JP2008295651A - Shogi playing robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that there is no Shogi (Japanese chess) playing robot which can enjoy playing the Shogi with a sense of presence by actually using pieces of the shogi and can be used for long with a sense of closeness. <P>SOLUTION: The robot comprises: a Shogi board 102; a placement situation recognition means 13 for recognizing a placement situation of pieces; a next move determining means 61 for determining a next move on the Shogi playing robot side from a result recognized by the placement situation recognition means 13; and a piece moving means for performing prescribed operation so that a move follows the executed next move determined by the next move determining means 61. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a game of shogi, and is effective when applied to game automation that can be enjoyed by only one person.

  Conventionally, as a game of shogi other than the person-to-person, it is often performed by a personal computer (or a dedicated game machine) equipped with a shogi program. Specifically, a shogi board or piece is displayed on the screen of a cathode ray tube or a liquid crystal display device. Displayed and played. The personal computer (or a dedicated game machine) is equipped with a program that analyzes the arrangement status of the pieces, the front and back of the pieces, and the status of the pieces taken from the opponent's side, and selects one from a plurality of next-hand candidates.

  However, when viewing a shogi board or piece displayed on the screen of a personal computer or a game machine, there is a problem that it is not possible to obtain a sense of realism as opposed to the opponent. In addition, there are many people who want to play with an actual shogi board and pieces rather than operating a personal computer (or dedicated game machine), but in general playing with a shogi board and pieces, In particular, there was a problem that if there was no opponent, you could not beat shogi.

  Also, even if you play with a robot using actual shogi and pieces, the robot does not know the sense of closeness by simply performing the next move, and may eventually lose interest.

  In view of the above points, the first object of the present invention is to provide a shogi game robot that allows even one person to enjoy a realistic game using a shogi piece.

  In addition, in view of the above points, the second object of the present invention is to provide a shogi game robot that can be used for a long time with a sense of familiarity.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shogi game robot according to claim 1, wherein the game is played with a opponent using a shogi board and pieces,
An arrangement status recognition means for recognizing the arrangement status of shogi boards and pieces;
Next move determining means for determining the next move on the shogi game robot side from the arrangement status of the shogi board and pieces recognized by the arrangement status recognition means;
A piece moving means for performing a predetermined operation so as to become a hand after execution of the next first action determined by the next first action determining means;
It is comprised from these.

  According to this, the shogi playing robot can recognize the shogi board and the piece, determine the next move on the shogi playing robot side from the recognition result, and execute the next move by the piece moving means. As a result, the opponent can enjoy a realistic game using the shogi board and pieces.

As in the invention described in claim 2, in claim 1, the piece moving means can hold the piece and can be turned over,
An arm unit connected to the holding unit and operable in a predetermined direction;
A control unit that arbitrarily controls the operation of the holding unit and the arm unit by controlling a driving unit that is provided in the holding unit and the arm unit and drives the holding unit and the arm unit, and
An operation command that is connected to the control unit and determines the operation procedure of the arm unit and the holding unit so as to be the hand after the next one execution determined by the next one-hand determination means, and issues an operation command signal to the control unit And
Consists of
The control unit may control the drive unit so that the holding unit and the arm unit move along the command signal.

In invention of Claim 3, in Claim 2, the arm part is connected with the main-body part which comprises the main body of the shogi game robot,
The main body is equipped with an arrangement state recognizing means, a next move determining means, a control section, and an operation command section.

  According to this, the arm part, the holding part connected to the arm part, the arrangement state recognition means, the next first-hand determination means, the control part, and the operation command part can be moved integrally with the main body part. As a result, the same effect as in claim 1 can be obtained, and it is easy to carry around and enjoy the game.

In the invention of claim 4, in claim 2, the arrangement status recognition means includes one or more image sensors for imaging the arrangement status of the shogi board and the piece,
A signal processing unit that converts an image captured by the image sensor into a predetermined signal and recognizes an arrangement state of the frames;
Consists of
The holding part and the arm part are configured separately from the main body part constituting the main body of the shogi game robot,
Of the image sensor, the signal processing unit, the next hand determining unit, the operation command unit, and the control unit, at least the next hand determining unit is mounted on the main body unit.

  According to this, since the arm portion is formed separately from the main body portion, the main body portion can be made smaller and lighter than that of the third aspect. Further, according to the above configuration, any one or more of the image sensor, the signal processing unit, the operation command unit, and the control unit can be configured not to be mounted on the main body unit, and the holding unit and the arm unit are simply separated from the main body unit. The main body can be made smaller and lighter than the above. As a result, it can be configured to feel small and cute by looking at the main body, and a sense of familiarity can be given. Incidentally, in the invention of claim 3, since the arm part is connected to the main body part, it is necessary to make the main body part heavy and large so that the main body part does not shift even if the arm part is movable.

As in the invention described in claim 5, in claim 1, the piece moving means can hold the piece and can be turned over, and
An arm unit connected to the holding unit and operable in a predetermined direction;
A control unit that arbitrarily controls the operation of the holding unit and the arm unit by controlling a driving unit that is provided in the holding unit and the arm unit and drives the holding unit and the arm unit, and
It is configured separately from the control unit, and determines the operation procedure of the arm unit and the holding unit so that it becomes a hand after the next first execution determined by the next first determination unit. An operation command unit for outputting a command signal;
Consists of
The control unit may control the drive unit so that the holding unit and the arm unit move along the command signal.

In invention of Claim 6, in Claim 5, the holding | maintenance part and the arm part control part are comprised separately from the main-body part which comprises the main body of a shogi game robot,
The next move determination means and the operation command section are mounted on the main body section.

  According to this, since the holding portion, the arm portion, and the control portion are configured separately from the main body portion, the main body portion can be made lighter and smaller than the third aspect of the invention. As a result, it can be configured to feel small and cute by looking at the main body, and a sense of familiarity can be given.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the shogi-playing robots according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the placement status, the opponent's hand, and the shogi-playing robot's hand Correspondingly, there is an audio reproducing means for reproducing audio.

  According to this, since the sound can be reproduced according to any one of the arrangement status, the opponent's hand, and the shogi game robot's hand, the shogi game robot simply performs the next action. Rather, it is more human and provides a sense of realism. Moreover, compared with the invention of Claim 8, the shogi game robot (10) can be comprised at low cost.

  In the invention according to claim 8, the shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 6 further includes a dialog means for dialog with the opponent.

  According to this, since the dialogue means for dialogue with the other party is provided, the human feeling is further increased and a sense of reality can be obtained.

As in the ninth aspect of the invention, specifically, in the eighth aspect of the invention, the dialogue means includes voice recognition means for recognizing a partner's word,
Word determination means for determining words corresponding to the words recognized by the voice recognition means;
Voice output means for outputting the words determined by the word determination means;
You may be comprised from.

In the invention described in claim 10, the shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is further provided with a game capability setting function for setting the game capability of the game robot in response to a request from the opponent. And
When the game capability is set by the game capability setting function, the next move determining means determines the next move so as to exert the game capability.

  According to this, since the game ability of the game robot can be set according to the opponent's request, it can be set according to the opponent's game ability or by setting the game ability higher than the opponent's The level of game ability can be improved.

In the invention of claim 11, in the shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 10, a strategy setting function for setting a strategy of the game robot according to the request of the opponent is further provided.
When a strategy is set by the strategy setting function, the next move determining means determines the next move so as to become a strategy.

  According to this, since the strategy of the shogi game robot can be set according to the request of the opponent, various strategies can be enjoyed.

  In the invention according to claim 12, in the shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 11, the shogi game robot automatically arranges the pieces arranged separately in the arrangement at the start of the game. It has an automatic placement function.

  According to this, since the shogi game robot can be automatically arranged in the arrangement at the start of the game, the game can be started even if the opponent is not arranged. Moreover, it can be enjoyed that the shogi game robots are automatically arranged in the arrangement at the start of the game.

  In the invention described in claim 13, the shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is further provided with a game player reproduction function for reproducing the game.

  According to this, the shogi game robot can reproduce the game, and the game once completed can be enjoyed again.

(First embodiment)
In describing the first embodiment, FIG. 1 is a front view of the shogi game robot 10 in which the main body 11 is indicated by a virtual line, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the shogi game robot 10 viewed from the direction A in FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional front view of the hand 23, and FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the hand 23 as viewed from the direction B of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a shogi game robot 10 and a shogi board 102 are arranged on the upper surface 101 a of the table 101. On the upper surface 102a of the shogi board 102, a piece 201 on the shogi game robot 10 side and a piece 202 on the other side are arranged. In the description of the first embodiment, it is assumed that the holding piece 203 is on the shogi game robot 10 side and the holding piece 204 is on the opponent side. The holding piece 203 on the side of the shogi-playing robot 10 and the holding piece 204 on the other side are respectively arranged on the upper surface 101a of the table 101 on the right side of the shogi board 102 toward the shogi board 102.

  Further, in the following description, the piece 201 on the Shogi game robot 10 side and the piece 202 on the opponent side are collectively referred to as a piece 200a on the board. Further, the holding piece 203 on the shogi game robot 10 side and the holding piece 204 on the opponent side are collectively referred to as both holding pieces 200b. Furthermore, the piece 200a on the board and the both holding pieces 200b are collectively referred to as a piece 200.

  This will be specifically described below. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shogi game robot 10 according to the first embodiment is roughly composed of a main body part 11, a movable part 12, and a CCD camera 13.

  The main body 11 is assumed to be a player when viewed from the other side, and is equipped with a control device 14, a microphone 15, and a speaker 16 described later. A mounting bracket 17 is fixed to the main body 11, and the CCD camera 13 is fixed to the mounting bracket 17. A connector 19 is provided on the side surface 11 a of the main body 11, and input / output wiring of the control device 14 and power supply wiring (not shown) are connected thereto.

  Next, the movable part 12 will be described. The movable part 12 includes a first arm 20, a turning device 21, a second arm 22, and a hand 23. The first arm 20, the turning device 21, and the second arm 22 constitute an arm part of the present invention, and the hand 23 constitutes a holding part of the present invention.

  The first arm 20 is a part corresponding to the upper arm of a person and is fixed to the side surface 11 a of the robot body 11. The first arm 20 is provided with a connector 24, and wiring for the CCD camera 13, servomotors 25, 38 and 55, linear servomotors 27 and 39, a vacuum pump 42, and an electric chuck 43, which will be described later. ing. The connector 24 is configured to be connected to the connector 19 of the main body 11 when the first arm 20 is fixed to the side surface 11 a of the main body 11.

  The turning device 21 is a part corresponding to a human elbow, and includes a servo motor 25 and a turning base 26. A main body 25a constituting the servo motor 25 is fixed to the first arm 20, and a turning base 26 is fixed to the output shaft 25b. A second arm 22 described later is fixed to the turning base 26. The output shaft 25b can turn in the θ1 direction shown in FIG. 2 and stop at an arbitrary position as long as the second arm 22 and a hand 23 described later do not interfere with the main body 11.

  The second arm 22 is a part corresponding to the lower arm of a person, and includes a linear servo motor 27 and a hand mounting plate 28. A main body 27a constituting the linear servo motor 27 is fixed to the turning base 26 of the turning device 21, and a hand mounting plate 28 is fixed to the output shaft 27b. The output shaft 27b can slide along the axial center line of the output shaft 27b and can stop at an arbitrary position.

  Next, the hand 23 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the hand 23 is roughly divided into a rotation unit 29, a transfer unit 30, and a reverse unit 31. The rotating part 29 rotates the transfer part 30 and the reverse part 31 in the θ2 direction of FIG. The transfer unit 30 sucks and transfers one of the pieces constituting the piece 200. The turnover unit 31 turns the above piece over.

  The rotating unit 29 will be described. The base 32 constituting the rotating part 29 is fixed to the hand mounting plate 28 of the second arm 22. The base 32 is formed with a through hole 32a penetrating in the vertical direction, and outer rings of bearings 33 and 34 are fitted into the through hole 32a. A rotating shaft 35 is fitted to the inner rings of the bearings 33 and 34.

  By the way, of the upper end 35a and the lower end 35b constituting both ends of the rotating shaft 35, the first gear 36 is on the upper end 35a side, and the transfer unit 30 and the turnover unit 31 described later on the lower end 35b side. Is fixed. As shown in FIG. 3, the first gear 36 meshes with the second gear 37, and the second gear 37 is fixed to an output shaft 38 a of a servo motor 38 attached to the base 32. Therefore, when the output shaft 38a of the servo motor 38 rotates, the first gear 36 and the rotating shaft 35 rotate, and at the same time, the transfer unit 30 and the turnover unit 31 rotate in the θ2 direction in FIG.

  The transfer unit 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the main body 39 a of the linear servo motor 39 constituting the transfer unit 30 is fixed to the lower end 35 b side of the rotating shaft 35 of the rotating unit 29. The linear servo motor 39 includes an output shaft 39b that can be stopped at an arbitrary position in the vertical direction.

  A substantially plate-like plate 40 is attached to the end 39c of the output shaft 39b. Further, a suction pad 41 for sucking one piece out of the pieces 200 is attached to the plate 40. The suction pad 41 is connected to a vacuum pump 42 fixed to the side surface 32 b of the base 32. In addition, the lower end center part of the suction pad 41 illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is referred to as a lower end point PV.

  The inside-out part 31 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the main body portion 43 a of the electric chuck 43 constituting the inside-out portion 31 is fixed to the lower end portion 35 b side of the rotating shaft 35 of the rotating portion 29. The electric chuck 43 includes arm plates 43b and 43c that can be opened and closed in the direction C in FIG. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, holes 43d and 43e are formed in the arm plates 43b and 43c, respectively, and outer rings of bearings 46, 47, 48 and 49 are formed in the holes 43d and 43e. Is fitted.

  One end of the bearings 46, 47, 48, 49 is formed in an axial shape, and claws 50, 51 that hold one of the pieces constituting the piece 200 are fitted therein.

A first bevel gear 53 is fixed to the shaft portion 50 a of the claw 50. The first bevel gear 53 is meshed with the second bevel gear 54, and the second bevel gear 54 is fixed to an output shaft 55a of a servo motor 55 attached to the arm plate 43b.
Therefore, when the output shaft 55a of the servo motor 55 rotates, the second bevel gear 54 and the first bevel gear 53 operate, and the pawl 50 can rotate in the θ3 direction in FIG.

  Incidentally, a guide pin 56 is fixed to the claw 50 as shown in FIG. The claw 51 is formed with a hole 51a through which the guide pin 56 can slide when the arm plates 43b and 43c are opened and closed. The guide pin 56 is inserted into the claw 51. Therefore, when the output shaft 55a of the servo motor 55 rotates and the claw 50 tries to rotate in the θ3 direction in FIG. 3, the guide pin 56 rotates together with the claw 50, and at this time, the claw 51 also rotates in the same direction. .

  The servo motor 25, the linear servo motor 27, the servo motor 38, the linear servo motor 39, the vacuum pump 42, the electric chuck 43, and the servo motor 55 constitute a drive unit of the present invention.

  Here, a procedure for transferring one of the pieces constituting the piece 200 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, position P1 indicates the position of the piece before transfer, position P4 indicates the position of the piece after transfer, position P2 indicates the position above position P1, and position P3 indicates the position above position P4. .

Transfer of the pieces is performed in the order of the following items (1) to (5).
(1) The linear servo motor 39 of the transfer unit 30 is operated to lower the plate 40 and the suction pad 41 so that the lower end point PV of the suction pad 41 is located at the position P1.
(2) The vacuum pump 42 is operated to hold the piece by suction.
(3) The linear servo motor 39 is operated to raise the plate 40 and the suction pad 41 so that the lower end point PV is at the position P2.
(4) The movable portion 12 is operated so that the lower end point PV is at the position P3.
(5) The linear servo motor 39 is operated to lower the plate 40 and the suction pad 41 so that the lower end point PV becomes the position P4.
(6) The vacuum pump 42 is stopped, and the transfer of the pieces is completed by releasing the pieces.

  Next, the procedure for turning over and transferring a piece will be described with reference to FIG. A position P5 between the position P3 and the position P4 indicates a position where the piece is turned over.

Inversion and transfer of the pieces are performed in the order of the following items (11) to (21).
(11) From the position P1 to the position P3, a procedure similar to the transfer procedure described above is executed.
(12) The linear servo motor 39 is operated to lower the plate 40 and the suction pad 41 so that the lower end point PV of the suction pad 41 is at the position P5.
(13) The electric chuck 43 is closed and the pieces are gripped by the claws 50 and 51.
(14) The vacuum pump 42 is stopped, and the suction of the pieces is stopped.
(15) The linear servo motor 39 is operated to retract the plate 40 and the suction pad 41 so that the lower end point PV of the suction pad 41 is at the position P4.
(16) The servo motor 55 of the turnover unit 31 is operated to turn the piece over.
(17) The linear servo motor 39 is operated to lower the plate 40 and the suction pad 41 so that the lower end point PV of the suction pad 41 is at the position P5.
(18) The vacuum pump 42 is operated to suck and hold the pieces.
(19) Open the electric chuck 43 and release the piece.
(20) The linear servo motor 39 is operated to lower the plate 40 and the suction pad 41 so that the lower end point PV of the suction pad 41 becomes the position P4.
(21) The transfer of the pieces is completed by stopping the vacuum pump 42 and releasing the pieces.

  Next, the CCD camera 13 will be described. The CCD camera 13 includes a CCD image sensor 13a and a signal processing unit 13b. In the first embodiment, the CCD image sensor 13a and the signal processing unit 13b are integrally formed, but may be formed separately. The CCD camera 13 constitutes the arrangement state recognition means of the present invention, and the CCD image sensor 13a constitutes the image sensor of the present invention.

  The CCD image sensor 13a couples light emitted from an object to be picked up to a light receiving plane of an image pickup device by an optical system such as a lens, photoelectrically converts light and darkness of the image light into an amount of electric charge, and sequentially reads out the electric Specifically, the signal is converted into a signal. Specifically, the upper surface 102a of the shogi board 102, the piece 201 on the shogi-playing robot 10 side, the piece 202 on the other side, and the piece on the shogi-playing robot 10 side arranged on the upper surface 102a. 203, the other party's holding piece 204, etc. are imaged and converted into electrical signals. In the first embodiment, the CCD image sensor 13a is a color type.

  The signal processing unit 13b extracts and recognizes feature points of the analysis object from the electrical signal converted by the CCD image sensor 13a. Specifically, the signal processing unit 13b performs the following (31) to (31) to The feature point of item (34) is extracted and recognized. The image captured by the CCD image sensor 13a and the image processed by the signal processing unit 13b can be displayed by an image display (not shown).

(31) The position and inclination of the grid 102b drawn on the upper surface 102a of the shogi board 102 (32) The direction, type, front and back, placement location (33) of the piece 200a on the board upper surface 102a of the shogi board 102 ) The presence / absence of the holding piece 203 on the shogi-playing robot 10 side, and the direction, type, front / back, and placement location of the holding piece 203 when there is the holding piece 203 (34) The presence / absence of the holding piece 204 on the other side and the holding piece 204 Direction, front and back, placement location

  A method for recognizing the feature point in the item (31) will be described. The shogi board 102 and the piece 200a on the board are imaged, and a predetermined process is performed on the obtained image to extract a straight line portion constituting the grid 102b. Then, the four corners of the straight line portion and the cell as a whole are calculated, and the position and inclination of the cell 102b are recognized from the positions of the four corners.

  A method for recognizing the feature point in the above item (32) will be described. The upper surface 102a of the shogi board 102 and the piece 201 on the board are imaged, the obtained image is subjected to predetermined processing, and each recognition point P11 shown in FIG. , P12, P13, P14, and P15 are extracted. Then, by calculating the position of the center of gravity G and the direction of the main axis X, it is possible to recognize the direction of the piece and where the piece is arranged in the mesh 102b. Therefore, if the direction of the piece is known, it can be recognized whether it is for the shogi game robot 10 or the opponent.

  Next, for each of the pieces 201 on the board arranged on the grid 102b, a part where a character is drawn and a part which is not so are extracted. Next, feature points of characters drawn on each of the pieces 201 on the board are extracted to recognize the type and the front and back of the pieces.

  A method for recognizing the feature points of the above items (33) and (34) will be described. The upper surface 101a of the table 101 and both holding pieces 200b are imaged, and a predetermined process is performed on the obtained image. The holding piece 203 of the shogi game robot 10 and the piece constituting the holding piece 204 on the other side are shown in FIG. The recognition points P11, P12, P13, P14, and P15 shown are extracted and the position of the center of gravity G and the direction of the main axis X are calculated, whereby the direction of the piece and the position of the piece on the upper surface 101a of the table 101 are arranged. Can recognize.

  Next, for each of the pieces constituting the holding piece 203 of the shogi game robot 10 and the opponent's holding piece 204 arranged on the upper surface 101a of the table 101, a portion where characters are drawn and a portion where it is not are extracted. . Next, feature points of characters drawn on each of the pieces 201 on the board are extracted to recognize the type and the front and back of the pieces.

  Next, the control device 14 will be described. The control device 14 includes a CPU board 57, a voice recognition board 58, a voice output board 59, and a control unit 60.

  The CPU board 57 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like, and includes a next hand determination unit 61, an operation command unit 62, a dialogue processing unit 63, a game ability setting unit 64, and a strategy setting unit 65.

  Next, the first move determination unit 61 will be described. The next move determination unit 61 determines the next move from the arrangement of the pieces 200a on the board recognized by the CCD camera 13 and the two pieces 200b. Specifically, the next move determination unit 61 reads a few moves ahead of the current hand, assumes that the opponent has done his best, and in that case, looks for the hand that will be most advantageous to him. It is configured. Quantify your opponent's “king”, get a piece, etc., and determine the next move from the highest evaluation. Evaluation is performed on each piece constituting the piece 201 and the holding piece 203 of the shogi game robot 10. The next one-hand determining unit 61 determines the strength of the shogi-playing robot 10 by setting the evaluation method and the number of hands to be evaluated. The next first-hand determination unit 61 constitutes the next first-hand determination means of the present invention.

  Next, the operation command unit 62 will be described. The operation command unit 62 determines the path of the piece so that it becomes the hand after the next first execution determined by the next first determination unit 61, and issues an operation command signal to the control unit 60. If there is one of the opponent's pieces 202 at the position of the above-mentioned piece after the next first execution, a command signal is issued to pick up the opponent's piece first. The operation command unit 62 is connected to a control unit 60 described later by wiring.

  Next, the dialogue processing unit 63 will be described. The dialogue processing unit 63 determines a word to respond to the partner based on the voice recognized by the voice recognition board 58 described later. For example, if the opponent speaks to the shogi game robot 10 “I want to play in class 5” before the game starts, the voice is recognized by the voice recognition board 58 through the microphone 15 to be described later, and the dialogue processing unit 63 receives a predetermined message. Is output, and a word corresponding to the signal, for example, “I understand” is determined. The words determined by the dialog processing unit 63 are output by the audio output board 59 and the speaker 16 described later.

  Further, the dialogue processing unit 63 has a function that the Shogi game robot 10 itself speaks (outputs voice). For example, if the next hand of the shogi game robot 10 is a king, the shogi game robot 10 itself can speak (output a voice) as “king”. You can also say “Waiting” if you are stuck with one of your opponents. The dialog processing unit 63 constitutes the word determining means of the present invention.

  Next, the game capability setting unit 64 will be described. The game ability setting unit 64 sets the game ability of the shogi game robot 10 in response to a request from the opponent. The request of the opponent is transmitted in words from the opponent side to the shogi game robot 10 side through the microphone 15. The opponent's words are recognized by a voice recognition board 58 described later, and the playing ability of the shogi playing robot 10 is set in the playing ability setting unit 64. Manual input means may be used. As described above, the function for setting the playing ability of the shogi playing robot 10 is referred to as a playing ability setting function.

  Then, the set playing ability is determined by the next move determination unit 61 described above, and a move according to the playing ability is determined. As a method of determining a move according to the above-mentioned game ability, for example, when there is a request of “5th class” from the opponent, read up to 2 moves, and when there is a request of “first class”, 5 moves ahead May be read.

  Next, the strategy setting unit 65 will be described. The strategy setting unit 65 sets a strategy for the shogi game robot 10 in response to a request from the opponent. The tactics include a flying car, a swinging car, a Yakura tactic, and the like, and there is a setting in which the shogi game robot 10 sets a strategy for each game and a game strategy is selected when requested by the opponent. When the opponent side sets the game strategy of the shogi game robot 10, it is transmitted in words from the opponent side to the shogi game robot 10 side through the microphone 15. The opponent's words are recognized by a voice recognition board 58 described later, and the strategy of the shogi-playing robot 10 is set in the strategy setting unit 65. Manual input means may be used. As described above, the function for setting the strategy of the shogi game robot 10 is referred to as a strategy setting function.

  Then, the set strategy is determined by the next move determination unit 61 described above, and the move corresponding to the strategy is determined.

  The next one-hand determining unit 61 can store all the hands from the beginning to the end of the game. Further, the operation command unit 62 can determine an operation procedure so as to reproduce the hand from the beginning to the end of the game based on the storage, and can issue an operation command signal to the control unit 60. Thereby, the control unit 60 can reproduce the hand from the beginning to the end of the game by controlling the movable unit 12. As described above, the function of reproducing the hand from the beginning to the end of the game is referred to as a game hand reproduction function.

Further, the operation command unit 62 has an automatic placement function for placing pieces that are separately arranged at the time of starting the game. The operation command unit 62 stores the arrangement of the pieces at the start of the game, compares the arrangement of the pieces arranged separately, determines an operation procedure, and outputs an operation command signal to the control unit 60. it can. Thereby, the said control part 60 can control the movable part 12, and can arrange | position the piece arrange | positioned separately to the arrangement | positioning of the piece at the time of a game start. It should be noted that the pieces arranged separately are recognized by the CCD camera 13 together with the cells 102b. As mentioned above,
The function of arranging the pieces arranged in pieces at the start of the game is referred to as an automatic arrangement function.

  Next, the voice recognition board 58 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the voice recognition board 58 includes an acoustic analysis unit, analyzes the voice of the other party input from the microphone 15, and extracts acoustic features. Then, the speech recognition engine recognizes the speech by comparing and comparing the acoustic feature extracted by the acoustic analysis unit with the acoustic model that is a statistical model of the distribution of the speech feature amount pattern in units of phonemes, The result is output to the dialogue processing unit of the CPU board 57. In the first embodiment, in addition to the acoustic model, a language model that defines the connection relationship between words is provided, and a continuous word, a sentence including a prefix, and a conjunction can be recognized. The microphone 15 and the voice recognition board 58 constitute voice recognition means of the present invention.

  Next, the audio output board 59 will be described. The voice output board 59 outputs the words determined by the dialog processing unit 63 described above. The shogi game robot 10 can also output the words it speaks. The audio output board 59 and the speaker 16 constitute audio output means.

  The microphone 15, the voice recognition board 58, the dialogue processing unit 63, the speaker 16, and the voice output board 59 constitute the dialogue means of the present invention.

  Next, the control unit 60 will be described. Based on the command signal from the operation command unit 62, the control unit 60 performs the drive unit (each servomotor 25, 38, 55, each linear servomotor 27, 39, vacuum pump 42) according to the command from the operation command unit 62. The electric chuck 43) is operated, and is composed of an arbor amplifier, a control circuit, and the like.

  The movable part 12, the next move determination part 61, the operation command part 62, and the control part 60 constitute a piece moving means of the present invention.

  Next, an operation procedure of the shogi game robot 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The following operation procedure is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

  In step 10, the level of the game ability of the shogi game robot 10 is set.

  In step 20, a strategy for the shogi game robot 10 is set.

  In step 30, the position and inclination of the grid 102b of the shogi board 102 are recognized.

  In step 40, the direction, type, front and back, placement location of the pieces constituting the piece 200, and whether it is that of the shogi-playing robot 10 or the opponent's side are recognized.

  In step 50, it is determined whether the number is on the shogi game robot 10 side or the other side. If the number is on the shogi game robot 10 side, step 60 is executed. If it is the other party's turn, the process proceeds to step 120.

  In step 60, the shogi game robot 10 determines the next move.

  In step 70, if the next hand of the shogi game robot 10 is king, the process proceeds to step 80. If it is not the king, go to step 90.

  In step 80, the voice of “king” is output to the opponent.

  In step 90, the movable part 12 is controlled and the next move on the shogi game robot 10 side is executed.

  In step 100, it is determined whether or not it is clogged. If it is clogged, step 110 is executed. If it is not clogged, step 120 is executed.

  In step 110, the game is terminated.

  In step 120, the other party performs the next move.

  In step 130, it is determined whether or not it is clogged. If it is clogged, step 110 is executed. If it is not clogged, step 140 is executed.

  In step 140, it is determined whether the opponent's hand is an excellent hand. If it is a good move, step 150 is executed. Step 160 is executed when the opponent's hand is an excellent hand that is jammed or close to the shogi game robot 10 side. If the opponent's hand is not an excellent hand, step 30 is executed. Note that step 160 need not be executed.

  In step 150, a voice is output saying "I'll do it very well".

  In step 160, “Waiting” is output as a voice. Proceed to step 170 after outputting the sound.

  In step 170, the opponent returns his hand. The shogi game robot 10 stops operating until the opponent returns his hand, and recognizes whether or not the opponent has returned the piece with the CCD camera 13. If the opponent returns, go to step 30. However, the next hand of the shogi game robot 10 at that time selects a hand different from the previous hand.

  According to the above configuration, the position of the shogi board 102, the arrangement of the piece 201, the piece 202, the holding piece 203, the holding piece 204, etc. are recognized by the CCD camera 13, and the next move determining unit 61 determines the next move from the recognition result. Can be determined. The operation command unit 62 can output a command signal to the control unit 60 and control the movable unit 12 so as to play the game so that the operation command unit 62 becomes the hand after the next one execution.

  As a result, even one person can actually enjoy playing a shogi game using a shogi piece.

  Moreover, since it has a dialogue means for dialogue with the opponent, the shogi game robot 10 can be more human and have a sense of realism during the game. In addition, the game ability of the game robot can be set according to the opponent's request, so you can match the opponent's game ability or set it to a higher game ability than the opponent's, so that the opponent's game ability The level can be improved. In addition, since the strategy of the shogi game robot 10 can be set according to the request of the opponent, various strategies can be enjoyed. Moreover, since the shogi game robot 10 can automatically arrange in the arrangement | positioning at the time of a game start, a game can be started even if an other party does not arrange. Further, it can be enjoyed that the shogi game robot 10 is automatically arranged in the arrangement at the start of the game. In addition, since the shogi game robot 10 reproduces the game, the game once completed can be enjoyed again.

  As a result, it can be used for a long time with a sense of affinity.

  In the above configuration, since the movable portion 12, the CCD camera 13, the control device 14, and the main body 11 are integrally configured, they can be easily carried.

  As a result, the same effects as described above can be obtained, and it is easy to carry around and enjoy the game.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the movable portion 12, the CCD camera 13, the control device 14, and the main body 11 are integrally configured. However, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. It is configured as a separate body, and only the next hand determination unit 61 among the CCD image sensor 13a, the signal processing unit 13b, the next hand determination unit 61, the control unit 60, and the operation command unit 62 is mounted on the main body unit 11. .

  According to the above configuration, the movable portion 12 is configured separately from the main body portion 11 and only the next hand determining portion 61 is mounted on the main body portion 11, so that the main body portion 11 can be made small and light. As a result, it can be configured to feel small and cute when looking at the main body 11, and a close feeling can be given. Incidentally, in the first embodiment, since the movable portion 12 is connected to the main body portion 11, the main body portion 11 needs to be heavy and large so that the main body portion 11 does not shift even if the movable portion 12 moves. It was.

(Third embodiment)
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the control unit 60 and the operation command unit 62 are connected by wiring, but the movable unit 12 and the control unit 60 are configured separately from the main body unit 11, You may make it perform the instruction | command from the operation command part 62 to the control part 60 by radio | wireless communication. The wireless communication means may be infrared or ultrasonic waves.

  As shown in FIG. 12, a transmission unit 66 and a reception unit 67 are provided, and wireless communication is performed between the transmission unit 66 and the reception unit 67. The transmission unit 66 is mounted on the main body unit 11 and connected to the operation command unit 62, and the reception unit 67 is connected to a control unit 60 configured separately from the main body unit 11. Then, the command signal of the operation command unit 62 is transmitted from the transmission unit 66, received by the reception unit 67, and the movable unit 12 is controlled by the control unit 60 based on the command signal. Although not shown, a transmission unit is further provided on the control unit 60 side, a reception unit is provided on the operation command unit 62 side, and position data of the servo motors 25, 38, 55 and linear servo motors 27, 39 are provided. May be sent to the operation command unit 62 side.

  According to the said structure, since the movable part 12 and the control part 60 are comprised separately from the main-body part 11, the main-body part 11 can be made lighter and small compared with 1st Embodiment. As a result, it can be configured to feel small and cute when looking at the main body 11, and a close feeling can be given.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the conversation with the opponent is performed. However, only by reproducing the sound in accordance with any one of the arrangement situation, the opponent's hand, and the shogi game robot 10's hand. Good. As shown in FIG. 13, the control device 14 is provided with a voice reproduction board 68 in place of the dialogue processing unit 63 of the voice recognition board 58, the voice output board 59, and the CPU board 57. As described above, the sound reproduction board 68 reproduces sound in accordance with any one of the arrangement status, the opponent's hand, and the shogi game robot 10's hand. In this case, the voice is reproduced as “king”, and when the shogi game robot 10 is clogged, “waited”. The audio reproduction board 68 constitutes an audio reproduction means of the present invention.

According to the above configuration, the other party can obtain a sense of realism at low cost without using the interactive means.

(Fifth embodiment)
The movable part 12 is not limited to that according to the first embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the arms may move along the X axis and the Y axis that are orthogonal to each other. The arm shown in FIG. 13 is composed of linear servo motors 71 and 72. The linear servo motor 71 includes a rail portion 71a and a movable block portion 71b that can move the rail portion 71a in the Y direction. The linear servo motor 72 includes a rail portion 72a and a movable block portion 72b that can move the rail portion 72a in the X direction. The hand 23 is connected to the movable block portion 72b.

(Other embodiments)
In the second embodiment, the movable unit 12 is configured separately from the main body unit 11, and the CCD image sensor 13 a, the signal processing unit 13 b, the next hand determining unit 61, the operation command unit 62, and the control unit 60 are as follows: Although only the one-hand determining unit 61 is mounted on the main body unit 11, the movable unit 12 is configured separately from the main body unit 11, and the next one-hand determining unit 61 and the operation command unit 62 are mounted on the main body unit 11. It may be. Alternatively, the movable unit 12 may be configured separately from the main body unit 11, and the following first-hand determining unit 61, the operation command unit 62, and the control unit 60 may be mounted on the main body unit 11. The movable unit 12 is configured separately from the main body unit 11, and the signal processing unit 13 b, the operation command unit 62, the next hand determination unit 61, the next hand determination unit 61, the operation command unit 62, and the control unit 60 are included in the main body unit 11. You may make it mount in. The movable unit 12 is configured separately from the main body unit 11, and the CCD image sensor 13 a, the operation command unit 62, the next first hand determination unit 61, the next first hand determination unit 61, the operation command unit 62, and the control unit 60 are included in the main body unit 11. You may make it mount in. Furthermore, the movable part 12 is configured separately from the main body part 11, and all of the CCD image sensor 13 a, the signal processing part 13 b, the next move determination part 61, the operation command part 62, and the control part 60 are mounted on the main body part 11. May be.

  In any of the above configurations, since the movable portion 12 is configured separately from the main body portion 11, the main body portion 11 is made smaller and lighter than the first embodiment for the same reason as in the second embodiment. it can. Further, according to the above configuration, any one or more of the CCD image sensor 13a, the signal processing unit 13b, the operation command unit 62, and the control unit 60 can be configured not to be mounted on the main body unit, and the movable unit 12 is simply installed on the main body unit. The main body 11 can be made smaller and lighter than the separate body 11. As a result, it can be configured to feel small and cute when looking at the main body 11, and a close feeling can be given.

  Although not shown, the movable part 12 may be an articulated arm part or hand part such as an arm part or hand part of a humanoid robot. Further, the arrangement state recognition means of the present invention may use a CMOS image sensor.

  Further, the movable part 12 may be configured separately from the main body part 11, and a moving means for moving the main body part 11 may be provided in the main body part 11. According to the said structure, the said main-body part 11 can move freely during a game.

  Further, the movable part 12 may be configured separately from the main body part 11, and a movable part different from the movable part 12 may be connected to the main body part 11.

It is a front view of the shogi game robot which showed the body part by a virtual line by a 1st embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the shogi game robot viewed from the direction A in FIG. 1. It is a partial cross section front view of the hand by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a partial cross section side view of the hand seen from the B direction of FIG. It is a partial cross section enlarged view of the inside-out part of the hand by a 1st embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional plan view as seen from the H direction of the inverted portion of the hand of FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the shogi game robot by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the recognition point of the shogi piece by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an apparatus block diagram by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is operation | movement procedure explanatory drawing of the shogi game robot by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the shogi game robot by a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the shogi game robot by 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is an apparatus block diagram by 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the shogi game robot by a 5th embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Shogi game robot 11 ... Main-body part 11a ... Side surface 12 ... Movable part 13 ... CCD camera (arrangement state recognition means)
13a: CCD image sensor (image sensor)
13b ... Signal processing unit 14 ... Control device 15 ... Microphone (interaction means)
16 ... Speaker (voice output means, dialogue means)
17 ... Mounting bracket 18 ... (missing number)
19 ... Connector 20 ... 1st arm (arm part)
21 ... Swivel device (arm part)
22 ... Second arm (arm)
23 ... Hand (holding part)
24 ... Connector 25 ... Servo motor (drive unit)
25a ... Main body 25b ... Output shaft 26 ... Turning base 27 ... Linear servo motor (drive unit)
27a ... Body part 27b ... Output part 28 ... Hand mounting plate 29 ... Rotating part 30 ... Transfer part 31 ... Inverted part 32 ... Base 32a ... Through hole 32b ... Side 33 ... Bearing 34 ... Bearing 35 ... Rotating shaft 35a ... Upper end 35b ... lower end 36 ... first gear 37 ... second gear 38 ... servo motor (drive unit)
38a ... Output shaft 39 ... Linear servo motor (drive unit)
39a ... main body 39b ... output shaft 39c ... end 40 ... plate 41 ... suction pad 42 ... vacuum pump (drive unit)
43 ... Electric chuck (drive unit)
43a ... main body 43b ... arm plate 43c ... arm plate 43d ... hole 43e ... hole 44 ... (missing number)
45 ... (missing number)
46 ... Bearing 47 ... Bearing 48 ... Bearing 49 ... Bearing 50 ... Claw 50a ... Shaft 51 ... Claw 51a ... Hole 52 ... (missing number)
53 ... 1st bevel gear 54 ... 2nd bevel gear 55 ... Servo motor (drive part)
55a ... output shaft 56 ... guide pin 57 ... CPU board 58 ... voice recognition board (voice recognition means, dialogue means)
59. Audio output board (audio output means, dialog means)
60 ... Control unit 61 ... Next move determination unit (next move determination means)
62 ... Operation command unit 63 ... Dialogue processing unit (word determination means, dialogue means)
64 ... Playing ability setting unit 65 ... Strategies setting unit 66 ... Transmitting unit 67 ... Receiving unit 68 ... Audio reproduction board (audio reproduction means)
69… (missing number)
70 ... (missing number)
71 ... Linear servo motor 71a ... Rail portion 71b ... Movable block 72 ... Linear servo motor 72a ... Rail portion 72b ... Movable block 101 ... Table 101a ... Upper surface 102 ... Shogi board 102a ... Upper surface 102b ... Grid 200 ... Piece 200a ... On board Piece 200b ... Both holding pieces 201 ... Piece 202 ... Piece 203 ... Holding piece 204 ... Holding piece DG ... External dimension G ... Center of gravity PV ... Bottom point P1 ... Position P2 ... Position P3 ... Position P4 ... Position P5 ... Position P11 ... Recognition point P12 ... Recognition point P13 ... Recognition point P14 ... Recognition point P15 ... Recognition point

Claims (13)

A shogi game robot that plays against the opponent using a shogi board and pieces,
An arrangement status recognition means for recognizing the arrangement status of the shogi board and the piece;
The next move determining means for determining the next move on the Shogi game robot side from the placement status of the shogi board recognized by the placement status recognition means, and the piece;
A piece moving means for performing a predetermined operation so as to become a hand after execution of the next hand determined by the next hand determining means;
A shogi game robot characterized by comprising The piece moving means can hold the piece and can be turned over,
An arm unit connected to the holding unit and operable in a predetermined direction;
A control unit that arbitrarily controls the operation of the holding unit and the arm unit by controlling a driving unit that is provided in the holding unit and the arm unit and drives each of the holding unit and the arm unit;
An operation procedure of the arm unit and the holding unit is determined so as to become a hand after the execution of the next hand determined by the next hand determination unit connected to the control unit, An operation command unit for outputting a command signal;
Consists of
The shogi game robot according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit so that the holding unit and the arm unit move along the command signal. The arm is connected to a main body constituting the main body of the shogi game robot;
3. The shogi game robot according to claim 2, wherein the arrangement state recognizing unit, the next first determining unit, the control unit, and the operation command unit are mounted on the main body unit. The arrangement status recognition means, the shogi board, one or more image sensors for imaging the arrangement status of the pieces;
A signal processing unit that converts an image captured by the image sensor into a predetermined signal and recognizes the arrangement status of the pieces;
Consists of
The holding part and the arm part are configured separately from a main body part constituting a main body of the shogi game robot,
The shogi game according to claim 2, wherein at least the next hand determining means is mounted on the main body portion among the image sensor, the signal processing section, the next hand determining means, the operation command section, and the control section. robot. The piece moving means can hold the piece and can be turned over,
An arm unit connected to the holding unit and operable in a predetermined direction;
A control unit that arbitrarily controls the operation of the holding unit and the arm unit by controlling a driving unit that is provided in the holding unit and the arm unit and drives each of the holding unit and the arm unit;
The control unit is configured separately from the control unit, and determines the operation procedure of the arm unit and the holding unit so as to be a hand after the next one-step execution determined by the next one-hand determination unit, and the control unit An operation command unit that issues an operation command signal by wireless communication,
Consists of
The shogi game robot according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit so that the holding unit and the arm unit move along the command signal. The holding part and the arm part control part are configured separately from a main body part constituting a main body of the shogi game robot,
The shogi game robot according to claim 5, wherein the next one-hand determining means and the operation command section are mounted on the main body section. 7. The shogi game robot according to claim 1, further playing a sound according to any one of the placement status, the opponent's hand, and the shogi game robot's hand. A shogi game robot having a voice reproducing means.   The shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising dialogue means for dialogue with the opponent. A voice recognition means for recognizing the partner's word;
Word determining means for determining a word corresponding to the word recognized by the voice recognition means;
Voice output means for outputting the words determined by the word determination means;
The shogi game robot according to claim 8, comprising: The shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a game capability setting function for setting a game capability of the game robot in response to the request of the opponent.
A shogi game robot in which, when the game ability is set by the game ability setting function, the next move determining means determines the next move so as to exert the game ability. The shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a strategy setting function for setting a strategy of the game robot in response to a request from the opponent.
A shogi game robot in which, when the strategy is set by the strategy setting function, the next move determining means determines the next move so as to become the strategy.   12. The shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising an automatic arrangement function in which the shogi game robot automatically arranges the pieces arranged separately in an arrangement at the start of the game. There is a shogi game robot.   The shogi game robot according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising a game hand reproduction function for reproducing the game.

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