Service providing system, service providing method and management apparatus for service providing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11518036-B2
Application number	US-201816650775-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2018
Priority date	Sep 29, 2017
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

A service providing system including: a mobile robot configured to act in response to an instruction from a user through wireless communication and including a sensor having a capability corresponding to a human sensing capability to perceive an external world; a target identifying unit configured to identify whether an action target of the robot is a human being or another robot; an user apparatus control portion configured to output the signal detected by the sensor in a first manner when the action target is identified to be a human being and output the signal detected by the sensor in a second manner when the action target is identified to be the other robot; and a user apparatus configured to act in a manner perceivable by the user based on a output signal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A service providing system comprising:
a robot capable of moving and configured to act in response to an instruction from a user through wireless communication and including a detection unit having a capability corresponding to a human sensing capability to perceive an external world, the detection unit including a camera;
a user apparatus including a display unit; and
a management device comprising: a controller including a CPU and a memory connected to the CPU; and a wireless unit connected to the controller and capable of communicating with the user apparatus and the robot, wherein
the CPU is configured to perform:
identifying whether an imaged object of the camera is a human being or another robot based on an image signal acquired by the camera received via the wireless unit; and
outputting an image signal representing a human being acquired by the camera to the user apparatus via the wireless unit when the imaged object is identified to be the human being and outputting an image signal in which another robot is replaced by another user using the other robot to the user apparatus via the wireless unit when the imaged object is identified to be the other robot, and
the display unit is configured to display an image based on the image signal outputted from the CPU, and wherein
the memory is configured to store user information including information of an appearance of the other user using the other robot, and
the CPU is configured to perform
the outputting including generating an image signal representing the appearance of the other user using the other robot based on the user information when the imaged object is identified to be the other robot to output an image signal in which an image signal representing the other robot acquired by the camera is replaced by the image signal representing the appearance of the user to the user apparatus via the wireless unit.

2. The service providing system according to claim 1 , wherein
the display unit is further configured to display three-dimensionally an image of the other user based on the image signal representing an appearance of the other user using the other robot outputted from the CPU.

3. The service providing system according to claim 1 , wherein
the detection unit further includes a force sensor,
the user apparatus has an actuator attached to a body of a user to impart a force detected by the force sensor to a predetermined part of the body of the user.

4. A service providing method for providing a service to a user by using a robot capable of moving and acting in response to an instruction from a user through wireless communication and including a detection unit having a detection capability corresponding to a human sensing capability to perceive an external world and a user apparatus acting in a manner perceivable by the user, the detection unit including a camera and the service providing method comprising:
identifying whether an imaged object of the camera is a human being or another robot based on an image signal acquired by the camera received from the robot; and
outputting an image signal representing a human being acquired by the camera to the user apparatus when the imaged object is identified to be the human being and outputting an image signal in which another robot is replaced by another user using the other robot to the user apparatus when the imaged object is identified to be the other robot, wherein
the outputting including generating an image signal representing an appearance of the other user using the other robot based on user information including information of the appearance of the other user using the other robot when the imaged object is identified to be the other robot to output an image signal in which an image signal representing the other robot acquired by the camera is replaced by the image signal representing the appearance of the user to the user apparatus via the wireless unit.

5. A management device for a service providing system comprising:
a controller including a CPU and a memory connected to the CPU; and
a wireless unit connected to the controller and capable of communicating with a user apparatus including a display unit and a robot capable of moving and configured to act in response to an instruction from a user through wireless communication and including a detection unit having a capability corresponding to a human sensing capability to perceive an external world, the detection unit including a camera;
the CPU is configured to preform
identifying whether an imaged object of the camera is a human being or another robot based on an image signal acquired by the camera received via the wireless unit; and
outputting an image signal representing a human being acquired by the camera to the user apparatus via the wireless unit when the imaged object is identified to be the human being in the identifying and outputting an image signal in which another robot is replaced by another user using the other robot to the user apparatus via the wireless unit when the imaged object is identified to be the other robot in the identifying, wherein
the memory is configured to store user information including information of an appearance of the other user using the other robot, and
the CPU is configured to perform
the outputting including generating an image signal representing the appearance of the other user using the other robot based on the user information when the imaged object is identified to be the other robot to output an image signal in which an image signal representing the other robot acquired by the camera is replaced by the image signal representing the appearance of the user to the user apparatus via the wireless unit.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hiruta Shigenori
• Kitamura Shiro
• Muramatsu Daisuke
• Nakayama Shuji

Classifications

• G05B2219/39451

  Augmented reality for robot programming · CPC title

• G06F3/011

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title

• G06Q10/20

  Administration of product repair or maintenance · CPC title

• B25J13/00

  Controls for manipulators (programme controls B25J9/16) · CPC title

• B25J9/1697 Primary

  Vision controlled systems · CPC title