KR102269362B1 - Method and system for controlling robot for providing management service for plant in building - Google Patents

Abstract

Identifying a plurality of plants in the building from the indoor map for the building, and controlling the movement of the robot to drive the path for providing the management service for each plant of the identified plants, so that the management service for each plant is provided A robot control method is provided.

Description

A method and system for controlling a robot that provides management services for plants in a building {METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING ROBOT FOR PROVIDING MANAGEMENT SERVICE FOR PLANT IN BUILDING}

The following description relates to a method and system for controlling a robot, and in particular, to a method and system for controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building.

An autonomous driving robot is a robot that finds an optimal route to a destination using wheels or legs while looking around and detecting obstacles on its own. It is being developed and used for various fields such as autonomous vehicles, logistics, hotel services, and robot vacuum cleaners.

Plants (eg, flowerpots) are placed within the building for landscaping or improving the environment within the building. Growth management, such as watering, providing nutrients and fertilizers for plants in a building, is mainly performed by a person (person) in charge of growth management of the plants. When management of all plants in a building is performed only by such a person in charge, it is difficult to properly manage all plants in a building without omission. Further, since the person in charge cannot properly grasp the state of each plant, an optimized management for each plant cannot be performed.

Therefore, using a robot, a robot control method and system for accurately grasping the state of each of a plurality of plants in a building so that appropriate management can be made for each plant, and managing a plurality of plants in a building without omission this is required

Korea Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2005-0024840 is a technology related to a path planning method for an autonomous mobile robot, and it is a technology for a mobile robot that moves autonomously at home or in an office How to plan is disclosed.

The information described above is for understanding only, and may include content that does not form a part of the prior art, and may not include what the prior art can present to a person skilled in the art.

Identifying a plurality of plants in the building from the indoor map for the building, and controlling the movement of the robot to drive the path for providing the management service for each plant of the identified plants, so that the management service for each plant is provided A robot control method is provided.

Robots and robots that are controlled to move together with a registered manager in association with a robot, and provide water, nutrients and fertilizers for plants in an amount or combination suitable for the plant to be managed so that the manager can use the plant A control method is provided.

There is provided a robot control method for outputting management information about a plant to be managed and the state information of the plant from a robot or a user terminal associated with a manager, thereby promoting efficiency in plant management.

In one aspect, in a robot control method performed by a robot providing a management service for plants in a building or a robot control system for controlling the robot, a plurality of plants in the building are identified from an indoor map for the building controlling the movement of the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants, and driving the robot to provide a management service for each plant while driving the path A robot control method is provided, comprising the step of controlling.

The robot is loaded with at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizer required to provide the management service to each plant, and the step of controlling the robot to provide the management service is obtained by vision recognition. identifying the state of each plant based on at least one of information and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant; based on the identified state of each plant, the water corresponding to the state of each plant , determining the amount of at least one of nutrients and fertilizers for plants or at least two of the water, nutrients and fertilizers for plants, and the determined amount of at least one of the water, nutrients and fertilizers for plants, or the determined blending amount Controlling the robot to provide a formulation according to each of the plants.

Management information for each plant is stored in a database, and the step of determining the at least one amount or the compounding amount is further based on the management information stored in the database, You can determine the at least one amount or the compounding amount .

The plant sensor includes the amount of light in the room in which each plant is located, the amount of moisture associated with each plant, the temperature of the room in which each plant is located, the humidity of the room in which each plant is located, and nutrition of the soil associated with each plant. It may be configured to obtain data representing at least one of the figures and transmit it to the robot.

The robot is controlled to move together with a registered manager in association with the robot, and controls the robot to provide the determined amount of at least one of the water, the plant nutrient and the fertilizer, or a compound according to the compounding amount to each plant. The step of providing the determined amount of at least one of the water, plant nutrients and fertilizers or a combination according to the determined compounding amount to the administrator so that the administrator can supply for each plant You can control the robot .

In the step of controlling the robot to provide the management service, when it is determined that at least one of water, plant nutrient and fertilizer mounted on the robot is insufficient to provide the management service, a notification of the shortage is sent to the robot or outputting from a user terminal associated with the manager.

The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service, when it is determined that at least one of water, plant nutrients and fertilizers mounted on the robot is insufficient to provide the management service, to fill the shortage, Controlling the robot to move the robot to a charging station located in the building, or calling another robot equipped with at least one of the insufficient water, nutrients for plants, and fertilizers.

The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service may include: identifying the state of each plant based on at least one of information obtained by the vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant; When the identified state of each plant is insufficient light, it may include transmitting a signal requesting to increase the amount of light for each plant to the building management system for managing the building.

The robot control method includes: identifying a change in the indoor map while driving the route; and identifying that the location of at least one plant among the plurality of plants is changed according to the identified change in the indoor map Further comprising, in the step of controlling the movement of the robot, based on the changed position of the plant, it is possible to control the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant.

The method for controlling the robot further includes registering a manager to move together with the robot and recognizing the registered manager, and controlling the movement of the robot to travel the path includes the manager being the robot Determining whether the robot is moving along the traveling route and outputting a notification from the robot or from a user terminal associated with the manager when it is determined that the manager is not moving along the route on which the robot travels may include steps.

The step of controlling the movement of the robot to travel the path may include stopping the movement of the robot when it is determined that the manager is not moving along the path on which the robot travels.

When it is determined that the distance between the robot and the manager is greater than a predetermined value, it may be determined that the manager is not moving along a path along which the robot travels.

The robot is controlled to move together with a manager registered in association with the robot, and controlling the movement of the robot includes controlling the robot so that the robot moves in front of each plant before the manager, and the plurality of When the provision of the management service for one of the plants of the plant is completed, the robot moves to the next plant among the plurality of plants to provide the management service, and from a plant sensor associated with the one plant When the message indicating that the provision of the management service is completed is received, it may be determined that the provision of the management service for the single plant is completed.

The robot is controlled to move with a manager registered in association with the robot, and controlling the robot to provide the management service includes controlling the robot so that the robot stops in front of each plant and the Comprising the step of outputting the management information and status information for each plant from the robot or from a user terminal associated with the manager, the management information is information on the identifier information of each plant and information on a cycle of providing the management service Including, the state information may be generated based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant.

The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service includes the steps of determining whether replanting or replacement of a flowerpot is required for each plant based on the information obtained by the vision recognition and replanting for each plant Alternatively, when it is determined that the replacement of the pot is required, it may include outputting, from the robot or a user terminal associated with the manager, a notification that replanting or replacement of the pot is required for each plant.

The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service includes obtaining information on the environmental state in the building and based on the obtained information on the obtained environmental state, setting each plant in the building. and controlling the robot to move it to a position suitable for growth, wherein the information on the environmental condition in the building may include at least one of light quantity, air cleanliness, temperature and humidity in the building.

In another aspect, in the robot providing a management service for plants in a building, comprising at least one processor implemented to execute a computer-readable command, the at least one processor, the indoor for the building Identifying a plurality of plants in the building from the map, controlling the movement of the robot to drive a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants, and providing a management service for each plant, A robot is provided.

The robot includes a loading unit on which at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers required to provide the management service to each plant is mounted, and a compounding unit that mixes at least two of the water, plant nutrients and fertilizers, , the at least one processor identifies the state of each plant based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant, Based on the determination of the amount of at least one of the water, the nutrient for plants and the fertilizer, or the amount of at least two of the water, the nutrient for the plant and the fertilizer that matches the state of each plant, the mounting unit and the compounding unit , at least one of the determined amount of the water, plant nutrients and fertilizers or a combination according to the determined compounding amount may be provided for each plant.

In another aspect, in a robot control system for controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, comprising at least one processor implemented to execute a computer-readable command, the at least one processor Controls the movement of the robot to identify a plurality of plants in the building from the indoor map for the building, and to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants, and the robot is A robot control system is provided for controlling the robot to provide a management service for each plant while traveling on a path.

A plurality of plants in the building are identified from the indoor map for the building, and the movement of the robot is controlled to drive a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants, so that a management service for each plant is provided. By doing so, a robot control method that can manage plants in a building without omission can be provided.

A method may be provided for a manager in charge of plant growth management, using a robot, to provide an optimized management service corresponding to management information and state information of a corresponding plant for each plant in a building.

Information related to the growth of a plant, including management information on a plant to be managed and the state information of the corresponding plant, is output from the robot or from a user terminal associated with the manager, thereby providing convenience in managing plants in a building.

1 illustrates a method of controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, according to an embodiment.
2 is a block diagram illustrating a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, according to an embodiment.
3 and 4 are block diagrams illustrating a robot control system for controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, according to an embodiment.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, according to an embodiment.
6A is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying a state of a plant and providing a management service for a plant according to the identified state, according to an example.
6B is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a management service for each plant, according to an example.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a management service for plants according to an environmental condition in a building, according to an example.
8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a robot to provide a management service for each robot according to a change in an indoor map, according to an example.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a robot when water/nutrient/fertilizer mounted on a robot for providing a management service for plants is insufficient, according to an example.
10 illustrates a method of registering a manager for a robot and controlling the robot to move together with the registered manager, according to an example.
11 to 14 show a method of providing a management service for a plant using a robot, according to an example.
15 is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling a robot when water/nutrients/fertilizers mounted on a robot for providing a management service for plants are insufficient, according to an example.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 illustrates a method of controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, according to an embodiment.

In FIG. 1 , the robot control system 120 and the robot 100 controlled through the control by the robot control system 120 are illustrated. The robot 100 may be a service robot that provides a service in a building according to control by the robot control system 120 . In the detailed description to be described later, a space within a building in which the robot 100 provides a service may be referred to as a building for convenience of description.

The robot 100 may provide a service at a predetermined location in the building (or to a predetermined person) by traveling in such a space in the building. The service provided by the robot 100 may be a management service for each of the plants 110 located in the building. In the detailed description to be described later, the plants 110 and each of the plants may be referred to as a plant 110 for convenience of description.

The plant 110 is, for example, a plant disposed in a building for the purpose of landscaping or environmental improvement in the building, and may represent a potted plant.

The provision of the management service for the plant 110 may include, for example, at least one of watering the plant 110 , supplying nutrients for plants, and supplying fertilizers. Alternatively, the provision of the management service for the plant 110 is not limited only to the provision of an active service for the plant 110 , and acquires information based on vision recognition for the plant 110 , or / additionally the plant 110 . ) may encompass obtaining information from the associated plant sensor 115 . In addition, the provision of the management service for the plant 110 may encompass obtaining (and generating) the state information of the plant 110 based on the obtained information.

The plant sensor 115 may be a sensor device disposed in association with each plant 110 . The plant sensor 115 may monitor useful information in the growth and management (ie, growth management) of the plant 110 in real time. For example, the plant sensor 115 may be attached to the plant itself (eg, the stem of the plant) or placed outside or inside the pot. The plant sensor 115 includes the amount of light indoors of the building in which the plant 110 is located, the amount of moisture associated with the plant 110 (the amount of moisture in pots and soil or the degree of dryness of the plant 110), Data indicating at least one of the indoor temperature, the indoor humidity of the building in which the plant 110 is located, and the nutrient level of the soil (ie, potted soil) associated with the plant 110 may be obtained, and the obtained data may be configured to deliver to the robot 100 (or the robot control system 120 ). Data obtained from the plant sensor 115 may be processed into state information of the plant 110 through the robot 100 or the robot control system 120 . Alternatively, data obtained from the plant sensor 115 may correspond to the state information of the plant 110 .

The plant sensor 115 may transmit data to the robot 100 through wireless communication (or short-range wireless communication) with the robot 100 . For example, the plant sensor 115 may transmit data to the robot 100 through short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth, NFC, or RFID. Alternatively, the plant sensor 115 may transmit data to the robot control system 120 rather than the robot 100 .

In addition, the plant sensor 115 monitors the pest state and growth state of the plant 110, and information about the pest state (eg, information indicating the degree of pest) and information indicating the growth state (eg, height, etc.) can be obtained

The manager 130 may be a person in charge of managing the growth of the plants 110 in the building. The manager 130 may be registered for the robot 100, and the robot 100 may be controlled to recognize the registered manager 130 and move with the registered manager 130 in association with the robot 100. have. The robot 100 may provide a management service for the plant 110 by assisting the manager 130 . In other words, the provision of the management service for the plant 110 by the robot 100, so that the manager 130 can properly provide the management service for the plant 110, the robot 100 is the manager 130 It may mean providing at least one of water, fertilizer, and nutrients for plants as a payload of the robot 100 or providing appropriate information about it.

Below, the robot 100 and the provision of a management service for the plant 110 using the robot 100 will be described in more detail.

The robot 100 may be a service robot used to provide a management service for the plant 110 in a building. The robot 100 may be configured to provide such a management service on at least one floor of a building. Also, there may be a plurality of robots 100 . That is, each of the plurality of robots may move in the building to provide a management service for the plants 110 in the building. In the detailed description to be described later, for convenience of description, the robot 100 may also be referred to as representing a plurality of robots.

The robot 100 may provide a management service for the plant 110 located at a predetermined location of the building through autonomous driving. The movement of the robot 100 and the provision of management services may be controlled by the robot control system 120 . The structure of the robot control system 120 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 to be described later. The robot 100 may move to a location where the plant 110 exists by traveling along a path set by the robot control system 120 , and thus may provide a management service for the plant 110 . As shown, the robot 100 may travel a path set by the robot control system 120 by driving the wheels.

With reference to FIG. 1 , the structure and operation of the robot 100 for providing a management service for the plant 110 will be described.

The robot 100 may identify the plants 110 within the building using an indoor map of the building from the robot control system 120 . The robot control system 120 moves the robot 100 to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the plants 110 identified on the indoor map based on the sensing data from the robot 100 . (Or, depending on the embodiment, the robot 100 may drive the route by directly controlling its own movement (not through the robot control system 120)). The robot 100 may move around the plant 110 to provide a management service for the plant 110 .

The robot 100 may include a mounting unit 180 on which at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers required to provide a management service for the plant 110 is mounted. The mounting unit 180 may provide a space in which the payload 182 such as water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers is mounted. The mounting unit 180 may be a loading unit for loading the load 182 on the robot 100 . The mounting unit 180 may be located inside the robot 100 as shown, or may be located on the upper surface of the robot differently than shown. The mount 180 may include a tank for storing water or other liquid.

In an embodiment, the robot 100 may include a hose 140 . The hose may be for supplying water (or nutrients and fertilizers for plants, or a combination thereof) corresponding to the payload 182 to the plant 110 . For example, the manager 130 may supply water (or nutrients and fertilizers for plants, or a combination thereof) to the plants 110 using the hose 140 . Instead of, or in addition to, hose 140 , the robot may include a bucket for supplying water (or nutrients and fertilizers for plants, or combinations thereof) to plants 110 .

The robot 100 may determine the amount of at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers to be supplied to the plant 110 according to the state information of the plant 110, or the compounding amount of at least two of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers. There, at least one of a determined amount of water, a plant nutrient and a fertilizer, or a combination according to the determined compounding amount may be supplied to the plant 110 through the hose 140 or the bucket.

Although not shown, the robot 100 may further include a camera. The camera may be used to perform vision recognition for the plant 110 and the manager 130 .

The sensing data for the plant 110 obtained by the camera may be transmitted to the robot control system 120 . The robot control system 120 may acquire state information of the plant 110 based on vision-based recognition based on sensing data from the camera. Alternatively, according to an embodiment, the acquisition of such state information may be performed by the robot 100 .

Also, the camera may be used to register the manager 130 . Based on the image of the manager 130 captured by the camera, the manager 130 may be registered for the robot 100 . The registered manager 130 may be recognized and tracked based on the image captured by the camera.

On the other hand, the robot 100 determines the amount (and blending amount) of the payload 182 to be supplied to the plant 110 or obtains the state information of the plant 110 in the provision of the management service for the plant 110 . It may correspond to a brainless robot in that it does not perform an operation to do this, and only provides sensing data for performing the operation to the robot control system 120 .

Alternatively, the robot 100 obtains the state information of the plant 110 to determine the state of the plant 110 , and determines the amount (and blending amount) of the payload 182 to be supplied to the plant 110 . may be

A more specific method of providing a management service for the plant 110 using the robot 100 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 15 to be described later.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, according to an embodiment.

As described above, the robot 100 may be a service robot used to provide management services for the plants 110 in the building.

The robot 100 may be a physical device, and as shown, may include a control unit 104 , a driving unit 108 , a sensor unit 106 , and a communication unit 102 . Also, the robot 100 may include a mounting unit 180 and a hose 140 (or a bucket) as described above with reference to FIG. 1 . In addition, the robot 100 is a configuration for mixing the payload 182 , and may further include a blending unit for blending at least two of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers corresponding to the payload 182 . The compounding unit may generate a formulation for supplying the plant 110 by mixing at least two of water, a plant nutrient, and a fertilizer in an appropriate ratio required by the plant 110 .

The control unit 104 may be a physical processor built into the robot 100 , and includes a path planning processing module 211 , a mapping processing module 212 , a driving control module 213 , a localization processing module 214 , It may include a data processing module 215 and a service processing module 216 . At this time, even when the path planning processing module 211 , the mapping processing module 212 , and the localization processing module 214 do not communicate with the robot control system 120 , the indoor autonomous driving of the robot 100 is performed. In order to make it possible, it may be selectively included in the control unit 104 depending on the embodiment.

The communication unit 102 may be configured for the robot 100 to communicate with other devices (such as another robot or robot control system 120 ). In other words, the communication unit 102 is a hardware module or network device, such as an antenna of the robot 100 , a data bus, a network interface card, a network interface chip and a networking interface port, etc., that transmits/receives data and/or information to/from other devices. It may be a software module such as a driver or a networking program.

The driving unit 108 controls the movement of the robot 100 and is a configuration that enables movement, and may include equipment for performing this. For example, the drive 108 may include wheels.

The sensor unit 106 may be configured to collect data required for autonomous driving and service provision of the robot 100 . The sensor unit 106 may not include expensive sensing equipment, and may only include a sensor such as a low-cost ultrasonic sensor and/or a low-cost camera. The sensor unit 106 may include a sensor for identifying an obstacle/person located in the driving direction.

Also, the sensor unit 106 may include a camera. The camera may be arranged to photograph the plant 110 . The image information about the plant 110 obtained by the camera may be used to determine the state information of the plant 110 .

In addition, the camera may be used to register the manager 130 for the robot 100 , and to recognize and track the registered manager 130 . The manager 130 may be registered based on image information about the manager 130 acquired by the camera. The registered manager 130 may be recognized and tracked based on image information about the manager 130 acquired by the camera.

There may be a plurality of cameras, for example, may be installed in front and rear of the robot 100, respectively.

As an example of processing of the control unit 104 , the data processing module 215 of the control unit 104 transmits sensing data including output values of the sensors of the sensor unit 106 to the robot control system 120 through the communication unit 102 . can The robot control system 120 may transmit route data generated using an indoor map in a building to the robot 100 . The route data may be data representing a route for providing a management service for each plant of the plurality of plants 110 identified from the indoor map. The path data may be transmitted to the data processing module 215 through the communication unit 102 . The data processing module 215 may directly transmit route data to the drive control module 213 , and the drive control module 213 controls the drive unit 108 according to the route data to control indoor autonomous driving of the robot 100 . can do.

When the robot 100 and the robot control system 120 cannot communicate, the data processing module 215 transmits the sensed data to the localization processing module 214, and the path planning processing module 211 and the mapping processing The indoor autonomous driving of the robot 100 may be directly processed by generating path data through the module 212 . For example, the control unit 104 may identify the plurality of plants 110 from the indoor map using the path planning processing module 211 and the mapping processing module 212 , and Path data as data representing a path for providing a management service for each plant may be generated, and the indoor autonomous driving of the robot 100 may be controlled to travel a path according to the path data.

The robot 100 can move through autonomous driving to all positions of all floors in the building where the plants 110 are located using the indoor map stored on the cloud, and can avoid obstacles, cross the threshold, get on and off the elevator when driving, It can be controlled to perform an emergency stop, etc.

The robot 100 may be distinguished from a mapping robot used to generate an indoor map in a building. In this case, since the robot 100 does not include expensive sensing equipment, it is possible to process indoor autonomous driving by using an output value of a sensor such as a low-cost ultrasonic sensor and/or a low-cost camera. On the other hand, if the robot 100 has previously processed indoor autonomous driving through communication with the robot control system 120 , the mapping data included in the path data previously received from the robot control system 120 is further added. By using it, more accurate indoor autonomous driving may be possible while using low-cost sensors.

However, according to an embodiment, the robot 100 may also serve as the mapping robot.

The service processing module 216 may receive a command received through the robot control system 120 through the communication unit 102 or through the communication unit 102 and the data processing module 215 . The control unit 104 may provide a management service for the plant 110 based on the transmitted command.

Alternatively, the robot 100 may provide a management service for the plant 110 by the service processing module 216 and the data processing module 215 . In other words, as described above, the control unit 104 may provide a management service for the plant 110 by directly processing an operation for providing the management service for the plant 110 .

The driving unit 108 may further include equipment related to a service provided by the robot 100 as well as equipment for moving the robot 100 . For example, the mount 180 and the hose 140 (and/or bucket) described above may be included in the drive unit 108 . In addition, the drive unit 108 may include a configuration (eg, a robotic arm) for moving the plant 110 (a flowerpot) to another location within the building.

In addition, the robot 100 may further include a speaker and/or a display, or an LED, for providing information/content. The service processing module 216 may transmit a driving command for a service to be provided to the driving control module 213, and the driving control module 213 may include the robot 100 or the driving unit 108 according to the driving command. By controlling the configuration, it is possible to provide a management service for the plant 110 .

The plant information database 200 may store management information for each of the plurality of plants 110 in the building. The management information may be used to identify the condition of the plant 110 . For example, the management information may include identifier information of each plant and information on a cycle of providing a management service for each plant. As an example, the management information for the plant 110 stored by the plant information database 200 is the name (type) of the plant 110, the identifier of the plant 110, the management number of the plant 110, the plant 110 Information on the cycle of supplying water / fertilizer / nutrients to the plant 110 , information about the recent supply of water / fertilizer / nutrients to the plant 110 , and the recently supplied water / fertilizer / nutrient for the plant 110 . It may include information about the amount, and the like. In addition, the management information may further include data collected from the plant sensor 115 associated with the plant 110 .

The robot 100 (or the robot control system 120 ) may use the management information stored in the plant information database 200 to identify the state of the plant 110 .

The information stored in the plant information database 200 may be information about each of the plants 110 previously recorded by the manager 130 .

Management information about the plant 110 stored in the plant information database 200 (separately from management by the robot 100 or sensing by the plant sensor 115) is the manager 130 who manages the plant 110 It may be updated through the user terminal of the manager 130 by the determination of . For example, the manager 130 may determine the state of the plant 110 by visually checking the plant 110 , and manage the plant 110 stored in the plant information database 200 using his/her user terminal. Information can be updated. In addition, the manager 130 may also update information on a cycle of supplying water/fertilizer/nutrient for the plant 110 using his/her user terminal.

The plant information database 200 may be configured as a part of the robot control system 120 or implemented as a separate server.

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIG. 1 may be applied to FIG. 2 as it is, and thus a redundant description will be omitted.

3 and 4 are block diagrams illustrating a robot control system for controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, according to an embodiment.

The robot control system 120 is a device for controlling the movement (ie, driving) in the building of the above-described robot 100 and the provision of management services for the plants 110 in the building by the robot 100 . can The robot control system 120 may control the movement of each of the plurality of robots and the provision of services of each of the robots. The robot control system 120 may set a path for the robot 100 to provide a management service for the plants 110 through communication with the robot 100, and transmit information about the path to the robot 100 ) can be passed on to The robot 100 may drive according to the received path information, and may provide a management service for each of the plants 110 . The robot control system 120 may control the movement of the robot 100 so that the robot moves (travels) according to the set path.

The robot control system 120 may include at least one computing device.

The robot control system 120 may be a device for setting a path for the driving of the robot 100 and controlling the movement of the robot 100 as described above. In addition, the robot control system 120 may be a device for controlling the robot 100 in order to provide a service by the robot 100 . The robot control system 120 may include at least one computing device, and may be implemented as a server located inside or outside the building.

As shown, the robot control system 120 may include a memory 330 , a processor 320 , a communication unit 310 , and an input/output interface 340 .

The memory 330 is a computer-readable recording medium and may include a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and a permanent mass storage device such as a disk drive. Here, the ROM and the non-volatile mass storage device may be separated from the memory 330 and included as separate permanent storage devices. Also, an operating system and at least one program code may be stored in the memory 330 . These software components may be loaded from a computer-readable recording medium separate from the memory 330 . The separate computer-readable recording medium may include a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy drive, a disk, a tape, a DVD/CD-ROM drive, and a memory card. In another embodiment, the software components may be loaded into the memory 330 through the communication unit 310 rather than a computer-readable recording medium.

The processor 320 may be configured to process instructions of a computer program by performing basic arithmetic, logic, and input/output operations. The command may be provided to the processor 320 by the memory 330 or the communication unit 310 . For example, the processor 320 may be configured to execute a received instruction according to a program code loaded into the memory 330 . Such a processor 320 may include components 410 to 440 as shown in FIG. 4 .

Each of the components 410 to 440 of the processor 320 may be a software and/or hardware module as a part of the processor 320 , and may represent a function (functional block) implemented by the processor. Configurations 410 to 440 of the processor 320 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4 .

The communication unit 310 may be configured for the robot control system 120 to communicate with other devices (such as a user terminal of a user, the robot 100 or another server). In other words, the communication unit 310 transmits/receives data and/or information to/from other devices, such as an antenna of the robot control system 120, a data bus, a network interface card, a network interface chip and a hardware module such as a networking interface port, or It may be a software module such as a network device driver or a networking program.

The input/output interface 340 may be a means for interfacing with an input device such as a keyboard or mouse and an output device such as a display or speaker.

According to embodiments, the robot control system 120 may include more components than the illustrated components.

The robot control system 120 performs an operation required when the robot 100 provides a management service for the plant 110 (when the robot 100 does not perform such an operation, for example, the robot 100 ) is a brainless robot).

The robot control system 120 provides a management service for the plant 110 through the robot 100 , and controls and manages the notification of the notification to the user terminal of the manager 130 , the plant 110 . ) (or potted plants) can be viewed as a plant management system that provides management services. A specific method for the robot control system 120 or the robot 100 to provide a management service for the plant 110 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 15 to be described later.

The configurations 410 to 440 of the processor 320 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4 . The processor 320 may include a map generation module 410 , a localization processing module 420 , a route planning processing module 430 , and a service operation module 440 as illustrated. Components included in the processor 320 may perform different functions performed by at least one processor included in the processor 320 according to a control instruction according to a code of an operating system or a code of at least one computer program. (different functions).

The map generation module 410 is a component for generating an indoor map of a target facility using sensing data generated by a mapping robot (not shown) autonomously driving inside a building for a target facility (eg, inside a building). can be

At this time, the localization processing module 420 uses the sensing data received from the robot 100 through the network and the indoor map of the target facility generated through the map generation module 410 to the target facility (building or building of the building). The position of the robot 100 in the floor) can be determined.

The path planning processing module 430 may generate a control signal for controlling the indoor autonomous driving of the robot 100 using the sensing data received from the robot 100 and the generated indoor map. For example, the path planning processing module 430 may generate a path (ie, path data) of the robot 100 . The generated path (path data) may be set for the robot 100 for the robot 100 to travel along the path. The robot control system 120 may transmit information about the generated path to the robot 100 through a network. For example, the information on the path may include information indicating the current position of the robot 100 , information for mapping the current position and an indoor map, and path planning information. The path planning processing module 430 may create a path for the robot 100 and set the path for the robot 100 . The robot control system 120 may control the movement of the robot 100 so that the robot 100 moves according to the set path (ie, along the set path).

The generated path may be a path along which the robot 100 travels to provide a management service for each plant of the plants 110 in the building. The path planning processing module 430 may identify the plants 110 (positions of the corresponding plants 110 ) existing in the building from the indoor map, and the robot 100 performs each plant of the plants 110 . You can create a path that can provide management services for

The service operation module 440 may include a function for controlling the management service provided by the robot 100 to the plant 110 . For example, a service provider operating the robot control system 120 or a building provides an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for a service (eg, cloud service) provided by the robot control system 120 to a user or a manufacturer of the robot 100 . ) can be provided. In this case, the user or the manufacturer of the robot 100 may create software for controlling the service provided by the robot 100 in the building through the IDE and register it in the robot control system 120 . In this case, the service operation module 440 may control the service provided by the robot 100 using software registered in association with the robot 100 . As a specific example, assuming that the robot 100 provides a management service for the plant 110 , the robot control system 120 controls the indoor autonomous driving of the robot 100 so that the robot 100 moves the plant 110 . In addition to controlling to move to the periphery of the robot 100, when the robot 100 arrives at the target location, to the plant 110 (via the manager 130) to supply at least one of water, plant nutrients and fertilizers, A command related to the robot 100 can be transmitted to the robot 100 so that the robot 100 provides a series of services that enable the information and notifications related to the management service to be output from the robot 100 or through the user terminal of the manager 130 . .

The operation required for the robot 100 to provide a management service for the plant 110 may be performed by the service operation module 440 . More details on this will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 15 to be described later.

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 can be applied to FIGS. 3 and 4 as it is, and thus a redundant description will be omitted.

In the detailed description to be described later, an operation performed by the components of the robot control system 120 or the robot 100 may be described as an operation performed by the robot control system 120 or the robot 100 for convenience of description. .

The steps to be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 to be described later have been described as being performed by the robot control system 120 for convenience of description, but as described above, including at least some of these steps, the robot control system 120 to be described later At least some of the operations described as being performed by the robot 100 may also be performed by the robot 100 . In this regard, overlapping description may be omitted.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, according to an embodiment.

In step S510 , the robot control system 120 may identify a plurality of plants 110 in the building from the indoor map for the building. Plants 110 may be recognized by the mapping robot and included in the indoor map when the mapping robot runs in a building to generate an indoor map. Alternatively, each of the plants 110 may be associated with a plant sensor 115 , and based on the location information of each of the plants 110 from the plant sensor 115 , the plants 110 in the indoor map Each of can be identified.

In step S520 , the robot control system 120 may control the movement of the robot 100 to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants 110 . The robot control system 120 may generate a path for the robot 100 to travel from the indoor map in which the plants 110 are identified. The generated path may be a path that enables the robot 100 to provide management services for all plants 110 . In other words, the robot 100 can provide management services for all plants 110 without omission by driving a path under the control of the robot control system 120 .

In step S530 , the robot control system 120 may control the robot 100 to provide a management service for each plant while the robot 100 travels the path. As described above, the provision of the management service for the plant 110 may include, for example, at least one of watering the plant 110 , supplying nutrients for plants, and supplying fertilizers. Alternatively, the provision of the management service for the plant 110 is not limited only to the provision of an active service for the plant 110 , and acquires information based on vision recognition for the plant 110 , or / additionally the plant 110 . ) may encompass obtaining information from the associated plant sensor 115 . In addition, the provision of the management service for the plant 110 may encompass obtaining (and generating) the state information of the plant 110 based on the obtained information.

The robot 100 may obtain information based on vision recognition on the plant 110 through periodically traveling a path, or/ additionally obtain information from a plant sensor 115 associated with the plant 110 . . In addition, the robot 100 may acquire state information of the plant 110 by periodically traveling the path. Accordingly, the state of all the plants 110 in the building can be grasped by the robot 100 .

A more specific example in which the robot 100 provides a management service for the plant 110 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 15 to be described later.

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 can be applied to FIG. 5 as it is, and thus a redundant description will be omitted.

6A is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying a state of a plant and providing a management service for a plant according to the identified state, according to an example.

In step S610, the robot control system 120 may identify the state of each plant based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor 115 associated with each plant. . The identified state of the plant 110 may be the growth state of the plant 110 . For example, the robot control system 120 determines whether the plant 110 is in a dry state, whether the plant 110 is in a moisture-rich state (whether the plant 110 is in a moisture-rich state, whether the plant 110 is free from pests, pollen or replanting). It is possible to identify the state of the plant 110, such as whether or not is needed.

The robot control system 120 obtains from the plant sensor 115 the amount of light inside the building in which the plant 110 is located, the amount of moisture associated with the plant 110 (the amount of moisture in pots and soil or the degree of dryness of the plant 110), Data representing at least one of the indoor temperature of the building in which the plant 110 is located, the indoor humidity of the building in which the plant 110 is located, and the nutritional level of the soil (ie, potted soil) associated with the plant 110 . It is possible to identify the state of the plant 110 based on the.

Or/additionally, the robot control system 120 is based on at least one of leaf color information of the plant 110 and soil color information of a flowerpot of the plant 110 obtained based on vision recognition by the camera of the robot 100 . to identify the state of the plant 110 . For example, based on the leaf color information of the plant 110 , a health condition such as whether the plant 110 is suffering from pests and diseases may be identified. In addition, based on the soil color information of the flowerpot of the plant 110 , it may be identified whether the plant 110 is in a dry state.

In relation to this, in FIG. 14 , a method of determining the state of a plant based on vision recognition through the camera 1400 of the robot 100 is illustrated. As shown, the robot 100 (or the robot control system 120 ) may determine the state of the plant based on the image information of the plant 110 obtained by the camera 1400 . In addition, based on the image information of the plant 110 obtained by the camera 1400, for example, by analyzing the height and / or the width of the branch of the plant 110, the growth state of the plant 110 can be determined. .

In step S620, the robot control system 120, based on the identified state of each plant, the amount of at least one of water, plant nutrient and fertilizer, or water, plant nutrient that matches the state of each plant And it is possible to determine the compounding amount of at least two of the fertilizer. That is, according to the state identified in step S610, the supply amount and the compounding amount for the plant 110 of the payload 182 mounted on the robot 100 may be determined. For example, when it is determined that the plant 110 is unhealthy or suffering from pests and diseases, it may be determined that a predetermined amount of nutrients (or pharmaceuticals for plants) or fertilizers are mixed with water. In addition, the robot control system 120 may determine the temperature of water to be supplied to the plants 110 based on the identified state of each plant.

In step S630 , the robot control system 120 may control the robot 100 to provide each plant with at least one of a determined amount of water, a plant nutrient, and a fertilizer, or a formulation according to the determined compounding amount. That is, at least one of the amount of water determined in step (S620), nutrients and fertilizers for plants, or a formulation according to the amount determined in step (S620) may be supplied to the plant 110 . In addition, the temperature of the water supplied to the plants 110 may also be determined based on the state of each plant.

By the steps ( S610 to S630 ), in the embodiment, the state of the plant 110 can be accurately identified, and a management service for the plant 110 optimized for the identified state can be provided.

Meanwhile, in identifying the state of each plant in step S610 , the robot control system 120 may identify the state of the plant further based on the management information stored in the plant information database 200 . Or/additionally, in determining the supply amount and compounding amount for the plant 110 of the payload 182 in step S620, the robot control system 120 is further based on the management information stored in the plant information database 200 Thus, it is possible to determine the supply amount and the compounding amount for the plant 110 of the payload 182 .

As described above, the management information for the plant 110 stored by the plant information database 200 includes the name (type) of the plant 110, the identifier of the plant 110, the management number of the plant 110, the plant 110 ) for information about the cycle of supplying water / fertilizer / nutrients, information about the amount of water / fertilizer / nutrient supply for the plant 110, information about the replanting cycle of the plant 110, the plant 110 Information about the time when water / fertilizer / nutrients were recently supplied to the plant 110 , information about the amount of water / fertilizer / nutrients recently supplied to the plant 110 , and other specific details about the plant 110 may be included. have. In addition, the management information stored by the plant information database 200 may further include data collected from the plant sensor 115 associated with the plant 110 .

For example, when it is determined by management information that water/fertilizer/nutrients have been supplied to the plant 110 recently (within a predetermined period), the plant 110 does not require water/fertilizer/nutrients. It can be identified as , which can be reflected in determining the supply amount and blending amount for the plant 110 of the payload 182 . Through further use of the management information, the state of the plant 110 can be identified more accurately, and therefore, the management service for the plant 110 can also be more optimized.

As described above, the robot 100 may be controlled to move together with the manager 130 registered in association with the robot 100 . At this time, in the above-described step (S630), the robot control system 120, at least one of the amount of water, plant nutrients and fertilizers determined in step (S620) or the formulation according to the formulation amount determined in step (S620) Manager By providing it to 130 , the manager 130 can control the robot 100 to supply for each plant. For example, the determined amount of water, at least one or a combination of plant nutrients and fertilizers may be provided to the manager 130 through the hose 140 or bucket, and the manager 130 uses the hose 140 or the bucket. Thus, it is possible to supply at least one or a combination of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers in the determined amount for the plant 110 .

In relation to this, FIG. 11 shows an example in which a management service is provided for the plant 110 through the robot 100 (or the robot management system 120 ) and the manager 130 . As shown, the robot 100 can identify the state (state information) of the plant 110 from the plant sensor 115 associated with the plant 110 , and the identified state and the plant from the plant information database 200 . Based on the management information for (110), the amount or blending amount of water to be supplied to the plant (110) may be determined. Based on the determined amount or blending amount of water, etc., the manager 130 and the robot 100 may supply the determined amount of water or the like or a blend according to the blending amount to the plant 110 .

In addition, in step S630, the robot control system 120 receives a signal requesting to increase the amount of light for each plant to the building management system that manages the building when the identified state of each plant is insufficient light. can be transmitted For example, the robot control system 120 determines that the amount of light recognized through the camera or the illuminance sensor of the robot 100 is less than a predetermined value, or/additionally, the amount of light for the plant 110 according to the light amount data from the plant sensor 115 . If it is determined that this is more necessary, a signal may be transmitted to the building management system requesting to increase the amount of light for the plant 110 . The building management system receiving the signal may open a building louver, blind or radiation panel corresponding to the location of the plant 110 (ie, corresponding to a location where natural light can be irradiated to the plant). In determining whether more light is needed for the plant 110 , management information about the plant 110 stored by the plant information database 200 may be further used. For example, according to the management information on the plant 110, when the plant 110 is a plant species requiring a large amount of light, it may be determined that more light is required than when the plant 110 is a plant species that does not.

In relation to this, FIG. 12 shows an example in which the amount of light for the plant 110 is controlled by the building management system in response to a request by the robot 100 (or the robot management system 120 ). As shown, when it is recognized that the amount of light for the plant 110 is insufficient, the robot 100 may request adjustment of the amount of light to the building management system, and the building management system blinds and copies the window illuminating the plant 110 . By controlling the panel or building louver, the amount of light for the plant 110 can be increased.

In addition, in step S610, the robot control system 120 determines whether replanting or replacement of pots is required for each plant based on the information obtained by vision recognition by the camera 1400 of the robot 100. can be judged. For example, the robot control system 120, based on the image information on the plant 110, when the size of the plant 110 is larger than the size of the pot, replanting or replacement of the pot is required for the plant 110. can be judged as In addition, the robot control system 120 further uses the management information on the plant 110 stored by the plant information database 200 to determine whether replanting or replacement of a potted plant is required for the plant 110 . . For example, when the period of replanting or pot replacement has elapsed for the plant 110 by management information, or when the size of the plant 110 recognized by vision recognition exceeds the reference value required for replanting or pot replacement, the plant ( 110), it can be determined that replanting or replacement of flowerpots is required. In addition, the robot control system 120 determines that replanting or replacement of pots is required for the plant 110 when the current season corresponds to the season of replanting or pot replacement of the plant 110 specified by the management information. can

In step S640, the robot control system 120, when it is determined that the plant 110 requires replanting or replacement of the pot, a notification that replanting or replacement of the pot is required for the plant 110 to the robot 100 ) or from a user terminal associated with the manager 130 . For example, the robot control system 120 may output the notification as a visual indicator and/or an audible indicator through a display (or LED) and/or a speaker of the robot 100 . Alternatively, the robot control system 120 may output the notification as a visual indicator and/or an audible indicator through a display (or LED) and/or a speaker of the user terminal associated with the manager 130 . Alternatively, the user terminal may output the notification as a haptic-based indicator.

The user terminal is a terminal possessed by the manager 130, for example, a smart phone, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tablet, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or a wearable computer (wearable computer). computer) or the like.

In relation to this, an example in which a notification is output to the user terminal 1300 is illustrated in FIG. 13 . As shown in FIG. 13 , the user terminal 1300 may be a wearable device worn by the manager 130 . As an example, the user terminal 1300 may be an earphone-type device. A notification that replanting or replacement of a flowerpot is required for the aforementioned plant 110 may be output as a notification in the form of a sound indicator and/or haptic indicator to the user terminal 1300 . Other types of notifications to be described later may also be output as notifications in the form of sound indicators and/or haptic indicators.

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and FIGS. 11 to 14 can be applied to FIG. 6A as it is, and thus overlapping descriptions will be omitted.

6B is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a management service for each plant, according to an example.

Referring to Figure 6b, in the case where the robot 100 is controlled to move with the manager 130 registered in association with the robot 100, in an example of a method of providing a management service for the plant 110 explain about

In step S650 , the robot control system 120 may control the robot 100 to stop in the vicinity of each plant (eg, in front of the plant 110 ) while the robot 100 travels the path. have. In other words, the robot 100 may stop in the vicinity of (eg, in front of) the plant 110 which is a target for providing the management service.

In step S660 , the robot control system 120 may output management information and state information for each plant from the robot 100 or from a user terminal associated with the manager 130 . For example, the robot control system 120 may output the management information and status information as visual information and/or audible information through a display (or LED) and/or a speaker of the robot 100 . Alternatively, the robot control system 120 may output the management information and status information as visual information and/or audible information through a display (or LED) and/or a speaker of the user terminal associated with the manager 130 .

The management information may include identifier information of the plant 110 and information on a cycle for providing a management service. The management information may be management information about the plant 110 stored in the aforementioned plant information database 200 . The state information may be information indicating the state of the plant as being generated based on information acquired from the plant sensor 115 associated with the plant 110 and/or information acquired by vision recognition. The state of the plant may correspond to the state of the plant 110 identified by the above-described step (S610).

As illustrated in FIG. 13 , management information and state information for the plant 110 may be output from the robot 100 through the display 1310 . For example, as management information, a plant species or a plant name (plant A) of the plant 110 may be output through the display 1310 . In addition, as state information, the plant 110 is in a dry state, watering is required, and 10 g of nutrients are required may be output through the display 1310 . Or/additionally, information output through the display 1310 may also be output through a display of a user terminal (not shown). In this case, the user terminal may be, for example, a smart phone or a tablet PC. Accordingly, the manager 130 can easily figure out how much water, at what temperature, and how much to give to the plant 110 through the output management information and state information.

On the other hand, in the case where the robot 100 is controlled to move with the manager 130 registered in association with the robot 100 , the robot 100 moves around each plant before the robot 100 does the manager 130 . It can be controlled to move to (forward). In other words, the robot 100 may guide the plant 110 to be the target of providing the management service to the manager 130 by leading the manager 130 and driving the path.

When the provision of the management service for one plant 110 among the plurality of plants in the building is completed, the robot 100 may be controlled to move to the next plant among the plurality of plants to provide the management service. At this time, the provision of the management service for one plant is completed when a message indicating that the provision of the management service is completed from the plant sensor 115 associated with the one plant 110 is received by the robot 100 , It may be determined that the provision of management services for plants of

In other words, when the provision of the management service for the plant 110 is completed, the plant sensor 115 may notify the robot 100 or the robot control system 120 of this, and accordingly, the robot 100 performs the following It can be controlled to migrate to the plant. Accordingly, the robot 100 may complete the provision of the management service for all the plants 110 in the building while driving the path.

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6A and 11 to 14 can be applied to FIG. 6B as it is, and thus a redundant description will be omitted.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a management service for plants according to an environmental condition in a building, according to an example.

An example of providing a management service for the plant 110 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7 .

In step S710 , the robot control system 120 may acquire information about the environmental state in the building. The information on the environmental state in the building may include, for example, at least one of light quantity, air cleanliness, temperature and humidity in the building. The information on the environmental state in the building may include information on the environmental state for a plurality of points in the building. Information on such environmental conditions may be obtained by IoT sensor(s) located in the building. Alternatively, the information on the environmental state may be acquired by the sensor unit 106 included in the robot 100 traveling on a path within the building. Alternatively, the information on the environmental state may be obtained from the plant sensors 115 associated with the plants 110 by the robot 100 (or the robot control system 120 ) traveling on a path in the building.

In step S720 , the robot control system 120 moves the plant 110 to a position suitable for the growth of the plant 110 in the building based on the information about the environmental state obtained in step S710 . (100) can be controlled. For example, the robot 100 may move a flowerpot corresponding to the plant 110 to a position suitable for the growth of the plant 110 using a robot arm included in the driving unit 108 .

The robot control system 120 determines the state of the identified plant 110 based on at least one of the information obtained by the vision recognition described above and the information obtained from the plant sensor 1150 associated with the plant 110, the plant ( For 110), for example, if it indicates that i) a greater amount of light is required, ii) that a greater amount of humidity is required, or iii) that a higher temperature is required, the environment in the building obtained in step S710 Based on the information on the state, the robot 100 may be controlled to move the plant 110 to a predetermined position satisfying the conditions of i) to iii).

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6B and FIGS. 11 to 14 can be applied to FIG. 7 as it is, and thus overlapping descriptions will be omitted.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a robot to provide a management service for each robot according to a change in an indoor map, according to an example.

In step S810 , the robot control system 120 may identify a change in the indoor map while the robot 100 travels a route. For example, as the location of at least one of the plants 110 inside the building is changed by personnel or other robots in the building while the robot 100 is running, the indoor map may be changed. The change of the indoor map may be identified by, for example, another robot (eg, a pumpkin robot (a robot performing POI change detection)).

In step S820 , the robot control system 120 may identify that the location of at least one of the plurality of plants 110 in the building is changed according to the change of the identified indoor map. The robot control system 120 may update the indoor map by reflecting the positions of the changed positions of the plants. According to the updated indoor map, the route the robot 100 travels may also be updated. That is, the existing route may be updated as a route to provide a management service for the plants 110 whose location has been changed.

The robot 100 may be controlled to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of all the plants 110 in the building in consideration of the changed position of the plant(s). Accordingly, even if there is a change in the indoor map, the management service for all the plants 110 in the building can be performed without omission.

On the other hand, the path on which the robot 100 travels is the plant(s) for which the provision of the management service has been completed by another robot, but the provision of the management service is not required according to the state (pre-designated or identified by another robot) It may be updated to not provide maintenance services for the plant(s). The robot 100 may be controlled to travel such an updated route.

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 and FIGS. 11 to 14 can be applied to FIG. 8 as it is, and thus a redundant description will be omitted.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a robot when water/nutrient/fertilizer mounted on a robot for providing a management service for plants is insufficient, according to an example.

In step S910 , the robot control system 120 determines whether at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers mounted on the robot 100 is insufficient to provide a management service for the plant 110 . can For example, the robot control system 120 is at least one of the water, plant nutrients and fertilizers mounted on the robot 100 is determined in the above-described step (S620), at least one amount of water, plant nutrients and fertilizers, or water , it can be determined whether it is insufficient compared to the blending amount of at least two of the nutrients and fertilizers for plants.

When at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers mounted on the robot 100 is not insufficient to provide a management service for the plant 110, the plant 110 is managed according to the above-described step (S620). Services may be provided.

In step S920, the robot control system 120, when it is determined that at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers mounted on the robot 100 is insufficient to provide a management service for the plant 110, The lack of notification may be output from the robot 100 or from the user terminal 130 associated with the manager 130 . For example, the robot control system 120 may output the notification as a visual indicator and/or an audible indicator through a display (or LED) and/or a speaker of the robot 100 . Alternatively, the robot control system 120 may output the notification as a visual indicator and/or an audible indicator through a display (or LED) and/or a speaker of the user terminal associated with the manager 130 . Alternatively, the user terminal may output the notification as a haptic-based indicator. For example, the method of outputting a notification in the user terminal 1300 described with reference to FIG. 13 may be applied to outputting the notification of the shortage.

The manager 130 may provide for the robot 100 by bringing at least one of insufficient water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers (eg, from a charging station to be described later).

In addition, in step S930 , the robot control system 120 determines that at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers mounted on the robot 100 is insufficient to provide a management service for the plant 110 . When this occurs, the robot 100 may be controlled to move the robot 100 to a charging station located in a building in order to fill the corresponding shortage. The charging station may be located in a building, and may be a place for the robot 100 to be replenished with water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers required to provide management services. The charging station may provide battery charging for the robot 100 .

In addition, in step S940 , the robot control system 120 determines that at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers mounted on the robot 100 is insufficient to provide a management service for the plant 110 . When that happens, another robot can be called on which is loaded with at least one of scarce (ie, more than the shortage) water, nutrients for plants and fertilizers.

Another robot called may be a robot that brings at least one of the scarce water, nutrients for plants and fertilizers to the robot 100 (eg, from a charging station). The robot 100 may be charged with at least one of the scarce water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers from these other robots (step S950).

Alternatively, the other robot called may be a robot for replacing the role of the robot 100 . In other words, the robot control system 120 may control the other robot so that the called other robot provides a management service for the plant 110 and provides a management service for the plants 110 by driving a path ( step (S950)). At this time, the robot 100 may be moved to a charging station to receive at least one of insufficient water, nutrients for plants, and fertilizers.

In relation to this, FIG. 15 shows a method of controlling the robot 100 when water/nutrients/fertilizers mounted on the robot 100 for providing a management service for plants are insufficient, according to an example.

As shown, when there is a shortage of at least one of water, plant nutrients and fertilizers mounted on the robot 100, the robot 100 can be moved to the charging station 1500, and insufficient water, plant nutrients and fertilizers at the charging station At least one of the fertilizers may be charged. In addition, the robot 100 may call another robot 1510 containing sufficient water, nutrients for plants, and fertilizers, and receive at least one of insufficient water, nutrients and fertilizers for plants from these other robots 1510. can Alternatively, the robot 100 may move to the charging station 1500 and the other robot 1510 may be controlled to perform the task of providing a management service performed by the robot 100 .

The operation of the robot 100 and the robot control system 120 in the case of shortage of at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers mounted on the robot 100 described above, when the battery of the robot 100 is insufficient. It can be similarly applied to the operation of the robot 100 and the robot control system 120 in the. Accordingly, overlapping descriptions are omitted.

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 and FIGS. 11 to 15 can be applied to FIG. 9 as it is, and thus a redundant description will be omitted.

10 is a diagram showing, according to an example, registering a manager for a robot, and a registered manager and Shows how to control a robot to move together.

In step S1010 , the robot control system 120 may register the manager 130 to move together with the robot 100 . Registration of the manager 130 may be performed by, for example, registering the face of the manager 130 through a camera. The camera of the robot 100 may be, for example, a real sense camera. Alternatively, the registration of the manager 130 may be registering a user terminal associated with the manager. The user terminal of the manager 130 may be registered for the robot 100 through wireless communication (eg, short-range wireless communication) with the robot 100 . For example, the user terminal of the manager 130 may be paired with the robot 100 through Bluetooth. Alternatively, the user terminal of the manager 130 may be registered for the robot 100 by sharing identification information with the robot 100 through NFC or RFID tagging. Alternatively, the user terminal of the manager 130 may be registered for the robot 100 by periodically receiving a signal broadcast by the robot 100 . Conversely, since the robot 100 periodically receives a signal broadcast by the user terminal of the manager 130 , the user terminal of the manager 130 may be registered for the robot 100 .

In step S1020, the robot control system 120 (or the robot 100) may recognize the registered manager. In other words, the robot control system 120 may control the robot 100 so that the robot 100 recognizes a registered manager.

The robot 100 may recognize the registered manager 130 through the camera. The robot 100 may distinguish and recognize the manager 130 from other people from image information through the camera. The robot 100 may recognize the manager 130 moving along the robot 100 through, for example, a camera located on the rear side. Alternatively, the robot 100 may recognize the manager 130 in the vicinity of the robot 100 when short-range wireless communication with the user terminal of the manager 130 is maintained.

In step S1030 , the robot control system 120 determines whether the manager 130 is moving along the path along which the robot 100 travels in controlling the movement of the robot 100 to travel the path. can do. For example, the robot 100 may determine whether the manager 130 is moving along the robot 100 from image information through the camera. Alternatively, when it is determined that the distance between the robot 100 and the manager 130 is greater than a predetermined value (a predetermined reference value (eg, a distance M as shown in FIG. 13 )), the manager 130 sets the robot ( 100) may be determined as not moving along the traveling route. The distance between the robot 100 and the manager 130 may be measured using a ToF sensor included in the sensor unit 106 . Alternatively, when short-range wireless communication between the robot 100 and the user terminal of the manager 130 is not maintained (eg, when the pairing between the robot 100 and the user terminal of the manager 130 is released, the robot ( 100) and when NFC or RFID wireless communication becomes impossible between the user terminal of the manager 130) It may be determined that the manager 130 is not moving along the path along which the robot 100 travels. Alternatively, when the user terminal of the manager 130 / the robot 100 periodically broadcasts the signal that the robot 100 / the user terminal of the manager 130 cannot receive, the manager 130 is the robot ( 100) may be determined as not moving along the traveling route. When it is determined that the manager 130 is not moving along the path on which the robot 100 travels, the manager 130 may not be recognized by the robot 100 .

If it is determined that the manager 130 is moving along the path on which the robot 100 travels, the robot 100 may provide a management service for the plant 110 while continuously traveling the path.

In step S1030 , the robot control system 120 may stop the movement of the robot 100 when it is determined that the manager 130 is not moving along the path on which the robot 100 travels. The robot 100 may wait until the manager 130 is recognized again and it is determined that the robot 100 moves along the traveling path. Accordingly, the robot 100 may function as a guide when the manager 130 provides a management service for the plants 110 .

In step S1030 , the robot control system 120 , when it is determined that the manager 130 is not moving along the path on which the robot 100 travels, the robot 100 or associated with the manager 130 . A notification may be output from the user terminal. For example, the robot control system 120 may output the notification as a visual indicator and/or an audible indicator through a display (or LED) and/or a speaker of the robot 100 . Alternatively, the robot control system 120 may output the notification as a visual indicator and/or an audible indicator through a display (or LED) and/or a speaker of the user terminal associated with the manager 130 . Alternatively, the user terminal may output the notification as a haptic-based indicator. For example, the notification output method in the user terminal 1300 described with reference to FIG. 13 may be applied to outputting the notification.

In addition, the robot 100 is based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant when there is a sudden change in the growth of the plant 110 or when a specific matter occurs. can be identified, and a notification about this can be outputted from the robot 100 or from the user terminal associated with the manager 130 .

Meanwhile, the manager 130 may directly control the robot 100 using a user terminal. For example, the robot 100 may be moved by the user terminal of the manager 130 can be controlled, the supply amount of at least one of water, nutrients, and fertilizer for supply to the plant 110, and a blending amount of at least two of them can be adjusted.

Although the above-described embodiment has been described with respect to a case in which the manager 130 moves along the robot 100 , it may also be possible for the manager 130 to move ahead of the robot 100 . At this time, the robot 100 may recognize and track the manager 130 using a camera located on the front side instead of the rear side. Likewise in this case, when the manager 130 is not recognized, a notification may be output from the robot 100 or from the user terminal associated with the manager 130 . In addition, the robot control system 120 may identify a case in which the first moving manager 130 moves past the plant 110 as it is without providing a management service for the plant 110 . At this time, the robot control system 120 may output a notification informing that the management service for the plant 110 is missing from the robot 100 or from the user terminal associated with the manager 130 .

The above-described distance between the robot 100 and the manager 130 may be determined based on location information of the robot 100 indoors and the location information of the user terminal in the room of the manager 130 . The distance between the robot 100 and the manager 130 may be determined based on communication with the AP in the building and/or location information located by the GPS module included in the robot 100 and the user terminal.

The description of the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 and 11 to 15 may be applied to FIG. 10 as it is, and thus a redundant description will be omitted.

As described above, the manager 130 may track the growth process of the plant 110 through the plant management system including the robot 100 and the robot management system 120 described above. The manager 130 may continuously monitor the growth process of the plant 110 using his/her user terminal. The manager 130 may receive a notification at the point in time (or a predetermined time before) when any one of water, nutrients, and fertilizer should be supplied to the plant 110 through his/her user terminal. In addition, the manager 130 may be provided with an alarm in advance through his/her user terminal not only when leaves wither or pests occur on the plant 110 , but also when signs of diseases, such as diseases and diseases, wither leaves, etc. appear. The alarm in the case of the above indication may be provided at the same time as the notification provided at the time when any one of water, nutrients, and fertilizers should be supplied (or a predetermined time before that point).

Signs that a disease, pest, or withering of leaves, etc. will occur for the plant 110 may be determined based on management information on the plant 110 . For example, the plant management system provides the plant 110 based on sensing data from the plant sensor 115 associated with the plant 110 and management information on the plant 110 stored and managed in the plant information database 200 . It is possible to identify signs of occurrence of diseases such as pests or withering leaves.

The system or device described above may be implemented as a hardware component, a software component, or a combination of a hardware component and a software component. For example, devices and components described in the embodiments may include, for example, a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA). , a programmable logic unit (PLU), microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions, may be implemented using one or more general purpose or special purpose computers. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the operating system. The processing device may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to execution of the software. For convenience of understanding, although one processing device is sometimes described as being used, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the processing device includes a plurality of processing elements and/or a plurality of types of processing elements. It can be seen that can include For example, the processing device may include a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. Other processing configurations are also possible, such as parallel processors.

The software may comprise a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more thereof, which configures a processing device to operate as desired or is independently or collectively processed You can command the device. The software and/or data may be any kind of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium or apparatus, to be interpreted by or to provide instructions or data to the processing device. may be permanently or temporarily embody in The software may be distributed over networked computer systems, and stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored in one or more computer-readable recording media.

The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the embodiment, or may be known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magnetic media such as floppy disks. - includes magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language codes such as those generated by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

As described above, although the embodiments have been described with reference to the limited embodiments and drawings, various modifications and variations are possible from the above description by those skilled in the art. For example, the described techniques are performed in a different order than the described method, and/or the described components of the system, structure, apparatus, circuit, etc. are combined or combined in a different form than the described method, or other components Or substituted or substituted by equivalents may achieve an appropriate result.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims are also within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (20)

In the robot control method performed by a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building or a robot control system for controlling the robot,
identifying a plurality of plants within the building from an indoor map for the building;
controlling the movement of the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants; and
Controlling the robot to provide a management service for each plant while driving the route
including,
The robot is loaded with at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers required to provide the management service to each plant,
The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service,
identifying the state of each plant based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant;
Based on the identified state of each plant, determining the amount of at least one of the water, the plant nutrient and the fertilizer, or at least two of the water, the plant nutrient, and the fertilizer that corresponds to the state of each plant step; and
controlling the robot to provide, for each plant, the determined amount of at least one of the water, plant nutrient and fertilizer, or a combination according to the determined blending amount;
Including, robot control method. delete According to claim 1,
Management information for each plant is stored in a database,
The step of determining the at least one amount or the compounding amount is further based on management information stored in the database, and determining the at least one amount or the compounding amount. According to claim 1,
The plant sensor includes the amount of light in the room in which each plant is located, the amount of moisture associated with each plant, the temperature of the room in which each plant is located, the humidity of the room in which each plant is located, and the nutrition of the soil associated with each plant. A method of controlling a robot, configured to obtain and transmit data representing at least one of the figures to the robot. According to claim 1,
The robot is controlled to move with an administrator registered in association with the robot,
The step of controlling the robot to provide the determined amount of the water, at least one of a plant nutrient and fertilizer or a combination according to the compounding amount to each plant,
At least one of the determined amount of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers or a combination according to the determined compounding amount is provided to the manager to control the robot so that the manager can supply for each plant, a robot control method. 6. The method of claim 5,
The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service,
When it is determined that at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers mounted on the robot is insufficient to provide the management service, outputting a notification of the shortage in the robot or in a user terminal associated with the manager
Including, robot control method. According to claim 1,
The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service,
When it is determined that at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers mounted on the robot is insufficient to provide the management service,
In order to fill the shortage, controlling the robot to move the robot to a charging station located in the building, or calling another robot equipped with at least one of the scarce water, plant nutrients and fertilizers
Including, robot control method. According to claim 1,
The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service,
identifying the state of each plant based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant; and
When the identified state of each plant is insufficient light, transmitting a signal requesting to increase the amount of light for each plant to the building management system for managing the building
Including, robot control method. According to claim 1,
identifying a change in the indoor map while driving the route; and
Recognizing that the location of at least one plant among the plurality of plants is changed according to the change of the identified indoor map
further comprising,
The step of controlling the movement of the robot,
Based on the changed position of the plant, the robot control method for controlling the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant. In the robot control method performed by a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building or a robot control system for controlling the robot,
identifying a plurality of plants within the building from an indoor map for the building;
controlling the movement of the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants; and
Controlling the robot to provide a management service for each plant while driving the route
including,
registering an administrator to move with the robot; and
Recognizing the registered administrator
further comprising,
The step of controlling the movement of the robot to travel the path comprises:
determining whether the manager is moving along a path on which the robot travels; and
When it is determined that the manager is not moving along the path the robot travels, outputting a notification from the robot or from a user terminal associated with the manager
Including, robot control method. 11. The method of claim 10,
The step of controlling the movement of the robot to travel the path comprises:
stopping the movement of the robot when it is determined that the manager is not moving along the path on which the robot travels
Including, robot control method. 11. The method of claim 10,
When it is determined that the distance between the robot and the manager is greater than a predetermined value, it is determined that the manager is not moving along a path along which the robot travels. In the robot control method performed by a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building or a robot control system for controlling the robot,
identifying a plurality of plants within the building from an indoor map for the building;
controlling the movement of the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants; and
Controlling the robot to provide a management service for each plant while driving the route
including,
The robot is controlled to move with an administrator registered in association with the robot,
The step of controlling the movement of the robot,
Control the robot so that the robot moves in front of each plant before the manager,
When the provision of the management service for one plant of the plurality of plants is completed, the robot moves to a next plant among the plurality of plants to provide the management service,
When a message indicating that the provision of the management service is completed is received from the plant sensor associated with the one plant, it is determined that the provision of the management service to the one plant is completed. In the robot control method performed by a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building or a robot control system for controlling the robot,
identifying a plurality of plants within the building from an indoor map for the building;
controlling the movement of the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants; and
Controlling the robot to provide a management service for each plant while driving the route
including,
The robot is controlled to move with an administrator registered in association with the robot,
The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service,
controlling the robot so that the robot stops in front of each plant; and
Outputting management information and status information for each plant from the robot or from a user terminal associated with the manager
including,
The management information includes identifier information of each plant and information on a cycle for providing the management service,
The state information is generated based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant. In the robot control method performed by a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building or a robot control system for controlling the robot,
identifying a plurality of plants within the building from an indoor map for the building;
controlling the movement of the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants; and
Controlling the robot to provide a management service for each plant while driving the route
including,
The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service,
determining whether replanting or replacement of pots is required for each plant based on information obtained by vision recognition; and
When it is determined that replanting or replacement of pots is required for each plant, outputting a notification that replanting or replacement of pots is required for each plant from the robot or from a user terminal associated with a manager
Including, robot control method. In the robot control method performed by a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building or a robot control system for controlling the robot,
identifying a plurality of plants within the building from an indoor map for the building;
controlling the movement of the robot to travel a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants; and
Controlling the robot to provide a management service for each plant while driving the route
including,
The step of controlling the robot to provide the management service,
obtaining information on an environmental condition in the building; and
Controlling the robot to move each plant to a position suitable for growth of each plant in the building based on the obtained information on the environmental state
including,
The information on the environmental condition in the building includes at least one of light quantity, air cleanliness, temperature and humidity in the building, robot control method. A program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium for executing the method of any one of claims 1 and 3 to 16 in a computer. A robot that provides a management service for plants in a building, the robot comprising:
at least one processor implemented to execute computer-readable instructions
including,
the at least one processor,
Identifies a plurality of plants in the building from the indoor map for the building, controls the movement of the robot to run a path for providing management services for each plant of the identified plants, and manages each plant provide services,
a mounting unit on which at least one of water, plant nutrients, and fertilizers required to provide the management service to each plant is mounted; and
A mixing unit for mixing at least two of the water, plant nutrients and fertilizers
including,
the at least one processor,
Identifies the state of each plant based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant, and based on the identified state of each plant, the state of each plant Determine the amount of at least one of the water, plant nutrients and fertilizers, or the compounding amount of at least two of the water, plant nutrients and fertilizers, and through the loading part and the mixing part, the determined amount of the water, A robot that provides, for each plant, at least one of nutrients and fertilizers for plants or a combination according to the determined blending amount. delete In the robot control system for controlling a robot that provides a management service for plants in a building,
at least one processor implemented to execute computer-readable instructions
including,
the at least one processor,
Identifies a plurality of plants in the building from the indoor map for the building, and controls the movement of the robot to run a path for providing a management service for each plant of the identified plants, and the robot determines the path While driving, control the robot to provide a management service for each plant,
the at least one processor,
The robot identifies the state of each plant based on at least one of information obtained by vision recognition and information obtained from a plant sensor associated with each plant, and based on the identified state of each plant, each Determining the amount of at least one of water, plant nutrients and fertilizers or at least two of the water, plant nutrients and fertilizers according to the state of the plant, A robot control system for controlling the robot to provide for each plant a formulation according to at least one or the determined formulation amount.

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