JPH11249734A - Autonomous guidance device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable an autonomous underwater robot itself to automatically sail to its target point from its start point just by obtaining the geographical information on both start and target points and the periphery of the sailing sea area by deciding a path class via a global path setting part and deciding a detailed course via a divided path setting part during the sailing of the robot. SOLUTION: An operator previously give the geographical information on the start and target points and the periphery of a sailing sea area including the start point through the target point to a target setting module 1. Based on these information, a global path planning module 2 decides a route, i.e., a global path including true start point through the target point based on the evaluation standard that is previously set. The path class that is decided by the module 2 is given to a local path planning module 3 which decides a course of an autonomous underwater robot during its sailing. That is, both start and target points are locally decided and a course (local path) is decided between the start and target points in response to the maneuverability of the robot.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an autonomous guidance device for guiding an autonomous underwater robot to a target point when a start point and a target point are given.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an autonomous underwater robot used for searching for marine resources and the like is guided to a destination point, as shown in FIG. R1 is set, and the course R1 is tracked by inertial navigation or the like. In many cases, the geography around the sea area where the autonomous underwater robot runs is almost different, and it is possible to give the course R1 in advance.

[0003]

However, in this method, it is necessary to set the course R1 by the operator every time the start point S and the destination point G are given. Furthermore, when there are many paths from the starting point S to the destination point G,
Determining which path to choose is not easy. Further, if only a predetermined course R1 is tracked, there is a risk of collision when there is an unexpected obstacle in the course of the course.

Therefore, in the present invention, when a starting point, a destination point, and the geographical area of the cruising sea area are given before the voyage, the autonomous underwater robot itself sets a course from the starting point to the destination point and reaches the destination. An object is to provide an autonomous guidance device that can guide an autonomous underwater robot to a target point. Further, in the present invention, it is an object to provide an autonomous guidance device that can reset a course for avoiding an obstacle in the middle of the course while traveling, and guide the autonomous underwater robot to a target point. .

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means. Claim 1
The autonomous guidance device according to the above, a starting point, an arrival target point, a map of the surroundings from the departure point to the arrival target point is set in advance, a target setting unit, and the arrival from the starting point of the target setting unit An entire route setting unit that sets an entire route to a target point based on a preset evaluation criterion; and a plurality of the entire routes set by the entire route setting unit, and a local route is set for each divided range. And a divided path setting unit.

According to this autonomous guidance device, an autonomous underwater robot can be automatically guided from the starting point to the target point and run by simply providing information on the starting point, the target point, and the voyage sea area. Can be.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the autonomous guidance device according to the first aspect, an obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle and an obstacle avoidance path for avoiding the obstacle are provided. An obstacle avoidance route setting unit that sets a traveling direction determining unit that determines a traveling direction from the local route set by the split route setting unit and the obstacle avoidance route set by the obstacle avoidance route setting unit. It is characterized by comprising.

According to this autonomous guidance device, the autonomous underwater robot can be automatically guided from the starting point to the destination by simply providing information on the starting point, the target point, and the voyage sea area. Not only can it be driven, but it can also be run while avoiding obstacles.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an autonomous guidance device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are views showing a first embodiment. In the system diagram of FIG. 1, a target setting module 1 provided as a target setting unit
Before the cruising, the operator is given in advance the start point S, the target point G, and the geographical information around the sea area from the start point S to the target point G of the autonomous underwater robot equipped with the autonomous guidance device by the operator. ing. Based on this information, a global path planning module 2 provided as an overall route setting unit
Then, the route from the starting point S to the destination point G, that is, the entire route is determined. The determination of the route is performed according to a preset evaluation criterion. As this evaluation criterion, for example, a method of optimizing evaluation values such as fuel consumption and required time is used. This global path planning module 2
Determining driving directions is not a detailed course,
As shown in FIG. 2, a rough course is determined by deciding whether to go in the direction of A or B. Such rough directions are hereinafter referred to as pass classes. The processing up to this point is performed before sailing.

[0010] The path class determined by the global path planning module 2 is given to a local path planning module 3 provided as a divided path setting unit. Set the course to be followed. This is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), a start point s1 and a target point g1 are locally determined, and a course therebetween, that is, a local path r1 is determined according to the motion performance of the underwater robot. This is sequentially repeated to guide to the final target point G. The local path planning module 3 outputs a target point g1 for tracking the set local course (local route r1) to the route tracking module 7 every moment.

The above-described target setting module 1 combined with such a global path planning module 2 and a local path planning module 3 is a path planning module 4
Becomes

On the other hand, the autonomous underwater robot has a sensor 5 for detecting posture, depth, altitude, speed, position, and the like. The detection signal of the sensor 5 is taken into the sensor information processing module 6, converted into a physical value used internally, and sent to the route tracking module 7 and the like. The route tracking module 7 fetches necessary posture and self-position coordinate signals from the sensor information,
An orientation for guiding the autonomous underwater robot to the local target point g1 output from the local path planning module 3 is determined and output to the motion control module 8. In the motion control module 8, the route tracking module 7
And the sensor information such as the attitude, depth, altitude and speed input from the sensor information processing module 6 and control the actuator 9 so that the autonomous underwater robot advances in the determined direction. Output a signal.

Thus, the autonomous underwater robot itself can set a course from the starting point S to the target point G, and can reach the target point G by tracking the course. That is, the operator only needs to give the autonomous underwater robot the start point S, the arrival target point G, and the geography around the traveling sea area, and the autonomous underwater robot itself can perform the processing thereafter.

Next, a second embodiment of the autonomous guidance system according to the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. According to the system diagram of FIG. 5, the target setting module 1 includes a starting point S, a reaching target point G, and a moving distance from the starting point S to the reaching target point G of the autonomous underwater robot equipped with the autonomous guidance device before sailing. Geographic information (see FIG. 2) around the traveling sea area is given in advance by the operator as in the first embodiment. Based on this information, Global Path Planning Module 2
Then, the route from the starting point S to the destination point G (overall route)
To determine. The determination of the route is made based on a preset evaluation criterion. For example, a method of optimizing evaluation values such as fuel consumption and required time is used as the evaluation criterion. The decision of the route in the Global Path Planning Module 2 is not a detailed course but a rough course such as deciding whether to go in the direction of A or B as shown in FIG. Is to decide. Such a rough route is expressed as a pass class. Note that the processing up to this point is the same as that of the first embodiment, and all are performed before sailing.

The path class determined by the global path planning module 2 is given to the local path planning module 3. From this path class, the local path planning module 3 sets the course of the autonomous underwater robot during traveling. As shown in FIG. 3, the starting point s1 and the target point g1 are locally determined, and the course (local path r1) therebetween is determined according to the motion performance of the underwater robot. This is sequentially repeated to guide to the final target point G. The target point g1 for tracking the set local course is output from the local path planning module 3 to the route tracking module 7 every moment.

A combination of the above-described target setting module 1 and the global path planning module 2 and the local path planning module 3 is combined with the path planning module 4
However, the configuration so far is the same as that of the above-described first embodiment.

On the other hand, the autonomous underwater robot has a sensor 5 for detecting a posture, a depth, an altitude, a speed, a position, an obstacle, and the like. The sensor 5 includes obstacle detection means,
The detection signal is taken into the sensor information processing module 6, converted into a physical value used internally, and sent to the route tracking module 7 and the like. The route tracking module 7 takes in signals of necessary posture and self-position coordinates from the sensor information, and guides the autonomous underwater robot to the local target point g1 output from the local path planning module 3. Is determined and output to the guidance direction synthesizer 11.

Similarly, the obstacle avoidance module 10 also fetches the necessary obstacle detection distance and obstacle detection azimuth signal from the sensor information, determines the azimuth to avoid the obstacle, and outputs it to the guidance azimuth synthesizer 11. I do. The outputs of the route tracking module 7 and the obstacle avoidance module 10 are combined by the guidance azimuth synthesizer 11, and the azimuth for the autonomous underwater robot to head to the target point g1 while avoiding the obstacle is determined. As shown in FIG. 5, the azimuth φ1 for heading toward the target point g1 and the azimuth φ for avoiding the obstacle P
2 is obtained by combining with appropriate weighting. The motion control module 8 captures sensor information such as posture, depth, altitude and speed in addition to the guidance direction input from the guidance direction synthesizer 11 so that the autonomous underwater robot proceeds in the direction of the determined direction. Actuator 9
To output a control signal.

Thus, the autonomous underwater robot sets the course from the starting point S to the destination point G, and can reach the destination point G by tracking the course. If there is an obstacle on the way, it is possible to head to the target point while avoiding the obstacle. That is, the operator only needs to give the autonomous underwater robot the start point S, the destination point G, and the geography around the cruising sea area, and the autonomous underwater robot itself can process the rest.

[0020]

As described above in detail, according to the autonomous guidance device of the first aspect, the autonomous underwater robot itself needs to set the starting point necessary for setting the course from the starting point to the destination point. A goal setting unit that sets the geographic information around the target point and the cruising sea area, an overall route setting unit that determines a rough route (path class) from the starting point to the destination point,
A split route setting unit that sets a local course (local route) based on the path class is provided. The entire route setting unit determines the path class, and the split route setting unit allows the detailed course to be set during navigation. The autonomous underwater robot itself can automatically travel from the starting point to the target point only by the operator giving geographical information about the starting point, the target point and the area around the voyage sea area.

According to the autonomous guidance device of the second aspect, the autonomous underwater robot itself automatically starts the start point only by giving the starting point, the destination point, and the geographical information around the sailing sea area. And an obstacle avoidance route setting unit that sets an obstacle avoidance route for avoiding an obstacle, as well as being able to travel from the vehicle to a target point. And a traveling direction determining unit that determines an azimuth for heading to a target point while avoiding an obstacle. The direction to avoid the obstacle is determined, and the direction to avoid the obstacle is combined with the direction to guide to the target point in the traveling direction determination unit.
It becomes possible to head to the target point while avoiding obstacles.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an entire configuration of an autonomous guidance device for an autonomous underwater robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining functions of a global path planning module of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining functions of a local path planning module of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a system diagram showing an entire configuration of an autonomous guidance device for an autonomous underwater robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method of avoiding an obstacle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a conventional guidance control method for an autonomous underwater robot.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Target setting module (Target setting unit) 2 Global path planning module (Overall path setting unit) 3 Local path planning module (Division path setting unit) 4 Path planning module 5 Sensor 6 Sensor information processing module 7 Route tracking module 8 Motion control Module 9 Actuator 10 Obstacle avoidance module (obstacle avoidance route setting unit) 11 Guidance azimuth synthesizer (traveling direction determination unit) S Starting point G Destination point A, B Overall route (path class) s1 Local starting point g1 Local target point r1 local path P obstacle

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A target setting section in which a starting point, a destination point, and a map around the starting point to the target point are set in advance, and a distance from the starting point to the destination point of the target setting section. An entire route setting unit that sets the entire route according to a preset evaluation criterion, and a divided route that divides the entire route set by the entire route setting unit into a plurality and sets a local route for each divided range. An autonomous guidance device, comprising: a setting unit. 2. An obstacle detecting means for detecting an obstacle, an obstacle avoiding route setting unit for setting an obstacle avoiding route for avoiding the obstacle, and the local route set by the split route setting unit. The autonomous guidance device according to claim 1, further comprising: a traveling direction determining unit that determines a traveling direction from the obstacle avoiding route set by the obstacle avoiding route setting unit.