KR20110069901A - Position detecting method and apparatus of mobile object, position detecting system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for recognizing a position of a moving body, an apparatus thereof and a position recognizing system are provided to recognize a position of the moving body accurately by sensing the light radiated from an optical indication installed at the moving body, and analyzing patterns of the sensed light. CONSTITUTION: An light source indication(110) performs an optical communication according to a control operation of a control block(126) within a position identifying module(120). A receipt module(122) within the position identifying module receives data from a transmission block(136) within a position sensing module(130) and transfers the received data to a calculation block(124). The calculation block extracts coordinate values via the operation of the transferred data and transfers the extracted coordinate values to the control block. The control block recognizes a position of the moving body based on the transferred coordinate values and controls running or driving of the moving body based on the recognized result.

Description

POSITION DETECTING METHOD AND APPARATUS OF MOBILE OBJECT, POSITION DETECTING SYSTEM THEREOF

The present invention relates to a technique for recognizing a position of a mobile object. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile robot that moves a specific space by using a light source marking and a light sensing device mounted on each mobile object (eg, a mobile robot). The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for recognizing a position of a moving object suitable for accurately and accurately detecting a position in real time, and to a position recognition system thereof.

As is well known, it is important for an intelligent service robot (mobile body) that performs autonomous driving (movement) to accurately determine its position, and various methods have been studied. In this case, the SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) technology, which simultaneously performs mapping and location recognition, calculates a predetermined result using an ultrasonic sensor, a vision sensor, and the like.

Another method is to extract the feature points of the surrounding environment by using a sensor and to recognize the position of the moving object based on the feature, where the feature points are in the original environment or artificially create multiple feature points for location recognition. How you use the feature points depends on what you add in.

Here, in the case of using a feature point existing in the original environment, a part divided by a specific shape or signal in the environment to which the moving object belongs is used, and the recognition device of the moving object extracts the characteristics from the corresponding part and based on the moving object. The current position is calculated.

In addition, when a plurality of feature points are artificially added to the environment, there is an advantage of easily receiving relatively accurate location information about the moving object.

However, the conventional method using the feature points present in the environment is greatly influenced by the accuracy of the sensor used, and there is a problem that it is difficult to always secure a certain degree or more accuracy with the current technology depending on the environment.

In addition, the conventional method of artificially adding a feature point to the environment is not only limited to the amount of information provided by the feature point installed in the environment, but also requires additional installation work and in some cases, power to the feature point. There are disadvantages.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of recognizing a position in a space of a moving object on which a light source mark is mounted, the method comprising: detecting light emitted with a predetermined pattern from the light source mark, and the detected pattern of light Restoring the data by reconstructing the data, wirelessly transmitting the restored data to the moving object, receiving the wirelessly transmitted data, calculating a coordinate value thereof, and based on the calculated coordinate values, It provides a method for recognizing the position of a moving object comprising the step of recognizing.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for recognizing a position in a space of a moving object on which a light source marker is mounted, and detecting light emitted with a predetermined pattern from the light source marker, and analyzing the detected light pattern. A position sensing means for wirelessly transmitting the restored data to the moving object, receiving the wirelessly transmitted data, calculating a coordinate value thereof, and recognizing its own position based on the calculated coordinate value. It provides a position recognition apparatus of a moving object including a position identification means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for recognizing a position in a space of a moving object on which a light source mark is mounted, the light sensing means detecting light emitted with a predetermined pattern from the light source mark, and detecting Restoring data by interpreting the light patterns, transmitting the restored data to a remote server through a network, receiving the restored data and calculating coordinate values thereof, and calculating the coordinates by the server. The present invention provides a method for recognizing a location of a mobile device, the method comprising wirelessly transmitting the coordinate value to the mobile device through the network and the wireless network, and recognizing the location of the mobile device based on the calculated coordinate value.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for recognizing a position in a space of a moving object on which a light source marker is mounted, the data is restored through a pattern analysis of light detected by being emitted with a predetermined pattern from the light source marker, Optical sensing means for transmitting the restored data to a remote server through a network, calculating coordinate values corresponding to the restored data received from the server, and transmitting the restored data to the mobile unit, and receiving the restored data. It provides a position recognition system of a moving object comprising the position identification means in the remote server for calculating the coordinate value, and transmits the calculated coordinate value to the light sensing means via the network.

The present invention by detecting the light emitted with a certain pattern in the optical marker mounted on the moving object, by recognizing and restoring the pattern of the detected light and calculating the coordinate value thereof, by recognizing the position of the moving object in space, The positional recognition of the movable body can be realized with high precision.

In addition, the present invention can not only recognize the position of a plurality of moving objects in the space, but also can transmit and extract information regardless of the external lighting environment in the space by using a light source such as an infrared ray, and visually recognize a human present in the environment. Disruptive elements can also be completely eliminated and additional data can be transferred and utilized through the application of optical communication technology.

The technical idea of the present invention, unlike the above-described conventional method of recognizing the position of the moving object by using the feature points of the surrounding environment, is equipped with a light source marker on each moving object (or mobile robot), and exists in the space through the light sensor It detects the light emitted with a certain pattern from the optical marker of the moving object, interprets the detected light pattern, restores the data, and calculates the coordinate value of the restored data to recognize the position of the moving object itself in space. The present invention can effectively solve the problems in the conventional manner through such technical means.

Here, for example, any one of a CMOS sensor, a CCD sensor, and a PSD sensor may be used to detect the emitted light, and as a pattern, for example, a blinking speed pattern of light or an intensity pattern of light may be used.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, in the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may be changed according to intention or custom of a user, an operator, or the like. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the technical idea described throughout this specification.

As is well known, optical communication technology is a technique for realizing data communication using visible light or light having a similar frequency. Here, the data to be transmitted is transmitted through the lighting means capable of high speed flashing and restored (or demodulated) to enable high speed communication. Here, LED lighting, which is attracting attention as a means of high-speed flashing, has been attracting attention as a next-generation lighting because it can be controlled faster than conventional lighting such as fluorescent lamps or incandescent lamps, and has a long life and high energy efficiency. Optical communication technology has a wide bandwidth due to the frequency characteristics of light, and thus can transmit a lot of data quickly and accurately, and it is also advantageous for information protection because data cannot be received where the field of view is obscured.

Therefore, in the present invention, by incorporating an artificial mark (optical mark) applying an optical communication technology to a moving object (mobile robot), it is possible to precisely recognize the position of the moving object.

[First Embodiment]

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for recognizing a position of a moving object according to a first embodiment of the present invention, which includes a light source marker 110, a position identification module 120, a position detection module 130, and the like. 120 includes a reception block 122, a calculation block 124, a control block 126, and the like, and the position detection block 130 includes a light detection block 132, a data recovery block 134, and a transmission block ( 136) and the like.

First, a moving object for realizing position recognition according to the present invention is, for example, a mobile robot, which is equipped with a light source mark (for example, an IR LED), which may be composed of one or a plurality of LEDs. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the installation position may be preferably the top of the head of the mobile robot so that an external light sensing device can easily detect the emitted light.

That is, FIG. 3 is an exemplary view of a structure in which a position sensing module installed on a ceiling or a wall, or a tripod mounted at a specific position of a space, detects a moving object equipped with a light source mark moving in a position recognizable space. For example, each of the movable bodies 304 and 306 is mounted with, for example, each light source mark 304a and 306a at the top of the head, and the light emitted from each light source mark 304a and 306a is, for example, a position sensing device installed in the ceiling portion. It is sensed through the light sensing block in module 302.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the light source marker 110 mounted at the top of the head of the moving object may be an optical divergence device in the form of optical communication, for example, under control from the control block 126 in the position identification module 120. Meaning, various types of optical devices may be used according to need or use, but when there is a human in the environment of a moving object, it is necessary to not stimulate human vision so that light having a frequency outside the visible light range is emitted. It is preferable to use an apparatus. Examples of this form include infrared LEDs that emit light of longer wavelengths than red.

Next, the reception block 122 in the location identification module 120 performs data wirelessly transmitted from the transmission block 136 in the location detection module 130 (that is, data obtained by analyzing and restoring the detected light pattern). It provides a function such as receiving and passing to the operation block 124.

In addition, the operation block 124 calculates (extracts) the coordinate value through the operation of the restored data transmitted from the reception block 122, and transmits the result of the coordinate value calculation to the control block 126. To provide.

The control block 126 includes, for example, a microprocessor for performing overall motion control of the moving object, and recognizes the position of the moving object based on the coordinate value transmitted from the operation block 124. Based on the recognition result, a function of controlling the driving or operation of the moving object is provided. In addition, the control block 126 provides a function of controlling light divergence from the light source marking to a predetermined pattern, a predetermined light blinking speed pattern, or a predetermined light intensity pattern.

For example, assuming a case where the light flickering speed pattern is different, as shown in FIG. 4 as an example, the light flickers for a predetermined time at a relatively slow speed (S1 section), and then again at a relatively high speed. It may take a way to flash the light for a period of time (S2 interval).

Accordingly, the light source marker 110 emits light having a constant pattern (flashing speed pattern or intensity pattern) according to the blinking control provided from the control block 126.

As a result, in the data restoration block 134 in the position sensing block 130 described later, the original data (the original data before modulation) is extracted, for example, by extracting the S1 section to "0" and extracting the S2 section to "1". ) Can be restored.

Next, the light sensing block 132 in the position sensing module 130 serving as a light sensing device is a sensor that detects the light emitted from the light source marker 110 and transmits the light to the data recovery block 134. As the sensor, for example, a CMOS sensor, a CCD sensor, a PSD sensor, or the like can be used.

Here, the CMOS or CCD sensor is relatively slow in response speed, so it is suitable for the case that the moving body does not move too fast, and it is possible to simultaneously recognize the position of several moving objects. On the other hand, the PSD sensor has a relatively fast response speed, so it is suitable for application to a high-speed moving object. Since only one light can be received at a time, the light emitted from the light source marker of the moving object is time-divided or frequency-reduced. It should work by way of partitioning.

In addition, the data recovery block 134 analyzes the pattern of the detected light transmitted from the light sensing block 132 to restore the original data before modulation, and detects the flashing speed pattern as shown in FIG. 4 as an example. Assuming that it is a light having, the original data (the original data before modulation) is restored by transmitting the S1 section to "0" and the S2 section to "1", and transmitting the restored data. Transfer to block 136.

The transmission block 136 includes, for example, a transmission antenna capable of wireless transmission of the recovered data, and modulates the restored data into a radio transmission signal, so that the transmission block 136 is moved to a moving object (moving device having a position identification module) in the space. Functions such as wireless transmission. Accordingly, the reception block 122 in the location identification module 120 will receive the radio transmitted signal (the restored data signal). Here, the radio transmission of the restored data may use a short-range communication scheme such as RF communication, Bluetooth communication, Zigbee communication, binary CDMA communication, and the like.

On the other hand, in the location recognizing apparatus of the present embodiment has been described by describing only one position sensing module (photo-sensing device), this is only an example for the convenience and understanding of the description and the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. In a case where the space in which one or more moving objects belong is relatively large, several light sensing devices may be used.

Next, a series of processes by which the moving object recognizes its position according to the present embodiment using the position recognition device of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a moving object recognizes its position according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the light source marker 110 emits light according to the flashing control from the control block 126 for the position recognition (step 202), the light sensing block 132 in the position sensing module 130 The light emitted from the light source marker 110 is sensed and transferred to the data recovery block 134 (step 204).

In response, the detected pattern of light is interpreted and restored to the original data before modulation (step 206), and the recovered data is modulated into a radio transmittable signal via the transmission block 136 and sent out wirelessly (step 208).

Next, the reception block 122 in the position identification module 120 mounted on the moving object receives the demodulated data through the reception antenna, demodulates it, and transmits the demodulated data to the operation block 124 (step 210).

In response, the operation block 124 calculates the coordinate value through the operation of the restored data transferred from the reception block 122 and transmits the coordinate value to the control block 126. As a result, the operation block 126 calculates the operation result. On the basis of the coordinate value obtained as a recognition of the current position of the moving object, the operation control according to the position recognition and so on (step 212).

Second Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system for recognizing a position of a moving object according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and includes a light source mark 510, a control module 520, a position sensing module 530, a position identification module 540, and the like. The control module 520 includes a receiving block 522, a control block 524, and the like, and the position sensing module 530 includes a light sensing block 532, a data recovery block 534, and a transmission / reception block 536. The location identification module 540 includes a transmission / reception block 542 and a calculation block 544. Here, the location sensing module 530 serving as the light sensing device may be connected to the location identification module 540 mounted in a server or a PC at a remote location through a wired network.

The position recognition system of the present embodiment differs from the fact that the position identification module 540 is mounted on a server or a PC of a remote place, not a moving object, and the functions of the respective members are different from those of the corresponding components shown in FIG. Is substantially the same as That is, the remote server or PC on which the location identification module 540 is mounted functions as a location identifier for the present invention.

To this end, the position detection module 530 transmits the restored data obtained by analyzing the detected light pattern emitted from the light source mark 510 to the remote server or the PC side via the transmission / reception block 536 and the network instead of the moving object side. It transmits to the mounted position identification module 540 side. Here, each function of the light sensing block 532 and the data recovery block 534 is substantially the same as that of the corresponding components shown in FIG. Therefore, detailed description of these components is omitted here in order to avoid unnecessary overlapping material for the sake of brevity of the specification.

Thus, in arithmetic block 544 in position identification module 540, coordinate values are calculated through the operation of the restored data received via the network and the transmission / reception block 542 in the same manner as in arithmetic block 124 of FIG. Is calculated (extracted), and the calculated coordinate values are transmitted to the position sensing module 530 through the transmission and reception block 542 and the network.

Next, the transmission / reception block 536 in the position sensing module 530 modulates the coordinate value (coordinate value data) received through the network into a signal that can be transmitted wirelessly, and then wirelessly transmits the coordinate value.

As a result, the receiving block 522 in the control module 520 mounted on the moving object receives the coordinate value data and transmits it to the control block 524, whereby the control block 524 determines the position of the moving object based on the coordinate value. It recognizes, and controls the driving or operation of the moving object based on the position recognition result.

On the other hand, the position recognition system of the present embodiment has been described as a function of restoring the data by analyzing the pattern of the detected light on the position sensing module side, but this is merely an exemplary presentation and the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. ,

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, since the location identification module is mounted on a server or a PC in a remote location instead of the moving object, it is possible to obtain another effect of realizing a mobile device capable of low cost and structural simplification. When upgrading software modules, etc., only the location identification module mounted on the server or the PC, not each moving object, needs to be upgraded.

Next, a series of processes by which the moving object recognizes its position according to the present embodiment using the position recognition system of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a moving object recognizes its position according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, each process of steps 602 to 606 is substantially the same as the corresponding process of steps 202 to 206 shown in FIG. 2, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted in order to avoid unnecessary duplication.

Accordingly, when the data is restored through the analysis of the detected light pattern, the position sensing module 530 transmits the restored data to the position identification module 540 mounted on a server or PC at a remote location through the transmission / reception block 536. (Step 608).

Next, in the operation block 544 in the position identification module 540, coordinates are obtained through the operation of the restored data received through the transmission / reception block 542 in the same manner as in the operation block 124 shown in FIG. The value is calculated (steps 610 and 612).

Thereafter, the location identification module 540 transmits the coordinate value data calculated through the transmission / reception block 542 and the network to the location detection module 530 (step 614), and in response, the location detection module 530 identifies the location. The coordinate value data received from the module 540 is wirelessly transmitted to the mobile unit through the transmission / reception block 536 (steps 616 and 618).

As a result, the control block 524 in the control module 520 receives the coordinate value through the receiving block 522, thereby recognizing the position of the moving object based on the received coordinate value, and based on the position recognition result The driving or operation of the moving object is controlled (step 620).

In the foregoing description, the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It will be readily appreciated that branch substitutions, modifications and variations are possible.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for recognizing a position of a moving object according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of recognizing a position of a moving object according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

3 is an exemplary view illustrating a structure in which a position sensing module mounted to a ceiling detects a moving object equipped with a light source mark moving in a position recognizable space;

4 is an exemplary diagram for describing a method of modulating data at a flashing speed of light;

5 is a block diagram of a system for recognizing a position of a moving object according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a moving object recognizes its position according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Related Art

110, 510: light source marker 120, 540: position identification module

122, 522: reception block 124, 544: operation block

126, 524: control blocks 130, 530: position sensing module

132, 532: light sensing block 134, 534: data recovery block

136: transmission block 536, 542: transmission and reception block

Claims (10)

A method of recognizing a location in space of a moving object equipped with a light source mark, Detecting light emitted from the light source marking with a predetermined pattern; Restoring data by interpreting the detected pattern of light; Wirelessly transmitting the restored data to the moving object; Receiving the radio transmitted data, calculating the coordinate value, and recognizing its position based on the calculated coordinate value Position recognition method of the moving object comprising a. The method of claim 1, Sensing the light is performed using any one of a CMOS sensor, a CCD sensor, and a PSD sensor. Position recognition method of the moving object, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The pattern may be a blinking speed pattern of light or an intensity pattern of light. Position recognition method of the moving object, characterized in that. A device for recognizing a location in space of a moving object equipped with a light source mark, Position detection means for detecting light emitted from the light source marking with a predetermined pattern, interpreting the detected light pattern, restoring data, and wirelessly transmitting the restored data to the moving object; Position identification means for receiving the radio transmitted data, calculating the coordinate value thereof, and recognizing its own position based on the calculated coordinate value. Position recognition device of the moving object comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein The position detecting means may detect the light using any one of a CMOS sensor, a CCD sensor, and a PSD sensor. An apparatus for recognizing a position of a moving object, characterized in that. The method of claim 4, wherein The position detecting means may be configured to interpret the detected pattern of light through a blinking speed pattern of light or an intensity pattern of light. An apparatus for recognizing a position of a moving object, characterized in that. A method of recognizing a location in space of a moving object equipped with a light source mark, Detecting light emitted from the light source marking with a predetermined pattern through a light sensing means, and analyzing the detected light pattern to restore data; Transmitting the restored data to a remote server through a network; Receiving the restored data and calculating coordinate values thereof; Transmitting the coordinate values calculated by the server to the mobile unit through the network and the wireless network; Recognizing the position of the moving object based on the calculated coordinate value Position recognition method of the moving object comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein Sensing the light is performed using any one of a CMOS sensor, a CCD sensor, and a PSD sensor. Position recognition method of the moving object, characterized in that. The method of claim 7, wherein The pattern may be a blinking speed pattern of light or an intensity pattern of light. Position recognition method of the moving object, characterized in that. A system for recognizing the position in space of a moving object equipped with a light source mark, Restoring data through the pattern analysis of the light detected by being emitted with a predetermined pattern from the light source marker, and transmitting the restored data to a remote server through a network, and coordinates corresponding to the restored data received from the server. Optical sensing means for calculating a value and transmitting the value wirelessly to the mobile unit; Location identification means in the remote server for receiving the restored data, calculating the coordinate value, and transmitting the calculated coordinate value to the optical sensing means via the network; Position recognition system of the moving body comprising a.

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