JP7442225B1 - Gripping system, grasping method, control device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to bring the released object into a more appropriate state when releasing the object gripped by a robot. A gripping system 1 includes an articulated robot 30 having a gripping member 31a that opens and closes, and a control device 40 that controls the operation of the articulated robot 30. The control device 40 performs a gripping operation in which an object to be gripped is gripped by the gripping member 31a by closing the gripping member 31a, and a gripping operation in which the object to be gripped is gripped by the gripping operation by opening the gripping member 31a. During the release operation of releasing the object from the grip member 31a and the process of the release object falling due to the release operation, by bringing the grip member 31a into contact with the release object, the release object falls to a predetermined falling destination. The articulated robot 30 is caused to perform a guiding operation to guide the robot to perform the following actions. [Selection diagram] Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a gripping system, a gripping method, a control device, and a program.

In recent years, various tasks have been performed using robots equipped with grasping functions. For example, when a robot performs the work of plating a side dish, the robot grasps a predetermined amount of ingredients stored in a container such as a vat, transfers them to a designated area of the side dish container, and releases them. (place) work is realized.
A technique related to such a robot that serves food is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

JP 2021-30407 Publication

However, in the plating work performed by a robot, the state of the ingredients after plating may not be in an appropriate state.
For example, when gripping viscous or sticky ingredients such as potato salad or Unohana, or ingredients that tend to stick to each other, the gripping force applied to the ingredients by the gripping member may cause the ingredients to stick together. Combine to form a single lump. When the lumped ingredients are released and placed in a container, the ingredients stand on their own within the container without separating. Furthermore, this self-supporting ingredient is then overturned due to gravity, and as a result, the ingredient protrudes outside the container.
However, with conventional techniques, it has been difficult to arrange ingredients with such characteristics in an appropriate state.

Furthermore, this problem is not limited to cases where the object is food, but is common to various fields in which gripping is performed by robots, such as the industrial field.
That is, in the conventional technology, when releasing an object gripped by a robot, there is still room for improvement in bringing the released object into an appropriate state.

An object of the present invention is to bring the released object into a more appropriate state when releasing the object gripped by a robot.

In order to solve the above problems, a gripping system according to an embodiment of the present invention,
A gripping system comprising a robot equipped with a gripping member that opens and closes, and a control device that controls the operation of the robot,
The control device includes:
a gripping operation of gripping an object to be gripped by the gripping member by bringing the gripping member into a closed state;
a releasing operation of releasing the gripped object gripped by the gripping operation from the gripping member by opening the gripping member;
a guiding operation of guiding the release target to fall to a predetermined falling destination by bringing the gripping member into contact with the release target during the process of the release target falling by the release operation;
The robot is characterized by causing the robot to execute the following.

According to the present invention, when an object gripped by a robot is released, the state of the released object can be brought into a more appropriate state.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a plurality of gripping systems 1 according to the present invention are lined up. FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of the main parts of the gripping system 1 according to the present invention. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the shape of a gripping member 31a installed at the tip of a hand 31. FIG. It is a figure showing the positional relationship of accommodation space 10A, hand 31, grasping member 31a, robot arm 32, and ingredients in the case of performing operations, such as grasping operation. It is a figure showing opening and closing of a pair of grip members 31a. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of a control device 40. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a control device 40. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a grasping operation by the articulated robot 30. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a release operation when using a conventional technique. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a releasing operation and a guiding operation by the multi-joint robot 30. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a releasing operation and a guiding operation by the multi-joint robot 30. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a shaping operation performed by the articulated robot 30. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of ingredient plating processing executed by the gripping system 1. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a modification of the shaping operation performed by the articulated robot 30. FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[Embodiment]
[composition]
1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing the overall configuration of a gripping system 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a plurality of gripping systems 1 are lined up, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part.
The gripping system 1 in this embodiment is intended to apply the present invention to a system for plating and plating materials. In the following description, an example will be described in which the gripping system 1 grips ingredients such as side dishes as objects and places the ingredients in individual side dish containers. Note that this arrangement of individual side dishes in containers is only an example, and the present embodiment is also applicable to other applications, such as for example, serving each of a plurality of side dishes individually in a corresponding area of a boxed lunch container. It is also possible. In addition, in the following explanation, weight will be used as an example of the amount of ingredients to be served, but the present invention is applicable to physical quantities other than weight, such as volume, bulk, mass, etc. It is possible to apply.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gripping system 1 includes an ingredient storage section 10, a container supply section 20, an articulated robot 30, a control device 40, and a shielding section 50. Note that a belt conveyor 2 is installed adjacent to the gripping system 1 to automatically convey containers of prepared foods.

The ingredient accommodating section 10 includes a accommodating space 10A that accommodates ingredients such as side dishes to be served in the gripping system 1. For example, the storage space 10A may be configured by the ingredients storage section 10 itself, or may be configured by a general-purpose container such as a large vat or a tray that can be installed in the ingredients storage section 10. The storage space 10A includes, for example, kneaded salad (salad containing sticky or sticky ingredients) such as potato salad, unohana (okara), dried daikon radish, eggplant, hijiki, boiled beans, and butter. Contains side dishes such as corn. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the ingredient storage unit 10 stores one type of ingredient for multiple meals (for example, several tens to hundreds of meals). Then, the plurality of gripping systems 1 arrange the ingredients of any of the side dishes in the corresponding side dish containers, thereby completing the work of serving the side dishes.
The storage space 10A of the ingredients storage section 10 can be replaced manually by a worker or automatically by the articulated robot 30.

The container supply unit 20 supplies a container of a prepared dish to a predetermined position (a serving position P1 in FIG. 2) in the gripping system 1 where ingredients are to be arranged. The container supply unit 20 stores a plurality of containers of prepared foods, and when the gripping system 1 starts operating, the containers are supplied one by one to the serving position P1. In addition, a weight sensor 21 is installed at the serving position P1 to measure the weight of the prepared food container, and when ingredients are served at the serving position P1, the weight of the served ingredients (i.e., weight). The weight data measured at this time is output to the control device 40. When the weight measurement is completed, the container of the prepared food is delivered to the belt conveyor 2 by a pushing mechanism provided in the container supply section 20.

The articulated robot 30 is configured by, for example, a horizontal articulated robot or a vertical articulated robot, and includes a hand 31 that can grasp the ingredients to be served, and a robot arm 32 that moves the hand 31 to any position within a movable range. , is equipped with.
Further, the joint holding the hand 31 of the articulated robot 30 is equipped with a weight sensor 30A that measures the weight of the ingredient grasped by the hand 31, as an example of means for acquiring the physical quantity of the ingredient grasped by the grasping member 31a. is set up. In addition, the joint that holds the hand 31 of the articulated robot 30 has a reaction force from the contacted ingredient (a benefit obtained by contacting the surface), as an example of a means for detecting that the hand 31 has contacted the ingredient. A force sensor 30B is installed to measure the sense of force (including the sense of force caused by the force). The data on the weight of the ingredients measured by the weight sensor 30A (i.e., the weight of the gripped ingredients) and the reaction force from the ingredients measured by the force sensor 30B (i.e., the detection result of contact with the ingredients) ) is output to the control device 40.

Further, the joint that holds the hand 31 includes an axis that rotates the hand 31 in a twisting direction with respect to the robot arm 32. Therefore, by changing the orientation of the hand 31 when the hand 31 grips the ingredient, the direction in which the hand 31 opens and closes can be adjusted. Thereby, when the hand 31 reaches the vicinity of the inner wall surface of the container, it is possible to change the direction of the hand 31 so that the hand 31 opens and closes in a direction parallel to the inner wall surface of the accommodation space 10A, and the inner wall surface of the container It becomes easier to grasp nearby ingredients.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the shape of the gripping member 31a installed at the tip of the hand 31.
Note that in FIG. 3, only one of the pair of gripping members 31a is shown.
As shown in FIG. 3, the gripping member 31a in this embodiment includes a top plate, a main plate, a first side plate, and a second side plate. The top plate portion has a rectangular plane. In addition, when the plane of the top plate section is in a horizontal state, the main plate section is inclined from one end in the longitudinal direction of this plane toward a position spaced apart vertically below the other end in the longitudinal direction of this plane. It has been extended. Furthermore, when the plane of the top plate is in a horizontal state, the first side plate and the second side plate extend vertically downward from each end of the plane.
In addition, in the following description, when each of these pair of gripping members 31a is described without distinguishing them, they are simply referred to as "gripping members 31a."

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the positional relationship among the accommodation space 10A, the hand 31, the gripping member 31a, the robot arm 32, and the ingredients when performing an operation such as a gripping operation. In FIG. 10, the vertical direction is referred to as the Z direction, the first horizontal direction perpendicular to the Z direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) is referred to as the Y direction, and the second horizontal direction perpendicular to each of the Z direction and the Y direction is referred to as the Y direction. The horizontal direction is called the X direction. That is, the Z direction, the Y direction, and the X direction are directions perpendicular to each other.

The hand 31 is placed at the tip of the robot arm 32. Furthermore, the gripping member 31a is supported by the hand 31 by being coupled to the hand 31 by a coupling member. The hand 31 and the gripping member 31a coupled thereto can move within a movable range in each of the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction according to the operation of the robot arm 32 controlled by the control device 40. is possible. Further, the hand 31 realizes a gripping operation by opening and closing the pair of gripping members 31a in the Y direction using an actuator (not shown).
Furthermore, the hand 31 and the gripping member 31a coupled thereto can rotate with the Z direction as a rotation axis.
With such a configuration, in this embodiment, the positions and orientations of the hand 31 and the gripping member 31a can be changed arbitrarily, and thereby it is possible to appropriately perform operations such as a gripping operation with various movements. becomes.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the opening and closing of the pair of gripping members 31a. The gripping member 31a shown in FIG. 3 is coupled to the hand 31 by a coupling member such that the openings thereof face each other. Further, the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction in FIG. 5 are the same as the directions defined in FIG. 4. The pair of gripping members 31a are brought into an open state by performing an opening operation along the opening/closing direction (Y direction) as shown in FIG. 5(a). Further, when performing the gripping operation, the pair of gripping members 31a are brought into a closed state by performing a closing operation along the opening/closing direction (Y direction) as shown in FIG. 5(b).

Then, the pair of gripping members 31a are brought into a closed state and the gripping members 31a come into contact with each other, so that at least the inner surface with the tip and side plate portions closed forms a container shape for gripping ingredients. In the case of such a shape of the gripping member 31a, the tip of the gripping member 31a is inserted vertically from the surface into an ingredient such as a kneaded salad, and the pair of gripping members 31a are closed at a predetermined depth to lift the ingredient. By doing so, it is possible to grasp and take out a substantially constant amount of ingredients from the storage space 10A.
In addition, after the pair of gripping members 31a are transferred onto the container of the prepared food at the serving position P1, the pair of gripping members 31a are opened and the container-shaped opening is exposed, so that the container of the prepared food can be taken out by gripping. Ingredients are freed up, and a nearly constant amount of ingredients can be placed in a container for side dishes.

Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the control device 40 is configured by an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a programmable controller, and controls the entire gripping system 1 by executing various programs. For example, the control device 40 causes the container supply unit 20 to supply containers, and the articulated robot 30 to grasp ingredients from the ingredients storage unit 10 and release them into a container for a side dish to serve the ingredients. control etc. More specifically, for example, the control device 40 controls the drive of the robot arm 32 to move the hand 31 to a preset predetermined position along a predetermined route and at a predetermined speed, or to drive the actuator of the hand 31. By controlling this, the operation of gripping and releasing the ingredients by the gripping member 31a is realized.

The shielding section 50 is constituted by a plate-like member that surrounds the area and information in the grasping system 1 in which the ingredient storage section 10, the container supply section 20, and the articulated robot 30 are installed. The plate-like member constituting the shielding part 50 is made of a transparent material such as glass or resin, and allows the operating status of the gripping system 1 to be visually confirmed from the outside. Moreover, a door that can be opened and closed is installed in a part of the side wall that the shielding part 50 constitutes. When replacing the storage space 10A of the ingredients storage section 10, adding a container of prepared foods to the container supply section 20, or performing maintenance on the gripping system 1, the operator opens the door of the shielding section 50 and performs various operations. be able to.

[Hardware configuration of control device 40]
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control device 40.
As shown in FIG. 6, the control device 40 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 711, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 712, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 713, a bus 714, an input section 715, and an output section. 716, a storage section 717, a communication section 718, and a drive 719.

The CPU 711 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 712 or a program loaded into the RAM 713 from the storage unit 717.
The RAM 713 also appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 711 to execute various processes.

The CPU 711, ROM 712, and RAM 713 are interconnected via a bus 714. An input section 715, an output section 716, a storage section 717, a communication section 718, and a drive 719 are connected to the bus 714.

The input unit 715 includes an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and receives input of various information to the control device 40. Note that a microphone may be provided as the input unit 715, and input of various information may be accepted through voice input from the worker.
The output unit 716 is configured with a display, a speaker, etc., and outputs images and audio.
The storage unit 717 is configured with a hard disk, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or the like, and stores various data managed by each server.
The communication unit 718 controls communication with other devices via the network.

A removable medium 731 made of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is appropriately installed in the drive 719. The program read from the removable medium 731 by the drive 719 is installed in the storage unit 717 as necessary.
Note that the above hardware configuration is the basic configuration of the control device 40, and the configuration may not include some hardware, include additional hardware, or change the implementation form of the hardware. I can do it.

[Functional configuration]
Next, the functional configuration of the control device 40 will be explained.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control device 40.
As shown in FIG. 7, by executing a program for controlling the operation of the gripping system 1, the CPU 711 of the control device 40 has a sensor information acquisition unit 151, an ingredient state determination unit 152, and an ingredient quantity determination unit. A determination section 153, an articulated robot control section 154, a container supply control section 155, and a recording control section 156 function. Further, the storage unit 717 includes a parameter storage unit 171 and a history database (history DB) 172.

The parameter storage unit 171 stores various parameters used when the gripping system 1 operates. For example, the parameter storage unit 171 stores the position of the storage space 10A of the ingredient storage unit 10, the position of the container for the prepared food supplied from the container supply unit 20, the position of the area in the container for the prepared dish in which the ingredients are to be served, and the location of the ingredient storage unit 10. The relationship between the amount of insertion of the hand 31 into the ingredient when grasping the ingredient and the weight of the ingredient to be grasped (function or table format data, etc.), parameters defining the movement pattern of the articulated robot 30, etc. are stored. Ru. In this embodiment, the amount of insertion of the hand 31 into the ingredients is an index for estimating the weight (physical quantity) of the ingredients. That is, from the relationship between the amount of insertion of the hand 31 into the ingredient and the weight of the ingredient to be gripped, the actual weight of the gripped ingredient (target gripping weight) is determined by the amount of insertion of the hand 31 into the ingredient. Estimated based on quantity.

In the history DB 172, parameters related to control acquired when the gripping system 1 operates, or measurement data of the weight of ingredients served by the gripping system 1 are stored as a history. Furthermore, the history DB 172 also stores an ingredient state map indicating the state of the ingredients in the storage space 10A of the ingredient storage section 10. Details of this ingredient state map will be described later together with a description of the recording control unit 156 that creates and updates the ingredient state map.

The sensor information acquisition unit 151 acquires sensor information that is information detected by various sensors installed in the gripping system 1. For example, the sensor information acquisition unit 151 may collect data on the weight of the ingredients measured by the weight sensor 30A installed at the joints of the articulated robot 30, data on the reaction force from the ingredients measured by the force sensor 30B, etc. , data on the weight of the ingredients measured by the weight sensor 21 of the container supply section 20 is acquired.

The ingredient condition determination unit 152 recognizes the condition of the ingredients based on the data of the reaction force from the ingredients measured by the force sensor 30B. For example, the ingredient state determination unit 152 determines the depth of the ingredient in the accommodation space 10A (from the surface of the ingredient in the accommodation space 10A to the (depth to the bottom) and the degree of flatness of the surface (how rough the surface is). In this embodiment, instead of determining the state of the ingredients by image analysis using a camera, a method of measuring the state of the ingredients based on the reaction force using the force sensor 30B is used. Therefore, for example, it is possible to reduce the introduction cost and management cost of the camera, and there is no need to consider blind spots of the camera, so it is possible to more flexibly select the arrangement of the articulated robot 30 and the accommodation space 10A. . Furthermore, since no camera is used, there is no need to consider the effects of steam generated from ingredients or lighting on photography.

In addition, upon recognizing the depth of the ingredient and the degree of flatness of the surface, the ingredient state determination unit 152 determines whether these conform to the conditions for grasping the ingredient (for example, the depth of the ingredient and the degree of flatness of the surface). It is determined whether the degree of flatness is greater than or equal to a set threshold value. The degree of flatness of the surface of the ingredient can be defined, for example, based on the absolute value of the size of the unevenness of the surface, and is defined such that the flatter the surface of the ingredient, the larger the value. be able to. Alternatively, the degree of flatness may be determined for each portion of the surface of the ingredient. In addition, the ingredient condition determination unit 152 determines whether the condition of the ingredients in the accommodation space 10A is such that a specified amount of ingredients can be grasped in one grasping operation.

Based on the data of the weight of the ingredients measured by the weight sensor 30A of the articulated robot 30 and the data of the weight of the ingredients measured by the weight sensor 21 of the container supply unit 20, the ingredient amount determination unit 153 It is determined whether a specified amount of ingredients has been grasped and whether a specified amount of ingredients has been placed in the prepared dish container.

The articulated robot control unit 154 controls the motion of the articulated robot 30 and causes the articulated robot 30 to perform a series of operations for plating ingredients according to the motion pattern defined in the gripping system 1. For example, the articulated robot control unit 154 performs an operation of grasping an ingredient with the hand 31 of the articulated robot 30 (grasping operation), an operation of transferring the grasped ingredient to a container of a side dish (transfer operation), and an operation of grasping the ingredient. The action of releasing the ingredients (release action), the action of guiding and plating the released ingredients so that they fall to a predetermined destination (guiding action), the action of shaping the surface of the released ingredients after being arranged (shaping action), etc. The articulated robot 30 is made to execute.

The container supply control unit 155 controls the container supply unit 20 to supply containers of prepared food for serving the ingredients to be served in the gripping system 1 to the serving position P1 at a predetermined timing. Further, the container supply control section 155 controls the container supply section 20 and causes the belt conveyor 2 to carry out the prepared food container filled with ingredients.

The recording control unit 156 stores, in the history DB 172, control-related parameters acquired when the gripping system 1 performs the gripping operation and measurement data of the weight of the ingredients served by the gripping system 1. Further, the recording control unit 156 creates and updates an ingredient status map indicating the status of ingredients in the storage space 10A of the ingredient storage unit 10, and also stores this ingredient status map in the history DB 172. More specifically, the recording control unit 156 records the measurement data of the weight of the ingredient and the reaction force of the ingredient acquired when the grasping system 1 performs the grasping operation, and the determination result by the ingredient state determination unit 152, which will be described later. In addition, the condition of the ingredients in each region of the storage space 10A is detected based on the measurement data of the weight of the ingredients arranged in the gripping system 1, and is stored in association with identification information that identifies each region. , generate an ingredient state map. In this case, the state of the ingredients refers to the remaining amount of the ingredients in each region, and the depth and flatness of the ingredients determined by the ingredient condition determination unit 152, which will be described later. In addition, when the storage space 10A is replaced with a new one after the ingredients in the storage space 10A have been arranged, a predetermined amount of ingredients (for example, a sufficient amount for the storage space 10A) The ingredient status map is updated assuming that the ingredients (ingredients) are accommodated in a predetermined state (for example, with a flat surface).

Next, details of each operation performed by the articulated robot 30 based on the control of the articulated robot control unit 154 will be described.

[Gripping action]
In the grasping system 1 according to the present embodiment, the depth (insertion amount) of inserting the grasping member 31a into the ingredient and the ingredient to be grasped at that time depend on the type of ingredient and the grasping member 31a used. The relationship between the weight and the weight is known in advance. For example, the density of the ingredient to be gripped (a parameter representing the weight per unit depth) is measured in advance, and the gripping is performed using a function whose element is the multiplication value of the density of the ingredient and the depth into which the gripping member 31a is inserted. The weight can be calculated (estimated). Thereby, the weight of the ingredient to be gripped can be estimated by simple calculation.

Further, the weight calculated in this manner can also be held as data in a table format. Furthermore, since the range of the surface of the ingredient whose flatness decreases can be determined by one grasping operation, a pitch for shifting the grasping position is set for each grasping operation on the surface of the ingredient within the storage space 10A. Furthermore, a gripping operation pattern is set for how to grip the ingredient from which position on the surface of the ingredient, based on the preset depth and pitch into which the gripping member 31a is inserted. Then, according to this gripping operation pattern, the gripping operation is performed as follows.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a grasping operation by the articulated robot 30.
As shown in FIG. 8, when the articulated robot 30 grips ingredients, (1) approaches the ingredients, (2) detects the surface of the ingredients, (3) inserts the gripping member 31a into the ingredients. , (4) closing the gripping member 31a to bring the gripping member 31a into a closed state, and (5) measuring the weight (physical quantity) of the gripped ingredient. If the gripped weight matches the specified amount, the ingredients are transferred to the prepared food container and released. Note that the gripped weight conforming to the specified amount means, for example, that the weight of the gripped ingredient is within a predetermined error (within ±15%, etc.) with respect to the target weight. However, considering the case where the ingredient sticks to the gripping member 31a and is not released, the error when the gripped weight is more than the specified amount may be set to be larger than the error when it is less. On the other hand, if the weight of the gripped ingredients does not match the specified amount, (6) release the ingredients to the gripped position in the storage space 10A (return the ingredients); (7) if the weight of the gripped ingredients exceeds the specified amount; (For example, if the weight of the gripped ingredient exceeds the upper limit of the specified amount range), the gripping member 31a is inserted to a shallower depth than the previous time, and the ingredient is gripped. (8) If the weight of the gripped ingredient is insufficient (for example, if the weight of the gripped ingredient is below the lower limit of the specified amount range), the gripping member 31a is The ingredients are gripped again by adjusting the depth to which they are inserted into the ingredients and then gripping the ingredients.

Detecting the surface of the ingredient in step (2) can be done by measuring the reaction force that the gripping member 31a of the articulated robot 30 receives when it comes into contact with the ingredient, using the force sensor 30B.
In addition, when inserting the gripping member 31a into the ingredient in step (3), the insertion amount is calculated from the control parameters of the articulated robot 30 (rotation angle of the joint, etc.), or the surface of the ingredient is detected in step (2). It is possible to calculate the insertion amount from the elapsed time since the insertion was started.

In addition, in step (8), even if the gripping member 31a is inserted deeper into the ingredients than the previous time, if the specified amount of ingredients cannot be gripped (the insertion depth required to take the specified amount is When the depth of the ingredients is shallow), the ingredients can be controlled from multiple locations on the surface of the ingredients so that the total amount of ingredients gripped multiple times becomes the specified amount. is also possible. In this case, for example, when the total depth of inserting the gripping member 31a into multiple locations on the surface of the ingredient (total insertion amount) is to grasp a specified amount of ingredients at one time, the gripping member 31a is inserted into the ingredient. It can be controlled to be the same as the depth. In addition, for example, when gripping from the second location onwards, the gripped ingredient is once released to the next planned gripping position, and the released ingredient is placed on the surface of the ingredient where it is present, by a specified amount at once. It is also possible to insert the gripping member 31a into the ingredients to the depth that it would be inserted when gripping the ingredients, and to control so that a predetermined amount of ingredients can be gripped at once.

Note that the relationship between the depth (insertion amount) of the gripping member 31a inserted into the ingredients and the weight of the ingredients gripped at that time can be calculated (estimated) from the density of the ingredients, as well as Machine learning is performed on the data on the depth at which the 31a is inserted and the data on the weight of the ingredient gripped at that time, and the weight of the gripped ingredient is estimated using the machine learning model generated by machine learning. It may also be a thing. In addition, in the process of machine learning, the density of the ingredient is calculated, and using the calculated density, the weight of the grasped ingredient is calculated from the depth (insertion amount) of the gripping member 31a inserted into the ingredient. It's okay.

[Comparative example (prior art)]
Next, the release operation and guide operation in this embodiment will be explained, but as a premise, with reference to FIG. 9, the results will be shown when the release operation is performed using a general conventional technique. I will explain. Here, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a release operation when using the conventional technique.
Note that FIG. 9 merely describes a case in which the prior art is applied as a comparative example, and does not show the operation and effect of the release operation to which the present embodiment is applied.

In FIG. 9(A), the Y direction is the opening/closing direction when gripping and releasing is performed by the gripping member 31a, the X direction is the direction perpendicular to the opening/closing direction in the horizontal plane, and the Z direction is the height direction. be. That is, FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section (ie, YZ plane) perpendicular to the X direction of the pair of gripping members 31a. The X direction, Y direction, and Z direction in FIG. 9(A) are the same as the directions defined in FIG. 4.
Note that since all of FIGS. 10, 11, 12, and 14, which will be described later, illustrate the same vertical cross section (that is, the YZ plane), illustration of each direction is omitted in these figures.

The articulated robot 30 grips the ingredients stored in the storage space 10A by performing a gripping operation according to the prior art, rather than the gripping operation unique to this embodiment shown in FIG.
Next, as shown in FIG. 9A, the articulated robot 30 transfers the gripped pair of gripping members 31a onto the prepared food container at the serving position P1. Then, the articulated robot 30 lowers the gripping member 31a to the height at which it is released. In addition, in the drawings and the following description, the ingredients gripped by the gripping member 31a are appropriately referred to as "gripping ingredients."

Next, as shown in FIG. 9(B), when the articulated robot 30 descends to the height for release, it stops descending and then opens the gripping member 31a in the opening/closing direction to bring it into the open state. The gripping material is released from the gripping member 31a. This release generally takes place at the center of the container of prepared food in a horizontal plane.
In this case, the release ingredients released at the center of the container are piled up high in the center of the container. In particular, when the release ingredient grips viscous or sticky ingredients such as potato salad or Unohana, or ingredients that tend to adhere to each other, this may be caused by the gripping force applied from the gripping member to the gripping ingredients. However, the gripping materials are combined into one lump.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9(C), the articulated robot 30 rises when the release is completed. This completes the release operation in the prior art. However, when the lumped gripping material is released and placed in a container, the released material (indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure) does not separate and stands on its own within the container. Furthermore, this self-supporting ingredient then overturns due to gravity (indicated by a black arrow in the figure), resulting in the release ingredient scattering and protruding out of the container.
That is, in the releasing operation in the conventional technique, there arises a problem in that the ingredients are scattered. When such scattered ingredients occur, it becomes necessary for an operator to clean them manually. Furthermore, the scattered ingredients must be discarded, resulting in a loss of ingredients.
Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the occurrence of ingredients that fly away in this way, a releasing operation and a guiding operation unique to this embodiment are performed as described below.
In addition, in the drawings and the following description, the ingredient released by the gripping member 31a is appropriately referred to as a "released ingredient". In addition, the ingredients scattered from the container are appropriately referred to as "scattered ingredients."

[Release action and guiding action]
10 and 11 are schematic diagrams showing an example of a releasing operation and a guiding operation by the multi-joint robot 30.
The articulated robot 30 estimates the weight of the ingredient to be grasped from the insertion depth etc. by performing the grasping operation unique to this embodiment shown in FIG. Grip efficiently.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the articulated robot 30 transfers the gripped pair of gripping members 31a onto the prepared food container at the serving position P1. Then, the articulated robot 30 lowers the gripping member 31a to the height at which it is released.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the articulated robot 30 descends to the height at which release is performed, stops descending, and then opens the gripping member 31a in the opening/closing direction to bring it into the open state. As a result, the opening of the gripping member 31a is exposed, and the gripping material falls from this opening due to gravity acting on the gripping material (indicated by a black arrow in the figure), so that the gripping material is removed from the gripping member 31a. is released.

Here, as shown in FIG. 9(B), the release is normally performed at the center of the container of prepared food in the horizontal plane. This is based on the general idea that releasing at the center of the container can prevent the release material from scattering outside the container. However, in this embodiment, in the next guiding operation, it is possible to guide the release material so that it falls to a predetermined falling destination.

Therefore, in this embodiment, first, the container is intentionally released at one end in a predetermined direction (here, the Y direction, which is the opening/closing direction). Then, in the guiding operation described below, the releasing ingredient is guided to fall to a predetermined falling destination by bringing the gripping member 31a into contact with the releasing ingredient during the process of the released ingredient falling.
Specifically, a part of the release material is placed at one end in a predetermined direction (first release position) where release was performed, the other end in the predetermined direction (second release position), and the area between them. guide them so that they disperse and fall. Thereby, for example, it is possible to prevent the release material from falling in large quantities only at a predetermined position within the container. Further, by guiding in this manner, the released ingredients can be guided so that they fall only into the container, which is the area where the ingredients should be released, and the ingredients are not scattered.

In this guiding operation, as shown in FIG. 10(c), the articulated robot 30 closes the opening of the exposed gripping member 31a to the released material before all the released materials fall to the bottom of the container. The guiding operation is started by moving the gripping member 31a in a state in which it is brought into contact with the gripping member 31a.
In this case, the articulated robot 30 may start moving at the timing when a part of the release material has fallen to the bottom of the container, or the articulated robot 30 may start moving when a part of the release material has fallen to the bottom of the container. You may start moving when the wood is in the air. In any case, in this embodiment, the opening exposed by the release operation can be used as is, and the guide operation can be quickly performed before all of the release materials fall naturally.

Regarding the direction of movement, the gripping member 31a is held at one end in the predetermined direction (first release position) where it was released, as well as at the other end in the predetermined direction (second release position), and between the two ends in the predetermined direction (second release position). Each of the areas also moves to guide a portion of the release material to disperse and fall. For this purpose, the gripping member 31a may move only in the horizontal direction (ie, the Y direction), but may also move in the vertical direction (ie, the Z direction), etc., for example. For example, the gripping member 31a may be moved in parallel to guide it toward the second open position, and vertically upward in order to reduce the effect of the released material falling due to gravity. It's okay. That is, movement in an oblique direction may be performed.
Here, reducing the influence of the release ingredient falling due to gravity means, for example, the vertically upward inertia force applied to the release ingredient by the movement of the grip member 31a, and the effect of the force between the opening of the grip member 31a and the bottom of the container. By increasing the distance, the time required for all the release materials to fall is extended. This makes it possible to more easily guide the release material.

In this way, as the gripping member 31a moves while contacting the release ingredient, the release ingredient receives the resultant force of the inertial force applied to the release ingredient by the movement of the grip member 31a and the gravity acting on the release ingredient ( (indicated by the black arrow in the figure), it falls towards the guide destination.

Next, as shown in FIG. 11(d), the articulated robot 30 continues to move in the guiding operation until all the release materials fall. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11(e), in addition to one end in the predetermined direction (first release position) where the release was performed, which is the guide destination, the other end in the predetermined direction (second release position) , a part of the release material is dispersed and falls in each of the areas between them. In other words, the articulated robot 30 aims to drop the released ingredients evenly over the entire area inside the container in which the ingredients are to be released, and to release the ingredients by guiding the ingredients and dropping them. It is possible to prevent the release material from falling outside the container. It is possible to prevent the product from falling into an unintended location (for example, outside the container). Therefore, for example, even if the ingredients have a characteristic that they become one lump when gripped, they can be appropriately served.

That is, when the articulated robot 30 performs a guiding operation to release the gripped ingredient, it is possible to solve the problem of bringing the released ingredient into a more appropriate state.
Moreover, this guiding operation can be realized only by operating the gripping member 31a. Therefore, there is also an advantage that there is no need to separately prepare a special member, mechanism, etc. for guiding the release material.

[Forming action]
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a shaping operation by the articulated robot 30.
Due to the above-described release operation and guide operation, the release ingredients fall almost uniformly into the container without scattering, and are arranged therein. However, for example, depending on the requests of the business providing the plated ingredients or the type of ingredients to be plated, there may be cases where it is desired to make the surface of the plated release ingredients even more flat. In addition, in the case of ingredients such as Unohana that tend to stick to each other, if the ingredients are simply plated by falling, they will remain bonded to each other. In some cases, you may want to arrange the food as it is.

In such a case, the articulated robot 30 performs a shaping operation.
As shown in FIG. 12(f-1), after performing the releasing operation and the guiding operation, the articulated robot 30 closes the gripping member 31a and places the tip of the gripping member 31a in the container. contact with the released material. In this state, the articulated robot 30 causes the gripping member 31a to move up and down at least once. That is, the multi-joint robot 30 repeatedly presses down the release material vertically downward once with the tip of the gripping member 31a, and then cancels the pressing down, as a shaping operation. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12(g), the release ingredients in the region where the release ingredients are piled relatively high move to the area where the release ingredients are piled relatively low. Therefore, the surface of the released ingredients that have fallen and been piled up can be made even more flat. Furthermore, by separating the bonds between the ingredients, it is possible to create a fluffy presentation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12(f-2), after performing the releasing operation and the guiding operation, the articulated robot 30 opens the gripping member 31a and then inserts the tip of the gripping member 31a into the container. It may be made to come into contact with the released ingredients arranged on the plate. Even in this case, the same effect as in the case shown in FIG. 12(f-1) can be achieved.

Alternatively, by combining these methods, the gripping member 31a is made to move up and down at least once in each state while changing the open and closed states of the gripping member 31a. As a result, the same effect as shown in FIG. 12(f-1) can be achieved for the entire set of released ingredients.

[Overall operation]
Next, the overall operation of the gripping system 1 will be explained.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of ingredient plating processing executed by the gripping system 1. The ingredient plating process is started, for example, when an operator performs an operation to start the ingredient plating process.

When the ingredients plating process is started, in step S11 in FIG. (data on the insertion amount, etc.) from the parameter storage unit 171, preparations for gripping the ingredients are made.

In step S12, the articulated robot control unit 154 transfers the hand 31 to the accommodation space 10A according to the motion pattern data.

In step S13, the ingredient state determination unit 152 recognizes the state of the ingredients in the accommodation space 10A by reading the ingredient state map indicating the state of the ingredients in the accommodation space 10A of the ingredient storage unit 10 from the history DB 172. do. Thereafter, the ingredient condition determination unit 152 continues to recognize the condition of the ingredient based on the data of the reaction force from the ingredient measured by the force sensor 30B, which is acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 151.

In step S14, the depth to which the gripping member 31a is inserted into the ingredients is determined based on the movement pattern data read in step S11 and the state of the ingredients in the storage space 10A recognized in step S13.
In step S15, the articulated robot control unit 154 inserts the gripping member 31a into the ingredient to the determined insertion depth.
In step S16, the articulated robot control unit 154 closes the gripping member 31a and grips the ingredients.

In step S17, the ingredient amount determining unit 153 measures the weight (physical quantity) of the grasped ingredient and determines whether a specified amount of ingredient is being grasped. If the predetermined amount of ingredients is being held, the determination in step S17 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S18. On the other hand, if the prescribed amount of ingredients is not gripped, the determination in step S17 is No, and the process is performed again from step S14. In this case, if the gripping material being gripped exceeds the specified amount, the insertion depth is re-determined to become shallower in step S14, which is performed again. On the other hand, if the gripping material being gripped is less than the specified amount, the insertion depth is re-determined to become deeper in step S14, which is performed again. Note that the processing from step S14 to step S17 corresponds to the gripping operation described with reference to FIG.

In step S18, the articulated robot control unit 154 moves the gripping member 31a to the position of the prepared food container.
In step S19, the articulated robot control unit 154 releases the robot to a predetermined area within the container (for example, one end of the container in the Y direction).

In step S20, the articulated robot control unit 154 guides the release material to fall to a predetermined destination by a guiding operation. For example, the articulated robot control unit 154 releases the released material at one end in the Y direction (first release position), the other end in the Y direction (second release position), and the area between them. Guide so that some of the ingredients are dispersed and fall.
In step S21, the multi-joint robot control unit 154 shapes the release material by a shaping operation.

In step S22, the recording control unit 156 stores in the history DB 172 the control-related parameters acquired in the ingredient serving process and the measurement data (history data) of the weight of the served ingredients. Furthermore, the recording control unit 156 updates the ingredient state map indicating the state of the ingredients in the accommodation space 10A of the ingredient storage unit 10, and also stores the updated ingredient state map in the history DB 172. In this case, if there is an excess or deficiency in the weight of the served ingredients, an alert may be output to the worker.

In step S23, the articulated robot control unit 154 determines whether the conditions for terminating the ingredient plating process are met. In this case, the conditions for terminating the ingredient arrangement process include that the ingredients have been arranged in the scheduled number of prepared food containers, or that the operator has performed an operation to end the ingredient arrangement process. can be defined.
If the conditions for terminating the ingredient plating process are not met, the determination in step S23 is No, and the process is repeated from step S12. On the other hand, if the conditions for terminating the ingredients plating process are met, the determination in step S23 is Yes, and the ingredients plating process ends.

As described above, the grasping system 1 according to the present embodiment can bring the released ingredient into a more appropriate state when releasing the ingredient grasped by the articulated robot 30. In addition to this, the gripping system 1 according to the present embodiment also exhibits various effects as described above when explaining the release operation, the guiding operation, and the shaping operation.

[Modification 1]
In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 12(f-1) and 12(f-2), the articulated robot 30 once pushes down the release tool vertically downward with the tip of the gripping member 31a, and then , the shaping motion was realized by repeatedly canceling the push down. The present invention is not limited to this, and the shaping operation may be implemented using other methods.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a modification of the shaping operation by the multi-joint robot 30. This modification utilizes the fact that the tip of the gripping member 31a has a linear edge. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14(f-3), the gripping member 31a is in the closed state, the tip of the gripping member 31a is brought into contact with the release material placed in the container, and then the gripping member 31a is placed in the container. Move left and right in the Y direction at the same height from the bottom. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 14(g), the surface of the release ingredients placed in the container can be made even more flat.
However, depending on the characteristics of the ingredients, in order to separate the combined ingredients, the shaping operation by pressing down as shown in Figure 12 (f-1) and Figure 12 (f-2) may be used. In some cases, it may be more effective to do so. In such a case, it is preferable to perform the shaping operation of this modification in combination with the above-mentioned shaping operation by pressing down.

[Modification 2]
In the embodiment described above, it was assumed that a pair of gripping members 31a (ie, two gripping members 31a) were used, but the present invention is not limited to this. You may make it use three or more plural holding members 31a. Then, a configuration may be adopted in which a gripping operation is performed by bringing the openings of each gripping member 31a closer to each other, and a releasing operation is performed by moving the openings of each gripping member 31a away from each other.
In this case, for example, if three gripping members 31a are used, the tips of the three gripping members 31a, each with a center angle of 120°, should be moved closer to or farther from the center when viewed from vertically above. .
Even in this case, each operation such as the above-mentioned guiding operation can be executed.

[Modification 3]
In the above-described embodiment, the ingredient condition determination unit 152 determines the condition of the ingredient based on the data of the reaction force from the ingredient (i.e., the detection result of contact with the ingredient) measured by the force sensor 30B. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

If the installation cost of the camera is not a problem, the state of the ingredients may be determined by taking a picture with a camera (that is, an imaging device). Further, in the above-described embodiment, the weight of the ingredients held by the articulated robot 30 or the weight of the ingredients placed in the container of prepared food is measured by the weight sensors 30A and 21, but the invention is not limited to this. .
For example, it is also possible to calculate the weight of the ingredient by estimating the volume of the ingredient from an image of the ingredient captured by the imaging device and multiplying the density by the estimated volume.
In this case, a means for calculating the weight of the ingredients can be implemented without using the weight sensors 30A, 21.

[Configuration example]
As described above, the gripping system 1 in this embodiment includes the articulated robot 30 that includes the gripping member 31a that opens and closes, and the control device 40 that controls the operation of the articulated robot 30.
The control device 40 is
a gripping operation of gripping an object to be gripped by the gripping member 31a by bringing the gripping member 31a into a closed state;
a releasing operation of releasing the gripped object gripped by the gripping operation from the gripping member 31a by opening the gripping member 31a;
a guiding operation of guiding the release target to fall to a predetermined falling destination by bringing the gripping member 31a into contact with the release target in the process of the release target falling by the release operation;
The articulated robot 30 is made to execute.
Thereby, the object to be released can be guided to a predetermined falling destination (for example, inside a container) and allowed to fall. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the object to be released from falling to an unintended location (for example, outside the container). Therefore, for example, even if the object has a characteristic that it becomes a lump when gripped, it can be appropriately arranged.
That is, according to the gripping system 1, when the object gripped by the robot is released, the state of the released object can be brought into a more appropriate state.
Moreover, this guiding operation can be realized only by operating the gripping member 31a. Therefore, there is also an advantage that there is no need to separately prepare a special member, mechanism, etc. for guiding the object to be released.

The control device 40 is
in the release operation, releasing a portion of the object to be released to fall to a first release position;
In the guiding operation, the other part of the object to be released is guided to fall to a second release position spaced apart from the first release position, and the other part of the object to be released is moved to the first release position. It is guided to fall into the area between the second release position.
Thereby, the object to be released can be guided to fall in a dispersed manner at a plurality of positions, such as the release position, a position away from the release position, and an area between them. Thereby, for example, it is possible to prevent the object to be released from falling in a large amount only at a predetermined position.

The first release position is one end in a predetermined direction in the region where the object to be released is to be released, and the second release position is the other end in the predetermined direction in the region where the object is to be released.
Thereby, it is possible to guide the object to be released so that it falls only within the area to be released (for example, inside the container).

The gripping member 31a is in the shape of a container with an opening for release;
The control device 40 is
A guiding operation is realized by moving the gripping member 31a with the exposed opening of the gripping member 31a in contact with the object to be released by opening the gripping member 31a in the releasing operation.
Thereby, by utilizing the opening exposed by the release operation, it is possible to quickly perform the guiding operation before all of the objects to be released naturally fall.

The control device 40 is
The guiding operation is realized by moving the gripping member 31a both horizontally and vertically.
This makes it possible to control the destination of the object to be released by more appropriate movement combining multiple directions.

The control device 40 is
By moving the gripping member 31a while being in contact with the object to be released that has fallen while being guided by the guiding operation, the articulated robot 30 is further caused to perform a shaping operation for shaping the surface of the object to be released.
As a result, the surface of the released ingredients that have fallen and been piled up can be made even more flat.

The control device 40 is
The gripping member 31a presses the object to be released vertically downward to perform the shaping operation.
As a result, the objects to be released that have fallen and are piled up can be pushed down toward the bottom of the container and loosened, and the surface of the objects to be released can be made more uniform and flat.

Note that the above-described embodiments and modified examples are examples of embodiments of the present invention, and various embodiments that realize the functions of the present invention are included within the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiments and modifications, the case where the present invention is applied to a gripping system for serving side dishes has been described as an example, but the present invention can be applied to systems for gripping various objects. . For example, the present invention can be applied to a system for gripping highly viscous or sticky materials such as mixed mortar, concrete, plaster, and clay. The present invention is suitable for gripping an object having a viscosity of medium viscosity or higher (5000 mPa·s) or higher at working temperature or room temperature.
Moreover, it is possible to implement the present invention by appropriately combining the examples described in the above-mentioned embodiments.
The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or software.
In other words, the functional configuration in FIG. 7 is merely an example and is not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient that the gripping system 1 is equipped with a function that can execute the series of processes described above as a whole, and what kind of functional blocks are used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example shown in FIG. 7.
Further, one functional block may be configured by a single piece of hardware, a single piece of software, or a combination thereof.

When a series of processes is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed on a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer built into dedicated hardware. Further, the computer may be a computer that can execute various functions by installing various programs, such as a general-purpose personal computer.

The storage medium that stores the program is a removable medium that is distributed separately from the device itself, or a storage medium that is pre-installed in the device itself. The removable medium includes, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a flash memory. Optical discs include, for example, CD-ROMs (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), DVDs (Digital Versatile Disks), Blu-ray Discs (registered trademark), and the like. The magneto-optical disk is composed of an MD (Mini-Disk) or the like. The flash memory is configured by, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or an SD card. Further, the storage medium that is pre-installed in the device main body includes, for example, a ROM or a hard disk in which programs are stored.

Note that in this specification, the step of writing a program to be recorded on a recording medium is not only a process that is performed chronologically in accordance with the order, but also a process that is not necessarily performed chronologically but in parallel or individually. It also includes the processing to be executed.
Furthermore, in this specification, the term system refers to an overall device composed of a plurality of devices, a plurality of means, and the like.

The above embodiment shows an example of applying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. That is, the present invention can be modified in various ways, such as omissions and substitutions, without departing from the gist of the present invention, and various embodiments other than the above-described embodiments can be adopted. Various embodiments and modifications thereof that the present invention can take are included within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

1 Grasping system, 2 Belt conveyor, 10 Ingredients storage section, 10A Storage space, 20 Container supply section, 21, 30A Weight sensor, 30 Articulated robot, 30B Force sensor, 31 Hand, 31a Gripping member, 32 Robot arm, 40 control device, 50 shielding unit, 151 sensor information acquisition unit, 152 ingredient state determination unit, 153 ingredient amount determination unit, 154 articulated robot control unit, 155 container supply control unit, 156 recording control unit, 171 parameter storage unit, 172 history database (history DB), 711 CPU, 712 ROM, 713 RAM, 714 bus, 715 input section, 716 output section, 717 storage section, 718 communication section, 719 drive, 731 removable media

Claims (5)

A gripping system comprising a robot equipped with a gripping member that opens and closes, and a control device that controls the operation of the robot,
The control device includes:
a gripping operation of gripping an object to be gripped by the gripping member by bringing the gripping member into a closed state;
a releasing operation of releasing the gripped object gripped by the gripping operation from the gripping member by opening the gripping member;
a guiding operation of guiding the release target to fall to a predetermined falling destination by bringing the gripping member into contact with the release target during the process of the release target falling by the release operation;
a shaping operation of shaping the surface of the release target by moving the gripping member while in contact with the release target that has fallen while being guided by the guiding operation;
A gripping system that causes the robot to perform the following. The control device includes:
in the release operation, releasing a part of the object to be released to fall to a first release position;
In the guiding operation, the other part of the object to be released is guided to fall to a second release position spaced apart from the first release position, and the other part of the object to be released is guided to fall to the second release position which is spaced apart from the first release position. guided to fall into an area between the first release position and the second release position;
The gripping system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first release position is at one end in a predetermined direction in the area where the object to be released is to be released, and the second release position is at the other end in the predetermined direction in the area where the object to be released is to be released. be,
The gripping system according to claim 2 , characterized in that: The control device includes:
realizing the guiding operation by moving the gripping member both horizontally and vertically;
The gripping system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A control device comprising a control means for controlling the operation of a robot equipped with a gripping member that opens and closes,
The control means includes:
a gripping operation of gripping an object to be gripped by the gripping member by bringing the gripping member into a closed state;
a releasing operation of releasing the gripped object gripped by the gripping operation from the gripping member by opening the gripping member;
a guiding operation of guiding the release target to fall to a predetermined falling destination by bringing the gripping member into contact with the release target during the process of the release target falling by the release operation;
a shaping operation of shaping the surface of the release target by moving the gripping member while in contact with the release target that has fallen while being guided by the guiding operation;
A control device that causes the robot to execute.

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