WO2003043788A1

WO2003043788A1 - Two-legged walking type human-shaped robot

Info

Publication number: WO2003043788A1
Application number: PCT/JP2002/012055
Authority: WO
Inventors: Takayuki Furuta; Yu Okumura; Tetsuo Tawara; Hiroaki Kitano
Original assignee: Japan Science And Technology Corporation
Priority date: 2001-11-19
Filing date: 2002-11-19
Publication date: 2003-05-30
Also published as: JP2003145456A; TW200300383A; TW583057B

Abstract

A two-legged walking type human-shaped robot, which enables smooth actions with wirings, simplified in an action controller. This robot comprises a barrel section (11), leg sections (12L, 12R) comprising knee sections (21L, 21R) and foot sections (17L, 17R), arm sections (13L, 13R) comprising elbow sections (31L, 31R) and hand sections (27L, 27R), and a head section (14) and has drive means for driving joint sections (11d, 11e; 18L, 18R-24L, 24R; 28L, 28R-33L, 33R; 35, 36), respectively, and action controllers (40) for controlling the respective drive means on the basis of gait data matching with a requested action. The action controller is constituted of a main control section (41) provided in the barrel section and subcontrol sections (42) dispersedly disposed adjacent to the respective drive means. Each subcontrol section (42) is LAN-connected to the main control section (41). Further, each control section includes a processor section (45) which operates a control signal for at least one corresponding drive means on the basis of a drive control signal from the main control section and a driver section (46) which drives a corresponding drive means on the basis of a control signal from the processor section.

Description

Description Biped humanoid robot Technical field

The present invention relates to a biped walking humanoid robot, and more particularly to a biped walking humanoid robot capable of simplifying wiring of an operation control device and enabling smooth operation.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called bipedal walking humanoid robot generates a predetermined walking pattern (hereinafter referred to as a gait) data and performs walking control in accordance with the gait data to generate a predetermined walking zone. By moving the legs in turns, biped walking is realized. At that time, in order to stabilize the walking posture, the point at which the combined moment of the floor reaction force and gravity at the sole of the robot becomes zero (hereafter referred to as ZMP (Zero Moment Point)). The robot is stabilized according to the ZMP standard by performing so-called ZMP compensation that converges to the value. By the way, as the number of joints of a biped humanoid robot increases, it becomes necessary for an operation control device that performs such a walking control to have a plurality of I / Os and a high-speed computing capability. However, if such a function is to be realized with a single device, the system becomes huge, and the flexibility or the configuration of the robot is not changed or expanded. Wiring becomes complicated and maintenance is not easy.

For this reason, conventionally, an operation control device including a main control unit provided on the body unit and a plurality of sub-control units provided adjacent to each driving unit has been used, and each sub-control unit is provided with its own. Each is connected to the main control unit in a star configuration. Here, each sub-control unit is configured as a single-axis motor driver dedicated circuit, and is provided for each driving means in each joint unit.

According to the operation control device having such a configuration, the drive control signal is output from the main control unit to each sub-control unit, so that each sub-control unit drives and controls the corresponding driving unit. The joints of the biped humanoid robot are driven by the control, and the biped humanoid robot performs a motion such as walking. By distributing the arithmetic processing to each sub-controller, high-speed arithmetic processing is enabled.

However, in a bipedal walking humanoid robot equipped with such a motion control device, one sub-control unit is required for each drive unit of each joint, and the required number of sub-control units increases. . For this reason, the wiring between the main control unit and the sub control unit connected in a star configuration becomes redundant, and in some cases, smooth driving of the joint unit may be hindered. Disclosure of the invention

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a bipedal walking humanoid robot that simplifies wiring of an operation control device and enables smooth operation. According to the present invention, there are provided a body, a leg having a knee and a foot at a lower end, which can swing at both lower sides of the body, and a swing at both upper sides of the body. It has an arm with an elbow, a hand at the lower end, and a head attached to the upper end of the torso. A plurality of drive means for swinging the swingable joints of the hand, lower arm and upper arm of the arm, and each drive means based on gait data corresponding to the required action. Each of which has an operation control device for controlling the drive, wherein the operation control device comprises a main control unit provided on the body and a plurality of sub-control units distributed and arranged adjacent to each driving means. Is a two-legged walking humanoid robot in which each of the sub-control units is LAN-connected to the main control unit. In each case, each sub-control unit calculates a control signal for at least one corresponding drive unit based on a drive control signal from the main control unit, and responds based on control signals from the processor unit. And a driver unit for driving the driving means. In the biped walking humanoid robot according to the present invention, preferably, the driver unit includes a position control mode, a torque control mode, a free mode, and a brake mode as control modes for driving the driving means, The main control section outputs a control mode selection signal and a control signal to the driver section based on the gait data. In the bipedal walking humanoid robot according to the present invention, preferably, each of the sub-control units includes one driver unit for a corresponding driving unit. The control unit is network-connected to the main control unit. Preferably, the processor unit of each of the sub-control units outputs the angular position and the current value of the control mode input from the corresponding driving unit to the main control unit. Preferably, the processor unit of each sub-control unit is connected to the main control unit or another sub-control unit via an input / output bus.

In the bipedal walking humanoid robot according to the present invention, preferably, the main control unit detects an angle position of each joint, an angle measurement unit, and each angle position detected by the angle measurement unit. And a compensator that corrects the gait data based on the floor reaction force detected behind and outputs it to the sub-controller.

More preferably, the processor unit of each of the sub-control units is configured as a digital circuit, and the dryno unit generates a motor drive signal that is an analog signal based on a digital signal from the processor unit. .

According to the above configuration, when the biped walking humanoid robot performs the whole-body motion, the main control unit of the motion control device drives the respective driving means based on the gait data corresponding to the requested motion. Is generated and output via the LAN to the parallel control unit associated with the corresponding driving means. Thus, the sub-controller calculates a control signal for each corresponding driving means by the processor based on the driving control signal from the main control unit, and outputs the control signal to the driver corresponding to each driving means. Then, the driver unit drives the corresponding driving unit based on the control signal from the processor unit.

In this way, each of the joints operates to realize the gait data by driving each of the driving means by the corresponding driver, and as a whole, a bipedal walking humanoid robot is provided. Perform the desired whole body exercise. In this case, since each sub-control unit of the motion control device is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of joints, compared to the conventional case where each joint is provided with one sub-joint. The number of sub-control units is reduced. Therefore, the number of wires between the main control unit and each of the sub-control units is reduced, so that the wires are simplified and the joints are smoothly driven. The driver unit includes a position control mode, A torque control mode, a free mode, and a brake mode are provided. When the main control unit outputs a control mode selection signal and a control signal to a driver unit based on gait data, the main control unit uses the control mode. By appropriately switching the driving means to drive the driving means, in the position control mode and the torque control mode, the joint driven by the driving means acts as a driving joint, and in particular, for example, a sudden external event during normal operation may occur. When it occurs, it is driven rapidly by temporarily increasing the torque in the torque control mode in order to cope with it, and agile operation can be obtained. On the other hand, in the free mode, the joint acts as a passive joint and the joint moves freely, and in the brake mode, the joint is fixed so as to maintain the current angular position. Is done.

In this way, the same joint is appropriately driven and controlled in each control mode, so that normal driving or abrupt driving is performed, or the joint can be fixedly held or freely moved. Various actions of a biped humanoid robot, such as catching a flying object or falling objects, are possible. At that time, usually, the driving means is loosely driven by the position control mode to reduce the power consumption, the load applied to the mechanism is reduced, and the driving means is rapidly driven in the torque control mode. And quick operation becomes possible.

When each of the sub-control units has one driver unit for the corresponding driving unit, one sub-control unit drives a plurality of driving units by mounting a plurality of driver units. This makes it possible to reduce the number of sub-control units as compared with a case where a conventional ij control unit is provided for each driving unit. Therefore, the number of parts is reduced, and the cost of parts and the cost of assembly are reduced. '

When each of the sub-control units is network-connected to the main control unit, the main control unit and each of the sub-control units are continuously connected by, for example, a connection of the main control unit. In the case where the number of wirings for connecting to each sub-control unit is small and wiring saving is realized, and the sub-control unit is provided for each conventional driving means by the connection type Since the number of sub-control units is smaller than that of, the number of wires for connecting the main control unit and each sub-control unit is reduced, and wiring is reduced.

The processor unit of each of the sub-control units determines the angular position inputted from the corresponding driving unit When the current value of the control mode is output to the main control unit, the main control unit outputs the current angular position of the drive unit and the current control mode input from each drive unit via the processor unit of the sub control unit. The angle and control mode of each joint can be detected from the value.

The main control unit corrects the gait data based on the angle measurement unit detecting the angular position of each joint, the angle position detected by the angle measurement unit and the floor reaction force detected at the sole. And a compensating unit that outputs the gait data to the sub-control unit, the main control unit uses the compensating unit to convert the gait data based on the floor reaction force of the sole and each angular position. The corrected and output to the sub-control unit enables so-called ZMP standard walking control.

When the processor unit of each sub-control unit is connected to the main control unit or another sub-control unit via the input / output bus, each sub-control unit is connected to the main control unit or The other sub-control units are connected to the network, specifically, to the LAN, and can use the mutual communication function to input and output signals.

When the processor unit of each of the sub-control units is configured as a digital circuit, and the driver unit generates an analog drive signal, which is an analog signal, based on the digital signal from the processor unit, The analog signal is limited to only the dryno section, so that the analog signal does not pass through the processor section, and only the digital signal flows in the processor section. Therefore, generation of noise and malfunction due to the passage of the analog signal through the processor section is prevented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be better understood on the basis of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, which show some embodiments of the invention. The embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings are not intended to specify or limit the present invention, but are described merely for facilitating the explanation and understanding of the present invention.

In the figure,

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a biped humanoid robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a schematic front view and (B) is a schematic side view. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the mechanical configuration of the biped humanoid robot of FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the biped walking humanoid robot of FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sub-control unit in the biped walking humanoid robot of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the sub-controller command processing of the motion control device in the biped walking humanoid robot of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a motor drive process of the sub-control unit of the motion control device in the bipedal walking humanoid robot of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram sequentially illustrating the gripping operation of a falling object by the biped walking humanoid robot of FIG. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

1 and 2 show the configuration of an embodiment of a bipedal walking humanoid robot according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a bipedal walking humanoid robot 10 has a torso 11, legs 12 L, 12 R attached to both lower sides of the torso 11, and attached to both upper sides of the torso. Arm 13 L, 13 R provided and a head 14 attached to the upper end of the torso.

The torso 11 is divided into an upper chest 11a and a lower waist 1lb, and the chest 11a swings forward and backward with respect to the waist 11b at the forward bending portion 1c. It is supported so as to be movable, in particular to bend forward, and to be able to turn left and right. Further, a walking control device 50, which will be described later, is built in the chest 11a of the body 11 described above. The forward bending portion 11c is a joint 11d for swinging back and forth and a joint for turning left and right.

11e, and each joint 11d and 11e are connected to a joint drive motor, respectively.

(See Figure 2).

The legs 12 L, 12 R are composed of thighs 15 L, 15 R, lower legs 16 L, 16 R, and feet 17 L, 17 R, respectively. . Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the legs 12 L and 12 R are used to rotate the legs 11 to the waist 11 b of the body 11 in order from six joints, that is, from the top. Joints 18 L, 18 R, one leg 19L, 19R in the joint direction (around the x axis), 20L, 20R in the pitch direction of the leg (around the y axis), 15L, 15R, and the lower leg in the thigh Pitch direction of the ankle with respect to the joints 22 L, 22 R and the feet 17 L, 17 R in the pitch direction of the knee 21 L, 21 R, which is the connection part of 16 L, 16 R 23L and 23R of the ankle, and the joints 24L and 24R of the ankle in the roll direction. Each of the joints 18L, 18R to 24L, 24R is composed of a joint slaughter movement mode.

In this way, the hip joint is composed of the above-mentioned joints 1 1d, 1 1e, and the hip joint is composed of the above-mentioned joints IH 8L, 18R, 19L, 19R, 20L, 2OR, The ankle joint consists of 23 L, 23 R, 24 L, and 24 R joints. As a result, the left and right legs 12 L and 12 R of the bipedal walking humanoid robot 10 are given 6 degrees of freedom, respectively. By controlling the drive of the joints to an appropriate angle using a drive motor, the desired motion can be given to the entire leg 12 L and 12 R, for example, so that the user can walk in a three-dimensional space arbitrarily. Is configured.

The above-mentioned arms 13 L and 13 R are the upper arms 25 L and 25 R, the lower arms 26 L and 261 and the hand 27! ^, 27R, and consists of Here, the upper arm part 25 L, 25 R, the lower arm part 26 L, 26 R and the hand part 27 L, 27 R of the arm part 13 L, 13 R are the above-mentioned leg part 12 L, 12 R. As shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the five joints, that is, the upper arm 25 L,

25 R pitch joints 28 L, 28 R, roll joints 29 L, 29 R, left and right joints 30 L, 3 OR. Upper arm 25 L, 25 R and lower arm 16 L, The elbows 31 L and 31 R, which are the connecting parts of the 26 R, joints 32 L and 32 R in the pitch direction at the elbows, and the hands 7 L and 27 R for the lower arms 6 L and 26 R at the wrist. It has the joints 33 L and 33 R in the direction of the pole. Each of the joints 28L, 28R to 33L, 33R is constituted by a joint driving motor. In this way, the left and right arms 13 L and 13 R of the bipedal walking humanoid robot 10 are given five degrees of freedom, so that these 12 joints can be used during various operations. Is controlled by a drive motor to an appropriate angle, so that the arm 1

It is configured such that a desired operation can be given to the entire 3L, 13R. Here, the joints 28L and 28R in the pitch direction at the shoulders are shifted forward with respect to the joints 29L and 29R in the roll direction and the joints 30L and 30R in the left and right directions. The swing angle of the arms 13L and 13R forward is set large.

The head 14 is attached to the upper end of the upper part 11a of the body part 11, and is equipped with, for example, a camera for vision and a microphone for hearing. As shown in FIG. 2, the head sound 14 includes a joint 35 in the pitch direction of the neck and a joint 36 in the left-right direction. Each of the joints 35, 36 is composed of a joint driving motor.

In this way, the head 14 of the biped humanoid robot 10 is given two degrees of freedom, and these two joints 35, 36 are appropriately moved during the various movements by the driving mode. By controlling the drive to the angle described above, the page section 14 can be moved in the left-right direction or the front-back direction. Here, the joints 35 in the pitch direction are arranged such that the rotation axis is shifted forward with respect to the joints 36 in the left-right direction, and the swing angle of the head 14 in the forward direction is set large. I have.

FIG. 3 shows an electrical configuration of the biped humanoid robot 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 1. In FIG. 3, a bipedal walking humanoid robot 10 includes a gait generator 37 that generates gait data in response to a requested motion, and driving means based on the gait data, that is, each joint described above.動作動作 1 d, lie, 18 L, 18 R to 33 L, 33 R, 35, 36, that is, an operation control device 40 that drives and controls the joint drive motor M. The above gait generator 37 responds to a request operation input from the outside, and performs various joints 11 d, lie, 18 L, 18 necessary for operations such as walking of the bipedal walking robot 10. The gait data including the target angular trajectory, target angular velocity, and target angular acceleration of the joint drive motors R to 33L, 33R, 35, and 36 are generated.

The operation control device 40 includes a main control unit 41 and a plurality of sub-control units 42. The main control section 41 is provided on the body section 11, preferably the upper body 11a of the bipedal walking humanoid robot 10, and comprises an angle measurement unit 43 and a compensation section 44. .

The above angle measuring unit 43 is used for each joint lid, lie, 18 L, 18 R For example, a rotary encoder provided for the joint driving of 33 L, 33 R, 35, 36 controls the angle information and control mode of each joint driving module to the sub-control unit 42. The angular position of each joint drive module is measured and output to the compensator 44.

The compensating unit 44 calculates a floor reaction force based on a detection output from a force sensor provided on the sole of the foot (not shown), and based on the floor reaction force and the angular position from the angle measurement unit 43. The gait data from the gait generator 37 is corrected and output to the sub-controller 42 as a drive control signal. The sub-control unit 42 includes various parts of the biped humanoid robot 10, for example, in the illustrated case, the chest 11 a, the waist 11 b, and the left and right thighs 15. 15 R, »l 6 L, 16 R, B ^ 25 L, 25 R, provided on the lower arm part 26 L, 26 R. The sub-control unit 42 provided on the chest 11a includes joints 35, 36 of similar types, joints 1 1d, 1 1e of the waist, and joints 28 L, 28 of the shoulder. R, 29 L, 29 R, 30 L, 30 R, and joints 18 L, 18 R, 19 L, where the sub-control units 42 provided on both sides of the waist 11 b are hip joints , 19R, 20L, and 2OR, respectively. In addition, a sub-control unit 42 provided on the thighs 15 L and 15 R has a knee joint 22 L and 22 R, and a sub-control unit provided on the lower leg 16 L and 16 R. The control unit 42 has an ankle joint 23 L, 23 R, 24 L, 24 R, and the upper arm 25 L, 25 R has a sub-control unit 42 provided at the elbow joint 3. 2 L, 32 R are attached to the lower arm 咅 6 L, 26 R.

3 L and 3 3 R, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 4, each sub-control unit 42 includes one processor unit 45 and at least one (two in the illustrated case) driver units 46.

The processor unit 45 generates a control signal for each joint driving motor from the drive control signal, which is the gait data corrected by the compensating unit 44 of the main control unit 41, and generates a driver unit.

Output to 46. At that time, the processor unit 45 can arbitrarily switch among four control modes, that is, a position control mode, a torque control mode, a brake mode, and a free mode, as a control method of the joint driving motor. Here, in the position control mode, the joint drive mode is controlled using P control, PD control, PID control, or the like so as to follow a given target angle. Torque control mode Controls the joint drive motor to reach the given target current value. In the brake mode, a command is issued to the joint drive mode to maintain the current angular position. In addition, the free mode enables the joint drive motor to rotate freely by an external force.

Further, the processor unit 45 includes an input / output bus 45 a for communicating with the main control unit 41. In the case of the drawing, two I / O buses 45 a are provided, which are connected to the I / O bus 45 a of the processor section 45 of the main control section 41 or the other sub-control section 42. It has become. As a result, each sub-control unit 42 is connected to the main control unit 41 or another sub-control unit 42 via the input / output bus 45a via a network, specifically, a LAN. The communication protocol on the input bus 45a can be in any format. Further, communication via the input bus 45a is not limited to one-to-one, but one-to-many communication means can be used.

As a result, the processor section 45 is controlled by the control mode and the mode by the control signal input directly from the main control section 41 or via another sub-control section 42 via the input / output bus 45a. Set the target angle, target current value, following speed, etc. for one night. Further, the processor unit 45 is connected to the main control unit 41 via the input / output bus 45 a directly or via another sub-control unit 42, with the current control mode and the current target position. , Current motor angle, current current value, etc. are output.

Further, the processor section 45 has a sensor input 咅 45. Various sensors such as an inclinometer, a speedometer, an angular accelerometer, a pressure gauge, a potentiometer, an encoder, and the like are connected to the sensor input unit 45, and analog signals are transmitted from these sensors via the sensor input unit 45. Alternatively, a digital detection signal is input. As a result, the processor section 45 outputs these detection signals to the main control section 41 via the input / output bus 45a. For example, the processor unit 45 receives, via the sensor input unit 45a, the angle information and the current value of the motor from the rotary encoder or the like provided in the joint driving motor M of the corresponding joint # 5, for example. The angle information and the current value are output from the input / output bus 45 a to the main control unit 41.

The driver section 46 is provided for each joint driving motor of the joint section in charge, and the corresponding motor section is controlled in accordance with a control signal from the processor section 45. A joint driving motor is driven.

The processor unit 45 is configured as a digital circuit, and the control signal output from the processor unit 45 is a digital signal. Then, the driver section 46 generates a motor drive signal as an analog signal by current-amplifying the control signal as a digital signal from the processor section 45. Therefore, the analog signal is limited only to the inside of the driver 咅 P46 and is separated from the digital signal. The biped humanoid robot 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, and operates as follows.

That is, the gait generator 37 generates the gait data based on the requested operation, and outputs the generated gait to the compensator 44 of the main controller 41 of the operation controller 40. In addition, force sensors (not shown) provided on both feet 14L and 14R respectively detect the force and output the force to the compensator 44, and the angle measuring unit 43 is connected to each joint. The angular position of the joint drive motor M is measured and output to the compensator 44.

As a result, the compensating section 44 calculates the floor reaction force based on the detection output from the force sensor, and calculates the floor reaction force and the joint drive module M of each joint from the angle measurement unit 44. The gait data is corrected based on the angular position and output to the sub control unit 42. The processor unit 45 of the sub control unit 42 generates a control signal for each joint driving motor M based on the corrected gait data, and outputs the control signal to the driver unit 46. Then, the driver section 46 drives the joint driving mode M of each joint section based on the control signal. In this way, the biped humanoid robot 10 performs an operation such as walking in response to the requested operation.

Here, the processor unit 45 operates as follows in the command processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 and the mode driving processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, in the command processing shown in FIG. 5, in step A1, the processor unit 45 receives a control signal as an external command from the main control unit 44 via the input / output bus 45a. Accordingly, in step A2, the processor unit 45 performs a command analysis on the control signal and determines which command it is. Then, in step A3, if the command is a command for reporting the internal state to the outside, the processor unit 45 obtains the data of the internal state specified by the command in step A4. hand, In step A5, the data is transferred to the main controller 44. In step A3 above, if this command is not a command to report the internal state to the outside, then in step A6, if this command is an external setting command, go to step A7. After setting the internal state specified by the command to the value specified by the command, the processor unit 45 notifies the motor drive processing of the setting update in step A8, and further, in step A9. The main control unit 4 4 is replied to the effect of the setting update. In step A6, if the command is not an external setting command, the processor # 45 determines that the command cannot be recognized by the processor unit 45 and proceeds to step A1. At 0, this is returned to the main control unit 41.

Next, in the motor horse running operation process shown in FIG. 6, in step B1, the processor unit 45 determines the current control mode. Then, when the current control mode is the position control mode, the processor unit 45 performs a known P control, PD control, or PID control in step B2 so as to follow the given target angle. The control signal of the joint drive motor M is output to the driver unit 46 based on the angular position (measurement error) from the angle measurement unit 41 using the control unit. A PWM signal is generated and output to the corresponding joint drive motor M in step B3 to drive the motor M. Then, in step B4, the processor unit 45 obtains the current angular position of the joint driving motor M from the angle measuring unit 41 and calculates the angular velocity of the motor. '

When the current control mode is the torque control mode, the processor unit 45 similarly performs a publicly-known P so as to follow the given target current value in step B5. Using control, PD control, PID control, etc., the control signal of the joint drive module M is output to the driver 46 based on the current value of the motor, and the driver 46 receives the control signal from this control signal. For example, a PWM signal is generated and output to the corresponding joint drive motor M in step B6 to drive the corresponding motor M. Then, the processor unit 45 obtains the current value of the joint driving motor M in step B7.

Further, if the current control mode is the brake mode, the processor unit 45 sets the brake mode in step B8, and sets the joint drive mode M to Then, a command is issued to maintain the current angular position. If the current control mode is the free mode, the processor unit 45 sets the free mode in step B9, and sends a signal to the driver unit 46 for the joint driving motor M. By shutting off, the joint driving motor M can be freely rotated by an external force.

The above-described command processing and motor drive processing are repeated not only immediately after power-on but also at arbitrary time intervals, so that the control mode is quickly switched according to the robot state at that time, and the joint drive motor M By performing drive control, it becomes possible to perform various operations of the robot. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), a biped walking humanoid robot 10 performs an object gripping operation of the cup 51 on the desk 50 as a normal operation in the position control mode. Sometimes, as shown in FIG. 7 (B), if a ball 52 placed on the desk 50 falls due to a sudden external event, the bipedal walking humanoid robot 10 will To cope with this, the mode is switched to the torque control mode, and the ball 52 that has quickly fallen can be gripped as shown in FIG. 7 (C). Thereafter, by returning to the normal position control mode, the biped humanoid robot 10 performs a normal operation.

As a result, in the position control mode, power is saved by the relatively low response speed and the gain of the motor control, and the load on the mechanism of each part of the robot is reduced, and the torque control mode is used when necessary. By switching to the torque control mode temporarily and increasing the response speed and the gain of the motor control, quick operation can be realized.

As described above, in the bipedal walking humanoid robot 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, of the main control unit and the plurality of sub-control units that constitute the motion control device, each sub-control unit has a plurality of joint units. Are provided corresponding to the joint driving modes. Therefore, for the same number of joints, the number of sub-control units is reduced as compared with the conventional art, and the cost of parts and assembly is reduced. In this case, the wiring connecting the main control unit and the sub-control unit can be reduced, and smooth driving of the joint can be guaranteed. Further, the processor section 45 of the sub-control section 42 is separated from the analog signal to reduce the influence of noise and operate reliably. Will be.

In the embodiment described above, the legs 12 L, 12 R have 6 degrees of freedom, the arms 13 L, 13 R have 5 degrees of freedom, the waist has 2 degrees of freedom, and the neck has 2 degrees of freedom. It has a degree of freedom, but is not limited to this, and may have a smaller degree of freedom or a larger degree of freedom. Industrial applicability

As described above, according to the present invention, when the bipedal walking humanoid robot performs the whole-body motion, the main control unit of the motion control device performs various operations based on gait data corresponding to the required motion. The drive means generates a drive control signal and outputs the signal to a sub-control unit associated with the corresponding drive means via the LAN, and the sub-control unit is controlled by the processor unit based on the drive control signal from the main control unit. Then, a control signal is calculated for each of the corresponding driving means and output to a driver unit corresponding to each driving means, and the driver unit drives the corresponding driving means based on a control signal from the processor unit. In this way, each joint is operated to realize gait data by driving each driving means by the corresponding driver unit, and as a whole, a bipedal walking humanoid robot. The bird performs the desired whole-body exercise. In this case, since each sub-control unit of the motion control device is provided for each of the plurality of joints, it is compared with the case where each conventional joint has one sub-joint. Thus, the number of sub-control units is reduced. Therefore, the number of wirings between the main control unit and each sub-control unit is reduced, the wiring is simplified, and the driving of each indirect unit can be performed smoothly.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A torso with a knee in the middle that can swing on both lower sides of the torso, and a leg with a foot at the lower end, and an elbow and a lower half in the middle that can swing on both upper sides of the torso And an arm with a hand, and a head attached to the upper end of the body.

A plurality of driving means for swinging the swingable joints of the feet, lower legs, thighs of the legs and the hands, lower arms and upper arms of the arms, respectively; An operation control device for controlling the driving of each of the driving means based on the corresponding gait data.

A bipedal walking humanoid robot, wherein the operation control device includes: a main control unit provided on a body unit; and a plurality of sub-control units distributed and arranged adjacent to each driving unit. ,

Each of the sub-control units is connected to the main control unit via a LAN, and each of the sub-control units transmits a control signal for at least one corresponding driving unit based on a drive control signal from the main control unit. A two-legged humanoid robot, comprising: a processor for performing calculations; and a driver for driving corresponding driving means based on a control signal from the processor.

2. The driver unit has a position control mode, a torque control mode, a free mode, and a brake mode as control modes for driving the driving means, and the main control unit controls based on gait data. The biped walking humanoid robot according to claim 1, wherein the mode selection signal and the control signal are output to a driver unit.

3. The biped humanoid robot according to claim 1, wherein each of the sub-control units includes one driver unit for a corresponding driving unit.

4. Make sure that each sub-control unit is connected to the main control unit via a network. The biped humanoid robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

5. The processor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processor unit of each of the sub-control units outputs to the main control unit the angular position and the current value of the control mode input from the corresponding driving unit. The biped walking humanoid robot described in Crab.

6. The main control unit is configured to detect an angular position of each joint, and an gait based on each angular position detected by the angle measuring unit and a floor reaction force detected at the sole. The biped humanoid robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: a compensating unit that corrects and outputs the result to a sub-control unit.

7. The processor according to claim 1, wherein the processor unit of each of the sub-control units is connected to a main control unit or another sub-control unit via an input / output bus. The biped walking humanoid robot of the description.

8. The processor section of each sub-control section is configured as a digital circuit,

8. The biped walking humanoid robot according to claim 1, wherein the driver unit generates a motor drive signal that is an analog signal based on a digital signal from the processor unit.