KR102484773B1 - Control method and system for robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot remote control, and is a robot remote control method and system capable of controlling a robot in consideration of communication delay. A method for remotely controlling a robot through communication between a robot and a server includes calculating a communication delay time between the robot and the server based on time information transmitted and received between the robot and the server, and the robot based on the communication delay time. Generating a control command related to driving of and transmitting the control command to the robot so that the robot travels according to the control command, wherein the control command is at the time the robot receives the control command It provides a robot remote control method, characterized in that generated based on the expected position of the robot of the.

Description

Robot remote control method and system {CONTROL METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ROBOT}

The present invention relates to a robot remote control, and is a robot remote control method and system capable of controlling a robot in consideration of communication delay.

As technology develops, various service devices are appearing, and in particular, technology development for robots performing various tasks or services has been actively conducted recently.

Furthermore, in recent years, as artificial intelligence technology, cloud technology, and the like develop, brainless robot systems for efficiently controlling a plurality of robots are being developed.

The brainless robot system includes a plurality of brainless robots and brain servers, and in the brainless robot system, each brainless robot reports sensor information and the status of various robots to the brain server located remotely or at the edge, moves, etc. It receives and processes the control command of

At this time, a delay may occur due to communication between the robot and the server. Communication delay is unavoidable in brainless robot systems and can have a great impact on robot control.

Accordingly, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0079872 (Method and Apparatus for Transmitting Time and Frequency in a Communication Network) discloses a method for calculating a communication delay by periodically exchanging messages between a client device and a server. There is no known research result on how to continuously measure communication delay and reflect it to control.

Therefore, there is still a need for a method of preemptively reflecting the fact that the command information sent to the robot is applied at a time difference and that the information sent from the robot arrives at the brain server with a delay in the control command.

The present invention provides a remote control method and system for a robot. More specifically, the present invention is to provide a robot remote control method and system capable of controlling the robot in consideration of the communication delay between the robot and the server.

Furthermore, the present invention is to provide a robot remote control method and system that can safely avoid obstacles included in the movement path of the robot in consideration of communication delay.

In order to solve the problems described above, a method for remotely controlling a robot through communication between a robot and a server includes calculating a communication delay time between the robot and the server based on time information transmitted and received between the robot and the server, the communication Generating a control command related to driving of the robot based on a delay time and transmitting the control command to the robot so that the robot travels according to the control command, wherein the control command causes the robot to It provides a robot remote control method characterized in that it is generated based on the expected position of the robot at the time of receiving a control command.

In addition, a system for remotely controlling a robot through communication between a robot and a server according to the present invention delays communication between the robot and the server based on a communication unit configured to transmit and receive data to and from the robot and time information transmitted and received between the robot and the server. a control unit that calculates time, generates a control command related to driving of the robot based on the communication delay time, and transmits the control command to the robot so that the robot travels according to the control command; The command is characterized in that it is generated based on the expected position of the robot at the time when the robot receives the control command.

Furthermore, the program, which is executed by one or more processes in the electronic device according to the present invention and can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium, delays communication between the robot and the server based on time information transmitted and received between the robot and the server. Calculating time, generating a control command related to driving of the robot based on the communication delay time, and transmitting the control command to the robot so that the robot travels according to the control command It includes instructions, and the control command may be generated based on an expected position of the robot at a time when the robot receives the control command.

As described above, the robot remote control method and system according to the present invention calculates the expected position of the robot at the time when the robot receives a control command based on the communication delay time between the robot and the server, and moves to the calculated expected position. Based on this, it is possible to perform driving control for the robot. Through this, the present invention can perform preemptive predictive control in consideration of communication delay.

Furthermore, the present invention can solve the uncertainty due to the communication delay between the robot and the server by setting a safe area for obstacles based on the communication delay time.

In addition, the present invention sets a safety area considering the characteristics of the obstacle, so that the robot can drive safely without colliding with the obstacle even in a situation where the robot cannot immediately cope with changes in the state of the obstacle due to communication delay.

1 and 2 are conceptual diagrams for explaining a robot driving control method and system according to the present invention.
3 is a flowchart for explaining a robot driving control method according to the present invention.
4a and 4b are conceptual diagrams illustrating a communication delay time calculation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a robot remote control method according to the present invention.
6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating how a robot avoids an obstacle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating driving of a robot when the robot enters a safe area.
8A, 8B, and 9 are conceptual diagrams illustrating an embodiment in which the size and shape of a safety area are set differently according to the type of obstacle and the moving state.

Hereinafter, the embodiments disclosed in this specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the same reference numerals will be assigned to the same or similar components regardless of reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted. The suffixes "module" and "unit" for components used in the following description are given or used together in consideration of ease of writing the specification, and do not have meanings or roles that are distinct from each other by themselves. In addition, in describing the embodiments disclosed in this specification, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the gist of the embodiment disclosed in this specification, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the technical idea disclosed in this specification is not limited by the accompanying drawings, and all changes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention , it should be understood to include equivalents or substitutes.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first and second, may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no other element exists in the middle.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In this application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

The present invention provides a driving control method and system for a robot, and more specifically, provides a method and system capable of controlling the driving of a robot in consideration of communication delay. Hereinafter, together with the accompanying drawings, a robot driving control system will be reviewed. 1 and 2 are conceptual diagrams for explaining a robot driving control method and system according to the present invention.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , as technology develops, utilization of robots is gradually increasing. Conventional robots have been utilized in special industrial fields (eg, industrial automation related fields), but are gradually transforming into service robots capable of performing useful tasks for humans or facilities.

A robot capable of providing various services as described above may be configured to travel in a space 10 as shown in FIG. 1 in order to perform assigned tasks. The type of space in which the robot travels is not limited, and may be made to travel in at least one of an indoor space and an outdoor space as needed. For example, the indoor space may be various spaces such as a department store, an airport, a hotel, a school, a building, a subway station, a train station, and a bookstore. As such, the robot may be arranged in various spaces to provide useful services to humans.

Meanwhile, in order to provide various services using a robot, it is very important to accurately control the robot. Accordingly, the present invention proposes a method for more accurately controlling a robot remotely by using a camera disposed in space together.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a camera 20 may be disposed in the space 10 where the robot is located. As shown, the number of cameras 20 disposed in the space 10 is not limited. As illustrated, a plurality of cameras 20a and 20b may be disposed in the space 10 . The types of cameras 20 disposed in the space 10 may vary, and in the present invention, a CCTV (closed circuit television) disposed in the space may be particularly utilized.

As shown in FIG. 2 , in the robot remote control system 300 according to the present invention, the robot 100 can be remotely managed and controlled.

The robot remote control system 300 according to the present invention is an image received from a camera 20 (eg, CCTV) disposed in the space 10, an image received from the robot, information received from a sensor provided in the robot, and Using at least one of information received from various sensors provided in the space, driving of the robot may be controlled or appropriate control of the robot may be performed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the robot remote control system 300 according to the present invention includes at least one of a communication unit 310, a storage unit 320, a display unit 330, an input unit 340, and a control unit 350. can include

The communication unit 310 may communicate with various devices disposed in the space 10 by wire or wirelessly. The communication unit 310 may communicate with the robot 100 as shown. The communication unit 310 may be configured to receive an image taken from a camera provided in the robot 100 through communication with the robot 100 .

Furthermore, the communication unit 310 may be configured to communicate with at least one external server (or external storage, 200). Here, the external server 200, as shown, may be configured to include at least one of a cloud server 210 and a database 220. Meanwhile, in the external server 200, it may be configured to perform at least a part of the role of the control unit 350. That is, data processing or data calculation can be performed in the external server 200, and the present invention does not place any particular limitation on this method.

Meanwhile, the communication unit 310 may support various communication methods according to communication standards of communicating devices.

For example, the communication unit 310 may include Wireless LAN (WLAN), Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Direct, Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), Wireless Broadband (WiBro), WiMAX ( World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA(High Speed Downlink Packet Access), HSUPA(High Speed Uplink Packet Access), LTE(Long Term Evolution), LTE-A(Long Term Evolution-Advanced), 5G(5th　Generation　Mobile　Telecommunication　) , Bluetooth (Bluetooth™RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), UWB (Ultra-Wideband), ZigBee, NFC (Near Field Communication), Wi-Fi Direct, Wireless USB (Wireless Universal Serial Bus) ) technology, it may be made to communicate with a device (including a cloud server) located inside or outside the space 20 .

Next, the storage unit 320 may be configured to store various information related to the present invention. In the present invention, the storage unit 320 may be provided in the robot remote control system 300 itself. Alternatively, at least a portion of the storage unit 320 may mean at least one of the cloud server 210 and the database 220 . That is, it can be understood that the storage unit 320 suffices as long as it is a space for storing necessary information for robot control according to the present invention, and there is no restriction on physical space. Therefore, hereinafter, the storage unit 320, the cloud server 210, and the database 220 are not separately distinguished, and are all expressed as the storage unit 320. At this time, the cloud server 210 may mean "cloud storage".

First, information about the robot 100 may be stored in the storage unit 320 .

The information on the robot 100 can be very diverse, and the information on the robot 100 is, for example, i) identification information for identifying the robot 100 disposed in the space 10 (eg, serial number, TAG information, QR code information, etc.), ii) mission information assigned to the robot 100, iii) driving route information set in the robot 100, iv) location information of the robot 100, v) robot ( 100) state information (eg, power state, failure, battery state, etc.), vi) image information received from a camera provided in the robot 100, and the like may exist.

Next, a map (or map information) for the space 10 may be stored in the storage unit 320 . Here, the map may include at least one of a 2D map and a 3D map. The map of the space 10 may mean a map that can be used to determine the current location on the robot 100 or to set a driving route of the robot.

In particular, in the robot remote control system 300 according to the present invention, the location of the robot 100 can be determined based on an image received from the robot 100 or information received from the robot 100 . To this end, the map of the space 10 stored in the storage unit 320 may be composed of data allowing a location to be estimated based on images or sensing information.

In this case, the map of the space 10 may be a map prepared based on Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) by at least one robot moving the space 10 in advance.

Meanwhile, various types of information may be stored in the storage unit 320 in addition to the types of information listed above.

Next, the display unit 330 may output an image received from at least one of a camera provided in the robot 100 and a camera 20 disposed in the space 10 . The display unit 330 is provided in a manager's device that remotely manages the robot 100, and as shown in FIG. 2, it may be provided in the remote control room 300a. Furthermore, differently from this, the display unit 330 may be a display provided in a mobile device. As such, in the present invention, there is no limitation on the type of display unit.

Next, the input unit 340 is for inputting information input from a user (or manager), and the input unit 340 may be a medium between the user (or manager) and the robot remote control system 300. More specifically, the input unit 340 may refer to an input means for receiving a control command for controlling the robot 100 from a user.

At this time, there is no particular limitation on the type of the input unit 340, and the input unit 340 may be a mechanical input means (or a mechanical key, for example, a mouse, a joy stick, a physical button, It may include at least one of a dome switch, a jog wheel, a jog switch, etc.) and a touch input means. As an example, the touch input means consists of a virtual key, soft key, or visual key displayed on a touch screen through software processing, or a part other than the touch screen. It can be made of a touch key (touch key) disposed on. On the other hand, the virtual key or visual key can be displayed on the touch screen while having various forms, for example, graphic (graphic), text (text), icon (icon), video (video) or these can be made of a combination of In this case, when the input unit 340 includes a touch screen, the display unit 330 may be made of a touch screen. In this case, the display unit 330 may perform both a role of outputting information and a role of receiving information.

Next, the control unit 350 may be configured to control the overall operation of the robot remote control system 300 related to the present invention. The control unit 350 may process signals, data, information, etc. input or output through the components described above, or provide or process appropriate information or functions to the user.

Meanwhile, in the above description, an example of estimating the position of the robot 100 in the control unit 350 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, position estimation of the robot 100 may be performed by the robot 100 itself. That is, the robot 100 may estimate the current position based on the image received from the robot 100 itself in the manner described above. And, the robot 100 may transmit the estimated location information to the control unit 350 . In this case, the controller 350 may perform a series of controls based on location information received from the robot.

Meanwhile, as described above, the present invention may set a movement path of the robot within a space using map information pre-stored in the storage unit 320 . The controller 350 may control the robot 100 to move from the current location to a specific destination. Specifically, the present invention specifies the current location information and the destination location information of the robot, sets a route to reach the destination, and controls the robot to reach the destination by moving along the set route.

At this time, control for moving the robot to the destination may be performed through the robot remote control system 300 (hereinafter, referred to as a server). Specifically, the server monitors the position of the robot and generates driving information related to driving of the robot based on the monitored position of the robot.

The server transmits driving information to the robot at regular time intervals, and the robot drives in space based on the information included in the driving information.

The driving information includes information related to driving of the robot after receiving driving information until the next driving information is received by the robot. Specifically, the driving information includes information related to at least one of a moving speed, a moving direction, and a moving distance of the robot. Upon receiving driving information, the robot drives by controlling at least one of a moving speed, a moving direction, and a moving distance based on the driving information.

In one embodiment, the driving information is transmitted to the robot every second, and the first driving information transmitted to the robot defines traveling at 1 m/s in the first direction. The second traveling information transmitted to the robot defines traveling for 0.5 seconds at 2 m/s in the second direction. From the time the robot receives the first travel information to the time it receives the second travel information, the robot travels 1 m in the first direction. Thereafter, from the time point at which the second driving information is received, the robot travels 1 m in the second direction and then stops. However, the driving information transmission period is for convenience of explanation, and the actual driving information transmission period may be 0.1 second or less.

The server periodically transmits driving information to the robot so that the robot can reach a destination by driving along a predetermined movement path. In this specification, the control command transmitted to the robot may include the aforementioned driving information.

Meanwhile, the server receives at least one of information sensed by at least one sensor included in the robot and image information captured by a camera included in the robot, and generates driving information for the robot.

For example, when the server receives sensing information about an obstacle disposed on the robot's moving path from the robot, the server generates driving information that allows the robot to avoid the obstacle.

As described above, the robot transmits the sensing information or image information collected by the robot to the server, and the server generates driving information based on the information received from the robot and transmits it to the robot.

Here, communication delay may occur when data is transmitted and received between the server and the robot. When the above-described server directly controls the driving of the robot, communication delay between the server and the robot makes it difficult to control the driving of the robot.

For example, when monitoring the current position of the robot based on information received from the robot, the time when the robot transmits information to the server and the time when the server receives the information are different due to communication delay. Due to this, when the current position of the robot is calculated based on the information received from the robot, the calculated position corresponds to the position of the robot in the past by the communication delay.

For another example, the server generates driving information based on the position of the monitored robot and transmits the generated driving information to the robot. Due to communication delay, the time when the server transmits the driving information to the robot and the time when the robot receives the driving information are different. Due to this, the robot travels according to the driving information at a location different from the location at the time the server transmits the driving information.

The present invention provides a robot driving control method considering communication delay time between a server and a robot. Hereinafter, a method for remote control of a robot considering communication delay time will be described in detail.

3 is a flowchart for explaining a robot remote control method according to the present invention, FIGS. 4a and 4b are conceptual diagrams showing a communication delay time calculation method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a robot remote control method according to the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram for explaining the control method.

Referring to FIG. 3 , a step of calculating a communication delay time between the robot and the server based on time information transmitted and received between the robot and the server is performed (S110).

The communication delay time may be calculated by transmitting/receiving a message including time information between the robot and the server and using the time information included in the message.

Here, the time information is information about a specific point in time based on the reference time system. For example, the time information may include information about when a message is received or information about when a message is transmitted. However, it is not limited thereto, and the time information may include information about various viewpoints.

Here, the reference time system may vary, and for example, Universal Time (UT), Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Korea Standard Time (KST), Greenwich Mean Time ( It may be at least one of GMT, Greenwich Mean Time), Unix time, and GPS time. In addition, various other examples other than the examples listed above may exist as the reference time system.

Meanwhile, the communication delay time may be calculated by a server or a robot. In this specification, a subject calculating the communication delay time is not specifically limited.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 4A , the communication delay time may be calculated by the robot. Specifically, the step of receiving the first message including time information from the robot by the server and the step of transmitting the second message corresponding to the first message by the server to the robot may be performed.

The first message includes time information about the point in time t1 at which the robot transmits the first message. The second message may include time information related to a time t1 when the first message is transmitted and a time tp taken from when the server receives the first message to generating and transmitting the second message.

In one embodiment, the second message generates a control command related to the robot from the information on the time point (t1) when the server transmits the first message, the time point of receiving the first message, and includes the control command It may include time information (tp) required until the second message to be transmitted. However, the second message does not necessarily include a control command. When the second message is a message used for measuring a delay time, the second message may not include information related to a control command.

When the robot receives the second message, the robot uses the time information for the time point (t2) at which the second message is received, the time information included in the second message, and the time information included in the first message to determine the communication delay time. yields

Specifically, the time interval between the time when the robot receives the second message (t2) and the time when the robot transmits the first message (t1) is the time (tp) required for the server to perform control related to the robot and the two It includes the communication delay time according to the number of data transmissions. The communication delay time (t _latency1 ) can be calculated as in Equation 1 below.

[Equation 1]

t _latency1 = (t2 - t1 - tp)/2

Referring to Equation 1, the communication delay time is an average value of a delay time generated when transmitting and receiving the first message and a delay time generated when transmitting and receiving the second message.

When the calculation of the communication delay time is completed in the robot, the robot transmits a third message including the communication delay time to the server. Through this, the server can utilize the communication delay time between the robot and the server to generate a control command for the robot.

Meanwhile, the robot may generate a message including separate time information and transmit the message to the server, or may include time information in specific information periodically transmitted by the robot to the server and transmit the message.

For example, the robot periodically transmits sensing information sensed by a sensor included in the robot to a server. In this case, a separate channel may be formed in the sensing information so that time information may be included.

In another embodiment, referring to FIG. 4B , the communication delay time may be calculated by the server. Specifically, the step of transmitting the first message including time information by the server to the robot, and the step of the server receiving the second message corresponding to the first message from the robot may be performed.

The first message includes time information about the point in time t1 at which the server transmits the first message. The second message includes time information related to the time (t1) when the server transmits the first message and the time (tp1) taken by the robot to transmit the second message based on the time when the first message is received.

When the server receives the second message, the server uses the time information for the time point t2 at which the second message is received, the time information included in the second message, and the time information included in the first message to determine the communication delay time. yields

Specifically, the time interval between the time when the server receives the second message (t2) and the time when the server transmits the first message (t1) is the time required for the robot to transmit the second message corresponding to the first message. (tp1) and communication delay time according to two data transmissions. The communication delay time (t _latency1 ) can be calculated as in Equation 1 above.

Utilizing the communication delay time, it is possible to predict at what point the information received from the robot is information and when a control command is transmitted to the robot, at what point the robot receives the control command.

Meanwhile, the communication delay time may be calculated based on the communication delay times calculated in a plurality of other robots to be controlled.

The server utilizes the communication delay time received from other control target robots located in the area corresponding to the current position of the specific robot as the communication delay time of the specific robot, or the average value of the communication delay time received from a plurality of other control target robots. can be used as the communication delay time of a specific robot.

In one embodiment, the server may calculate an average communication delay time based on communication delay times for a plurality of robots located in the same area. Specifically, the server may divide pre-stored map information into a plurality of zones and set an average value of communication delay times of a plurality of robots located in a specific zone as a representative communication delay time for the specific zone. The representative communication delay time may be updated every preset time. The server may set a representative communication delay time for each of a plurality of zones, and when a specific robot enters a specific zone, a control command may be generated based on the representative communication delay time corresponding to the specific zone.

Through this, the present invention can utilize the communication delay time for driving control of all robots to be controlled without calculating the communication delay time for all robots to be controlled.

Next, when the communication delay time is calculated, a control command for the robot is generated based on the communication delay time, and the generated control command is transmitted to the robot (S120 and S130).

The server generates a control command related to driving of the robot based on the communication delay time. The control command may be generated based on an expected position of the robot at the time when the robot receives the control command.

Specifically, the server receives position information of the robot from the robot or calculates the position of the robot in space based on the information received from the robot.

The server may correct position information of the robot based on the communication delay time. Specifically, the server calculates the location where the robot moved during the communication delay time based on the location information received from the robot or the location information calculated based on the information received from the robot. At this time, the server calculates the expected position of the robot when the robot travels to the point of receiving the control command based on the driving information previously transmitted to the robot.

For example, the server corrects the position of the robot using driving information transmitted to the robot last. Specifically, when the communication delay time is 1 second and the driving information finally transmitted to the robot includes information for driving at a speed of 1 m/s in the 12 o'clock direction, the server corresponds to the location information received from the robot. Calibrate the current position of the robot to a position moved 1m from the position to the 12 o'clock direction. However, the delay time is for convenience of explanation, and the actual delay time may be within 100 ms.

In the same way as the method of correcting the position of the robot, the server calculates the expected position of the robot at the time when the robot receives a control command. Specifically, the server calculates an expected time point at which the robot receives the control command using an estimated required time required to generate and transmit a control command related to the robot to the robot and a pre-calculated communication delay time.

For example, a case in which location information of the robot is periodically transmitted to the server while the robot is driving, and the server periodically transmits driving information to the robot in response thereto is taken as an example. The robot receives the driving information from the server after 'communication delay time + server processing time + communication delay time' from the time of transmitting the location information of the robot to the server.

Thereafter, the server calculates a moving path of the robot during a time interval between a time when position information is received from the robot and an expected time when the robot receives a control command. Specifically, the server calculates an expected position of the robot at an expected time point at which the robot receives a control command based on the positional information received from the robot. At this time, the server calculates an expected position when traveling to the expected point in time according to a control command previously transmitted to the robot before transmitting a control command to the robot.

For example, the server calculates the expected position of the robot after 'communication delay time + server processing time + communication delay time', and generates driving information of the robot based on the expected position.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 5 , the robot 100 transmits location information of the current robot to the server and moves to a path 530 according to driving information preset in the robot.

In order to reach the destination 510 from the initial position of the robot, it must travel along the first path 520a. However, at the time when the robot receives driving information corresponding to the first path 520a, the robot is in a state of moving to another location 100'. When the robot travels along the first route 520a from another location 100', it cannot reach the destination.

Before transmitting a new control command to the robot 100, the server calculates an expected position of the robot based on driving information previously transmitted to the robot. For example, the previously transmitted driving information defines a driving direction corresponding to 530 and a driving speed of 1 m/s. The server calculates an estimated time interval from the time the robot transmits location information to the server in its initial position to the time the robot receives the control command as 0.5 second. Thereafter, the server calculates a position moved by 0.5 m in the driving direction corresponding to 530 from the initial position of the robot as the predicted position 100' of the robot.

Thereafter, based on the estimated position of the robot, a second path 520b capable of reaching a destination is transmitted to the robot from the robot's position 100' at the time when the robot receives driving information.

As described above, according to the present invention, based on the communication delay time between the robot and the server, the expected position of the robot at the time when the robot receives a control command is calculated, and based on the calculated expected position, driving control for the robot is performed. be able to perform Through this, the present invention can perform preemptive predictive control in consideration of communication delay.

On the other hand, in the present invention, considering the communication delay time, the robot performs driving control capable of avoiding obstacles disposed in space.

6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a robot avoiding an obstacle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating driving of the robot when the robot enters a safe area, and FIGS. 8a, 8b and 9 are It is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment in which the size and shape of the safety area are set differently according to the type of obstacle and the moving state.

The robot senses obstacles included in the traveling space and transmits the sensed information to the server. Based on the sensing of the obstacle, the server may set a safe area for the obstacle in which the robot avoids collision with the obstacle.

Here, the safe area refers to a virtual area formed around an obstacle based on the position where the obstacle is placed, and is an area in which a minimum safety distance necessary for the robot to avoid the obstacle is set.

From the point at which the robot transmits sensing information about an obstacle to the server to the point at which the robot receives a control command to avoid the obstacle, the robot may drive according to preset driving information. The safe area is the distance between the time the robot transmits sensing information about an obstacle to the server and the time the robot receives a control command to avoid the obstacle, even if no control command is input to the robot, so that the robot and the obstacle do not collide. can be set based on

When the robot moves toward an obstacle outside the safety area, the robot can modify its movement path through communication with the server, but when moving towards the obstacle within the safety area, there is a possibility of colliding with the obstacle. Accordingly, when an obstacle is detected by the robot, the server sets a safe area for the obstacle so that the robot runs outside the safe area.

Information related to the location, size, and shape of the safety area may be matched with map information and stored, or may be transmitted to a robot that senses an obstacle.

The server sets a safety area for obstacles and creates a movement path for driving avoiding the set safety area.

For example, referring to FIG. 6 , when the server receives sensing information about an obstacle from the robot 100, the server sets a safe area 620 based on the detected obstacle 610. Thereafter, the server sets a movement path 630 that can move while avoiding the safe area. The server transmits information about the safety area 620 and driving information about the movement path 630 to the robot.

On the other hand, when the robot enters the inside of the safety area, the server stops the driving of the robot or transmits a control command to move the robot outside the safety margin area to the robot.

Unlike this, information about the safe area may be stored in the robot, and the robot may be programmed to stop driving or move out of the safe area when entering the previously stored safe area. At this time, information about the safe area stored in the robot may be updated by the server.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 7 , a safety area 720 for the robot is set based on a specific obstacle 710 . When the robot enters the safety area 720 while driving in the direction 730a toward the obstacle, the robot stops and waits until a new control command is received from the server, or even if a control command is not received from the server. It is possible to drive in a direction 730b moving out of the safety area.

When receiving sensing information about an obstacle from the robot, the server sets a safe area for the obstacle based on the communication delay time. Specifically, the server varies the size and shape of the safety area in consideration of a time interval from when the robot transmits sensing information about an obstacle to the server to when a control command for avoiding an obstacle is received.

A time point at which the robot receives a control command for obstacle avoidance may be calculated based on a pre-calculated communication delay time and an expected processing time of the server. The server may set the size of the safety area in proportion to a time interval from the time the robot transmits sensing information about an obstacle to the server to the time it receives a control command for avoiding an obstacle.

In one embodiment, the server may periodically update the communication delay time between robots. When the communication delay time increases while the safety area for a specific obstacle is set, the server expands the safety area based on the specific obstacle, and when the communication delay time decreases, the server expands the safety area based on the specific obstacle. Reduce the safe area.

Meanwhile, the location, size, and shape of the safety area may vary depending on the type of obstacle, the moving direction of the obstacle, the moving path of the obstacle, and the moving speed of the obstacle.

As described above, the present invention can solve the uncertainty due to the communication delay between the robot and the server by setting a safe area for obstacles based on the communication delay time.

Meanwhile, the server may determine at least one of the size and shape of the safety area based on the type of obstacle. Specifically, the server determines the type of obstacle based on the information related to the obstacle received from the robot.

In one embodiment, the server may select the type of obstacle by selecting one of a fixed obstacle and a moving obstacle as the type of obstacle. When the obstacle is moving, the server may set the type of obstacle by selecting any one of other controllable robots, fixed obstacles, people, and other moving obstacles as the type of obstacle.

If the type of obstacle is an obstacle existing on the map or a fixed obstacle, the possibility of colliding with the robot is low because the obstacle does not move. In this case, the server sets the safe area considering only the distance the robot moves during the communication delay time. Accordingly, the size of the safety area for the fixed obstacle may be smaller than the size of the safety area for the moving obstacle.

Meanwhile, when the obstacle moves, the server may determine at least one of the size and shape of the safety area based on at least one of the moving path and the moving speed of the obstacle.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 8A , the server determines the position of the obstacle based on the information related to the obstacle received from the robot 100 . The position of the obstacle determined by the above method is the position of the obstacle at the time when the robot transmits information related to the obstacle. When the robot receives a control command for avoiding the obstacle, the obstacle may move to another position 810', and the robot may also move to another position 100'. Accordingly, the distance between the obstacle and the robot can be rapidly reduced.

The server may determine the size of the safe area for the obstacle in proportion to the movement speed of the obstacle. The faster the moving speed of the obstacle is, the faster the robot gets closer to it, so the server can set a relatively large safe area for the fast moving obstacle.

Meanwhile, the server may determine the shape of the safety area based on the moving direction of the obstacle. Specifically, the server may make the safety area relatively wide in the direction in which the obstacle moves, and form the safety area relatively narrow in the direction in which the obstacle does not move.

Meanwhile, the server may differently set the shape of the safety area based on whether the movement path of the obstacle can be calculated. Specifically, when it is possible to calculate the moving path of the obstacle, the safe area is created to include the area where the obstacle is located when the robot receives a control command. In contrast, when it is impossible to calculate the moving path of the obstacle, the safety margin area is created in a form corresponding to the moving speed.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 8B , when the type of obstacle is another controllable robot 810, the server determines the movement path of the other robot 810 based on driving information transmitted to the other robot 810. Predictable. Based on the driving information transmitted to the other robot, the estimated position 810' of the other robot is calculated at the time the robot receives the control command. A safe area is set to include the expected position 810' of the other robot. For example, the safe area 820 corresponding to the other robot may be formed in an elliptical shape extending in a moving direction of the other robot.

Meanwhile, when the moving direction of the obstacle cannot be predicted, the server may set the safety area in a circular shape centered on the obstacle. In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 9 , when the type of obstacle 910 is a person, since the movement direction of the obstacle cannot be predicted, the safety area may be set in a circular shape centered on the obstacle. The width of the safety area may be relatively larger than that of other types of obstacles.

Meanwhile, the server reduces the size of the safety area from the second size 920b to the first size 920a or from the second size 920b to the third size 930c based on the movement speed of the obstacle 910. can be extended to

As described above, the present invention sets the safety area considering the characteristics of the obstacle, so that the robot can drive safely without colliding with the obstacle even in a situation where the robot cannot immediately cope with the change in the state of the obstacle due to communication delay. .

Meanwhile, the present invention described above is executed by one or more processes in a computer and can be implemented as a program that can be stored in a computer-readable medium.

Furthermore, the present invention described above can be implemented as computer readable codes or instructions in a medium on which a program is recorded. That is, the present invention may be provided in the form of a program.

On the other hand, the computer-readable medium includes all types of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable media include Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Disk (SSD), Silicon Disk Drive (SDD), ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, etc. there is

Furthermore, the computer-readable medium may be a server or cloud storage that includes storage and can be accessed by electronic devices through communication. In this case, the computer may download the program according to the present invention from a server or cloud storage through wired or wireless communication.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the above-described computer is an electronic device equipped with a processor, that is, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and there is no particular limitation on its type.

On the other hand, the above detailed description should not be construed as limiting in all respects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims (17)

A method for remotely controlling robots through communication between robots and a server,
Calculating an average communication delay time between a plurality of robots and a server located in the same zone among a plurality of zones classified according to pre-stored map information based on time information transmitted and received between the robots and the server;
setting the average communication delay time between the robots and the server as a representative communication delay time for each of the plurality of zones;
generating a control command related to driving of the specific robot based on a representative communication delay time corresponding to the specific region when the specific robot enters a specific region among the plurality of regions; and
Transmitting the control command to the specific robot so that the specific robot drives according to the control command;
The control command is a robot remote control method, characterized in that generated based on the expected position of the specific robot at the time when the robot receives the control command. According to claim 1,
Robot remote control method, characterized in that the expected position of the specific robot is calculated based on the communication delay time. According to claim 2,
The time point at which the specific robot receives the control command is calculated based on the communication delay time,
The expected position of the specific robot is,
The robot remote, characterized in that the expected position of the specific robot when the specific robot travels to the point of receiving the control command according to the control command previously transmitted to the specific robot before transmitting the control command to the specific robot control method. According to claim 3,
Receiving a first message including time information from the robots;
transmitting a second message corresponding to the first message to the robots; and
Receiving a third message for the communication delay time calculated based on the first message and the second message from the robots;
The second message,
Robot remote control method characterized in that it comprises time information related to the time of receiving the first message and the time of transmitting the second message. According to claim 3,
Transmitting a first message including time information to the robots;
Receiving a second message corresponding to the first message from the robots;
Calculating the communication delay time based on time information included in the first message and a time point at which the second message is received;
The second message,
Robot remote control method characterized in that it comprises time information related to the time of receiving the first message and the time of transmitting the second message. According to claim 5,
The communication delay time is a robot remote control method, characterized in that the average value of the delay time generated during transmission and reception of the first message and the delay time generated during transmission and reception of the second message. According to claim 2,
Further comprising receiving sensing information about an obstacle from the specific robot,
The control command is
Robot remote control method characterized in that it comprises driving information of the specific robot to avoid the obstacle located in the space in which the specific robot travels. According to claim 7,
The driving information of the specific robot,
Robot remote control method characterized in that it comprises information related to at least one of the movement speed, movement direction and movement distance of the specific robot. According to claim 8,
Sensing an obstacle included in a space in which the specific robot travels; and
Based on the sensing of the obstacle, further comprising setting a safe area for the obstacle to avoid collision with the specific robot,
The control command is
When the specific robot enters the safety area of the obstacle, a control command is included to stop the driving of the specific robot or to move the specific robot out of the safety area,
At least one of the size and shape of the safety area is set based on the communication delay time. According to claim 9,
The safety area for the obstacle is,
It is set based on the obstacle,
When the communication delay time increases, it is expanded based on the obstacle,
Robot remote control method characterized in that when the communication delay time is reduced, it is reduced based on the obstacle. According to claim 9,
The safety area for the obstacle is,
Based on at least one of the moving path and moving speed of the obstacle, at least one of the size and shape is determined, characterized in that the robot remote control method. According to claim 10,
When the movement path of the obstacle can be calculated, the safe area is generated to include an area where the obstacle is located at a time when the specific robot receives a control command. According to claim 10,
When it is impossible to calculate the moving path of the obstacle, the safe area is generated in a form corresponding to the moving speed of the specific robot. delete delete A program that is executed by one or more processes in an electronic device and can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium,
said program,
Calculating an average communication delay time between a plurality of robots and a server located in the same zone among a plurality of zones classified according to pre-stored map information based on time information transmitted and received between the robots and the server;
setting the average communication delay time between the robots and the server as a representative communication delay time for each of the plurality of zones;
generating a control command related to driving of the specific robot based on a representative communication delay time corresponding to the specific region when the specific robot enters a specific region among the plurality of regions; and
Transmitting the control command to the specific robot so that the specific robot drives according to the control command;
The control command is a program storable on a computer-readable recording medium, characterized in that generated based on the expected position of the specific robot at the time the robot receives the control command. In a system for remotely controlling robots through communication between robots and a server,
a communication unit configured to transmit and receive data to and from the robots; and
Based on the time information transmitted and received between the robots and the server, an average communication delay time between a plurality of robots and a server located in the same zone among a plurality of zones classified according to pre-stored map information is calculated,
Setting the average communication delay time between the robots and the server as a representative communication delay time for each of the plurality of zones,
When a specific robot enters a specific region among the plurality of regions, a control command related to driving of the specific robot is generated based on a representative communication delay time corresponding to the specific region,
And a control unit for transmitting the control command to the specific robot so that the specific robot runs according to the control command,
The control command is a robot remote control system, characterized in that generated based on the expected position of the specific robot at the time when the robot receives the control command.

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