JP4219996B2 - robot - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a robot whose direction and movement are controlled by remote operation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, robots have been developed that work on behalf of humans in environments where it is difficult for humans to work directly, such as in the deep sea and outer space, and in environments that are dangerous for humans, such as in nuclear power plants. Also, a robot remote control system is considered in which an operator (operator) moves the robot by remote operation in an emergency or the like when the robot cannot operate autonomously for some reason.
[0003]
In recent years, robots are also moved by remote operation in an environment where there are humans such as hospitals and office buildings, and in such an environment, safety is particularly required.
As an example of such a robot remote control system, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-26491 discloses that a camera automatically tracks a subject such as a manipulator, reduces troublesome camera work, and allows an operator to concentrate on robot operation. A robot remote control system has been proposed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-285786 discloses that the camera installation position is moved following the movement of the manipulator so that the relative position between the camera and the subject such as a manipulator is always kept constant. A robot remote control system has been proposed in which an operator can always operate at regular intervals.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In an environment where it is necessary to move the robot while considering the safety of the surroundings, it is necessary that the surroundings be the subject of the camera rather than the robot itself. However, the conventional proposal shown in the above publication is a proposal that pursues how to follow the movement of the subject with the robot itself or a part of the robot as a subject. It is not appropriate from the standpoint of avoiding contact with objects and ensuring the surrounding safety.
[0005]
In addition, it is conceivable to install a camera around the robot as a subject, but even in that case, the following problems can be considered from the viewpoint of avoiding contact with an obstacle.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of problems when a camera is installed on a robot and configured to project the surroundings of the robot.
[0006]
As shown in FIG. 3A, a camera 11 is set on the robot 10.
This camera 11 has a field of view indicated by a dotted line in the figure, and is freely rotated in the direction of arrow AA ′ by a pan mechanism 12.
The robot 10 itself is also configured to be rotatable in the direction indicated by the arrow BB ′.
[0007]
Here, it is assumed that the camera 11 catches the obstacle 20 as shown in FIG. 3A, and the robot 10 rotates in the direction of arrow B as shown in FIG. 3B in order to avoid the obstacle. . Then, the camera 11 installed in the robot 10 is also fixed together, and the obstacle 20 may be out of the field of view of the camera 11, and if the robot 11 continues to rotate in the direction of the arrow B as it is, there is a risk that it will come into contact with the obstacle. There is. Therefore, in this case, when the obstacle 20 moves out of the field of view of the camera 11 as shown in FIG. 3B, the rotation of the robot 11 is temporarily stopped, and the camera 11 is moved as shown in FIG. It is necessary to perform a complicated operation of rotating the robot 10 in the direction of arrow A, which is opposite to the direction of arrow B, which is the rotation direction of the robot 10, and then restarting the rotation of the robot 10 until the camera 20 is captured again in the field of view of the camera 11. Become. Usually, an operator needs to perform various operations for exercising the original function of the robot 10 including rotation and movement of the robot 10, and complicated camera operations as described above are necessary to avoid obstacles. In such a case, the operator is burdened and the risk of causing an operation error increases, which is extremely dangerous especially in an environment where there are humans around.
[0008]
In view of the circumstances described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a remotely operated robot that further improves safety by reducing troublesome camera operations performed by an operator so that the operator can concentrate on the robot operations. To do.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The robot of the present invention that achieves the above object is a robot whose direction and movement are controlled by remote control.
A rotation / movement control unit for controlling the direction and movement of the robot in response to a command by remote operation;
A camera that can change its orientation,
And a camera control unit that changes the direction of the camera to a direction opposite to the direction of change of the robot direction when the direction of the robot is changed by the rotation / movement control unit.
[0010]
Here, in the robot of the present invention, the camera control unit inputs a command for instructing a change of the robot direction input to the rotation / movement control unit by remote operation, and the camera direction is changed based on the command. The camera control unit may detect the amount of change in the orientation of the robot and change the direction of the camera based on the detected amount of change.
[0011]
Further, in the robot of the present invention, the camera control unit receives a command instructing to change the camera direction by remote operation, and changes the camera direction, and the timing of changing the robot direction, When the timing at which a command to change the camera direction is received overlaps, the camera direction is changed by the total change amount of the camera direction change amount and the robot direction change amount by the command. It is preferable that
[0012]
The robot of the present invention changes the direction of the camera in the reverse direction in response to the change of the direction of the robot, thereby reducing troublesome camera operation, and the operator can concentrate on the robot operation accordingly. Safety is improved.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a robot remote control system including a robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The robot remote control system shown in FIG. 1 includes a robot 100 and a remote operation device 200, and communication is performed between the antenna 101 on the robot 100 side and the antenna 201 on the remote operation device 200 side by radio waves. The robot 100 is provided with a camera 102 that captures the environment around the robot 100, the direction of which can be freely changed, and a video signal obtained by the camera 102 is a robot control unit that is responsible for communication with the remote control device 200. The remote control device 200 receives the transmitted video signal at the remote control control unit 202 responsible for communication with the robot 100 and sends it to the monitor 203 that displays an image. Then, an image based on the video signal is displayed on the monitor 203.
[0014]
On the other hand, the remote operation device 200 is provided with a robot operator 204 for operating the direction and movement of the robot 100 and a camera operator 205 for operating the direction of the camera 102 installed in the robot 100. When the operator operates these controls 204 and 205, the remote operation control unit 202 generates a robot operation signal and a camera operation signal, respectively, and transmits them to the robot 100. On the robot 100 side, the transmitted robot operation signal and camera operation signal are received by the robot control unit 103 and input to the rotation / movement control unit 104 and the camera control unit 105, respectively. The rotation / movement control unit 104 controls the rotation and movement of the robot 100 as a whole by controlling the rotation amount of the wheel 106 responsible for the rotation and movement of the robot 100 based on the input robot operation signal. The control unit 105 controls the orientation of the camera 102 based on the input camera operation signal.
[0015]
Here, the robot operation signal received by the robot control unit 103 is also input to the camera control unit 105, and the camera control unit 105 indicates the direction (rotation) of the robot 100. In this case, the orientation of the camera 102 is controlled based on the robot operation signal as follows. That is, when the operator operates the robot operation element 204 without operating the camera operation element 205 to instruct a change in the direction of the robot 100, a robot operation signal is generated to instruct a change in the direction of the robot. The direction of the robot 100 is changed by being input to the rotation / movement control unit 104 and the robot operation signal instructing the change of the direction of the robot is also input to the camera control unit 105. The orientation of the robot 100 is set so that the orientation of the camera 102 relative to the robot 100 is opposite to the orientation change of the robot 102 so that the same subject remains in the field of view of the camera 102 even if the orientation of the robot 100 is changed. Change only the same angle as the change angle. In this way, even if the orientation of the robot 100 is changed, the same subject, for example, an obstacle at the time of movement, is continuously displayed on the monitor 203. Therefore, the operator can change the orientation of the robot 100 with the camera. The need to change the direction of the 102 at the same time is released, the operator's operation mistakes are reduced, and the risk of contact between the robot and the obstacle due to the movement of the robot is reduced.
[0016]
When the robot operator 204 is operated to instruct to change the orientation of the robot 100, and similarly the camera operator 205 is operated to instruct to change the orientation of the camera 102, the camera control unit 105 Even if the orientation of the robot 100 is changed based on both the camera operation signal and the robot operation signal, the orientation of the robot 100 is changed when the orientation of the camera 102 immediately before the orientation change of the robot 100 is used as a reference orientation. Regardless, the camera orientation is controlled so that the orientation of the camera is changed from the reference orientation by an amount of change in the orientation of the camera indicated by the camera operation signal.
[0017]
By controlling the direction of the camera 2 as described above, it is possible to operate the camera independent of the change in the direction of the robot.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a remote control system including a robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Differences from the robot remote control system shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
In the example shown in FIG. 1, the robot operation signal received by the robot control unit 103 is input to the rotation / movement control unit 104 and also to the camera control unit 105. The camera control unit 105 includes the camera operation signal. Although the orientation of the camera 102 is controlled based on the robot operation signal, in the example shown in FIG. 2, the robot operation signal received by the robot control unit 103 is input only to the rotation / movement control unit 104 to control the camera. The part 105 is not directly input. Instead, the rotation / movement control unit 104 detects the rotation amount of each wheel 106, and the rotation amount of each wheel 106 is combined to detect the rotation amount of the robot 100 as a whole, and the detected robot The rotation amount as a whole 100 is input to the camera control unit 105. In the camera control unit 105, the input rotation amount of the robot 100 is handled as a signal equivalent to the robot operation signal instead of the robot operation signal in the first embodiment shown in FIG.
[0018]
In the case of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, since the actual rotation amount of the robot 100 is detected and the direction of the camera 102 is controlled, the direction of the camera 102 is controlled more accurately than in the first embodiment. Can do.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even if the orientation of the robot is changed, it is possible to prevent the orientation of the camera from being changed at the same time. As a result, it is possible to concentrate on the operation of the robot, and safety is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a robot remote control system including a robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a robot remote control system including a robot according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of problems when a camera is installed on a robot and configured to project the surroundings of the robot.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Robot 101 Antenna 102 Camera 103 Robot control part 104 Rotation / movement control part 105 Camera control part 106 Wheel 200 Remote operation device 201 Antenna 202 Remote operation control part 203 Monitor 204 Robot operation element 205 Camera operation element

Claims (3)

In a robot that moves and the direction of the robot that determines the moving direction is remotely controlled ,
A rotation-movement control unit for controlling the orienta - tion of the robot in response to a command by remote control,
A camera that is mounted on the robot and that determines the field of view from the mounted position, and is capable of changing the orientation relative to the orientation of the robot ;
In response to a command for instructing a change of the camera direction by remote operation, the direction of the camera is changed to determine the field of view from the mounted position ,
When the orientation of the robot is changed by the pre-Symbol Rotation and movement control unit, the orientation of the camera relative to the robot and the direction of change direction of the robot in the opposite direction of the robot orientation change angle identical to Change based on the angle ,
If the timing of changing the orientation of the robot overlaps with the timing of receiving an instruction to change the orientation of the camera, the camera immediately before the change of the orientation of the robot is changed even if the orientation of the robot is changed The orientation of the camera with respect to the robot is changed to a direction opposite to the change direction of the robot using the same angle as the change angle of the robot so that the orientation of the robot is maintained as a reference orientation, Camera control for changing the camera direction to a change direction by a command for instructing a change in the camera direction by a change angle of the camera direction by a command for instructing a change in the camera direction, based on the maintained camera direction A robot characterized by comprising a part. The camera control unit inputs a command for instructing a change in the direction of the robot, which is input to the rotation / movement control unit by remote control, and changes the direction of the camera based on the command for instructing a change in the direction of the robot. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the robot is changed. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the camera control unit detects a change angle of the direction of the robot and changes the direction of the camera based on the detected change angle .

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