JP2599731B2 - Space Robot Operation Support System - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Outline Regarding a space robot operation support system, an object of the invention is to provide a space robot operation support system capable of operating a robot installed in space safely and securely. An installed robot, a computer, an image display device that can display two sets of images of the simulated robot connected to the computer, and a robot displayed on the image display device can be moved arbitrarily in the three-dimensional coordinate space Robot operation device, delay means for delaying the operation of one of the robots displayed on the image display device for a predetermined time, and communication means for performing communication between the robot installed in outer space and the computer. When the other robot displayed on the image display device is operated by the robot control device, the operation data of this robot is simultaneously displayed. Data to a robot installed in outer space via communication means,
The one robot displayed on the image display device is configured to perform the same operation with a delay of the predetermined time.

The present invention relates to a space robot operation support system.

In recent years, the practical use of the Space Shuttle has been one of the triggers, and there is great expectation for experiments and manufacturing in advanced technology fields such as new materials and biotechnology that utilize the special environment of the universe (microgravity, ultra-vacuum, etc.). It has become to. Conventionally, there has been a great deal of interest in the industrial world for technologies that utilize the position of outer space, such as satellite communication and resource remote sensing, and in recent years, in particular, the satellite communication field using geostationary satellites such as Intelsat has been remarkably developed. I have.

When conducting various experiments such as production of new materials in outer space, experiments may be performed by astronauts.However, due to the need to change the plan based on the results during the experiment, the space station etc. It is expected that a robot mounted on a vehicle will be used. Further, when assembling a structure such as a space station in outer space, it is expected that a robot will be used due to severe environmental conditions. In such a case, it is conceivable to control the robot by an astronaut on board the space station. However, there is a case where it is desired to operate the robot from the ground using satellite communication.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of communication between the space station and the ground. The space station 2 orbits several hundred km above the earth 1, and communication between the earth 1 and the space station 2 is performed. Uses the space shuttle 3. The space shuttle 3 stays in outer space for several days to several weeks, is returned to the earth, and is reused. The orbits of Space Station 2 and Space Shuttle 3 are several hundred kilometers high,
The orbiting time is as short as 1.5 hours to 2 hours.
For this reason, if it is attempted to directly communicate between the space station 2 or the space shuttle 3 and the earth station 4,
Since the communication time is very short, generally 36,000 on the equator
Communication is performed via a geostationary satellite 5 that is stationary over 1,000 km.

Similarly, when the robot mounted on the space station 2 is controlled from the ground, it is expected that the robot is controlled via the geostationary satellite 5. In this manner, the space robot is controlled from the ground via the geostationary satellite. In this case, the operation of the space robot is very difficult due to the delay of the operation instruction information due to the communication line and the delay of the image information for confirming the operation of the robot in outer space. Therefore, a system for supporting this difficult maneuver is desired.

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a currently considered space robot steering system. Reference numeral 10 denotes a robot mounted on a space station or the like.
And a lighting device 14. The space station is further provided with a plurality of TV cameras 16 for displaying the work environment of the robot 10 on the ground, an information transmission device 18 for transmitting information to and from the ground, and a robot 10.
A robot controller 20 for controlling the movement of the robot is provided.

On the ground side, on the other hand, an information transmission device 22 for transmitting information to and from outer space is provided. A plurality of TV monitors 24 are connected to the information transmission device 22, and the TV cameras 12, 1
6 images are displayed. Reference numeral 26 denotes a robot control device such as a teaching box, which is connected to the information transmission device 22 via a robot control device controller 28.

However, the robot 10 installed in outer space on the ground side
When the operator operates the robot, the operator operates the robot operation device 26 while observing the TV monitor 24 to operate the robot.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, as described above, when a robot installed in space from the ground is controlled, 36,000 on the equator is required.
Since control is performed by satellite communication via a geostationary satellite that is stationary above Km, the image on the TV monitor 24 is delayed by a predetermined time (for example, about 0.5 second) from the actual movement of the robot 10. . In addition, since the transmission capacity of satellite communication is limited, there is a possibility that, for example, only one image per second may be obtained without obtaining a complete moving image on the TV monitor 24. Therefore, there is a problem that it is very difficult for the operator to operate the robot 10 installed in the outer space while observing the TV monitor 24.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a space robot operation support system that can safely and reliably operate a robot installed in space. is there.

Means for Solving the Problems FIG. 1 shows a principle block diagram of the present invention.

An image display device 32 capable of displaying two sets of simulated robot images on a computer 30 and a robot control device 26 capable of arbitrarily moving the robot displayed on the image display device 32 in a three-dimensional coordinate space. Connecting. In addition, the calculator
A robot data file 38 storing robot data and a space environment data file 40 storing space environment data are connected to 30, and the operation of one of the robots displayed on the image display device 32 is delayed for a predetermined time. A delay unit 34 is provided, and a communication unit 36 for performing communication between the robot 10 installed in the outer space and the computer 30 is provided.

Action The robot data from the robot data file 38 is
The data of the space environment in which the robot 10 is installed is read into the computer 30 from the space environment data file 40, and the robot used in space and the environment are simulated on the image display device (graphic display) 32 to form two sets. One of them is displayed, for example, completely filled, and the other is displayed translucently.

One of the robots displayed on the image display device 32 (for example, a painted one) is operated by the robot control device 26, and at the same time, the operation data of the robot is transmitted to the robot 10 installed in the space via the communication means 36. Forward. Further, the other robot (for example, the one that is displayed translucently) displayed on the image display device 32 is operated in the same manner with a delay of a predetermined time by the delay unit. In order to operate the actual robot 10 installed in the outer space, once the image display device 32
Edit the operation of the robot above, confirm the operation, and then start the operation.

The operator can operate the robot 10 installed in the outer space while observing the robot operating in real time and the robot operating with a predetermined delay on the image display device 32, so that the robot 10 can be operated safely and reliably. Can be.

Embodiments The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the system of the present invention.
The same components as those of the conventional system shown in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Reference numeral 10 denotes a robot installed in the space station. The robot 10 has a TV camera 12 and a lighting device 14 attached thereto. The space station will also have a robot work environment
A plurality of TV cameras 16 are installed, an information transmission device 18 for transmitting information to and from the ground, and a robot controller 20 for controlling the movement of the robot 10 are provided.

On the ground side, an information transmission device 22 for transmitting information to and from outer space is provided.
Has multiple TV monitors displaying images from TV cameras 12 and 16
24 are connected. Reference numeral 42 denotes a space robot simulator composed of, for example, a computer. The space robot simulator 42 is connected to a robot data file 38 storing robot data and a space environment data file 40 storing space environment data. In addition, the motion of the robot 10 installed in the outer space is simulated, and two sets of images of the robot are superimposed and can be displayed on an image display device (graphic display) 32.

Of the two sets of images, for example, the image of one robot is painted out, and the image of the other robot is displayed translucently so as to distinguish the two sets of images. The image display device 32 is capable of displaying a robot image three-dimensionally, and also performs enlargement / reduction / translation / rotation of an image in a part that cannot be seen by the TV cameras 12 and 16. Thus, the image can be displayed on the image display device 32. Reference numeral 26 denotes a robot control device such as a teaching box, which is connected to a space robot simulator 42 via a robot control device controller 44. A delay circuit is provided in the space robot simulator 42, and one image (for example, a translucent one) is displayed for a predetermined time (for example, about 1
Seconds) It is programmed to operate with a delay.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of a teaching box 45 which is an embodiment of the robot control device 26. The teaching box 45 has twelve θ ₁ to θ ₆ drive buttons for driving the six axes of the robot. When the left button on each row is pressed, the motor rotates forward, and when the right button is pressed, the motor rotates reverse. It is supposed to. The two buttons at the bottom are hand opening / closing buttons. When the left button is pressed, the hand opens, and when the right button is pressed, the hand closes. 4 steps on the left side of the teaching box 45
A plurality of edit buttons are provided, and by pressing these buttons, the position information of the robot at the time of teaching can be stored in the memory of the robot controller 44. 46 is an LED display, and 48 is an emergency stop button for stopping the runaway of the robot. Reference numeral 50 denotes a mode switching switch for switching between XYZ mode, hand mode, and θ mode; 52, a speed control switch for switching between one-step mode, low-speed mode, and speed-up mode; and 54, which switches the speed in three stages. It is a speed changeover switch.

Although the specific embodiment of the robot control device 26 is constituted as described above, for example, other robot control devices as described in JP-A-58-211212 can of course be used.

FIG. 4 shows a display example of the image display device 32. The display screen is divided into, for example, four, and a top view, a front view, a side view, and a perspective view are respectively displayed by a multi-window method. In each window, two sets of the robot image are displayed as a solid image and a translucent image. Also, according to the operator's selection, only one of the images displayed in these windows can be enlarged and displayed on the entire display screen. Further, on the image display device 32, an image viewed from the direction of the TV camera 12 attached to the robot 10 can be simulated and displayed.

However, the robot data is read from the robot data file 38 and the space environment data where the robot is installed from the space environment data file 40 into the space robot simulator 42, and two sets are displayed on the image display device 32 in a superimposed manner. At this time, one of the robots is displayed in a completely filled state, and the other robot is displayed in a translucent manner to distinguish the two robots. When the robot control device 26 as shown in FIG. 3 is operated, the robot which is painted out of the two sets of robots on the image display device 32 operates in real time. At the same time, the operation data of the robot is transferred to the robot 10 installed in the space via the information transmission devices 22 and 18, and the robot controller 20 operates the robot 10. The other robot (semi-transparent robot) displayed on the image display device 32 performs the same operation with a delay of a predetermined time (for example, about 1 second).

Before operating the robot 10 installed in outer space,
Once the operation of the robot is edited on the image display device 32 and the operation is confirmed, the robot 10 is operated based on the data. Thereby, the robot 10 installed in the outer space can be operated safely and reliably. Further, the operator can control the robot 10 installed in the outer space while observing the two robots displayed on the image display device 32, so that the control can be performed relatively easily.

The robot 10 was mounted on the image display device 32.
Since the image viewed from the direction of the TV camera 12 can be simulated and displayed, it is easy to predict on the ground side how the robot 10 installed in space is approaching the target object. And as a result, the maneuverability of the robot,
Work efficiency can be greatly improved.

For example, when a TV camera is attached to the tip of a six-degree-of-freedom articulated robot, the viewpoint position and direction can be obtained by using the method disclosed in JP-A-60-20876. Can be. Robot tip position
The viewpoint position / direction is determined from the camera mounting position / direction for the posture value, and this data is passed to the image display device 32. Thereby, the image can be displayed on the image display device viewed from the TV camera attached to the tip of the robot.

Effects of the Invention Since the space robot operation support system of the present invention is configured as described in detail above, it is very easy to operate the robot installed in space, and it is possible to operate the robot safely and reliably. It works.

[Brief description of the drawings]

 1 is a block diagram of the principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the system of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a robot control device, FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of communication between the space station and the ground, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a conventional system. 10 …… Robot, 12,16 …… TV camera, 14 …… Lighting device, 26 …… Robot operation device, 30 …… Computer, 32 …… Image display device, 34 …… Delay means, 36 …… Communication means, 38 …… Robot data file, 40 …… Space environment data file.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A robot (10) installed in outer space,
A computer (30), an image display device (32) connected to the computer (30) and capable of displaying two sets of simulated robot images, and a robot displayed on the image display device (32) in three dimensions. Robotic control device that can move arbitrarily in coordinate space (26)
And delay means (34) for delaying the operation of one of the robots displayed on the image display device (32) for a predetermined time, and communication between the robot (10) installed in outer space and the computer (30). Communication means (36) for operating the other robot displayed on the image display device (32) by the robot control device (26), and simultaneously transmitting the operation data of this robot to the communication means (36). And transferring the one robot displayed on the image display device (32) to the same operation by delaying the predetermined time by the predetermined time. Robot operation support system. 2. A camera (12) is mounted on a robot (10) installed in outer space, and an image viewed from the camera is simulated and displayed on an image display device (32). 2. A space robot operation support system according to claim 1.