Human collaborative robot system having improved external force detection accuracy by machine learning

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10324425-B2
Application number	US-201715782371-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 12, 2017
Priority date	Oct 19, 2016
Publication date	Jun 18, 2019
Grant date	Jun 18, 2019

Abstract

A human collaborative robot system having a function of detecting a force includes a human collaborative robot and a learning unit into which sensing data, internal data, and calculation data are input. The learning unit outputs a first force component applied to the human collaborative robot from outside, a second force component occurring in an operation of the human collaborative robot, and a third force component categorized as noise; and performs learning using supervised data in which inputs and correct labels obtained in advance are collected in pairs, wherein the correct labels of the supervised data are obtained by exerting a force on the human collaborative robot from outside, operating the human collaborative robot over a plurality of paths, and applying noise to the human collaborative robot, and the operation of the human collaborative robot is controlled based on the first force component output from the learning unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A human collaborative robot system having a function of detecting a force, the human collaborative robot system comprising:
a human collaborative robot that performs operation in collaboration with a human; and
a learning unit which
receives
sensing data for calculating the force,
internal data of control software for controlling the human collaborative robot, and
data of the calculated force obtained based on at least one of the sensing data and the internal data,

performs learning using supervised data in which inputs and correct labels obtained in advance of said learning are collected in pairs, wherein the correct labels of the supervised data are obtained in advance by
exerting a force on the human collaborative robot from outside,
operating the human collaborative robot over a plurality of paths, and
applying noise to the human collaborative robot, and

based on a result of said learning, extracts from the data of the calculated force
a first force component applied to the human collaborative robot from outside,
a second force component occurring in the operation of the human collaborative robot, and
a third force component categorized as noise,

wherein the operation of the human collaborative robot is controlled based on the extracted first force component output from the learning unit.

2. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , wherein forces having different magnitudes and different directions are exerted on a plurality of portions of the human collaborative robot stopped in a plurality of postures, and the exerted forces and the inputs to the learning unit are collected in pairs as the supervised data of the first force component.

3. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , wherein force components occurring when the human collaborative robot operates over the plurality of paths, while holding a plurality of types of works, and the inputs to the learning unit are collected in pairs as the supervised data of the second force component.

4. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , wherein a noise source is applied to the human collaborative robot stopped in a plurality of postures, and fourth force components occurring by the noise source and the inputs to the learning unit are collected in pairs as the supervised data of the third force component.

5. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 2 , wherein a mode for teaching at least one of the first force component and the second force component is prepared.

6. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 2 , wherein the human collaborative robot includes:
a function of choosing a model group to be learned by the learning unit from model groups of the collected supervised data; or
a function of recommending a model group to be used in accordance with an application, from model groups of a recorded force.

7. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , wherein the learning unit performs online learning.

8. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , wherein, when the human collaborative robot is put in a non-collaborative operation mode in which no operation area is shared with the human, the learning unit performs online learning with a correct label of the first force component set at “0”.

9. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , wherein
the human collaborative robot includes a control device which stops the human collaborative robot in response to the first force component exceeding a certain threshold value, and
after the stop of the human collaborative robot, in response to a first input signal indicating that the stop is caused by a false detection of the first force component by the learning unit, the learning unit performs online learning using input data immediately before the stop of the human collaborative robot and a correct label of an external force set at a value lower than the certain threshold value in a pair.

10. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 9 , wherein
after the stop of the human collaborative robot, in response to a second input signal indicating that the stop is caused by a normal detection of the first force component by the learning unit, an input signal to and an output signal from the learning unit immediately before the stop of the human collaborative robot are stored in a memory as the supervised data, and the supervised data stored in the memory is used in online learning thereafter.

11. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 10 , wherein the first input signal and the second input signal are operation restart signals for the human collaborative robot.

12. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 10 , wherein
the second input signal is
a human-generated signal, or
a signal generated using an image recognition result by a camera for imaging the human collaborative robot, or
a signal from an approach sensor.

13. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , wherein
the human collaborative robot system
stops the human collaborative robot in response to the first force component exceeding a certain threshold value, and
detects an urgent force pattern when the human collaborative robot is stopped by a human-applied external force, and

in response to a detection of the urgent force pattern, the learning unit performs online learning using input data immediately before the detection of the urgent force pattern and a correct label of an external force set at a value higher than the certain threshold value in a pair.

14. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of human collaborative robots, wherein
each of the human collaborative robots performs learning in an independent manner, and
the human collaborative robots mutually exchange or share a plurality of results of learning independently performed by each of the human collaborative robots through a network.

15. The human collaborative robot system according to claim 1 , wherein
the first force component is a human-applied external force exerted on the human collaborative robot;
the second force component is an internal force generated in the operation of the human collaborative robot; and
the third force component is noise applied to the human collaborative robot, or
the human collaborative robot performs:
storing a log of a force detected by the human collaborative robot in one cycle of a taught operation program;
storing logs of the force detected in a plurality of cycles;
applying signal synthesis or signal processing to the logs of the force detected in the cycles, to extract a force component occurring in the operation of the robot; and
performing online learning by the learning unit, using the extracted force component occurring in the operation of the human collaborative robot as a correct label.

Assignees

• Fanuc Corp

Inventors

• Takahashi Shougo

Classifications

• G01L25/00

  Testing or calibrating of apparatus for measuring force, torque, work, mechanical power, or mechanical efficiency · CPC title

• G05B2219/39165

  Evolution, best performing control strategy is transmitted to other robots · CPC title

• G05B2219/40202

  Human robot coexistence · CPC title

• G05B2219/39164

  Embodied evolution, evolutionary robots with basic ann learn by interactions with each other · CPC title

• G05B9/02

  electric · CPC title