WO2020259167A1

WO2020259167A1 - Robot path updating method, electronic device and computer-readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2020259167A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/092162
Authority: WO
Inventors: 郑晓琨; 王翔宇
Original assignee: 炬星科技（深圳）有限公司
Priority date: 2019-06-28
Filing date: 2020-05-25
Publication date: 2020-12-30
Also published as: CN110281242B; CN110281242A

Abstract

A robot path updating method, which is applied to a first robot and comprises: according to initial place information, determining an initial path to control a first robot to work; acquiring place updating information, and optimizing the initial path according to the place updating information to obtain an optimized path, wherein the place updating information is shared information of a second robot, and the second robot is configured to move according to a corresponding moving path and may obtain current scene information; and controlling the first robot to work according to the optimized path. By means of the described means, the first robot may learn in advance about abnormal information that may be present in the initial path, and determine an optimized path capable of avoiding the abnormal information, so as to save the time wasted in the prior art due to reporting abnormal information only after encountering same and waiting for processing results after reporting, which thereby increases the working efficiency. A robot path updating method, an electronic device and a computer-readable storage medium are also related to.

Description

Robot path updating method, electronic equipment and computer readable storage medium

Technical field

This application relates to the field of network communication technology, and in particular to a method for updating a robot path, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium.

Background technique

At present, e-commerce is developing very rapidly, and customer orders are increasing rapidly. In order to improve the efficiency of picking and meet the growing demand for orders, various logistics equipment manufacturers have introduced different types of equipment. The more representative ones are AGV and AS/RS. The principles of the two are basically the same. They put the goods in the bin, and then push the bin to the picking station through the robot, and then the picking staff will follow the system interface Prompt to pick the corresponding product. Although these two types of equipment solve the problem of people moving during the picking process, the cost of the solution is high, and the overall change of the warehouse is large. It is difficult for ordinary e-commerce companies to afford and promote large-scale use. In the current robot scheduling method, when one of the robots encounters an obstacle or cannot reach the target point during operation, the robot will notify the central scheduling system that its path is blocked. The central scheduling system will re-plan a path for the robot based on the robot's feedback, which will reduce the efficiency of the robot's operation. At the same time, there will be many dynamic factors that affect the normal operation of the robot during the operation of the robot, such as out-of-stock goods and incorrect storage information.

technical problem

The main purpose of this application is to propose a method for updating a robot path, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium, so that the robot can know in advance the abnormal problems in the traveling process and make adjustments to the work task in advance.

Technical solutions

In order to achieve the above objective, the present application provides a robot path update method, which is applied to a first robot. The method includes: determining an initial path according to initial site information to control the work of the first robot; obtaining site update information, and updating according to the site Information optimizes the initial path to obtain an optimized path, wherein the site update information is shared information of a second robot, wherein the second robot is configured to move according to a corresponding movement path and can obtain current scene information; The optimized path controls the work of the first robot.

Optionally, before the step of optimizing the initial path according to the venue update information to obtain the optimized path, the method further includes: determining that the venue update information is associated with the initial path.

Optionally, the determining that the venue update information is associated with the initial path is that the venue update information is located in the initial path information corresponding to the initial path.

Optionally, before the step of determining an initial path to control the work of the first robot according to the initial site information, the method further includes: determining task information corresponding to the first robot; and obtaining information from the server according to the task information. The initial site information corresponding to the task information.

Optionally, the shared information is abnormal information not included in the initial venue information.

Optionally, the abnormal information includes at least one of the following: obstacles on the movement path; obstacles appearing at the target point; goods in a certain storage space are out of stock; a certain channel is congested; and changes in the power and mileage of the robot.

Optionally, the first robot is configured with a receiver, and the step of obtaining venue update information is to receive, through the receiver, the venue update information sent by the server by broadcasting.

The present application also provides a robot path update device, the device includes: a control module for determining an initial path according to initial site information to control the work of the first robot; an update module for obtaining site update information, and updating information based on the site Optimizing the initial path to obtain an optimized path, wherein the site update information is shared information of a second robot, wherein the second robot is configured to move according to a corresponding movement path and can obtain current scene information; a control module, It is also used to control the work of the first robot according to the optimized path.

This application also provides an electronic device, which includes:

processor;

A memory is connected to the processor, and the memory contains a control instruction, and when the processor reads the control instruction, it controls the electronic device to implement the aforementioned robot path update method.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium has one or more programs, and the one or more programs are executed by one or more processors to implement the aforementioned robot path update method.

Beneficial effect

In the robot path update method, electronic equipment, and computer-readable storage medium provided by the present application, the first robot obtains initial site information and determines the initial path, then proceeds according to the initial path, and obtains site update information during the travel , And optimize the initial path according to the site update information to obtain the optimized path, and proceed according to the optimized path. In this way, the first robot can obtain the shared information uploaded by other robots, such as the scene information detected by the second robot during its travel, and know the possible abnormal information in the initial path in advance, and determine that the abnormality can be avoided The optimized path of the information saves the time wasted in the prior art that reports the abnormal information only after encountering the abnormal information and waits for the reported processing result, thereby improving work efficiency.

Description of the drawings

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for updating a robot path provided by an embodiment of the application;

2 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot path updating device provided by an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the application.

The realization, functional characteristics, and advantages of the purpose of this application will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiments of the invention

. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present invention, but not to limit the present invention.

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the following further describes the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, the term "storage medium" can be any medium that can store computer programs such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, or optical disk. The term "processor" can be CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), MCU (Microcontroller Unit), PLC (Programmable Logic) Controller: programmable logic controller) and CPU (CentralProcessing Unit: Central Processing Unit) and other chips or circuits with data processing functions. The term "electronic device" can be any device with data processing functions and storage functions, and can generally include fixed terminals and mobile terminals. Fixed terminals such as desktop computers. Mobile terminals such as mobile phones, PADs and mobile robots. In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described later can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

Below, the present invention proposes some preferred embodiments to teach those skilled in the art to implement.

Current storage robots can be easily deployed to existing warehouses. After synchronizing the storage location information of the warehouse to the robot system, the robot can directly go to the vicinity of the storage location based on the task information. The robot’s PAD displays the task information and prompts the user Proceed accordingly. Picking employees patrol the warehouse area, looking for robots that need to perform tasks. After finding the robot, walk to the front of the robot and operate according to the prompt information on the tablet. Pickers no longer need to pull the picking trolley to move around in the warehouse, which greatly reduces the walking distance and improves staff picking efficiency.

However, in the current robot scheduling method, when one of the robots encounters an obstacle or the target point cannot be reached during the operation, the robot will notify the central scheduling system that its path is blocked. The central dispatch system will re-plan a path for the robot based on the robot's feedback. However, when the robot is waiting for the central dispatching system to feedback a new path, it cannot continue to move or work, and it takes a while to wait, which will reduce the efficiency of robot operation.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for updating a robot path provided by the present application. The update method can be applied to any robot. It should be noted that in a warehouse environment, there can be multiple robots, and multiple robots have a non-centralized relationship with each other, that is, when the update method involves When it comes to the information transmission relationship with another robot, the other robot also applies. Wherein, each step may be performed sequentially in the sequence as in the flowchart during operation, or multiple steps may be performed simultaneously according to actual conditions, which is not limited here. The robot path update method provided in this application includes the following steps:

Step S110, determining an initial path according to the initial site information to control the work of the first robot;

Step S130: Obtain venue update information, optimize the initial path according to the venue update information to obtain an optimized path, wherein the venue updates information shared information of the second robot, wherein the second robot is configured to perform according to the corresponding movement path Move and get current scene information;

Step S150, controlling the work of the first robot according to the optimized path.

Through the above implementation, in this way, the first robot can obtain the shared information uploaded by other robots, such as the scene information detected by the second robot in the process of traveling, learn in advance possible abnormal information in the initial path, and determine An optimized path that can circumvent the abnormal information is proposed, so as to save the time wasted in the prior art to report the abnormal information only after encountering the abnormal information and wait for the reported processing result, thereby improving work efficiency.

The above steps will be specifically described below in conjunction with specific embodiments.

In step S110, an initial path is determined according to the initial site information to control the work of the first robot. Among them, the first robot refers to the robot currently running the method. The first robot communicates with the server. The server can be a cloud server or a local server, which is not specifically limited. The server is used to receive information such as individual robot information, robot cluster information, environment information, worker information, task information and so on. The server can be centralized, such as a server deployed in the cloud, or set up in a local computer room; the server can also be distributed without a center, and set up in the cloud, local, or robots.

A centrally distributed server means that each distributed node (which can be a server or a robot) synchronizes information. This includes a central server with only robot nodes and no server nodes. Communication methods between robots include but are not limited to wifi, Bluetooth, laser, etc.

The server stores configuration information in the field where the robot runs. Among them, the venue may include one venue or multiple different venue information. The configuration information may include product location information, movable channel information or other related information in the venue. The initial site information is the site information related to it acquired by the current robot. For example, if the first robot needs to work in site A, then the site A-related information acquired by the first robot from the server before working is the initial Venue information.

In an optional implementation manner, before step S110, the method further includes:

Step S101, determining task information corresponding to the first robot;

Step S103: Acquire the initial venue information corresponding to the task information from the server according to the task information.

Through the foregoing implementation manners, each robot can obtain the initial site information corresponding to the current robot from the server.

Wherein, in step S101, the task information can be determined by the staff setting on the interactive panel of the robot. In this embodiment, the task information includes at least target location information, warehouse identification information, and the like. In other embodiments, the task information may also be other information determined in a manner customized by the staff. After acquiring the task information, the processor of the first robot sends the task information to the server through the communication line, where the communication line includes but is not limited to wifi, Bluetooth, and laser. In step S103, after the server receives the task information data, it determines the venue information corresponding to the task information from the memory according to the task information data, and sends the venue information to the first robot, where the venue information is the first robot. The initial site information of the robot.

The initial path refers to information used to guide the first robot to move forward. In this embodiment, the initial path is a path calculated by the processor of the first robot based on the initial location information after the first robot receives the initial location information. In other embodiments, the initial path is a path determined by the server according to the initial location information, and then the path is sent to the first robot for the processor of the first robot to control the first robot to move forward according to the path. Among them, the initial path may be a path obtained by recalculation, or may be a path obtained according to historical records.

In step S130, the site update information is obtained, and the initial path is optimized according to the site update information to obtain an optimized path. Wherein, the site update information is shared information of the second robot, wherein the second robot is configured to move according to a corresponding movement path and can obtain current scene information. The site configuration information saved in the server is manually entered or pre-stored in other ways. In the actual management process, the actual situation in the site will change. For example, there is an obstacle on the channel that has not appeared before. This situation may cause the robot to be blocked when proceeding along the initial path. When encountering this situation, the robot will send the obstacle information to the server for the server to calculate a new path to instruct the mobile terminal to move forward. This is the prior art mentioned above, which will cause the robot Waste a certain amount of time waiting. In this embodiment, in the process of moving forward according to the initial path, the first robot obtains the site update information in real time or periodically or passively, and optimizes the initial path according to the site update information. Optimize the path.

Among them, the venue update information is also stored in the server. As mentioned earlier, the server can be a cloud or a local server, or other robots can be used as a server. Among them, the server can be arranged in a centralized manner, or in a non-centralized manner, and it can be determined according to the actual situation.

In an optional embodiment, the shared information is uploaded to the server by the second robot through abnormal information that is not included in the initial site information. Specifically, in a field environment, there are multiple robots running, and the tasks and travel routes performed by each robot may be different, so that each robot may encounter different situations. In this embodiment, after encountering abnormal information such as an obstacle, the second robot sends the abnormal information to the server. In order to avoid uploading unnecessary data information, after the second robot detects abnormal information, it will compare the abnormal information with the acquired initial site information, determine that the abnormal information is not included in the initial site information, and control the abnormal information. The information is uploaded to the server to form venue update information. Allows other robots in operation to update the latest site information from the server, and further enables other robots to obtain information about obstacles at a certain coordinate point. When controlling other robots to plan their paths, they will take this abnormal situation into consideration and plan ahead. Instead of determining the path according to the initial site information or proceeding according to the initial path.

In this embodiment, the second robot is configured to move according to a corresponding movement path and can obtain current scene information. For example, after the robot encounters abnormal information during its operation, the robot uploads the abnormal information to the server and shares this information. All subsequent robots can obtain the abnormal information from the server through the receiver. The abnormal information includes at least one of the following: obstacles on the moving path; obstacles appearing at the target point; a certain storage space is out of stock; a certain channel is congested; the robot's power and mileage status changes.

Through this embodiment, the robot reports the shared information to the server. In addition to the above-mentioned direct sending to the server service, it can also be directly stored on the distributed server node on the robot, and then wait for the distributed server node to synchronize the information to other distributions. Server node. So as to achieve the effect of synchronizing shared information with other robots. When the current robot is traveling, it optimizes the initial path of the current robot by obtaining updated information about the site detected and uploaded by other robots, so as to extract and calculate an optimized path to avoid the abnormal information, which can improve the operating efficiency of the robot.

In an optional implementation manner, the first robot is configured with a receiver, and the step of obtaining venue update information is to receive, through the receiver, the venue update information sent by the server through broadcast. Among them, the server can broadcast the venue update information to the first robot through http, WebSocket, etc., and the first robot obtains the venue update information through communication methods such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and laser.

In step S150, the first robot is controlled to work according to the optimized path.

Specifically, the first robot determines the optimized path according to the obtained site update information. This allows the robot to reconsider the planning path according to the latest information currently received when planning the path autonomously. The robot executes the planned optimal path. At the same time, during the execution process, the robot will continuously synchronize the latest information, and constantly judge whether the path needs to be optimized and updated based on the current latest information, so as to ensure that the route of the robot travels and the tasks performed are always optimal .

Through the above implementation, not only the work efficiency of the first robot is provided, but at the same time, it is avoided that in the prior art, each robot communicates with the server separately, and the abnormal situation reported by one robot cannot be shared by other robots. Plan the route without knowing the abnormal situation, and then encounter the problem of the first station again. Such repetition will result in a decrease in efficiency.

Further, in order to reduce the data processing pressure caused by the robot frequently recalculating the path according to the updated information of different venues, the method provided in this application optimizes the initial path according to the updated information of the venue before the step of obtaining the optimized path. include:

Step S120, determining that the venue update information is associated with the initial path.

Among them, being associated with the initial route means that the initial route will be impassable. The abnormal information encountered by other robots while traveling may not be related to the current initial path of the first robot. In other words, the abnormal information encountered by other robots will not cause the first robot to fail to move forward or complete the task. When the first robot receives the venue update information, it will not process it. Only when the received site update information is associated with the initial path, optimizing the initial path according to the site update information to obtain the optimized path is performed. In this embodiment, the venue update information is associated with the initial path, and the venue update information is located in the initial path information corresponding to the initial path. For example, the initial path information includes at least: Location information, product information, congestion information, etc. By comparing the site update information with the initial path information corresponding to the initial path, if the site update information affects the initial path information, it is determined that the scene update information is associated with the initial path.

FIG. 2 is a robot path updating device 200 provided by an embodiment of the application, and the device includes:

The control module 210 is configured to determine an initial path according to the initial site information to control the work of the first robot;

The update module 230 is configured to obtain site update information, and optimize the initial path according to the site update information to obtain an optimized path, where the site update information is shared information of a second robot, and the second robot is configured according to the corresponding Move through the moving path and obtain current scene information;

The control module 210 is further configured to control the work of the first robot according to the optimized path.

Optionally, determine an initial path according to initial site information to control the work of the first robot; obtain site update information, optimize the initial path according to the site update information to obtain an optimized path, wherein the site update information is the initial site information Information not included; controlling the work of the first robot according to the optimized path.

Optionally, before the step of optimizing the initial path according to the venue update information to obtain an optimized path, the update module 230 is further configured to determine that the venue update information is associated with the initial path.

Optionally, the device further includes an acquisition module, configured to determine the task information corresponding to the first robot before the step of determining the initial path according to the initial site information to control the work of the first robot; The task information obtains the initial venue information corresponding to the task information from the server.

Through the above robot path updating device 200, the first robot obtains the initial site information and determines the initial path, and then proceeds according to the initial path. In the process of traveling, the site update information is obtained, and the initial path is performed according to the site update information. Optimize to obtain an optimized path, and proceed according to the optimized path. In this way, the first robot can obtain the shared information uploaded by other robots, such as the scene information detected by the second robot during its travel, and know the possible abnormal information in the initial path in advance, and determine that the abnormality can be avoided The optimized path of the information saves the time wasted in the prior art that reports the abnormal information only after encountering the abnormal information and waits for the reported processing result, thereby improving work efficiency.

3 is a schematic diagram of the structural composition of an electronic device 300 provided by an embodiment of the application. The electronic device 300 includes: a processor 310; a memory 330 connected to the processor 310. The memory 330 contains control instructions. When 310 reads the control instruction, the electronic device 300 is controlled to implement the following steps:

Determine an initial path according to the initial site information to control the work of the first robot; obtain site update information, optimize the initial path according to the site update information to obtain an optimized path, wherein the site update information is shared information of the second robot, wherein, The second robot is configured to move according to a corresponding movement path and can obtain current scene information.

Through the above electronic device 300, the first robot obtains the initial site information and determines the initial path, and then travels according to the initial path. During the travel, the site update information is obtained, and the initial path is optimized according to the site update information. Obtain the optimized path, and proceed according to the optimized path. In this way, the first robot can obtain the shared information uploaded by other robots, such as the scene information detected by the second robot during its travel, and know the possible abnormal information in the initial path in advance, and determine that the abnormality can be avoided The optimized path of the information saves the time wasted in the prior art that reports the abnormal information only after encountering the abnormal information and waits for the reported processing result, thereby improving work efficiency.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium has one or more programs, and the one or more programs are executed by one or more processors to implement the following steps:

Determine an initial path according to the initial site information to control the work of the first robot; obtain site update information, optimize the initial path according to the site update information to obtain an optimized path, wherein the site update information is shared information of the second robot, wherein, The second robot is configured to move according to a corresponding movement path and can obtain current scene information; and control the work of the first robot according to the optimized path.

Through the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium, the first robot obtains the initial site information and determines the initial path, and then proceeds according to the initial path. In the process of traveling, it obtains the site update information and performs the initial path according to the site update information. Optimize to obtain an optimized path, and proceed according to the optimized path. In this way, the first robot can obtain the shared information uploaded by other robots, such as the scene information detected by the second robot during its travel, and know the possible abnormal information in the initial path in advance, and determine that the abnormality can be avoided The optimized path of the information saves the time wasted in the prior art that reports the abnormal information only after encountering the abnormal information and waits for the reported processing result, thereby improving work efficiency.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium here stores one or more programs. The computer-readable storage medium may include volatile memory, such as random access memory; the memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory, flash memory, hard disk, or solid-state hard disk; and the memory may also include the above types. The combination of memory.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus the necessary general hardware platform. Of course, it can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is better.的实施方式。 Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application essentially or the part that contributes to the existing technology can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, The optical disc) includes several instructions to make a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) execute the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application.

The embodiments of the present application are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific embodiments. The above-mentioned specific embodiments are only illustrative and not restrictive. Those of ordinary skill in the art are Under the enlightenment of this application, many forms can be made without departing from the purpose of this application and the scope of protection of the claims, and these are all within the protection of this application.

Industrial applicability

In the robot path update method, electronic equipment, and computer-readable storage medium provided by the present application, the first robot obtains initial site information and determines the initial path, then proceeds according to the initial path, and obtains site update information during the travel , And optimize the initial path according to the site update information to obtain the optimized path, and proceed according to the optimized path. In this way, the first robot can obtain the shared information uploaded by other robots, such as the scene information detected by the second robot during its travel, and know the possible abnormal information in the initial path in advance, and determine that the abnormality can be avoided The optimized path of the information saves the time wasted in the prior art that reports the abnormal information only after encountering the abnormal information and waits for the reported processing result, thereby improving work efficiency. Therefore, it has industrial applicability.

Claims

A robot path updating method, applied to a first robot, the method including:

Determining an initial path according to the initial site information to control the work of the first robot;

Obtain site update information, optimize the initial path according to the site update information to obtain an optimized path, wherein the site update information is shared information of a second robot, wherein the second robot is configured to move and move according to a corresponding movement path Can obtain current scene information;

The operation of the first robot is controlled according to the optimized path.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein before the step of optimizing the initial path according to the venue update information to obtain an optimized path, further comprising: determining that the venue update information is associated with the initial path.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the determining that the venue update information is associated with the initial path is that the venue update information is located in the initial path information corresponding to the initial path.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the step of determining the initial path according to the initial site information to control the work of the first robot, the method further comprises:

Determining task information corresponding to the first robot;

Obtaining the initial venue information corresponding to the task information from the server according to the task information.
The method of claim 1, wherein the shared information is abnormal information not included in the initial venue information.
The method according to claim 5, wherein the abnormal information includes at least one of the following: obstacles on the moving path; obstacles appearing at the target point; a certain storage space is out of stock; a certain channel Congestion; robot power and mileage status changes.
5. The method of claim 5, wherein the first robot configures a receiver, and the step of obtaining venue update information is to receive, through the receiver, the venue update information sent by the server through broadcasting.
A robot path updating device includes:

A control module, configured to determine an initial path according to initial site information to control the work of the first robot;

The update module is used to obtain site update information, and optimize the initial path according to the site update information to obtain an optimized path, wherein the site update information is shared information of a second robot, and the second robot is configured according to the corresponding Move the moving path and obtain current scene information;

The control module is also used to control the work of the first robot according to the optimized path.
An electronic device including:

processor;

A memory is connected to the processor, and the memory contains a control instruction. When the processor reads the control instruction, it controls the electronic device to implement the robot path update method of any one of claims 1 to 7.
A computer-readable storage medium having one or more programs, and the one or more programs are executed by one or more processors to implement any one of claims 1 to 7 of a robot path Update method.