WO2022131413A1

WO2022131413A1 - Care service robot using multi-joint arm

Info

Publication number: WO2022131413A1
Application number: PCT/KR2020/018735
Authority: WO
Inventors: 장성탁
Original assignee: 주식회사 다성기술
Priority date: 2020-12-18
Filing date: 2020-12-21
Publication date: 2022-06-23

Abstract

A care service robot using a multi-joint arm is disclosed. The care service robot using a multi-joint arm according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: an information collecting unit for receiving information about a person to be cared for; a state determining unit for determining the state of the person to be cared for, on the basis of the information collected by the information collecting unit; a content providing unit for providing content related to the person to be cared for, on the basis of the state of the person to be cared for; a display unit for outputting the content provided by the content providing unit; an arm comprising a plurality of joint parts and having the display unit mounted on one end thereof; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the arm on the basis of the direction of the display unit with respect to the location of the person to be cared for and/or the distance between the display unit and the person to be cared for.

Description

Caring service robot using articulated arm

The present invention relates to a service robot for caring. More specifically, based on the behavior and reaction of the user to be cared for, such as the elderly, the patient, or the elderly, using a multi-joint arm that improves the cognitive ability of the cared for by providing content in the field of interest using a responsive robot arm. It is about a service robot for caring.

As society enters the age of aging, technology for caring for the elderly is attracting attention. Older people often have slow movement and stay in a certain position due to aging of the body. In addition, there is a high tendency to spend leisure time watching video media while leaning on a bed or chair.

Similarly, patients who are being treated at the hospital bed also relieve the boredom of treatment time while lying on the bed for a long time by watching video media.

As described above, for the psychological stability of the elderly or patients who are difficult to move, it is necessary to provide content that grasps the psychological state of the person to be cared for, and a technology that enables the elderly or patients to enjoy content smoothly in a specific location.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a care service robot using a multi-joint arm that can provide appropriate content according to the interests of the elderly or patients in a fixed place such as a hospital bed or a hospital room.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a care service robot using a multi-joint arm capable of identifying the state and mood of the elderly or a patient and providing appropriate content accordingly.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a care service robot using a multi-joint arm that responds to the behavior of the elderly or patient and operates according to the contents of the contents.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a care service robot using a multi-joint arm that smoothly performs a reaction operation for the elderly or a patient using the multi-joint arm.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a caring service robot using a multi-joint arm that can be switched to various angles even at various installation positions by using a multi-joint arm that can change directions.

The problems to be solved of the present invention are not limited to the above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

A caring service robot using a multi-joint arm according to an embodiment of the present invention determines the state of the caring target based on the information collecting unit that collects information on the caring target, and the information collected by the information collecting unit and a state determining unit to, based on the state of the subject to be cared for, a content providing unit for providing content related to the subject to be cared for, a display unit for outputting the content provided by the content providing unit, and a plurality of joints, at one end an arm on which the display unit is mounted and a controller configured to control an operation of the arm with respect to at least one of a direction of the display unit or a distance between the display unit and the subject according to the position of the subject to be cared for .

In addition, the information collecting unit includes a voice obtaining unit for obtaining the voice information of the care target and a face obtaining unit for obtaining the face information of the care target, and the state determining unit, based on the face information, the A mood of the subject to be cared for may be determined according to a facial expression, and the display unit may provide the content based on the voice information or the mood of the subject to be cared for as determined by the state determination unit.

In addition, the state determination unit may determine the mood of the care target expressed as a reaction of the care target to the content output from the display unit, and derive the degree of interest of the care target for the content.

Also, the face acquisition unit may acquire a facial image of the care target including depth information or distance information from the 3D depth camera to the care target using a 3D depth camera.

Also, the state determination unit may determine the mood of the care target by using an artificial intelligence model that has learned the facial image including the depth information.

In addition, the controller may control the arm to direct a screen direction of the display unit toward the subject when the subject to be cared for based on the face information looks at the display unit.

In addition, the control unit may control the arm so that, when the voice acquisition unit collects the voice call keyword of the care target, the voice acquisition unit moves to the vicinity of the care target.

In addition, the controller may control the arm so that the screen direction of the display unit faces the subject to be cared for and the display unit moves to the vicinity of the subject to be cared for before the display unit outputs the content.

In addition, the control unit controls the arm so that the screen direction of the display unit faces the earth when the caring service robot is in standby mode, and when the caring service robot is activated, the screen direction of the display unit selects the care target The arm can be controlled to face.

In addition, the joint part is an actuator module capable of angle adjustment, and a first actuator, a second actuator driven by receiving power and a control signal from the first actuator in the same form as the first actuator, and the first actuator and the It may include a contact conversion board disposed between the second actuators to provide an electrical connection for transmitting the power and the control signal according to a coupling angle of the second actuator.

In addition, the first actuator includes a cylindrical body for accommodating a drive motor and a reduction gear for rotating the drive shaft, and protrudes in a tangential direction from both sides of the body to overlap the side surfaces of the cylinder. and a contact terminal portion disposed on a square surface of the coupling portion and provided with a plurality of electrodes disposed parallel to any one side of the square surface.

In addition, the joint portion, the motor and the speed reducer are arranged in series, one end is provided with a power transmission shaft, the other end may be disposed an encoder for detecting the rotation angle of the joint portion.

In addition, the joint portion includes a pair of connecting portions provided in a form of supporting both ends to connect other joint portions, and is connected to enable power transmission with the other joint portion through any one of the connection portions in which the power transmission shaft is provided, A wire that transmits power and a signal to the other joint part may pass through another connection part in which the encoder is disposed.

A care service robot using a multi-joint arm according to an embodiment of the present invention can provide appropriate content according to the interests of the elderly or the infirm in a fixed place such as a hospital bed or a ward.

In addition, it is possible to determine the state and mood of the elderly or the patient, and provide appropriate content accordingly.

In addition, it may respond to the actions of the elderly or the patient and operate according to the contents of the contents.

In addition, it is possible to provide a care service robot that smoothly performs a reaction operation for the elderly or a patient by using a multi-joint arm.

In addition, by using a multi-joint arm capable of changing directions, the display unit may provide a predetermined movement according to the state, mood, and content of the provided content.

Effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned contents, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a service robot for caring using a multi-joint arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a view showing an application example of a service robot for caring using a multi-joint arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 and 4 are views showing the joint part included in the arm of the service robot for caring using the multi-joint arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view showing the internal structure of the joint part of another multi-joint arm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily carry out the present invention. However, the present invention may be embodied in several different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. And, in order to clearly describe the embodiment of the present invention in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted.

The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression may include the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In this specification, terms such as "comprise", "have" or "include" are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, and one It may be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In addition, the constituent units shown in the embodiment of the present invention are independently shown to represent different characteristic functions, and it does not mean that each constituent unit is composed of separate hardware or one software constituent unit. That is, each component is listed as each component for convenience of description, and at least two components of each component are combined to form one component, or one component can be divided into a plurality of components to perform a function. Integrated embodiments and separate embodiments of each of these components are also included in the scope of the present invention without departing from the essence of the present invention.

In addition, the following embodiments are provided to more clearly explain to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the shapes and sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for more clear description.

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

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a caring service robot using an articulated arm according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a caring service using an articulated arm according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a diagram showing an application example of a robot.

1 and 2, a caring service robot 100 using a multi-joint arm according to an embodiment of the present invention responds to the actions of the elderly or patients to provide content for the elderly or patients, It may include an information collection unit 110 , a state determination unit 120 , a content providing unit 130 , a display unit 140 , an arm 150 , and a control unit 160 . In addition, the caring service robot 100 may further include a communication unit 170 according to an embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the information collection unit 110 is for collecting information on the subject 1 to be cared for, and may include a voice acquisition unit 111 and a face acquisition unit 112 . Here, the caring target 1 is a user registered in the caring service robot 100 , and may be the elderly or a patient who is cared for by the caring service robot 100 providing content.

The voice acquiring unit 111 is for acquiring voice information of the care target 1 , and may be a voice acquiring means such as a microphone. The voice acquisition unit 111 may be a separate entity connected to the care service robot 100 through short-distance communication according to an embodiment.

The face acquisition unit 112 is for acquiring facial information of the subject 1 to be cared for, and may be an image capturing means such as a 3D depth camera, an infrared sensor, a radar/lidar sensor, or the like. The face acquisition unit 112 captures an image including the face of the subject 1 to be cared for, obtains the facial information of the subject 1 to be cared for, the distance from the subject 1 to be cared for, and the face of the subject 1 to be cared for Information about the direction of the course can be obtained.

The state determining unit 120 is for determining the state of the care target 1 based on the information collected by the information collecting unit 110, and the voice information obtained by the voice obtaining unit 111 or the face obtaining unit ( 112) may determine the state of the care target 1 based on the acquired facial information. For example, the state determination unit 120 analyzes the tremor of the voice or the nuance of the voice, the answer pattern to a question, etc. of the subject 1 to be cared for based on the voice information, and based on the facial information, the By analyzing the facial expression, it is possible to determine the mood of the subject 1 to be cared for, or whether the subject 1 to be cared for is in a sleep state or is in a state of gazing at the display unit 140 .

The state determination unit 120 may determine the mood of the subject 1 to be cared for by using an artificial intelligence model that has learned the facial image including the depth information. For example, the state determination unit 120 uses an artificial intelligence model that learns the movement of facial muscles from a facial image including feature points including facial depth information with a convolutional neural network (CNN) to care for the target ( 1) can be judged.

The content providing unit 130 is for providing content related to the care target 1 based on the state of the care target 1 determined by the state determining unit 120, and is usually used according to the mood of the care target 1 Content that the person to be cared for 1 enjoys or is interested in may be provided. According to an embodiment, the content providing unit 130 may bring the content from the external server 10 connected to the communication unit 170 through a network, or may provide the content stored in advance in the caring service robot 100 .

The display unit 140 is for outputting content provided from the content providing unit 130 , and may include a screen 141 for outputting an image of the content and a speaker 142 for outputting a sound of the content. Also, the information collection unit 110 may be provided on the display unit 140 .

The arm 150 is for mounting and moving the display unit 140 , and may include a plurality of joint units 200 . In the present embodiment, the display unit 140 is mounted on one end of the arm 150, and the other end may be fixed to the wall of a hospital room or room. Alternatively, the other end may be fixed to the patient bed.

The controller 160 is for controlling the operation of the arm 150 , and at least one of a direction of the display unit 140 or a distance between the display unit 140 and the subject 1 to be taken care of according to the position of the care target 1 . It is possible to control the operation of the arm 150 based on the

For example, when the state determination unit 120 determines that the care target 1 is in a state where the display unit 140 is gazing at the display unit 140 or the voice acquisition unit 111 acquires the voice call keyword of the care target 1, the control unit 160 ) may control the arm 150 so that the screen 141 of the display unit 140 faces the care target 1 or the voice acquisition unit 111 moves to the vicinity of the care target 1 .

Also, in the state determination unit 120 , before the display unit 140 outputs the content, the screen 141 of the display unit 140 faces the subject 1 to be cared for, and the display unit 140 determines the subject 1 to be cared for. ) can be controlled to move the arm 150 to the vicinity.

In addition, when the care service robot 100 is in standby mode, the controller 160 controls the arm 150 so that the screen 141 direction of the display unit 140 faces the earth as if a person sleeps with their head bowed. , when the caring service robot 100 is activated, the arm 150 can be controlled so that the direction of the screen 141 of the display unit 140 faces the caring target 1 as if a person raised their head and looked at the other person. .

When an example of the application of the caring service robot 100 is described with reference to FIG. 2, the caring service robot 100 in standby mode is activated by acquiring voice information including the voice call keyword of the caring target 1, The arm 150 may operate such that the screen 141 of the display unit 140 faces the subject 1 to be cared for, and the display unit 140 moves toward the subject 1 to be cared for.

In the activated caring service robot 100 , the information collecting unit 110 obtains voice and image information of the caring subject 1 , and the state determining unit 120 determines the state of the caring subject 1 . . If the state determination unit 120 determines that the care target 1 is in a free state, the content providing unit 130 receives the TV program content enjoyed by the care target 1 from the external server 10 and displays the content ( 140) may provide the content to be output.

When the display unit 140 outputs the content, the state determination unit 120 analyzes the information of the care target 1 that the information collection unit 110 collects in real time, and the response of the care target 1 to the content can be judged At this time, the state determination unit 120 analyzes the facial information of the care target 1 to determine the mood of the care target 1 and derives the degree of interest of the care target 1 for the content according to the determined mood. can If the level of interest derived by the state determination unit 120 is lower than a preset value, the content providing unit 130 may provide other content that the care target 1 was interested in, except for the content. .

3 is a view showing a joint part included in the arm of the caring service robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view showing that the first actuator and the second actuator of FIG. 3 are vertically coupled.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the joint part 200 included in the arm 150 of the caring service robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is horizontally or vertically coupled to an actuator module capable of angle adjustment according to the coupling angle. As such, it may include a first actuator 210 , a second actuator 220 , and a contact conversion substrate 230 . The first actuator 210 and the second actuator may have the same shape.

The first actuator 210 may include a body portion 211 , a coupling portion 212 , and a contact terminal portion 213 . The first actuator 210 rotates the driving shaft A under the control of the controller 160 . A driving motor (not shown) and a reduction gear (not shown) for rotating the driving shaft A may be accommodated in the first actuator 210 . The body portion 211 may have a driving motor and a reduction gear disposed therein, and the drive shaft A may be exposed on upper and lower surfaces of the body portion 211 . The coupling part 212 may have a pillar shape that protrudes in a tangential direction to both sides of the body part 211 and overlaps the side surfaces.

The contact terminal part 213 is disposed on the upper surface of the coupling part 212 , and may include a plurality of electrodes 213 - 1 and 213 - 2 disposed parallel to one side of the upper surface. The electrode 213 - 1 and the electrode 213 - 2 are in contact with an electrode (not shown) provided in the second actuator 220 , and are used to transmit power and control signals for driving the second actuator 220 . do. The second actuator 220 has the same shape as the first actuator 210 , and is driven by receiving power and control signals from the first actuator 210 .

In the joint part 200 according to the present invention, the first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 may be coupled such that the drive shaft A is parallel, or the drive shaft A is vertical. The first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 may be coupled in parallel, or the first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 may be coupled to be perpendicular. That is, the electrode 213 - 1 and the electrode 213 - 2 are in contact with an electrode (not shown) provided in the second actuator 220 , and transmit power and control signals for driving the second actuator 220 . However, the arrangement order of the contacting electrodes may be changed according to the coupling angle of the second actuator 220 . The contact conversion substrate 230 is disposed between the first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 to provide an electrical connection for applying power and a control signal according to the coupling angle of the second actuator 220. Can be provided. . The contact conversion substrate 230 has a shape corresponding to the coupling portion 212 , and regardless of whether the first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 are coupled to be parallel to each other or vertically coupled to each other, the first actuator The contact terminal portion 213 of the 210 and the contact terminal portion (not shown) of the second actuator 220 may be brought into contact so that the connection relationship is the same.

In the second transfer electrode unit 232 , the first transfer electrode unit 231 and respective electrodes may be electrically connected in sequence. For example, pin 1 of the first transfer electrode unit 231 (the leftmost pin as shown in the figure is No. 1) may be connected to pin 2 of the second transfer electrode unit 310 . Therefore, even when the first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 are vertically coupled, the electrode arrangement can be simply converted by simply rotating and coupling the contact conversion substrate 230 by 90 degrees. The fixing cover 240 is a fixing member for fixing the first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 disposed vertically or horizontally, using a fixing cover 400 of a different type depending on the vertical or horizontal arrangement structure. The first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 may be fixed.

Since the coupling direction of the first actuator 210 and the second actuator 220 can be changed, the movement direction of the display unit 140 can be variously changed according to the installation position of the care service robot 100 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , the care service robot 100 of the present invention may use the encoder 205 to determine whether the display unit 140 moves in an intended direction or location. In this embodiment, the motor 201 and the reducer 202 are arranged in series so that the joint part 200 can be miniaturized, and the connection part 203 is provided with both ends to increase the rigidity of the joint part 200 . In addition, by arranging the power transmission shaft 204 at one end of the joint 200 and the encoder 205 at the other end, the encoder 205 can accurately grasp the rotation angle of the joint 200 . In addition, a compact structure of the joint part 200 is possible through the serial arrangement of the motor 201 and the reducer 202 . By providing a wire 206 that transmits power and a signal to another joint part through any one of the connection parts 203 in which the encoder 205 is disposed among the pair of connection parts 203, external exposure of the wire can be prevented. . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the wire from being exposed and damaged even when the care service robot changes direction and moves.

Since the care service robot of the present invention operates in a responsive manner to the actions of the elderly or patients, it is possible to provide convenience to users with reduced mobility.

In addition, since the content that the user is interested in is determined and provided by itself, the content can be stimulated by the content to patients who have lost cognitive ability, such as dementia patients, and thus can help relieve symptoms.

In addition, by using a joint that can easily change the joint structure horizontally or vertically, it is possible to easily change the joint structure according to the operation space.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings, which is merely exemplary, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Accordingly, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

an information collection unit that collects information about caregivers;

a state determination unit configured to determine a state of the care target based on the information collected by the information collection unit;

a content providing unit that provides content related to the care target based on the state of the care target;

a display unit for outputting the contents provided by the contents providing unit;

an arm including a plurality of joint parts, one end of which the display part is mounted; and

A caring service robot using a multi-joint arm, including a controller for controlling an operation of the arm with respect to at least one of a direction of the display unit or a distance between the display unit and the subject according to the position of the subject to be cared for.
According to claim 1,

The information collection unit includes a voice acquisition unit that acquires voice information of the care target and a face acquisition unit that acquires facial information of the care target,

The state determination unit determines the mood of the care target according to the expression of the care target based on the facial information,

The display unit, a caring service robot using a multi-joint arm that provides the content based on the voice information or the mood of the care target determined by the state determination unit.
3. The method of claim 2,

The state determination unit determines the mood of the care target expressed as a response of the care target to the content output from the display unit, and derives the degree of interest of the care target for the content A caring service robot that uses
3. The method of claim 2,

The control unit, based on the facial information, when the subject to be cared for is looking at the display unit, a care service robot using a multi-joint arm to control the arm so that the screen direction of the display unit faces the subject to be cared for.
The method of claim 1,

The controller controls the arm so that the screen direction of the display unit faces the earth when the caring service robot is in standby mode, and when the caring service robot is activated, the screen direction of the display unit faces the care target A caring service robot using a multi-joint arm to control the arm.
According to claim 1,

The joint part,

As an actuator module capable of angle adjustment,

a first actuator;

a second actuator driven by receiving power and control signals from the first actuator in the same form as the first actuator; and

Using an articulated arm that is disposed between the first actuator and the second actuator and includes a contact conversion board that provides an electrical connection for transmitting the power and the control signal according to the coupling angle of the second actuator. A service robot for caring.