WO2023007638A1

WO2023007638A1 - Position estimation device, position estimation method, and position estimation program

Info

Publication number: WO2023007638A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/027982
Authority: WO
Inventors: 新大青沼
Original assignee: 本田技研工業株式会社
Priority date: 2021-07-28
Filing date: 2021-07-28
Publication date: 2023-02-02

Abstract

A control device (11) for estimating the position of a transport robot (10), which is provided with wheels (WL) and a motor (MOT) and is configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving drive wheels among the wheels (WL) by means of the motor (MOT), comprises: an acquisition unit (20) that acquires detection information representing a vibration generated in the transport robot (10) or a load input to the wheels (WL); a determination unit (31) that determines, on the basis of the detection information acquired by the acquisition unit (20), whether or not the transport robot (10) has entered a specific area in which a predetermined vibration can occur in the transport robot (10) or a predetermined load can be input to the wheels (WL) when entering; and an estimation unit (32) that estimates the position of the transport robot (10) on the basis of the determination result of the determination unit (31).

Description

Position estimation device, position estimation method, and position estimation program

The present invention relates to a position estimation device, a position estimation method, and a position estimation program for estimating the position of a mobile object.

Mobile objects such as work robots that perform work while autonomously moving within a predetermined work area have been known for some time. Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-100000, when a marker attached to the entrance/exit of a work area is recognized by image processing of an image input from a visual sensor provided in a robot main body, the position of the entrance/existence of the marker is detected. A technique for storing as

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-287824

　In order to properly move a mobile object that moves autonomously, it is essential to know the position of the mobile object. Methods for identifying the position of a mobile object include a method that uses signals received by the mobile object from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellites, and a method that uses equipment provided in the work area where the mobile object moves. However, there has been a demand for a technique capable of estimating the position of a moving object with a simpler configuration.

The present invention provides a position estimation device, a position estimation method, and a position estimation program capable of estimating the position of a mobile object with a simple configuration.

The first invention is
A position estimating device that includes wheels and a drive source, and estimates the position of a moving body configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source,
an acquisition unit that acquires detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving body or the load input to the wheel;
Based on the detection information acquired by the acquisition unit, it is determined whether or not the moving body has entered a specific area in which the moving body can generate a predetermined vibration or a predetermined load can be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters the vehicle. a judgment unit;
an estimating unit that estimates the position of the moving object based on the determination result of the determining unit;
A position estimation device comprising:

The second invention is
A computer for estimating the position of a moving object that includes wheels and a drive source and is configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source,
Acquiring detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving body or the load input to the wheel,
determining based on the detection information whether the moving body has entered a specific area in which a predetermined vibration may occur in the moving body or a predetermined load may be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters;
estimating the position of the mobile object based on the determination result of the determination;
A position estimation method that performs processing.

The third invention is
A computer for estimating the position of a mobile body that includes wheels and a drive source, and is configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source,
Acquiring detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving body or the load input to the wheel,
determining based on the detection information whether the moving body has entered a specific area in which a predetermined vibration may occur in the moving body or a predetermined load may be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters;
estimating the position of the mobile object based on the determination result of the determination;
It is a position estimation program that causes the process to be executed.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a position estimating device, a position estimating method, and a position estimating program capable of estimating the position of a mobile object with a simple configuration.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a transport robot 10; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a control device 11; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of a position estimation method executed by the control device 11. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of detecting entry of the transport robot 10 into a specific area;

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the position estimation device, position estimation method, and position estimation program of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, an example will be described in which the position of a carrier robot that autonomously moves within a predetermined work area is estimated.

<Conveyor robot>
First, with reference to FIG. 1, the schematic configuration of the transport robot of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport robot 10 of the present embodiment drives wheels WL each comprising a pair of left and right front wheels FW and rear wheels RW, and drive wheels (for example, a pair of left and right front wheels FW) among the wheels WL. A motor MOT as a drive source, a control device 11 that controls the entire transfer robot 10, and a loading platform (not shown) are provided. Then, it travels), and transports the load mounted on the loading platform to a predetermined transport destination.

The motor MOT may be supplied with power from a battery (not shown) provided in the transport robot 10, or may be supplied with power from the outside of the transport robot 10 using wireless power transmission or the like. good too. Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the motor MOT is employed as the drive source will be described, but other power source such as an engine may be employed as the drive source instead of or in addition to the motor MOT. .

The transport robot 10 moves within a work area that has a receiving area where cargo is loaded onto the loading platform and an unloading area where the cargo is transported. In this embodiment, as an example, the work area in which the transport robot 10 moves is assumed to be an apartment complex having an entrance hall serving as a receiving area and a plurality of rooms including a room serving as an unloading area. That is, the transport robot 10 transports the cargo loaded on the platform at the entrance hall of the receiving area to the room designated as the destination. At this time, the transport robot 10 autonomously moves according to the control by the control device 11 .

Specifically, the transport robot 10 is equipped with a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 12, for example. The GNSS receiver 12 identifies the latitude and longitude of the point where the GNSS receiver 12 (i.e., the carrier robot 10) is located based on the signals received from the GNSS satellites, and collects information indicating the identified latitude and longitude (hereinafter referred to as position information ) is output to the control device 11 .

When the luggage is loaded on the loading platform in the entrance hall, the control device 11 includes map data including information representing the position of the entrance hall, each room, and each passage connecting these, and the GNSS receiver 12 Based on the position information at that time acquired from , a route from the entrance hall (strictly speaking, the position of the transport robot 10 at that time) to the room designated as the unloading area is searched. Then, when the route to the room designated as the unloading area is searched for, the control device 11 moves the transport robot 10 along this route to transport the cargo to the room designated as the unloading area. Let the transportation take place.

In this embodiment, an example in which the GNSS receiver 12 acquires position information about the point where the transport robot 10 is located based on signals received from GNSS satellites will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the transfer robot 10 is provided with LIDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), and the measurement results of this LIDAR are collated with the three-dimensional point cloud data of the work area prepared in advance to determine the position of the transfer robot 10. It may be specified and position information about the point may be acquired. Alternatively, the point at which the transport robot 10 is located may be specified using both the signal received by the GNSS receiver 12 from the GNSS satellite and the measurement result by LIDAR, and the position information about the point may be obtained. . Furthermore, for example, the point where the transport robot 10 is located may be specified using odometry (autonomous navigation) using the detection result of the sensor 13, which will be described later, and the position information about the point may be acquired.

By the way, the transport robot 10 may enter a specific area within the work area as it moves. For example, the specific area is an area that is partitioned using a door, wall, or the like and that can be entered through a predetermined entrance. In this embodiment, the entrance hall and each room correspond to the specific area. Moreover, if an elevator is provided in the work area, this elevator may also be included in the specific area.

In order to appropriately move the transfer robot 10 in a work area including such a specific area, it is desirable to accurately detect that the transfer robot 10 has entered the specific area. However, for example, it may be difficult to accurately detect the entry of the transport robot 10 into a specific area only with the above-described position information. Further, in order to accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area, it is conceivable to provide a dedicated facility (for example, a beacon or an IC reader) at the entrance of the specific area. However, there is a risk that it will take a lot of time and money to install dedicated equipment.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered a specific area with a simple configuration that can suppress an increase in cost, etc., and to estimate an appropriate position as the position of the mobile body. enable

Specifically, in this embodiment, the specific area has a step on the floor surface at the entrance thereof. This is the area where the load is input. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the entry of the transfer robot 10 into the specific area is detected using the step provided at the entrance of the specific area.

In more detail, there is a door at the entrance to the specific area. For this reason, the floor surface of the entrance of the specific area is provided with a railing. This slippery rail functions as the step. In other words, in the present embodiment, the step provided at the entrance of the specific area is originally used (that is, for a purpose other than detecting the entry of the transfer robot 10 into the specific area), and the specific area is detected. It is detected that the transfer robot 10 has entered the . Therefore, there is no need to newly add dedicated equipment to the work area to detect the entry of the transfer robot 10 into the specific area, and it is possible to reduce the cost and labor required to install such equipment. be.

The present embodiment will be specifically described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport robot 10 includes a sensor 13 as a so-called internal sensor of the transport robot 10. The sensor 13 includes a sensor capable of detecting vibration generated in the transport robot 10 . Sensors capable of detecting vibrations generated in the transport robot 10 include, for example, angular velocities in the pitch, roll, and yaw directions of the transport robot 10, An IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) capable of detecting acceleration can be employed.

Further, the sensor 13 further includes, for example, a so-called vehicle speed sensor capable of detecting the moving speed (in other words, running speed) of the transport robot 10 . Then, the sensor 13 outputs detection information representing the result of detection by its own device to the control device 11 . As a result, information representing vibration generated in the transport robot 10 (hereinafter also referred to as vibration information), information representing the moving speed of the transport robot 10 (hereinafter also referred to as speed information), etc. are sent from the sensor 13 to the control device as detection information. 11. Note that the vibration information can be, for example, information that can specify the content of the vibration (e.g., amplitude and period) occurring in the transport robot 10 .

<Control device>
The control device 11 is an example of the position estimation device of the present invention, and includes, for example, a processor that performs various calculations, a storage medium that stores various information, and an interface ( (none of which are shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 11 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 20, a position estimation unit 30, and a drive control unit 40 as functional units realized by a processor executing a program stored in a storage medium. And prepare.

The acquisition unit 20 acquires various types of information necessary for the control device 11 to estimate the position of the transport robot 10 and passes the acquired information to the position estimation unit 30 . The information acquired by the acquisition unit 20 includes position information output from the GNSS receiver 12 to the control device 11, detection information output from the sensor 13 to the control device 11, and the like. Further, the detection information acquired by the acquisition unit 20 may include vibration information, speed information, and the like, as described above.

The position estimation unit 30 estimates the position of the transport robot 10 based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 20 . Specifically, the position estimating unit 30 includes a determining unit 31 that determines whether or not the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the detection information acquired by the acquiring unit 20, and and an estimating unit 32 for estimating the position of the transport robot 10 based on the position of the transport robot 10 .

For example, when the determination unit 31 determines that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area, the estimation unit 32 estimates the position within the specific area as the position of the transport robot 10 . That is, in this case, if the position indicated by the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 20 is a position outside the specific region, the estimation unit 32 corrects the position indicated by the position information to a position within the specific region, It is derived as an estimation result of the position of the robot 10 . Also, in this case, if the position indicated by the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 20 is a position within the specific area, the estimation unit 32 directly derives the position indicated by the position information as the estimation result of the position of the transport robot 10. You may

On the other hand, when the determining unit 31 determines that the transport robot 10 has not entered the specific area, the estimating unit 32 estimates the position of the transport robot 10 as being outside the specific area. That is, in this case, if the position indicated by the position information obtained by the obtaining unit 20 is a position outside the specific area, the estimating unit 32 directly derives the position indicated by the position information as the estimation result of the position of the transport robot 10. do. Further, in this case, if the position indicated by the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 20 is a position within the specific region, the estimation unit 32 corrects the position indicated by the position information to a position outside the specific region, and conveys the position. It may be derived as an estimation result of the position of the robot 10 .

For example, the determination unit 31 determines that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when detection information indicating that a predetermined vibration has occurred in the transport robot 10 is acquired. That is, when the transfer robot 10 enters the specific area, it will climb over the step at the entrance of the specific area, so it is assumed that the transfer robot 10 will vibrate according to the height of the step. be.

Therefore, for example, the vibration generated when the transfer robot 10 climbs over the step at the entrance of the specific area is experimentally obtained, and the vibration is used as a condition for determining that the transfer robot 10 has entered the specific area. It is set in the determination unit 31 . By doing so, it is possible to accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area.

As an example, the vibration that is the condition for determining that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area can be vibration with an amplitude of a predetermined value or more. As a result, it is possible to prevent the determination unit 31 from erroneously determining that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on small vibrations generated in the transport robot 10 due to the influence of disturbance. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area.

Small vibrations that occur in the transport robot 10 due to the influence of external disturbances include, for example, vibrations that occur when the transport robot 10 climbs over pebbles that have fallen in the passage, and vibrations that occur in the transport robot 10 due to wind and the like. Vibration that occurs can be mentioned.

Further, the determining unit 31 may determine that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when detection information indicating that the transport robot 10 has vibrated has been obtained a plurality of times. That is, the transport robot 10 has front wheels FW and rear wheels RW. For this reason, when the transport robot 10 enters the specific area, the transport robot 10 is subjected to multiple vibrations, the vibration when the front wheels FW run over the step and the vibration when the rear wheels RW run over the step. expected to occur. In other words, when the transport robot 10 vibrates only once, it means that the vibration due to the influence of the disturbance has occurred singly, or only the front wheels FW have entered the specific area (in other words, the transport robot 10 has not entered the specific area).

Therefore, when the detection information indicating that the transport robot 10 has vibrated multiple times, the determining unit 31 determines that the transport robot 10 has entered a specific area, so that the vibration due to the influence of the disturbance occurs only once. It is possible to avoid the judgment unit 31 judging that the transfer robot 10 has entered the specific area in a state where the transfer robot 10 has not completely entered the specific area. It is possible to accurately detect the entry.

Further, the determination unit 31 indicates that a second vibration substantially identical to the first vibration has occurred in the transfer robot 10 after the detection information indicating that the first vibration has occurred in the transfer robot 10 is acquired. It may be determined that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when the detection information is acquired. That is, in order for the transport robot 10 to enter the specific area, the step that the front wheels FW get over and the step that the rear wheels RW get over are the same. Therefore, it is assumed that the vibration generated when the front wheels FW run over a step and the vibration generated when the rear wheels RW run over a step are substantially the same vibration.

Therefore, after detection information indicating that the first vibration has occurred in the transfer robot 10 is obtained, detection information indicating that the second vibration substantially identical to the first vibration has occurred in the transfer robot 10 is obtained. In this case, by making the determining unit 31 determine that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area, it is possible to more accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area.

Further, the determining unit 31 may determine that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when detection information indicating that the transport robot 10 has vibrated has been obtained multiple times within a predetermined period. That is, it is assumed that a time difference corresponding to the moving speed of the transport robot 10 occurs between the timing at which the front wheels FW run over the step and the timing at which the rear wheels RW run over the step. For this reason, for example, even if a predetermined period of time elapses after the detection information indicating that the first vibration has occurred in the transfer robot 10 is acquired, the detection indicating that the second vibration has occurred in the transfer robot 10 cannot be detected. If no information is acquired, there is a high possibility that the first vibration is caused by disturbance.

Therefore, when the detection information indicating that the transport robot 10 has vibrated is obtained multiple times in a predetermined period, the determining unit 31 determines that the transport robot 10 has entered a specific area. It is possible to prevent the determination unit 31 from erroneously determining that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the vibration generated in the transport robot 10, and accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area. It becomes possible to Further, if the above-mentioned predetermined period is a period corresponding to the moving speed of the transfer robot 10, the length of the period can be set to an appropriate length. It becomes possible to detect with much higher accuracy.

Further, the determination unit 31 may determine whether or not the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the detection information when the transport robot 10 is positioned near the specific area. Specifically, for example, the control device 11 is provided with a storage unit 50 implemented by the above-described storage medium or the like. The storage unit 50 stores the aforementioned map data in a state that the position estimation unit 30 can refer to.

Then, when the position information is acquired by the acquisition unit 20, the determination unit 31 refers to this position information and the map data stored in the storage unit 50 to determine whether the position of the transport robot 10 is near the specific area. determine whether or not A condition for determining that the position of the transport robot 10 is in the vicinity of the specific area is set in the determination unit 31 in advance, for example. As an example, the condition for determining that the position of the transport robot 10 is near the specific area is that the position indicated by the position information is within a range of 1 [m] from the entrance of the specific area in plan view. can be done.

Then, when determining that the position of the transport robot 10 is near the specific area, the determination unit 31 determines whether the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the detection information, as described above. On the other hand, if the determination unit 31 determines that the position of the transport robot 10 is not near the specific area, for example, it does not determine whether the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the detection information. By doing so, even if the transfer robot 10 vibrates due to the influence of disturbance at a position away from the specific area, the determination unit 31 may erroneously determine that the transfer robot 10 has entered the specific area based on this vibration. You can avoid making decisions. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area.

Also, the conditions for determining that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area may be different for each specific area. For example, the vibration generated when the transfer robot 10 climbs over the step at the entrance of each specific area is experimentally obtained, and the vibration generated when the transfer robot 10 climbs over the specific area and the step at the entrance of the specific area. are associated with each other and stored.

Then, for example, when the determination unit 31 determines that the position of the transport robot 10 is near the specific area, the vibration that is the condition associated with the specific area and the vibration generated in the transport robot 10 Based on this, it may be determined whether or not the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area. By doing so, it is possible to more accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area.

The position estimation unit 30 passes the position of the transport robot 10 obtained as an estimation result to the drive control unit 40 . For example, based on the map data stored in the storage unit 50 and the position of the transport robot 10 estimated by the position estimation unit 30, the drive control unit 40 transports the robot along the route to the room designated as the unloading area. The motor MOT is controlled so that the robot 10 moves. As a result, the transport robot 10 can transport the cargo to the room designated as the unloading area.

In the example described here, the storage unit 50 for storing the map data is provided inside the control device 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the storage unit 50 may be provided outside the control device 11 so that the control device 11 can access it via a network such as the Internet.

<Position estimation method>
Next, an example of the position estimation method executed by the control device 11 will be described with reference to FIG. A position estimation program that causes the control device 11 to execute this position estimation method is stored in advance in, for example, a storage medium of the control device 11 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 11 first determines whether or not the position of the transport robot 10 is near the specific area (step S11). Then, when it is determined that the position of the transport robot 10 is not near the specific area (step S11: NO), the control device 11 ends the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 as it is. In this way, when the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 is finished without executing the process of step S17, which will be described later, the control device 11, for example, adopts the position indicated by the position information as the position of the transport robot 10. do.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the position of the transport robot 10 is near the specific area (step S11: YES), the control device 11 determines whether or not a predetermined vibration is detected in the transport robot 10 (step S12). ). Then, when it is determined that the predetermined vibration is not detected (step S12: NO), the control device 11 ends the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 as it is.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the predetermined vibration has been detected (step S12: YES), the control device 11 stores that the predetermined vibration has been detected (step S13), The corresponding time count is started (step S14).

In step S14, for example, when the moving speed of the transport robot 10 is v1, the control device 11 sets a predetermined T1[s] (where T1>0) in the timer counter, and from this T1[s] to 0 countdown to. On the other hand, when the moving speed of the transport robot 10 is v2 (where v2>v1), the control device 11 sets a predetermined T2[s] (where 0<T2<T1) in the timer counter, and this T2[ s] to 0. Thereby, it is possible to count the time according to the moving speed of the transport robot 10 .

Then, the control device 11 determines whether a predetermined vibration is detected again in the transfer robot 10 before the count started in step S14 reaches 0 (step S15). If it is determined that the predetermined vibration has not been detected again (step S15: NO), the control device 11 ends the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 as it is.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the predetermined vibration has been detected again (step S15: YES), the control device 11 determines that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area (step S16). If the position indicated by the position information is outside the specified area and the position of the transport robot 10 needs to be corrected, the control device 11 changes the position of the transport robot 10 to a position within the specified area. After correcting (step S17), the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 ends.

Note that if the position indicated by the position information is in a position within a specific area and the position of the transport robot 10 does not need to be corrected, the control device 11 does not execute the process of step S17. The series of processes shown in FIG. 3 may be terminated as they are.

<Specific example of detecting entry of a transfer robot into a specific area>
Next, a specific example of detecting entry of the transfer robot 10 into a specific area will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, illustration of components of the transfer robot 10 shown in FIG. 1 other than the front wheels FW and the rear wheels RW is omitted.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the transport robot 10 enters the room 120, which is the specific area, from the passage 110 (see the arrow indicated by symbol A in FIG. 4). A step 121 is provided on the floor at the entrance of the room 120 , that is, on the floor at the boundary between the passage 110 and the room 120 . A step 121 is a railing corresponding to a door 122 provided at the entrance of the room 120 .

An example of the vibration generated in the transfer robot 10 when the transfer robot 10 enters the room 120 from the passage 110 (that is, the vibration detected by the sensor 13) is shown in the balloon indicated by symbol B in FIG.

That is, in the example shown in FIG. 4, first, at the timing t1 when the pair of left and right front wheels FW get over the step 121, the first vibration Vi1 having the amplitude equal to or greater than the predetermined value Th is generated in the transport robot 10. After that, at time t2, which is a time within a predetermined period from time t1, the pair of left and right rear wheels RW get over the step 121 this time. vibration Vi2 is generated in the transfer robot 10 . Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the control device 11 determines that the transfer robot 10 has entered the room 120 at time t2. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the second vibration Vi2 is substantially the same vibration as the first vibration Vi1.

By the way, for example, after the front wheels FW have crossed over the step 121 and before the rear wheels RW have crossed over the step 121, the transfer robot 10 retreats for some reason, and the front wheels FW get over the step 121 again. It is also assumed that When such a situation occurs, the front wheel FW runs over the step 121 twice, so that substantially the same vibration such as the first vibration Vi1 and the second vibration Vi2 shown in FIG. This will occur in the transfer robot 10 . As a result, it may be erroneously detected that the transfer robot 10 has entered the room 120 even though the transfer robot 10 has not actually entered the room 120 .

Therefore, in order to suppress the occurrence of such an erroneous detection, the control device 11 changes the movement state of the transport robot 10 (for example, the sign of the movement speed of the transport robot 10 from "+ (that is, moving forward)" to "-"). (i.e., backward)", or whether the gear position of the transfer robot 10 is changed to "reverse", etc.), and also refer to the monitoring result to determine whether the transfer robot 10 has entered a specific area. can be This makes it possible to more accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area.

<Modification>
Next, a modified example of the embodiment described above will be described. In the above-described embodiment, entry of the transport robot 10 into the specific area is detected based on vibration generated in the transport robot 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when entering a specific area, it is assumed that a predetermined load is input to the wheels WL in order to get over the step at the entrance. Therefore, the entry of the transfer robot 10 into the specific area may be detected based on the load input to the wheels WL.

When detecting the entry of the transfer robot 10 into a specific area based on the load input to the wheels WL, for example, a sensor capable of detecting the load input to the wheels WL (for example, the front wheels FW) is provided as the sensor 13. In this case, the sensor 13 outputs detection information including information representing the load input to the wheel WL (hereinafter also referred to as load information) to the control device 11 . Then, the acquisition unit 20 of the control device 11 acquires the detection information including the load information output from the sensor 13 to the control device 11, and the determination unit 31 determines whether or not the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area. is determined based on the load information acquired by the acquisition unit 20 instead of the vibration information in the above-described embodiment. Thus, even if it is determined whether or not the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the load information instead of the vibration information, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the above-described embodiment.

Further, when it is configured to determine whether or not the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the load information, the determination unit 31 acquires load information indicating that a predetermined load has been input to the wheels WL. It may be determined that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area. This prevents the determination unit 31 from erroneously determining that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the small load applied to the wheels WL due to the influence of the disturbance. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area.

Further, when it is configured to determine whether or not the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the load information, the determination unit 31 acquires the load information indicating that the load has been input to the wheels WL a plurality of times. It may be determined that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area. This prevents the determination unit 31 from erroneously determining that the transfer robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the load, even if a relatively large load is singly input to the wheels WL due to the influence of disturbance. can be avoided. This makes it possible to accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area.

Further, when it is configured to determine whether or not the transfer robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the load information, the determination unit 31 determines that the load information indicating that the first load has been input to the wheels WL is It may be determined that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when load information indicating that a second load substantially the same as the first load has been input to the wheels WL is acquired after the acquisition. . More specifically, the determination unit 31 determines that a second load substantially the same as the first load is input to the rear wheels RW after load information indicating that the first load is input to the front wheels FW is acquired. It may be determined that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when load information indicating that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area is obtained.

That is, in order for the transport robot 10 to enter the specific area, the steps that the front wheels FW get over and the steps that the rear wheels RW get over are the same. Therefore, it is assumed that the load input to the front wheels FW when the front wheels FW run over a bump and the load input to the rear wheels RW when the rear wheels RW run over a bump are substantially the same load. be. Therefore, after obtaining the load information indicating that the first load has been input to the front wheels FW, the load information indicating that the second load substantially identical to the first load has been input to the rear wheels RW is acquired. By having the determination unit 31 determine that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area when the information is acquired, it is possible to accurately detect that the transport robot 10 has entered the specific area. In order for the determination unit 31 to determine whether or not the transfer robot 10 has entered the specific area based on the load input to the front wheels FW and the load input to the rear wheels RW, for example, the sensor 13 However, it should be noted that a sensor or the like capable of detecting the load applied to the front wheels FW and the load applied to the rear wheels RW is required.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the control device 11, which is an example of the position estimation device of the present invention, is provided in the transport robot 10 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a server device that can communicate with the transport robot 10 via a network such as the Internet may be provided with some or all of the functional units of the control device 11 described above. In this case, for example, the transport robot 10 transmits the position information acquired by the GNSS receiver 12, the detection information acquired by the sensor 13, and the like to the server device as the control device 11 via the network. Then, based on the information received from the transport robot 10, the server device estimates the position of the transport robot 10 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and appropriately transmits a predetermined instruction to the transport robot 10. , controls the movement of the transport robot 10 . As a result, the server device can appropriately move the transport robot 10 to transport the package in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

Also, the position estimation method described in the above embodiments can be realized by executing a prepared program on a computer. The position estimation program is stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a memory and executed by being read from the storage medium. Also, the position estimation program may be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and replacements can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the position of the transport robot 10 that autonomously moves within a predetermined work area is estimated, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to estimate the position of an arbitrary mobile body that has wheels and a drive source and that is configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels with the drive source. be.

At least the following matters are described in this specification. In addition, although the parenthesis shows the components corresponding to the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

(1) A moving body (transport robot 10) which is provided with wheels (wheels WL) and a drive source (motor MOT), and which is capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source. A position estimation device (control device 11) for estimating a position,
an acquisition unit (acquisition unit 20) for acquiring detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving object or the load input to the wheel;
Based on the detection information acquired by the acquisition unit, it is determined whether or not the moving body has entered a specific area in which the moving body can generate a predetermined vibration or a predetermined load can be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters the vehicle. a determination unit (determination unit 31);
an estimating unit (estimating unit 32) that estimates the position of the moving object based on the determination result of the determining unit;
A position estimator, comprising:

According to (1), it is possible to accurately detect that a moving body has entered a specific area with a simple configuration, and to estimate an appropriate position as the position of the moving body.

(2) The position estimation device according to (1),
When the detection information indicating that the predetermined vibration is generated in the moving body or that the predetermined load is applied to the wheels is acquired, the determination unit moves the moving body to the specific area. determines that has entered
Position estimator.

According to (2), it is possible to prevent the judging unit from erroneously judging that the moving body has entered the specific area due to the influence of disturbance or the like, and accurately detect that the moving body has entered the specific area. becomes possible.

(3) The position estimation device according to (1) or (2),
The wheels include a front wheel (front wheel FW) and a rear wheel (rear wheel RW),
The determination unit determines that the mobile body has entered the specific area when the detection information indicating that the vibration has occurred in the mobile body or that the load has been input to the wheels is acquired a plurality of times. to decide,
Position estimator.

According to (3), it is possible to accurately detect that a moving object has entered a specific area.

(4) The position estimation device according to (3),
The determination unit indicates that a second vibration substantially identical to the first vibration has occurred in the moving body after the detection information indicating that the first vibration has occurred in the moving body is acquired. When the detection information is acquired, or after the detection information indicating that the first load is applied to the front wheels is acquired, a second load substantially the same as the first load is applied to the rear wheels. determining that the moving body has entered the specific area when the detection information indicating that the input has been obtained;
Position estimator.

According to (4), it is possible to prevent the judging unit from erroneously judging that the moving body has entered the specific area due to the influence of disturbance or the like, and accurately detect that the moving body has entered the specific area. becomes possible.

(5) The position estimation device according to (3),
When the detection information indicating that a vibration has occurred in the moving body or that a load has been input to the wheels is obtained a plurality of times in a predetermined period, the determination unit determines that the moving body is placed in the specific area. determines that has entered
Position estimator.

According to (5), it is possible to prevent the judging unit from erroneously judging that the moving body has entered the specific area due to the influence of disturbance or the like, and accurately detect that the moving body has entered the specific area. becomes possible.

(6) The position estimation device according to (5),
The predetermined period is a period corresponding to the moving speed of the moving body,
Position estimator.

According to (6), the predetermined period can be a period of appropriate length.

(7) The position estimation device according to any one of (1) to (6),
The determining unit determines whether or not the moving body has entered the specific area based on the detection information when the moving body is positioned near the specific area.
Position estimator.

According to (7), even if the moving body vibrates due to the influence of disturbance or the load is input to the wheels at a position away from the specific area, it is determined that the moving body has entered the specific area based on these. It is possible to prevent the determination unit from making an erroneous determination, and to accurately detect that the moving object has entered the specific area.

(8) A computer for estimating the position of a moving object that includes wheels and a drive source and is configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source,
Acquiring detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving body or the load input to the wheel,
determining based on the detection information whether the moving body has entered a specific area in which a predetermined vibration may occur in the moving body or a predetermined load may be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters;
estimating the position of the mobile object based on the determination result of the determination;
The location estimation method that performs the processing.

According to (8), it is possible to accurately detect that a moving body has entered a specific area with a simple configuration, and to estimate an appropriate position as the position of the moving body.

(9) A computer for estimating the position of a moving object that includes wheels and a drive source, and is configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source,
Acquiring detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving body or the load input to the wheel,
determining based on the detection information whether the moving body has entered a specific area in which a predetermined vibration may occur in the moving body or a predetermined load may be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters;
estimating the position of the mobile object based on the determination result of the determination;
A position estimation program that causes processing to be performed.

According to (9), it is possible to accurately detect that a moving body has entered a specific area with a simple configuration, and to estimate an appropriate position as the position of the moving body.

10 transport robot (moving body)
11 control device (position estimation device)
20 acquisition unit 31 determination unit 32 estimation unit WL wheel FW front wheel RW rear wheel MOT motor (driving source)

Claims

A position estimating device that includes wheels and a drive source, and estimates the position of a moving body configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source,
an acquisition unit that acquires detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving body or the load input to the wheel;
Based on the detection information acquired by the acquisition unit, it is determined whether or not the moving body has entered a specific area in which the moving body can generate a predetermined vibration or a predetermined load can be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters the vehicle. a judgment unit;
an estimating unit that estimates the position of the moving object based on the determination result of the determining unit;
A position estimator, comprising:
The position estimation device according to claim 1,
When the detection information indicating that the predetermined vibration is generated in the moving body or that the predetermined load is applied to the wheels is acquired, the determination unit moves the moving body to the specific area. determines that has entered
Position estimator.
The position estimation device according to claim 1 or 2,
The wheels include front wheels and rear wheels,
The determination unit determines that the mobile body has entered the specific area when the detection information indicating that the vibration has occurred in the mobile body or that the load has been input to the wheels is acquired a plurality of times. to decide,
Position estimator.
The position estimation device according to claim 3,
The determination unit indicates that a second vibration substantially identical to the first vibration has occurred in the moving body after the detection information indicating that the first vibration has occurred in the moving body is acquired. When the detection information is acquired, or after the detection information indicating that the first load is applied to the front wheels is acquired, a second load substantially the same as the first load is applied to the rear wheels. determining that the moving body has entered the specific area when the detection information indicating that the input has been obtained;
Position estimator.
The position estimation device according to claim 3,
When the detection information indicating that a vibration has occurred in the moving body or that a load has been input to the wheels is obtained a plurality of times in a predetermined period, the determination unit determines that the moving body is placed in the specific area. determines that has entered
Position estimator.
The position estimation device according to claim 5,
The predetermined period is a period corresponding to the moving speed of the moving body,
Position estimator.
The position estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The determining unit determines whether or not the moving body has entered the specific area based on the detection information when the moving body is positioned near the specific area.
Position estimator.
A computer for estimating the position of a moving object that includes wheels and a drive source and is configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source,
Acquiring detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving body or the load input to the wheel,
determining based on the detection information whether the moving body has entered a specific area in which a predetermined vibration may occur in the moving body or a predetermined load may be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters;
estimating the position of the mobile object based on the determination result of the determination;
The location estimation method that performs the processing.
A computer for estimating the position of a mobile body that includes wheels and a drive source, and is configured to be capable of autonomous movement by driving the drive wheels of the wheels by the drive source,
Acquiring detection information representing the vibration generated in the moving body or the load input to the wheel,
determining based on the detection information whether the moving body has entered a specific area in which a predetermined vibration may occur in the moving body or a predetermined load may be applied to the wheels when the moving body enters;
estimating the position of the mobile object based on the determination result of the determination;
A position estimation program that causes processing to be performed.