JPH0569832A - Remote control robot steering system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a remote control robot steering system in which a steering direction and a speed of a slave robot can be uniquely input and which is capable of ultra-pivotal turning and easy to be steered. CONSTITUTION:In a remote control robot steering system comprising a master device 2A connected to a communication network 1 and used by a user and slave robot fixing systems 3 and 4A accessed from the master device 2A by calling connection through the communication network 1, the master device 2A has a pair of steering wheels 23 respectively corresponding to right and left wheels (steering wheels) 41 of the slave robot for directing a steering direction and a speed to the corresponding wheel 41 rotated by each hand of the user.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control robot steering system which comprises a master device connected to a communication network and used by a user, and a slave robot fixed system which is accessed from the master device by a call connection through a digital communication network. Regarding the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been the following steering systems for a telerobotics system including a master (human) and a slave (robot) at a remote place.

The first type uses an automobile-type interface, and the steering system comprises a steering wheel for instructing the steering direction and pedals for instructing the speed of the slave robot, such as an accelerator and a brake pedal. Even from the perspective of license penetration, many people are familiar with this interface, and there is no problem as long as the slave robot is an automobile type and makes relatively rough movements. However, it is difficult to instruct the slave robot to perform a detailed operation, and in particular, the direction of the slave robot cannot be reversed 180 degrees on the spot like the super turning of a tank. This was a fatal drawback when targeting a building with a narrow passage.

The second type is an interface for a radio control device or the like, which uses a joystick. This is to control the steering direction and speed by moving a rod-like switch back and forth and left and right.
It is also used in V game machines. When the front / rear / left / right switches are turned on / off like a TV game machine, the control becomes easier, but it becomes impossible for the slave robot to bend with a certain curvature (arbitrarily control the turning radius). .. Further, since the speed control is not practical in one stage, another speed control switch is required. On the other hand, if the front / rear / left / right switches are not on / off switches but stepless or multi-step switches, it is difficult to understand the correspondence between the operation and the actual movement. For this reason, there was an example of operating with two joysticks, front and rear and left and right, but this is not practical. At present, a steering wheel (small-diameter wheel) is used instead of a stick in the left-right direction, and a speed control is a pistol-trigger type switch.

Thirdly, a tank-type interface is used. Specifically, two sticks that move forward and backward are arranged side by side. One stick is used to operate the track in that direction. More specifically, if you push it forward, it will rotate normally,
If you push it deeper forward, it will rotate faster. In addition, it is possible to reverse it by defeating it later. To move forward,
Tilt the left and right sticks forward by the same angle and turn the left stick forward (right stick after) to turn to the right. It had the drawback of being necessary. However, on the contrary, there is an advantage that the super turning can be easily performed.

Fourth, there is one using a bicycle interface (Katsuru Hattori, World of artificial reality, p211,
Industrial Research Council, 1991). Similar to the car type, many people are familiar with this interface, and there is no problem as long as the slave robot makes a rough motion of bending with a relatively large curvature in the car type. However, it is difficult to instruct the slave robot to make a fine bending motion, and in particular, the direction of the slave robot cannot be reversed on the spot. This was a fatal drawback in terms of athletic performance when targeting a building with a narrow passage.

Fifth, there was a steering device manufactured by the University of North Carolina that directly used human walking (Hattori)
Katsura, World of Artificial Reality, p137, Industrial Research Board, 199
1). The treadmill has a movable floor (moving only forward and backward) for jogging in a room equipped with a steering device like a bicycle handle. Acceleration and deceleration of the speed is possible if you run on the treadmill yourself, except that it gets tired,
It was a very reasonable interface. But steering had to be done with the steering wheel.

[0008] Sixth, there is a device of Mr. Iwata of the University of Tsukuba as a device that uses human walking as it is.
Human Interface Subcommittee, 6th Human
Interface Symposium Proceedings, p21,199
0). A user's upper body is fixed, a foot is equipped with a roller skate-like device that slides in an arbitrary direction, and the position of the toe is localized by a non-contact sensor. The data is used to detect in which direction the user is trying to move. Since this device lifts the body up completely with a harness, it has to be supported by a harness with the entire weight on the upper half of the body, which has a drawback that the user feels a strong sense of restraint on the body.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a remote control robot steering system capable of uniquely inputting a steering direction and speed of a slave robot, capable of super-spot turning, and facilitating steering. It is to be.

[0010]

A remote control robot steering system according to the present invention is connected to a communication network, and a master device used by a user and a slave robot fixed to be accessed from the master device by call connection via the communication network. In a remote-controlled robot steering system including a system, a master device corresponds to the left and right steered wheels of a slave robot, and is rotated by each hand of a user, and a pair of steering wheels instructing the steering direction and speed to the corresponding wheels. It is characterized by having a wheel.

[0011]

The steering direction and speed can be uniquely and easily input by using a pair of steering wheels that independently respond to the rotation of the left and right steering wheels of the remote-controlled robot in the steering instruction section. Further, by having the steering wheel drive mechanism that drives the pair of steering wheels, it is possible to generate an appropriate reaction force on the steering wheels and to feed back the state in which the slave robot climbs a slope or a wall to the user. Furthermore, the diameter of the steering wheel is made equal to the diameter of the left and right steered wheels of the slave robot, and the distance between the left and right wheels of the steered wheel is made equal to the distance between the left and right wheels of the steered wheel. By allowing natural correspondence or intentionally shifting, high-speed traveling control and ultra-low-speed traveling control of the slave robot become possible.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote control robot steering system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof.

The remote-controlled robot steering system of this embodiment is connected to a communication network 1 and is connected to a master device 2 used by a user, and a slave robot fixed system which is accessed from the master device 2A by call connection via the communication network 1. 3 and a slave robot fixed system 4 which is located at a remote place and has a moving ability
It is composed of A.

The master device 24 corresponds to the interface unit 21 with the communication network 1, the display device 22 for presenting the camera image from the slave robot to the user, and the left and right wheels (steering wheels) 41 of the slave robot. A pair of steering wheels 23 that are rotated by each hand of the user to instruct the corresponding wheel 41 of the steering direction and speed, and steering that drives the steering wheels 23 and feeds back to the user the state in which the slave robot climbs up a slope or a wall. The wheel drive mechanism 24, the proportional control coefficient changeover switch 25 for switching the proportional control coefficient of the rotation angle of the wheel 41 of the slave robot with respect to the rotation angle of the steering wheel 23, and the steering of the wheel 41 instructed by the steering wheel 23. The direction and speed are multiplied by the proportional control coefficient, and the slave unit is transferred through the interface unit 21 and the communication network 1. Or send to Tsu door fixed system 3,4A,
The master device controller 26A controls the steering wheel drive mechanism 24.

The slave robot fixed system 3 includes an interface unit 31 with the communication network 1, a network control unit 32 connected to the interface unit 31, and a space transmission unit 33 connected to the interface unit 31 and the network control unit 32. It is configured.

The slave robot fixed system 4 includes wheels 41 that are steering wheels and driving wheels, a wheel drive mechanism 42 that drives the wheels 41, and a steering wheel 2 mounted on the master device 2A.
The slave movable system control unit 43 that controls the wheel drive mechanism 42 so that the wheels 41 rotate in accordance with the rotation of 3, the free caster 44, the camera unit 45 mounted on the slave robot, and the slave movable system control unit 43. And camera section 45
Connected to the slave robot fixed system 3 space transmission unit 3
3 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the space 3
It is composed of.

In this embodiment, a three-screen TV display is used for the display device 22, and a camera part 45 of a three-lens camera is used for the slave robot. The position of the camera unit 45 is determined to be the same as the positional relationship between the steering wheel 23 and the user's head, and the positional relationship with the wheels 41 of the slave robot is determined. It can be adjusted. The image captured by the camera unit 45 of the slave robot is transferred to the master device 5 via the communication network 1.
Is displayed on the display device 22. Further, the camera unit 45 does not move in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the slave robot main body. Similarly, the chair of the master device 2 is also fixed to the display device 22 in both distance and direction. Steering wheel 2
3, the diameter of the wheel 41 of the slave robot, the distance between the left and right steering wheels 23, and the distance between the left and right wheels 41 of the slave robot are the same. The proportional control coefficient of the rotation angle of the wheel 41 of the slave robot with respect to the rotation angle of the steering wheel 23 can be switched stepwise by the proportional control coefficient changeover switch 25.

When the proportional control coefficient is set to 1 and the steering wheel 23 is rotated to indicate the steering direction and speed of the wheels 41, the rotation angle of the steering wheel 23 is an encoder (not shown).
Are transmitted to the slave robot fixed system 4 via the master device control unit 26A, the interface unit 21, the communication network 1, the slave robot fixed system 3 and the space transmission unit 46 and the slave movable system control unit 43. After that, the wheel drive mechanism 42 steers the wheels 41 in the instructed direction,
Rotate at the indicated speed. The movement of the slave robot at this time is photographed by the camera unit 45, and the space transmission unit 46,
It is sent to the master device 2A via the slave robot fixed system 3 and the communication network 1, and is sent to the display device 2 via the interface unit 21.
It is displayed in 2. The image at this time makes an illusion as if the master device 2A were moving by the steering wheel 23. Moreover, if the proportional control coefficient is made larger than 1,
The slave robot can move in a vast space, and if it is smaller than 1, delicate position control becomes possible. In addition, acceleration control may be used instead of proportional control depending on the preference of the user. With the acceleration control, if the steering wheel 23 is slowly rotated to specify a delicate position, the front wheel 41 of the slave robot also slowly rotates, and if it is instantaneously rotated quickly, the wheel 4 of the slave robot 4 is rotated.
The rotation angle of 1 becomes very large. Further, by generating an appropriate reaction force on the steering wheel 23 by the steering wheel drive mechanism 24, it is possible to feed back the state in which the slave robot is climbing a slope or a wall to the user.

In this embodiment, the camera unit 45 is a three-lens camera and the display unit 22 is a three-screen TV display. However, the camera unit 45 is a fisheye lens and the display unit 22 is a hemispherical dome display. It is also possible to use it, or to make the camera unit 45 an all-round camera and use a band-shaped all-round display for the display device 22. Further, the diameter of the steering wheel 23 may be different from the diameter of the wheel 41.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a remote control robot steering system according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view thereof.

The remote control robot steering system of the present embodiment is connected to the communication network 1 and is connected to the master device 2B used by the user and the master device 2B by call connection via the communication network 1.
It is composed of a slave robot fixed system 3 which is accessed from the slave robot fixed system 4B and a slave robot fixed system 4B which is located at a remote place and has a moving ability.

The master device 2B corresponds to the interface section 21 with the digital communication network 1, the display device 22 for presenting the camera image from the slave robot to the user, and the left and right front wheels 41 of the slave robot, respectively. A pair of steering wheels 23 that are rotated by hand to indicate the steering direction and speed to the corresponding front wheels 41;
Steering wheel drive mechanism 2 for driving the slave robot 3 to feed back to the user the state in which the slave robot climbs a slope or a wall.
4 and the steering direction and speed of the wheels 41, which are instructed by the steering wheel 23, are transmitted to the slave robot fixed systems 3 and 4B via the interface unit 21 and the communication network 1, and the master that controls the steering wheel drive mechanism 24. Device control unit 26B
And a three-dimensional head position sensor 27 that detects the movement direction of the user's head and the height from the ground.

The slave robot fixed system 3 includes an interface unit 31 with the communication network 1, a network control unit 32 connected to the interface unit 31, and a space transmission unit 33 connected to the interface unit 31 and the network control unit 32. It is configured.

The slave robot fixed system 4 includes a slave wheel 41 which is a steered wheel and a drive wheel, a wheel drive mechanism 42 for driving the wheel 41, and a slave wheel according to the rotation of the steering wheel 23 mounted on the master device 2B. A slave movable system control unit 43 that controls a wheel drive mechanism 42 so that 41 rotates, a free caster 44, a camera unit 45 mounted on a slave robot, a camera drive mechanism 47,
It is connected to the slave movable system control unit 43 and the camera unit 45,
The slave robot fixed system 3 includes a space transmission unit 46 that transmits / receives data to / from the space transmission unit 33.

The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment will be described below. First, in the slave robot, the relationship between the front wheels 41 and the rear wheels 44 is opposite to that in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, setting the proportional control coefficient to 1 was not practical because the steering wheel 23 was small, but in the present embodiment, the steering wheel 23 and the wheel 41 have the same diameter and a large diameter. Due to the diameter, the wheels 41 are rotated by the proportional control coefficient 1 by the rotation angle of the steering wheel 23, and the effect is sufficiently exhibited. In this embodiment, a head-mounted binocular display is used for the display device 22, and a binocular camera is used for the camera unit 45 of the slave robot. The position of the binocular camera 45 is determined to be the same as the positional relationship between the steering wheel 23 and the user's head, and the position relationship with the slave robot is determined. The height of the binocular camera 45 can be adjusted within an arbitrary range by the retractable neck. It has become. Further, the head position is detected by a three-dimensional sensor (for example, a magnetic sensor) that detects the moving direction of the user's head and the height from the ground, and the binocular camera of the slave robot takes an image by tracking the user's head motion. To do. Therefore, the image in the direction the user is looking at can be obtained without any operation. In the present embodiment, an example in which the chair of the master device 2B is fixed has been described, but it is also possible to loosen only the rotation and rotate the chair according to the operation of the steering wheel 23 to enhance the sense of presence.

Similarly, in this embodiment, the camera unit 45
Needless to say, it is possible to attach a stereo microphone to the user and provide a stereoscopic sound field to the user using headphones or a speaker to enhance the sense of presence. Also, it goes without saying that the number of microphones is not limited to 2ch stereo, and if it is 3ch or more, for example, a microphone array, the sense of presence can be further enhanced.

A robot that controls the slave robots of the first and second embodiments by making them virtual robots that move in a virtual electronic space constituted by an actual computer program that does not physically exist. It goes without saying that it can be applied to a steering device.

[0029]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. (1) According to the invention of claim 1, by steering a slave robot at a remote place with a steering wheel that independently responds to the rotation of the left and right wheels of the remote control robot, steering can be performed easily and comfortably. Turning is also possible. (2) Since the invention of claim 2 has the steering wheel drive mechanism, in addition to the effect of (1), the state in which the slave robot climbs a slope or a wall can be fed back to the user. (3) In addition to the effects of (1) and (2), the inventions of claims 3 to 5 enable extremely natural correspondence between the master device and the slave robot, or high-speed traveling control of the slave robot or ultra-low speed. Driving control becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote-controlled robot steering system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of the remote control robot steering system of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a remote control robot steering system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a perspective view of the remote control robot steering system of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Communication Network 2A, 2B Master Device 3 Slave Robot Fixed System 4A, 4B Slave Robot Fixed System 21 Interface Unit 22 Display Device 23 Steering Wheel 24 Steering Wheel Drive Mechanism 25 Proportional Control Coefficient Changeover Switch 26A, 26B Master Device Control Unit 27 3D Head position sensor 31 Interface unit 32 Network control unit 33 Slave fixed system control unit 41 Wheel 42 Wheel drive mechanism 43 Slave movable system control unit 44 Free caster 45 Camera unit 46 Spatial transmission unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A remote control robot steering system comprising a master device connected to a communication network, which is used by a user, and a slave robot fixed system which is accessed from the master device by a call connection through the communication network. The device includes a pair of steering wheels that respectively correspond to the left and right steered wheels of the slave robot and that are rotated by each hand of a user to instruct a steering direction and a speed to the corresponding wheels. Robot steering system. 2. The remote control robot steering system according to claim 1, wherein the master device has a steering wheel drive mechanism for driving the pair of steering wheels. 3. The diameter of the steering wheel is equal to the diameter of the left and right steering wheels of the slave robot, and the distance between the left and right wheels of the steering wheel is equal to the distance between the left and right wheels of the steering wheel. The remote control robot steering system according to. 4. The diameter of the steering wheel is equal to the diameter of the left and right steered wheels of the slave robot, and the proportional control coefficient of the rotation angle of the steered wheel of the slave robot with respect to the rotation angle of the steering wheel is switched. The remote steering robot steering system according to claim 1, further comprising a proportional control coefficient changeover switch. 5. A proportional control coefficient changeover switch for switching a proportional control coefficient of the rotation angle of the steered wheels of the slave robot with respect to the rotation angle of the steering wheel.
Alternatively, the remote steering robot steering system according to item 2.