KR20130040062A - Robot cleaner and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A robot cleaner and a control method thereof are provided to correctly sense a hand part of a user with a camera even in case the robot cleaner moves to predetermined direction. CONSTITUTION: A control method of a robot cleaner comprises: a step of sensing one of shape of a hand or movement when a part of the hand is sensed(S21); a step of extracting operation command about operation of the robot cleaner based on one of shape or movement of the hand(S31); and a step of operating the robot cleaner based on the operation command(S40). [Reference numerals] (AA) Start; (BB,DD,GG,HH,MM) No; (CC,EE,FF,II,KKㅣㅣ) Yes; (NN) End; (S11) Sound inputted?; (S12) Designated command?; (S13) Stopping driving; (S14) Changing a camera to a closeup mode; (S21,S33) Gesture inputted?; (S22) Predetermined time passed?; (S31) Inputted gesture accords with the designated command?; (S32) Feeding back a recognized command; (S40) Executing the recognized command;

Description

Robot Cleaner and Control Method {ROBOT CLEANER AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner, and to a robot cleaner capable of extracting an operation command by detecting a shape and a movement of a user's hand part, and a control method thereof.

In general, robots have been developed for industrial use and have been a part of factory automation. In recent years, medical robots, aerospace robots, and the like have been developed, and household robots that can be used in ordinary homes are being developed.

A representative example of the domestic robot is a robot cleaner, which is a kind of electronic equipment that sucks dust and foreign matter around while driving a certain area by itself. Such a robot cleaner is generally equipped with a rechargeable battery and has an obstacle sensor capable of avoiding obstacles during traveling, so that it can run and clean by itself.

As a method for controlling the robot cleaner, there are a method using a remote controller which is a user interface, a method using a button provided in the robot cleaner main body, and the like. However, in the case of controlling the cleaner using the remote controller, there is a inconvenience that the user must carry the remote control, there may be a loss risk that the user can lose the remote control. In addition, when controlling the cleaner using the main body button, there may be a problem that the user has to bend the upper body greatly due to the structural characteristics of the robot cleaner, and the number of buttons is limited.

Accordingly, the present specification aims at providing measures to solve the above-mentioned problems.

In detail, the present disclosure is intended to provide a method for comfortably controlling the robot cleaner without largely bending the upper body even without using an external device.

In addition, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for generating various operation commands of the robot cleaner.

The present invention solves the above problems by providing a robot cleaner and a control method thereof as follows.

In the control method of the robot cleaner according to an aspect of the present invention, in the method of controlling the robot cleaner, when a user's hand part is detected, detecting at least one of a shape and a movement of the hand part, the detected hand Based on at least one of the shape and the movement of the part, the method may include extracting an operation command related to the operation of the cleaner, and operating the cleaner based on the extracted operation command.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling a robot cleaner may include detecting a voice from a user and stopping an operation based on the detected voice.

The control method of the robot cleaner according to another aspect of the present invention, the sensing step may include a step of indicating whether or not detectable.

In the method of controlling a robot cleaner according to another aspect of the present invention, the extracting of the operation command may include requesting a new input from a user when the operation command cannot be extracted from at least one of the detected form and movement. It may further comprise the step.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling a robot cleaner may include displaying or outputting a content of the extracted operation command.

The control method of the robot cleaner according to another aspect of the present disclosure may further include re-detecting at least one of a shape and a movement of the user's hand region.

The control method of the robot cleaner according to another aspect of the present invention is characterized by including cleaning start, cleaning end, switching to the charging mode, or cleaning start in a predetermined range and direction.

In the control method of the robot cleaner according to still another aspect of the present invention, the extracting may include extracting, from the hand portion, an operation command to move the cleaner in the direction of the finger when one finger points to a predetermined direction. Characterized in that.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a robot cleaner, wherein the extracting of the robot cleaner comprises extracting an operation command for moving the cleaner in the direction of the palm of the hand when the fingers are fully extended. It features.

In the control method of the robot cleaner according to still another aspect of the present invention, the extracting may include extracting an operation command for cleaning a predetermined range when the movement of the hand portion is a movement of drawing a circle trajectory. .

In the control method of the robot cleaner according to another aspect of the present invention, the extracting step may include extracting an operation command for cleaning a predetermined range when the movement of the hand portion is a movement moving left and right.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a robot cleaner, the method comprising: detecting a hand part of a user, when the detected hand part is moved, operating the robot cleaner by following the hand, following the hand And during operation, when detecting at least one of the shape and operation of the predetermined hand portion, it may include the step of operating the cleaner based on at least one of the shape and operation.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling a robot cleaner, wherein the robot cleaner operates by following the hand may include following the hand by the robot cleaner while maintaining a predetermined distance from the hand. Can be.

The control method of the robot cleaner according to another aspect of the present invention may further include adjusting a direction of the camera such that a camera installed in the robot cleaner follows the position of the hand.

In a method of controlling a robot cleaner according to another aspect of the present invention, the operation of the cleaner based on at least one of the shape and operation of the hand portion may include: a finger having a shape of the hand portion pointing in a predetermined direction. In case of form, the method may further include moving the cleaner in the direction of the finger.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling a robot cleaner includes operating the cleaner based on at least one of a shape and an operation of the hand part. The cleaner may further include moving the cleaner in the direction of the palm of the hand.

In the control method of the robot cleaner according to another aspect of the present invention, the operation of the robot cleaner following the hand may further include controlling an operation of a driving unit so that the robot cleaner operates while following the hand. It may include.

The robot cleaner according to an aspect of the present invention may include a sensor configured to detect at least one of a shape and a movement of the hand region when the user's hand region is detected, based on at least one of the shape and the movement of the detected hand region. The controller may include a controller configured to extract an operation command related to an operation of the cleaner, and operate based on the extracted operation command.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a robot cleaner includes a sensor configured to detect a user's hand, and a controller configured to control the robot cleaner to operate by following the hand when the detected hand moves. The controller may be configured to control the cleaner to operate based on at least one of the shape and the operation when the controller detects at least one of the shape and the operation of the predetermined hand part.

Disclosure of the present invention solves the problems of the prior art described above.

Specifically, according to the disclosure of the present specification, even without using an external device, the robot cleaner can be comfortably controlled without largely bending the upper body.

In addition, according to the disclosure of the present specification, a method for variously generating operation commands of the robot cleaner may be provided.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a robot cleaner equipped with a single camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of a control device of a robot cleaner equipped with a single camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an LED pattern displayed on a display unit according to a recognition state of a camera.
5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an operation command of a cleaner is designated according to a shape of a user's hand part.
6 is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling a cleaner while a user moves.
7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an operation command of a cleaner is designated according to a movement of a user's hand.
8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an LED pattern displayed on a display unit according to an operation command to be extracted.

It is to be noted that the technical terms used herein are merely used to describe particular embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. It is also to be understood that the technical terms used herein are to be interpreted in a sense generally understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs, Should not be construed to mean, or be interpreted in an excessively reduced sense. In addition, when the technical terms used herein are incorrect technical terms that do not accurately express the spirit of the present invention, they should be replaced with technical terms that can be understood correctly by those skilled in the art. In addition, the general terms used in the present invention should be interpreted according to a predefined or prior context, and should not be construed as being excessively reduced.

Also, the singular forms "as used herein include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the term "comprising" or "comprising" or the like should not be construed as necessarily including the various elements or steps described in the specification, Or may be further comprised of additional components or steps.

Also, suffixes "module", "unit" and "part" for the components used in the present specification are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and each component having its own distinct meaning or role no.

Furthermore, terms including ordinals such as first, second, etc. used in this specification can be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or similar elements throughout the several views, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. It is to be noted that the accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a robot cleaner equipped with a single camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram of a control device of a robot cleaner equipped with a single camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, a robot cleaner to which embodiments of the present invention are applied will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot cleaner 100 is disposed to correspond to a case 140 and an outer surface of the case 140 to form an exterior, and each of the front sensors includes at least two transmitters and a receiver. Unit 120 may be included. In this case, the case 140 may be formed in a circular disk shape having a predetermined height. The front sensor unit 120 is a sensor that detects a distance between an indoor wall or an obstacle and the robot, and the front sensor unit may be configured as an ultrasonic sensor. The front sensor unit 120 may detect an obstacle disposed in front of the driving path of the robot cleaner 100. The case 140 may be provided with a bumper 130 to cushion the impact when the collision.

In addition, the robot cleaner 100 includes a camera 110 at an upper front side to capture an image of a cleaning target region or a driving region. The camera 110 is installed so that the robot cleaner can shoot the image of the front and the upper side, the camera is fixed in this embodiment, but may be formed to move left and right and up and down at a predetermined angle. .

In addition, the robot cleaner 100 may include an operation unit 150 and a display unit 160. The operation unit may generate input data for controlling the operation of the cleaner. The operation unit 150 may include a setting unit 280 of a button or key type for inputting a command to control the robot cleaner 100. In the vicinity of the manipulation unit 150, a display unit 160 may display various information of the robot cleaner 100. The display unit 160 may be formed on the operation unit 150. The display unit 160 may display whether the camera recognizes the user's hand or not, and when the camera 110 recognizes the user's hand, whether the camera recognizes the user's hand. In addition, the display unit 160 may display the extracted operation command when the operation command of the cleaner is extracted based on the shape, movement, etc. of the user's hand. The display unit may further display state information such as a current state of the robot cleaner and a current cleaning state. The display unit 160 is formed of a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED), or the like. Can be.

In more detail, the robot cleaner 100 includes a controller 210, a detector 220, edge data, first and second motors 231 and 232 for transmitting power to the driving wheel and the driving wheel. The driving unit 230, the suction unit 240, the position detector 250, the storage unit 260, the display unit 270, and the setting unit 280 may include a battery (not shown).

The edge data is rotatably installed in the robot cleaner 100 so that foreign matters such as dust and dirt on the floor can be smoothly sucked into the suction part 240.

The driving unit 230 may transmit driving force to the left wheel and the right wheel of the robot cleaner based on the signal transmitted from the control unit 210. In addition, the robot cleaner 100 may travel forward according to the driving of the left and right wheels. For example, the left wheel may receive power by the first motor 231, and the right wheel may receive power by the second motor 232.

The suction part 240 may include a dust accommodating means (for example, a dust container) 241, a suction means (for example, a suction fan) 242, a suction duct, a filter part, and a suction port which are not shown. . In addition, the suction unit 240 may suck and accommodate foreign substances on the floor.

The battery supplies power to the driving unit 230 and the like. Such a battery may be charged in a charging stand (not shown).

The sensing unit 220 transmits a signal for detecting an obstacle and receives a signal reflected from the obstacle to detect an obstacle or determine a path of the sensor unit 221 and an image of a moving direction of the robot cleaner 100. It may include a camera unit 222 for photographing, a voice recognition unit 223 that can recognize the user's voice.

The sensor unit 221 may include a front sensor 120 for detecting an object in front of the robot, a side sensor (not shown) disposed on a side of the robot cleaner, and a wall sensor for detecting a wall, and sensing the charging stand to charge the battery. IR sensors (not shown) and the like.

The camera unit 222 may capture an image including a ceiling while the robot cleaner is moving or stopped in the cleaning target area according to a control signal of the controller 210. In the present embodiment, the camera unit 222 is fixed to the robot cleaner so as to take a picture of the upper image, that is, the ceiling image using a single camera 110, but if it can be rotated up and down or left and right, the ceiling In addition, images of the front, rear, and top and bottom of the surrounding area can be taken.

Meanwhile, when the user's hand region is detected on the screen captured by the camera unit 222, the shape and movement of the hand region may be detected by the camera unit 222. The detected image may be stored in the storage 260.

In addition, when the user's hand part is detected, the camera unit 222 may continuously detect the user's hand part while continuously tracking the position of the hand part according to a control signal.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the camera unit 222 photographs the ceiling image at regular time intervals while moving according to the control signal. In this case, it is preferable to adjust the time interval so that two consecutively adjacent images include the same feature point.

The voice input unit 223 receives an external sound signal and processes the external sound signal into electrical voice data. Meanwhile, the controller 210 may extract an operation command based on the processed voice data. The voice input unit 223 may implement various noise removing algorithms for removing noise generated in the process of receiving an external sound signal.

The controller 200 may control the overall operation of the robot cleaner. In addition, the controller 200 may include a feature point extractor 211, a particle generator 212, a 3D information processor 213, and an operation command extractor 214.

The feature point extractor 211 may receive the ceiling image photographed by the camera unit 222 and extract the feature point from the image of the ceiling by image processing the image. The feature point extractor 211 receives the captured image and converts the image into a frequency domain, thereby performing image processing. In this case, the feature point extractor 211 determines an object or region having a large frequency change as a feature point, It can be a light. The extracted feature points may be stored in the storage unit 260 for each image frame.

When the feature point is extracted from two ceiling images photographed sequentially from the camera 222, the particle generator 212 may generate the feature point particle from the first image after matching the same feature point of the two images.

The 3D information processor 213 projects the generated particles into an image after the feature point matching is performed, and determines the particle having the highest probability of the projected particles as a feature point of the actual surrounding environment to obtain 3D information of the actual feature point. Extract and create 3D maps of the environment.

The operation command extractor 214 may extract the operation command of the cleaner based on the shape and movement of the hand part detected by the camera 222. For example, the operation command extracting unit 214 checks whether an operation command corresponding to the shape and movement of the hand part detected by the camera exists, and if there is an operation command corresponding to the shape and movement of the detected hand part. The operation command can be extracted. An operation command corresponding to the shape and movement of the hand portion may be included in the storage unit 260.

In addition, the operation command extractor 214 may extract the operation command of the cleaner based on the voice of the user. For example, when a preset voice is input, the robot cleaner may stop the operation or change the camera to the close-up mode in order to recognize the shape and movement of the user's hand. The preset voice may be included in the storage.

The driver 230 drives the first and second motors 231 and 232 according to a control signal output from the controller 210 to drive the robot cleaner 100. The first and second motors 231 and 232 of the driver 230 are connected to the left / right wheels for driving the robot cleaner 100. Therefore, the robot cleaner 100 travels back, front, left, and right according to the rotation speed and the rotation direction of the first and second motors 231 and 232.

The position detection unit 250 detects a position change according to the movement of the robot cleaner, and is particularly attached to one side of the wheel to detect the rotation speed of the wheel. In addition, the position detector 250 may detect the degree of the robot cleaner away from the initial position based on the number of revolutions of the wheel. In this case, the position detection unit 250 preferably includes an encoder.

The storage unit 260 is configured of, for example, a nonvolatile memory device such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, and stores an operation program for driving the robot cleaner 100. In addition, various information such as image information detected by the sensing unit 220, a feature point extracted from the image information, and position information of the robot cleaner detected by the position detector 250 are stored. In addition, the storage unit 260 may store an operation command corresponding to the shape and movement of the hand part. In addition, the storage unit 260 may store an operation command corresponding to the user's voice.

Since the display unit 270 and the setting unit 280 have been described in detail above, the description of the display unit 270 and the setting unit 280 will be omitted here.

The robot cleaner may further include a voice output unit (not shown) capable of outputting information of the robot cleaner by voice.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 3, the robot cleaner may be called before the robot cleaner is operated by recognizing the shape and movement of the user's hand region (S10). By the call of the robot cleaner, the robot cleaner in operation may stop the operation. In addition, the robot cleaner's camera may switch the shooting mode to the close-up photography mode by calling the robot cleaner. In the closeup mode, the camera may more accurately recognize a user's hand located above the robot cleaner.

The call of the robot cleaner may be made by a voice of a user (S11). A user sends a voice command to the robot cleaner, and the robot cleaner may receive a voice of the user by the voice input unit 223.

After the call by the user is made, the robot cleaner may compare whether the received voice matches the designated command (S12).

For example, the operation command extractor 214 may check whether the operation command corresponding to the received voice is included in the storage 260.

When the voice is the same as the preset voice used when calling the robot cleaner, the robot cleaner may stop driving (S13) and change the camera to a close-up mode (S14).

If the voice does not match the preset voice used when calling the robot cleaner, the robot cleaner may wait for a new voice input.

When the robot cleaner 100 stops the operation by the call or the robot cleaner 100 stops the operation without receiving the operation command, the user touches the camera installed in the robot cleaner 100. The used gesture may be input (S21). When the user inputs a gesture using a hand to the robot cleaner through a camera, the camera may detect a shape, a movement, and the like of the hand part. For example, the camera may sense what shape the user's hand part has, what movement the user's hand has shown. In addition, the shape of the hand portion may mean a shape that the hand, palm, fingers take.

On the other hand, when the gesture is not input by the user in a state in which the robot cleaner is called for a predetermined time, the robot cleaner may leave the call state (S22).

Meanwhile, the display unit 270 may display whether the robot cleaner recognizes a user's hand and whether the robot cleaner recognizes a user's hand.

For example, when the display unit is configured with an LED lamp, it is possible to indicate the recognition state of the camera by the method shown in FIG. That is, when the camera is in a state capable of recognizing a user's hand, the LED lamp may be kept on. In addition, when the camera is unable to recognize the user's hand portion, it is possible to specify to keep the LED lamp off. In addition, when the camera recognizes the user's hand and detects its shape and movement, the LED lamp may be designated to blink. In addition to the above-described method, it is possible to specify various LED patterns according to the recognition state of the camera.

When the camera of the robot cleaner detects the shape and movement of the user's hand part, the robot cleaner may extract an operation command of the cleaner from the detected shape and movement of the hand part (S30).

When detecting the shape of the hand part, the robot cleaner may detect the bending of the finger, the direction in which the finger points, the angle, and the like. In addition, when detecting the movement of the hand portion, the robot cleaner may detect a movement trace of the hand portion. In addition, the robot cleaner may simultaneously detect the shape and movement of the hand part.

The operation command of the cleaner may include cleaning start, switching to a charging mode, cleaning stop, cleaning while moving in a predetermined direction, and cleaning in a predetermined range.

5 illustrates an example in which an operation command of the cleaner is designated according to the shape of a user's hand part.

As shown in FIG. 5 (a), an operation command corresponding to the shape of a hand where the user stretches two fingers may be designated as a cleaning start command of the robot cleaner.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, an operation command corresponding to the shape of the hand where the user stretches three fingers may be designated as a charging mode switching command of the robot cleaner.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5C, an operation command corresponding to the shape of the hand portion where the user extends four fingers may be designated as the cleaning stop command of the robot cleaner.

6 is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling a cleaner while a user moves.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), an operation command corresponding to the shape of the hand portion where the user stretches one finger may be designated as the movement in the direction of the finger of the robot cleaner.

Referring to FIG. 6 (a), the user may input the shape of a hand portion with one finger extended to the cleaner, in which the robot cleaner may move in the direction of the extended finger.

When the user wants to directly control the movement of the robot cleaner, the user can directly input the moving direction of the robot cleaner as described above. That is, when the user wants to change the moving direction of the robot cleaner while following the robot cleaner, the user may change the direction of the finger to the direction in which the robot cleaner is to be moved.

On the other hand, when the user recognizes the hand part to the robot cleaner and specifies the moving direction of the cleaner while following the robot cleaner, the robot cleaner and the user are continuously moving, so the relative position between the robot cleaner and the user's hand part is also continuously. Can be changed to Therefore, after the camera of the robot cleaner recognizes the user's hand part, the controller may control the camera to continuously detect the user's hand part and continuously follow the user's hand part. By such a control, even when the robot cleaner is moving in a predetermined direction, the camera can accurately detect the user's hand.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the operation command corresponding to the shape of the hand portion where the user stretches five fingers can be designated as the movement in the palm direction of the robot cleaner.

Referring to FIG. 6 (b), a user may input a shape of a hand portion having five fingers spread on the cleaner, and at this time, the robot cleaner may move in the direction of the palm of the hand portion.

When the user wants to directly control the movement of the robot cleaner, the user can directly input the moving direction of the robot cleaner as described above. That is, the user may control the robot cleaner to follow the user in front of the robot cleaner, and when it is desired to change the moving direction of the robot cleaner, the user may change the direction of the palm to the direction in which the robot cleaner is to be moved.

In addition to the above method, an operation command corresponding to the shape of the user's hand region may be variously designated as necessary.

Up to now, in the case where the robot cleaner recognizes a specific shape of the user's hand portion, the robot cleaner has been described to operate following the hand. However, even when the robot cleaner does not recognize a specific part of the hand, the robot cleaner may operate while following the hand.

That is, when the robot cleaner detects a user's hand part and the detected hand part moves, the robot cleaner may move while following the hand.

In addition, the motion command extractor 214 may extract an operation command corresponding to the shape or movement when the robot cleaner detects a specific shape or movement on the hand while the robot cleaner operates while following the hand. Can be.

In addition, when the robot cleaner operates while following the hand, the controller 210 may control to maintain a constant distance between the robot cleaner and the hand.

7 illustrates an example in which an operation command of the cleaner is designated according to the movement of the user's hand.

As illustrated in FIG. 7A, an operation command corresponding to a user's movement of shaking a hand part left and right may be designated as a command to intensively clean a predetermined range relatively narrow at the current position.

On the other hand, according to the range in which the user shakes the hand part from side to side, the suction strength of the cleaner suction part may be adjusted, or the robot cleaner may be controlled to clean the range.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7B, an operation command corresponding to a movement in which a user draws a circle trajectory with a hand part may be designated as a command to intensively clean a relatively wide predetermined range from a current position. .

On the other hand, according to the range in which the user draws the trajectory of the circle with the hand part, the suction strength of the cleaner suction part may be adjusted or the range of the robot cleaner cleaning may be adjusted.

In addition to the above method, an operation command corresponding to the movement of the user's hand portion may be variously designated as necessary.

As described above, information about an operation command corresponding to the shape and movement of the user's hand portion may be included in the storage unit 260.

After the camera detects the shape or movement of the user's hand portion (S20), it may be determined whether an operation command corresponding to the detected shape or movement of the hand portion exists (S31).

For example, the operation command extractor 214 may check whether the operation command corresponding to the shape and movement of the hand part detected by the camera is included in the storage unit 260.

When an operation command corresponding to the detected shape and movement of the hand part is included in the storage unit 260, the operation command extractor 214 may extract the operation command (S30).

In addition, when the motion command cannot be extracted from the detected shape and movement of the hand part, the robot cleaner may request a new input from the user.

Meanwhile, before the operation command is extracted, the method may further include checking whether the operation command matches the operation command intended by the user (S32 and S33).

That is, the operation command to be extracted based on the detected user's hand portion may be displayed on the display unit 270.

For example, when the display unit is configured with an LED lamp, it is possible to display an operation command to be extracted by the method shown in FIG. That is, when the operation command to be extracted by the operation command extraction unit 214 is a cleaning start command, the LED lamp may be specified to be kept in an on state. In addition, when the operation command to be extracted by the operation command extracting unit 214 is an operation stop command, the LED lamp may be kept in the off state. In addition, when the operation command to be extracted by the operation command extraction unit 214 is a cleaning start command, the LED lamp may be designated to blink. In addition to the above method, the LED pattern according to the operation command to be extracted can be variously designated.

In the feedback step S32, when the user confirms that the operation command to be extracted is different from the intended operation command, the user may take a new gesture before the operation command is extracted (S33).

When the operation command extracting unit 214 extracts an operation command corresponding to the shape and movement of the user's hand, the robot cleaner may perform the operation command (S40).

In the case of controlling the cleaner by the above-described method, there is an advantage that the user can control the cleaner without using an external device. In addition, when controlling the cleaner, there is an advantage that the user can easily control the robot cleaner even if the user does not bend the upper body to input a key. In addition, there is an advantage that it is possible to generate a variety of operating instructions of the cleaner from the shape and movement of the hand portion.

The above-described method according to the embodiment of the present invention can be used individually or in combination. Further, the steps constituting each embodiment can be used individually or in combination with the steps constituting the other embodiments.

In addition, the above-described method can be implemented in a recording medium readable by a computer or the like using, for example, software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

According to a hardware implementation, the methods described so far can be applied to various types of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and other electronic units for performing other functions.

According to the software implementation, the procedures and functions described herein may be implemented as separate software modules. The software modules may be implemented in software code written in a suitable programming language. The software code may be stored in a storage unit and executed by a processor.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It falls within the scope of the invention.

100: robot cleaner 110: camera 120: front sensor unit
130 bumper 140 case 150 control panel
160:
210: control unit 211: feature point processing unit 212: particle generation unit
213: 3D information processing unit 214: motion command extraction unit 220: detection unit
221: sensor unit 222: camera unit 223: audio input unit
230: driving unit 231: first motor 232: second motor
240 suction part 241 dust storage means 242 suction means
250: position detection unit 260: storage unit 280: setting unit

Claims (19)

In the control method of the robot cleaner,
Detecting at least one of a shape and a movement of the hand part when the user's hand part is detected;
Extracting an operation command relating to an operation of a cleaner based on at least one of a shape and a movement of the detected hand region; And
And operating the cleaner based on the extracted operation command. The method of claim 1,
Detecting voice from a user; And
And stopping the operation based on the detected voice. The method of claim 1, wherein said sensing step;
And controlling whether the robot cleaner can be detected. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting of the operation command comprises:
And requesting a new input from a user when the operation command cannot be extracted from at least one of the sensed shape and movement. The method of claim 1,
And displaying or voice outputting the contents of the extracted operation command. The method according to claim 4 or 5,
Re-detecting at least one of the shape and movement of the user's hand area. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation of the cleaner,
And a cleaning start, cleaning end, switching to a charging mode, or cleaning start in a predetermined range and direction. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting step,
And a control command for extracting an operation command for moving the cleaner in the direction of the finger when one finger is pointing in a predetermined direction at the hand part. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting step,
And a method of extracting an operation command to move the cleaner in the direction of the palm of the hand when the fingers are fully extended in the hand region. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting step,
And if the movement of the hand portion is a movement of drawing a circle trajectory, extracting an operation command of cleaning a predetermined range. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting step,
If the movement of the hand portion is a movement to move left and right, the control method of the robot cleaner, characterized in that for extracting an operation command for cleaning a predetermined range. In the control method of the robot cleaner,
Detecting a user's hand area;
Operating the robot cleaner by following the hand when the detected hand portion moves; And
And controlling the robot cleaner according to at least one of the shape and the operation when the controller detects at least one of the shape and the operation of the predetermined hand part while following the hand. Way. The method of claim 12, wherein the robot cleaner operates by following the hand.
And following the hand by the robot cleaner while maintaining a predetermined distance from the hand. 13. The method of claim 12,
And adjusting the direction of the camera such that the camera installed in the robot cleaner follows the position of the hand. The method of claim 12, wherein the operation of the cleaner based on at least one of the shape and the operation of the hand part comprises:
If the shape of the hand portion is one finger pointing in a predetermined direction, the control method of the robot cleaner further comprising the step of moving the cleaner in the direction of the finger. The method of claim 12, wherein the operation of the cleaner based on at least one of the shape and the operation of the hand part comprises:
In the hand area, when the fingers are all extended, the control method of the robot cleaner further comprising the step of moving the cleaner in the direction of the palm of the hand area. The method of claim 12, wherein the robot cleaner operates by following the hand.
And controlling the operation of the driving unit so that the robot cleaner operates while following the hand. In the robot cleaner,
A sensing unit configured to detect at least one of a shape and a movement of the hand region when the user's hand region is detected; And
And a controller configured to extract an operation command related to an operation of the cleaner based on at least one of the shape and movement of the detected hand part, wherein the robot cleaner operates based on the extracted operation command. In the robot cleaner,
Sensing unit for detecting the user's hand; And
When the detected hand portion moves, the robot cleaner includes a control unit for controlling to operate while following the hand,
The controller, when detecting at least one of a predetermined shape and operation of the hand portion, the robot cleaner to control to operate the cleaner based on at least one of the shape and operation.

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