70. The second communication device 60 outputs the received data to the object detection section 65. The object detection unit 65 detects the ceiling by comparing the ultrasonic signal or electromagnetic wave signal received by the inspection robot 30 inputted from the second communication device 60 with the ultrasonic signal or electromagnetic wave signal transmitted toward the inspection robot 30. Position information and shape information of an object existing between the leading robot 50 and the inspection robot 30 in the space 10 above the panel 11 are detected. Then, the position information and shape information of the detected object are output to the inspection robot travel/stop control section 67 and the leading robot travel control section 64. Since the lead robot 50 runs in front of the inspection robot 30 in the running direction, the object detection unit 65 extracts position information and shape information of an object located in front of the inspection robot 30 in the running direction, and determines whether the inspection robot runs or stops. It will be output to the control section 67 and the leading robot travel control section 64. In this configuration, the second transmitter 57a of the lead robot 50, the second communication device 60, the object detection unit 65, the first receiver 37b of the inspection robot 30, the first communication device 38, and the communication line 70. constitutes a sensor device according to the claims.

The inspection robot travel/stop control section 67 uses the absolute position and running direction of the inspection robot 30 inputted from the inspection robot position detection section 66 and the object located on the front side in the running direction of the inspection robot 30 inputted from the object detection section 65. Based on the position information and shape information, it is determined whether the inspection robot 30 can continue traveling. If the inspection robot travel/stop control unit 67 determines that the inspection robot 30 will be damaged if it continues to travel, the inspection robot travel/stop control unit 67 transmits a stop command signal to the second communication device to stop the travel of the inspection robot 30. 60, the communication line 70, and the first communication device 38 to output to the inspection robot travel control unit 43 of the inspection robot 30. When the stop command signal is input, the inspection robot travel control section 43 stops the drive motor 39 and stops the robot from traveling. Furthermore, when the inspection robot running/stopping control unit 67 determines that the inspection robot 30 can continue running, it outputs a running continuation signal.

The lead robot travel control unit 64 receives the absolute position of the lead robot 50 inputted from the absolute position detection sensor 56, the absolute position and traveling direction of the inspection robot 30 inputted from the inspection robot position detection unit 66, and the object detection unit 65. Based on the position information and shape information of the object inputted from the robot 30, the optimum moving speed is calculated so that the inspection robot 30 travels a short distance in front of the inspection robot 30 in the travel direction. Then, the leading robot traveling control unit 64 causes the driving motor 61 to rotate the pulley 52 and causes the leading robot 50 to travel along the wire 22 based on the calculated optimal movement speed.

Next, a specific example of running control between the inspection robot 30 and the leading robot 50 will be explained using a case where the inspection robot 30 runs on the ceiling panel 11 from which the beam 12 and the air conditioner 13 that are objects protrude. . In the following description, the first and second transmitter/receivers 37 and 57 will be described as ones that transmit and receive ultrasonic signals.

First, a case in which the inspection robot 30 runs on a flat area above the ceiling panel 11 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection robot 30 is running at a constant speed on a flat portion above the ceiling panel 11 in the direction shown by an arrow 91. As described above, the inspection robot position detection unit 66 of the lead robot 50 receives the ultrasonic signal from the first transmitter 37a of the inspection robot 30 with the second receiver 57b, and detects the position based on the received ultrasonic signal. The absolute position and traveling direction of the inspection robot 30 are calculated and output to the inspection robot travel control section 43 and the leading robot travel control section 64. Further, the object detection unit 65 transmits a predetermined ultrasonic signal from the second transmitter 57a, and transmits data of the ultrasonic signal received by the first receiver 37b of the inspection robot 30 to the first and second communication devices 38, 60, the position information and shape information of an object located in front of the inspection robot 30 in the traveling direction, which is acquired via the communication line 70, is output to the lead robot travel control section 64 and the inspection robot travel/stop control section 67. Since there are no objects on the flat portion, the inspection robot running/stopping control unit 67 outputs a running continuation command to the inspection robot running control unit 43. The inspection robot running control unit 43 causes the inspection robot 30 to run autonomously at a constant speed based on the absolute position and running direction input from the inspection robot position detection unit 66 and data such as images from the running sensor 36. . The inspection robot 30 acquires images of the space 10 above the ceiling panel 11 using the inspection sensor 35 while autonomously running, and transmits the images to the mobile terminal 75 of the user 74 or the leading robot 50 via the communication line 70. do.

On the other hand, the lead robot travel control unit 64 operates based on the absolute position of the lead robot 50 inputted from the absolute position detection sensor 56 and the absolute position and traveling direction of the inspection robot 30 inputted from the inspection robot position detection unit 66. The rotation speed of the drive motor 61 is controlled so that the leading robot 50 runs slightly ahead of the inspection robot 30 at the same speed as the inspection robot 30. As a result, the leading robot 50 moves in the direction shown by the arrow 92.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the inspection robot 30 approaches the beam 12, the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the second transmitter 57a of the leading robot 50 passes through the beam 12 and is transmitted to the first receiver of the inspection robot 30. 37b is reached. The object detection unit 65 uses the input ultrasonic signal data and the transmitted ultrasonic signal data to calculate the position information and shape information of the beam 12, and controls the inspection robot running/stopping control unit 67 and the leading robot running. It is output to the control section 64.

As shown in FIG. 5, since the height of the beam 12 is lower than the height of the tip of the flipper 33 of the inspection robot 30, the inspection robot travel/stop control unit 67 allows the inspection robot 30 to ride on the beam 12 and run. Then, it outputs a signal to the inspection robot travel control section 43 to continue traveling. The inspection robot travel control section 43 receives data such as images inputted from the traveling sensor 36, the absolute position and traveling direction of the inspection robot 30 inputted from the inspection robot position detection section 66, and inputted from the object detection section 65. The inspection robot 30 is caused to travel autonomously based on the position information and shape information of the beam 12. The lead robot 50 runs slightly ahead of the inspection robot 30 at the same speed as the inspection robot 30 under the same control as described with reference to FIG.

When the inspection robot 30 approaches the beam 12, the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the second transmitter 57a hits the air conditioner 13 located at the tip of the beam 12. As a result, the object detection section 65 detects the position information and shape information of the air conditioner 13 as well as the beam 12, and transmits the detected information to the inspection robot travel control section 43.

When the inspection robot 30 approaches the beam 12 and receives the position information and shape information of the beam 12 and the air conditioner 13, the inspection robot travel control unit 43 generates a travel pattern for overcoming the beam 12 and the air conditioner 13. do. The driving pattern may be, for example, as follows.
(1) As shown in FIG. 6, when the front flipper 33 contacts the beam 12, rotate the flipper 33 as shown by the arrow 93 to lift the front of the body 31.
(2) As shown in FIG. 7, the rear flipper 33 is rotated as shown by the arrow 94 to lift the rear part of the body 31 and move forward while placing the front half on the beam 12.
(3) As shown in FIG. 7, return the front flipper 33 to its original position and move forward to place the front half on the beam 12.
(4) As shown in FIG. 7, rotate the front flipper 33 as shown by the arrow 95 to lift the front side of the body 31 and ride the front part on top of the air conditioner 13.
(5) As shown in FIG. 8, the rear flipper 33 is rotated as shown by arrow 96 to move forward with the rear part of the body 31 lifted, and the body 31 rides on top of the air conditioner 13.

The inspection robot travel control unit 43 then uses the generated travel pattern, the absolute position of the inspection robot 30 received from the lead robot 50 during travel, the position information and shape information of the beam 12 and the air conditioner 13, and the travel The inspection robot 30 is caused to travel autonomously based on image data etc. input from the sensor 36, and the inspection robot 30 is caused to ride on top of the air conditioner 13.

On the other hand, when the inspection robot 30 is about to run onto the beam 12 or the air conditioner 13, the leading robot 50 lowers its movement speed in accordance with the running speed or movement speed of the inspection robot 30. As a result, the leading robot 50 always runs slightly ahead of the inspection robot 30.

When the inspection robot 30 rides on top of the air conditioner 13, it runs on top of the air conditioner 13 and, as shown in FIG. 9, runs near the end of the air conditioner 13. At this time, image data from the traveling sensor 36 of the inspection robot 30 cannot detect whether a beam 12 or the like is located beyond the end of the air conditioner 13 or whether there is a large step with nothing there.

On the other hand, the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the second transmitter 57a of the lead robot 50 passes through the ceiling panel 11, passes through the end of the air conditioner 13, and is then received by the first receiver 37b of the inspection robot 30. Ru. The object detection unit 65 determines whether the end of the air conditioner 13 has a stepped shape by comparing the ultrasonic signal received by the first receiver 37b of the inspection robot 30 and the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the second transmitter 57a. is detected. Then, the object detection unit 65 outputs this information to the inspection robot running/stopping control unit 67. The inspection robot travel/stop control unit 67 controls the inspection robot 30 to safely descend from the top of the air conditioner 13 when the step at the end of the air conditioner 13 is at such a height that the flipper 33 of the inspection robot 30 cannot reach it. It is determined that this is difficult, and a travel stop signal is sent to the inspection robot travel control section 43. When the inspection robot travel control unit 43 receives the travel stop signal, it stops the drive motor 39 and stops the inspection robot 30 from traveling. This can prevent the inspection robot 30 from falling from above the air conditioner 13 and damaging the inspection robot 30 or the ceiling panel 11.

Next, a case will be described in which the battery 40 of the inspection robot 30 is charged in a non-contact manner. As shown in FIG. 10, the inspection robot 30 is equipped with a charger 41 on the lower side of the body 31, which allows non-contact charging. When the remaining capacity of the battery 40 becomes low, the inspection robot travel control unit 43 moves the inspection robot 30 to a flat area above the ceiling panel 11, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the leading robot 50 moves to a position where the non-contact type charger 55 protruding above the body 51 is directly below the charger 41 of the inspection robot 30.

Then, the lead robot 50 charges the battery 40 of the inspection robot 30 with the battery 62 of the lead robot 50 via the chargers 55 and 41. Thereby, the battery 40 of the inspection robot 30 can be made smaller, and the inspection robot 30 can be made smaller and lighter. Note that at this time, the battery 40 of the inspection robot 30 may be charged by the battery 62 while the battery 62 of the leading robot 50 is being charged by an external power source.

As described above, in the robot system 100 of the embodiment, the inspection robot 30 autonomously travels based on the absolute position and traveling direction transmitted from the lead robot 50, so the space above the ceiling panel 11 with no distinctive scenery 10 can also suitably run autonomously. In the robot system 100 of the embodiment, the lead robot 50 transmits position information and shape information of the beam 12 and the air conditioner 13 to the inspection robot 30 when the inspection robot 30 travels, and the inspection robot 30 receives the information. Based on the position information and shape information of the beams 12 and air conditioners 13, a traveling pattern to overcome them is generated, and the vehicle autonomously travels based on the generated traveling patterns. can overcome objects by autonomous driving.

Furthermore, since the lead robot 50 moves or stops the inspection robot 30 based on the position information and shape information of objects such as the beam 12 and the air conditioner 13 on the front side in the running direction of the inspection robot 30, the running sensor 36 of the inspection robot 30 When it cannot be determined whether the object on the front side in the traveling direction can be climbed over, the inspection robot 30 can be stopped to prevent damage to the inspection robot 30 or the ceiling panel 11.

10 upper space, 11 ceiling panel, 12 beam, 13 air conditioner, 20 lower space, 21 floor, 22 wire, 23 reference point, 30 inspection robot, 31, 51 body, 32 crawler mechanism, 33 flipper, 35 inspection sensor , 36 Travel sensor, 37 First transmitter/receiver, 38 First communication device, 39, 61 Drive motor, 40, 62 Battery, 41, 55 Charger, 42 Inspection robot controller, 43 Inspection robot travel controller, 44 Inspection data acquisition unit, 50 Leading robot, 52 Pulley, 52d Lower pulley, 52u Upper pulley, 53, 54 Ceiling traveling rollers, 53a, 54a Post, 53b, 54b Roller, 56 Absolute position detection sensor, 57 Second transmitter/receiver , 58 rotation mechanism, 59 slider, 60 second communication device, 63 leading robot control device, 64 leading robot travel control section, 65 object detection section, 66 inspection robot position detection section, 67 inspection robot travel/stop control section, 70 communication Line, 74 users, 75 mobile terminals, 100 robot systems.

Claims (6)

a first robot that is equipped with a first transmitter that emits ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves and that runs in the space above the ceiling panel;
A second receiver is provided for receiving ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves transmitted from the first transmitter of the first robot, and the robot moves in a space below the ceiling panel and exchanges data with the first robot. a second robot that performs
The second robot runs in front of the first robot in the traveling direction, and detects the relative position of the first robot with respect to the second robot based on ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves received by the second receiver, Based on the detected relative position, calculate the absolute position of the space above the ceiling panel of the first robot and the traveling direction, and transmit the calculated values to the first robot;
the first robot autonomously travels based on the absolute position and the traveling direction received from the second robot;
A robot system featuring: The robot system according to claim 1,
The second robot includes a second transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves,
The first robot includes a first receiver that receives ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves transmitted from the second transmitter,
further comprising a sensor device that detects position information and shape information of an object existing in the space above the ceiling panel in front of the first robot in the traveling direction;
The sensor device includes:
By comparing the ultrasonic wave or electromagnetic wave transmitted from the second transmitter and the ultrasonic wave or electromagnetic wave received by the first receiver, the position information of the object and the shape information of the object are determined. detect,
the second robot causes the first robot to run or stop based on the position information and the shape information of the object acquired by the sensor device;
A robot system featuring: The robot system according to claim 2,
When the second robot causes the first robot to travel,
transmitting the position information and the shape information of the object to the first robot;
The first robot generates a running pattern for overcoming the object based on the position information and the shape information of the object received from the second robot, and autonomously runs based on the generated running pattern. ,
A robot system featuring: The robot system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the second robot travels along a wire arranged in a space below the ceiling panel;
A robot system featuring: The robot system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
the first robot includes an imaging device that images the space above the ceiling panel;
A robot system featuring: The robot system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The second robot runs along a wire arranged in a space below the ceiling panel, moves directly below the first robot, and charges the battery of the first robot in a non-contact manner;
A robot system featuring:

Images