KR101196973B1 - Method for being care of an infant using a robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention seeks to provide an infant / toddler care service by monitoring the infant and automatically recognizing specific events of the infant and observing the infant after moving according to the moving scenario.

To this end, according to the present invention, there is provided a robot monitoring method comprising: a first monitoring step of detecting whether an infant is present using a sensor while moving to a designated position at a designated time according to a moving scenario from an infant care server; If the infant is detected in the primary monitoring step, the robot acquires an infant image through the camera and transmits the infant image to the infant care server. Then, the robot receives the recognition result processed by the infant care server and monitors the infant & A secondary monitoring phase; A first video call connection step of connecting the video call to the guardian mobile communication terminal through the infant care server by the robot when a predetermined event is generated as a result of the monitoring of the secondary monitoring step; And a second video call connection step of connecting the video call with the emergency center system via the infant care server according to the control from the protector mobile communication terminal and transmitting the infant position information together with the infant video.

Robot, baby, caring, mobile communication terminal, video call, autonomous mode

Description

METHOD FOR BEING CARE OF AN INFANT USING A ROBOT

More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for taking care of infant children using a robot, and more particularly, it relates to a robot that autonomously moves and monitors an infant according to a moving scenario, recognizes a specific event of the infant, And a method for taking care of infants using a robot.

Generally, in the method of taking care of infants and toddlers, information about whether a child is in a specific place is transmitted to a parent's mobile phone using an RFID tag. This system provides services by establishing a linkage system with schools and schools. This provides only simple information on whether children are present in a specific place, and there is a limit in that the system can not grasp the position or the state of the child until the RFID tags of the children are recognized.

It is also a way to get the child to know how to use the mobile phone and to call the parents if something urgent happens. This is able to grasp the situation of the infants in real time, but there is a limit to the use for infants who are difficult to understand how to use the mobile phone.

As described above, in the conventional system, there is a limit in that the intervals for providing information are not constant due to the recognition of the children's RFID tags directly, or the children must directly try and provide information. That is, in the past, the method relies mainly on infants and children who are distracted and distracted mainly from attention, so there is a limitation in real-time observation and monitoring functions and automatic notification functions required for taking care of infants and young children.

Therefore, in the infant care method, it is necessary to observe and monitor whether or not infants are present in real time regardless of infants and young children, and to automatically inform the guardian when a specific event occurs.

Accordingly, there is a problem in that the infant and child know directly whether they are present, or have to notify them directly in the event of an emergency, and it is an object of the present invention to solve such a problem.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for taking care of infants and toddlers using a robot, in which a robot monitors autonomous infants moving according to a moving scenario and recognizes specific events of infants and babies watching and performs predetermined follow- It has its purpose.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects and advantages of the present invention which are not mentioned can be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention. It will also be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in a method for taking care of infants and young children, a robot having a reduced image processing function moves to a designated position at a designated time according to a moving scenario from an infant care server, A primary monitoring phase to sense; If the infant is detected in the primary monitoring step, the robot acquires an infant image through the camera and transmits the infant image to the infant care server. Then, the robot receives the recognition result processed by the infant care server and monitors the infant & A secondary monitoring phase; A first video call connection step of connecting the video call to the guardian mobile communication terminal through the infant care server by the robot when a predetermined event is generated as a result of the monitoring of the secondary monitoring step; And a second video call connection step of connecting the video call with the emergency center system via the infant care server according to the control from the protector mobile communication terminal and transmitting the infant position information together with the infant video.

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According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to provide an infant / toddler care service by monitoring the infant while the robot is moving autonomously according to the moving scenario, recognizing a specific event of the infant being monitored, and performing predetermined follow-

In addition, the present invention has the effect of providing various services to infants and toddlers by using robots or being a play object of infants and children.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of grasping the situation of each other at any time through the video call function between the guardian and the infant.

In addition, the present invention has an effect that the robot can inform the guardian of the situation after determining the situation of infant and child through autonomous movement and human recognition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, It can be easily carried out. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an infant care system using a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the infant care system (hereinafter referred to as "infant care system") using a robot according to the present invention monitors infants and children while autonomously moving the robot 110 according to a predetermined moving scenario, It provides infant and child care services by recognizing specific events of the infant who are watching and performing predetermined follow-up actions.

The infant care system of the present invention includes a robot 110, an infant care server 120, and a mobile communication terminal 130.

First, the robot 110 is a low-priced home robot equipped with a simple robot function and provides an infant care service of the present invention in cooperation with the infant care server 120 via the Internet.

The robot 110 can move autonomously according to a moving scenario due to the mobility of a general robot and is provided with at least one low-cost sensor (sound source sensor, noise sensor, human body sensor, distance sensor, etc.) Can be recognized and monitored. Here, the robot 110 uses 'Absolute position recognition information' and 'Odometry' through a position recognition device (u-SAT, NorthStar, StarGazer, etc.) installed in the room to autonomously travel in the room And travels while avoiding obstacles by using a distance sensor (for example, a position sensitive device (PSD), an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, etc.).

In addition, the robot 110 includes a camera and a module for video communication, so that the video communication through the infant care server 120 can proceed with a parent (for example, a parent). That is, the robot 110 transmits a video call to the mobile communication terminal 130 preset by a guardian when a follow-up action is required through video surveillance of infants and young children, And receives a video call from the terminal 130. In this way, when the guard is connected to the robot 110 via the infant care server 120, a kind of home monitoring function can be implemented to monitor the infant's situation in real time.

In particular, the robot 110 transmits a movement command (for example, a motion command) to the mobile communication terminal 130 in response to a DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) signal from the infant care server 120 after the video call is connected to the mobile communication terminal 130. [ The robot moves to the button on the keypad such as the number '2' of the keypad, the number '8', the number '4', and the number '6' Lt; / RTI > This is for the protector to operate the keypad of the mobile communication terminal 130 to move the robot 110 to directly observe the state of infants and young children.

Next, the infant care server 120 provides a user environment in which the user can create a moving scenario by connecting via the Internet, and stores the moving scenario generated by the carer.

The infant care server 120 relays video call connection from the robot 110 to the mobile communication terminal 130 and from the mobile communication terminal 130 to the robot 110. That is, the infant care server 120 tries to make a video call connection using the telephone number of the mobile communication terminal 130, which is preset when the robot 110 requests the video call. In addition, the infant care server 120 tries to make a video call connection using an address assigned to the robot 110 (i.e., an IP address or a MAC address) when the mobile communication terminal 130 requests a video call.

In addition, the infant care server 120 performs image processing instead of the robot 110. That is, the infant care server 120 processes the image transmitted from the robot 110 to recognize the infant and transmits the recognition result of the image to the robot 110.

The mobile communication terminal 130 is a conventional terminal capable of connecting a video call with the robot 110 through the infant care server 120. The mobile communication terminal 130 includes a robot 110 and an infant care server 120, And an application for caring out. At this time, the mobile communication terminal 130 can control the robot 110 using the DTMF signal of the keypad after the video call with the robot 110 is connected.

2 is a block diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the robot 110 according to the present invention includes a hardware unit 111, a hardware abstraction unit 112, a main program unit 113, an autonomous moving unit 114, a video call client unit 115, and an image processing client unit 116.

The robot 110 processes data transmitted from various sensors through the main program unit 113 and executes robot control commands by programs and software for executing various services and contents (i.e., application programs). In particular, the robot 110 transmits a control request of the hardware unit 111 to a hardware abstraction layer (HAL), which is a kind of hardware abstraction layer (HAL), in an application program installed in the robot 110 through the main program unit 113 And controls the hardware unit 110 through the I /

The robot 110 autonomously moves through the autonomous moving unit 114 and connects the video call with the mobile communication terminal 130 via the infant care server 120 through the video call client unit 115. [

The robot 110 compresses the image information input from the camera through the image processing client unit 116 and transmits the compressed image information to the infant care server 120. This is because the robot 110 is a low-priced type and the image processing function from color detection to infant recognition is separated from the robot 110 so that the robot 110 performs the image processing function on the infant care server 120.

3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an infant care server according to the present invention.

3, the infant care server 120 according to the present invention includes a robot management / authentication unit 121, a video communication unit 122, a database 123, an image processing unit 124, 125).

The infant care server 120 performs an authentication procedure for the robot 110 when the robot 110 is booted through the robot management / authentication unit 121. [

The infant care server 120 allocates a telephone number to the robot 110 through the video communication unit 122 and performs a video call connection function with another robot or the mobile communication terminal 130. At this time, the video communication unit 122 performs a gateway function for interworking with the mobile communication network.

The infant care server 120 processes the video call from the robot 110 to the mobile communication terminal 130 in cooperation with the video call client unit 115 of the robot 110 through the video communication unit 122 , And processes the video call from the mobile communication terminal (130) to the robot (110).

The infant care server 120 provides a photograph or an image photographed by the robot 110 through the image processing unit 124 to the mobile communication terminal 130 in real time or stores it in the database 123. At this time, the infant care server 120 transmits a photograph and an image of infants and young children stored in the database 123 to a terminal (for example, a computer, a notebook, Etc.).

4A is a circuit diagram of a sound source detection sensor according to the present invention.

4A, the sound source detection sensor according to the present invention measures the arrival time difference from a sound source to a microphone through left and right microphones mounted on both ears of the robot 110, and detects a sound source (i.e., sound direction) Detection. The sound source sensor amplifies the microphone signal and converts it into a digital signal, and then generates a pulse of a predetermined width based on the digital signal generated first using the one-shot multivibrator 401. After connecting these pulses to the external interrupt pins (i.e., Ext0, Ext1) of the microcontroller (MCU) 402, the time difference between the two interrupt signals corresponding to the left and right microphones is measured.

4B is a circuit diagram of a noise sensor according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the noise detection sensor according to the present invention amplifies a microphone signal input through a microphone for noise detection, detects the noise, and connects to an AD channel 403 of the micro controller to detect noise . Here, since the microphone for noise detection responds well to the sound compared to the normal sound, it is possible to easily detect the cry of infants and young children.

4C is a graph of measured data by the noise sensor of 4b.

As shown in FIG. 4C, the noise sensor exhibits a maximum value when it is above the reference value of the noise detection signal processing of the microcontroller. Accordingly, the noise detection sensor detects the cry of the infant based on 'when a maximum value appears for a predetermined time' (404).

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for taking care of infants and toddlers using the robot according to the present invention, FIG. 5B is a flowchart of a sequential sensor sensing method of the robot, FIG. 5C is a flowchart Fig.

When the robot 110 operates in the autonomous mode according to the movement scenario (i.e., avoids the obstacle and moves to the designated position at a designated time) (S501) , A human body detection sensor, etc.) is used to monitor whether an infant is present (S502) (i.e., primary surveillance). Here, the movement scenario is created by the guardian, is stored in the database 123 of the infant care server 120, and is provided when the robot 110 is connected to the infant care server 120 when the robot 110 is driven.

Hereinafter, a case in which the robot 110 monitors whether an infant is present using the sensor will be described in detail. That is, the robot 110 sequentially detects infants as shown in FIG. 5B, or detects whether infants are present in parallel as shown in FIG. 5C. It is determined whether to detect whether there are infants in a sequential manner or whether there is a parallel infant as set in the moving scenario.

5B, the robot 110 sequentially drives a noise sensor, a sound source sensor, and a human body sensor so as to detect noise, sound source, and human body detection for infants and young children The infant is monitored through the video (S503). The robot 110 senses a specific noise through the noise sensor, senses a sound direction through the sound source sensor, turns the body, detects the movement of the infant through the human body sensor, Reliable monitoring is possible.

5C, the robot 110 drives a noise sensor, a sound source sensor, and a human body sensor in parallel, and detects a predetermined condition (in this case, at least two The sensor is detected by the sensor), the infant is monitored through the image (S503). This can detect at least two of the noise detection sensor, the sound source detection sensor, and the human body detection sensor so as to monitor the presence of infants.

In the case of detecting the presence of infants in sequence, it is possible to detect whether infants are present according to the measurement scenario of the sensor in order, but it is difficult to detect whether or not infants are present when the measurement order of the sensors is changed according to the environment change It is possible. On the other hand, detecting the existence of infants in parallel is probabilistic in comparison with the case of detecting the presence of infants in a sequential manner, but it is possible to detect whether infants are present even if the order of the sensors is changed have.

If the infant is detected using the sensor (S502), the robot 110 monitors the infant using the camera image (S503) (i.e., secondary surveillance). At this time, the robot 110 compresses the image to reduce the load on the network, transmits the image to the infant care server 120, receives the recognition result processed by the image processing unit 124 of the infant care server 120, Monitor status in real time. This is because the robot 110 is low in level and thus has a low computing function in image processing. Therefore, the robot 110 does not perform image processing directly, but indirectly uses the recognition result processed by the infant care server 120 To monitor the infant's condition in real time. Here, the recognition result transmitted from the infant care server 120 includes, as a result indicating whether or not the infant is present in the image, left and right coordinates of the focusing point of infants and infants in the image, edge and color extraction And the result of pattern recognition through

Thereafter, the robot 110 monitors the infant using the image, checks whether a predetermined event occurs in the infant or infant (S504), and carries out a subsequent action (S505).

For example, when the baby is crying, the robot 110 can check whether the infant is crying through a sensor (i.e., a noise sensor, a sound source sensor, etc.). At this time, the robot 110 can listen to a pre-recorded 'mother voice' to the infant to save the infant. If the infant does not stop crying, the robot 110 connects the video call to the guardian so that the infant and the guardian can make video calls.

In addition, if the infant is not recognized at a predetermined position at a predetermined time while traveling according to the moving scenario (for example, when the infant is supposed to read the book on the living room sofa at 2:00 pm and the infant is not detected near the sofa) , The robot 110 looks for infants through a sensor (i.e., a human body sensor) while searching for infants at the same time as calling the infant's name. At this time, if the infant is not recognized as described above, the robot 110 may directly connect the video call to the guardian so that the guardian can directly search for the infant through the video. That is, the guardian moves the robot 110 using the keypad of the mobile communication terminal 130 while looking at the corresponding image, and directly searches for the infant.

In addition, when the infant picks up a foreign object by hand and puts it in the mouth, the robot 110 uses the recognition result of the image processing through edge and color extraction in the infant care server 120, You can see the figure. At this time, it is assumed that the robot 110 picks up a foreign object by hand and puts it in the mouth (because it can not recognize 100% of the infant's state only by the image processing as described above) Induce to spit the foreign substance in your mouth. Thereafter, when no motion is detected for a predetermined period of time (for example, 5 to 10 seconds) after suddenly falling when the infant is sitting or standing, the robot 110 moves the infant in a state in which the infant is put in the mouth The infant is sure to put a foreign object in his / her mouth), so that the guardian can connect the video call to the guardian so that the guardian can directly check the video call. At this time, the robot 110 may directly contact the emergency center according to the judgment of the 'emergency state'. That is, if the guardian determines that the infant is in an emergency state through the corresponding image, the protector presses the pre-set shortcut key on the keypad of the mobile communication terminal 130 so that the robot 110 directly contacts the emergency center. Here, the robot 110 reconnects the video call with the emergency center, transmits the video of the infant to the emergency center in real time, overlays the current position information (that is, the place where the infant is presently present) preset in the video send.

In addition, when the infant is not crying but only motion is detected, the robot 110 can detect the infant's movement through the human body sensor. At this time, the robot 110 judges that the infant is playing alone, and provides the infant child with the pre-installed play contents for infants and young children. This is because the robot 110 does not threaten the safety of infants and young children with the weight that infants and young children can carry, so that the robot 110 can be utilized as a playmate or play object for infants and toddlers.

On the other hand, if the robot 110 corresponds to the service termination of the moving scenario or the arbitrary service termination by the guardian, the robot 110 ends the autonomous driving mode (S506).

Meanwhile, the method of the present invention as described above can be written in a computer program. And the code and code segments constituting the program can be easily deduced by a computer programmer in the field. In addition, the created program is stored in a computer-readable recording medium (information storage medium), and is read and executed by a computer to implement the method of the present invention. And the recording medium includes all types of recording media readable by a computer.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. The present invention is not limited to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a baby and infant care system using a robot according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a robot according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an infant care server according to the present invention.

4A is a circuit diagram of a sound source detection sensor according to the present invention,

FIG. 4B is a circuit diagram for a noise detection sensor according to the present invention,

FIG. 4C is a graph of measured data by the noise sensor of 4b,

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for taking care of infant and child using a robot according to the present invention.

FIG. 5B is a flow chart of an embodiment of a sequential sensor sensing method of a robot,

5C is a flow chart of another embodiment of a parallel sensor sensing method of the robot.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

110: Robot

120: Infant care server

130: mobile communication terminal

Claims (8)

delete delete delete delete delete In the method of taking care of infants, A primary monitoring step of detecting whether or not an infant is present by using a sensor while moving to a designated position at a designated time according to a moving scenario from an infant care server; If the infant is detected in the primary monitoring step, the robot acquires an infant image through the camera and transmits the infant image to the infant care server. Then, the robot receives the recognition result processed by the infant care server and monitors the infant & A secondary monitoring phase; A first video call connection step of connecting the video call to the guardian mobile communication terminal through the infant care server by the robot when a predetermined event is generated as a result of the monitoring of the secondary monitoring step; And A second video call connection step of connecting the emergency call center system with the emergency center system via the infant care server according to the control of the protector's mobile communication terminal and transmitting the infant's child location information together with the infant & Wherein the robot is a robot. The method according to claim 6, The infant care server comprises: The mobile communication terminal or the emergency center system is connected to a video call using a telephone number of the emergency mobile communication terminal or the emergency center system set in advance when a video call is requested by the robot and when a video call is requested by the parental mobile communication terminal, A method of caring for infants and toddlers using a robot, which connects video calls using assigned addresses. delete

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