Operating environment information generating device for mobile robot

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9964956-B2
Application number	US-201615196627-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2016
Priority date	Jul 8, 2015
Publication date	May 8, 2018
Grant date	May 8, 2018

Abstract

An operating environment information generating device is provided which estimates, upon contact of a mobile robot ( 1 ) with a surface portion of an external object, a position and posture of the contact surface on the basis of a posture state of the robot ( 1 ), and, in the case where the degree of difference between the estimates and a position and posture of the surface portion of the external object indicated by environment information created based on measurement data by an external-object recognition sensor ( 46, 47 ) is large, corrects the environment information at the contact location in such a way as to make the position and posture of the contact surface match the estimates.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An operating environment information generating device for a mobile robot which generates, as information for use in operation control of the mobile robot, environment information indicating a spatial arrangement state of a surface portion of an external object existing in an operating environment of the mobile robot, the operating environment information generating device comprising a control device having at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory having stored thereon a program which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the control device to function as:
an environment information measuring/creating unit which obtains measurement data according to the spatial arrangement state of the surface portion of the external object existing in a measuring object area in a surrounding of the mobile robot using an external-object recognition sensor mounted on the mobile robot and creates the environment information based on the measurement data;
a contact-surface position/posture estimating unit which is operable, when the mobile robot comes into contact with an external object during the operation control of the mobile robot based on the environment information created by the environment information measuring/creating unit, to obtain estimated contact-surface position/posture as estimates of an actual position and posture of a contact surface of the mobile robot with the external object based on a posture state of the mobile robot at the time of the contact; and
an environment information correcting unit which compares position/posture before contact, representing a position and posture before contact with the mobile robot of a portion of the surface portion of the external object corresponding to the contact surface, indicated by the environment information created by the environment information measuring/creating unit before the contact, with the estimated contact-surface position/posture obtained by the contact-surface position/posture estimating unit, and, in a case where a degree of difference between the position/posture before contact and the estimated contact-surface position/posture is a predetermined amount or greater, corrects the environment information in at least the portion corresponding to the contact surface of the surface portion of the external object for which the environment information was created by the environment information measuring/creating unit, in such a way as to conform to the estimated contact-surface position/posture.

2. The operating environment information generating device according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile robot includes a foot or a hand as a portion to be brought into contact with the surface portion of the external object, and
the at least one processor of the operating environment information generating device, when executing the program, causes the control device to function such that processing in the contact-surface position/posture estimating unit and the environment information correcting unit are executed when the foot or the hand comes into contact with the surface portion of the external object by the operation control of the mobile robot.

3. The operating environment information generating device according to claim 1 , wherein the environment information created by the environment information measuring/creating unit is configured by local environment information indicating a spatial arrangement state of the surface portion of the external object in a respective one of a plurality of local areas set with respect to the surface portion of the external object.

4. The operating environment information generating device according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one processor of the operating environment information generating device, when executing the program, further causes the control device to function as an environment information storing unit which stores a data group including the local environment information in the respective ones of the plurality of local areas, wherein the data group stored in the environment information storing unit includes the local environment information created at different times from one another by the environment information measuring/creating unit.

5. The operating environment information generating device according to claim 4 , wherein the environment information storing unit is operable, in a case where a degree of denseness of the local areas in the data group is a predetermined threshold value or higher, to evaluate a degree of reliability of the local environment information in respective ones of a plurality of local areas in an area with the high degree of denseness, and to erase, from the data group, among the plurality of local areas that is determined to be lower in the degree of reliability than the other local areas and the local environment information corresponding to that local area.

6. The operating environment information generating device according to claim 5 , wherein the environment information storing unit evaluates the degree of reliability of the local environment information in each local area in the area with the high degree of denseness based on one or more parameters of: time of creation of the local environment information corresponding to the local area, the number of measurement points in which measurement was conducted by the external-object recognition sensor in the local area, dispersion of the measurements obtained by the external-object recognition sensor in the local area, and a distance from the external-object recognition sensor to the local area at a time when the measurement was conducted by the external-object recognition sensor in the local area.

7. The operating environment information generating device according to claim 5 , wherein the environment information storing unit sets the threshold value regarding the degree of denseness variably in accordance with a geometry of the surface portion of the external object in the area with the high degree of denseness or in a vicinity thereof.

8. The operating environment information generating device according to claim 3 , wherein the local environment information in each local area created by the environment information measuring/creating unit includes information indicating a position and direction of an edge when there is the edge in the local area, and
the at least one processor of the operating environment information generating device, when executing the program, further causes the control device to function as an edge information correcting unit which is operable, in a case where a plurality of local areas are set by the environment information measuring/creating unit on a same edge in the surface portion of the external object, to correct the information indicating the position or direction of the edge in each of the plurality of local areas on the edge, in accordance with the information indicating the position or direction of the edge in one or more local areas in a vicinity of the local area, to thereby reduce variation of the information indicating the position or direction of the edge in the respective ones of the local area and the one or more local areas in the vicinity of the local area.

9. The operating environment information generating device according to claim 3 , wherein the local environment information in each local area created by the environment information measuring/creating unit includes information indicating a position and direction of an edge when there is the edge in the local area, and
the at least one processor of the operating environment information generating device, when executing the program, further causes the control device to function as a corner position estimating unit which is ope

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Watabe Tomoki
• Kaneko Hiroyuki
• Asatani Minami

Classifications

• B25J19/022

  using lasers · CPC title

• Y10S901/01

  Mobile robot · CPC title

• B25J19/023

  including video camera means · CPC title

• G05D2201/0217

  Physics · mapped topic

• G05D1/0248 Primary

  in combination with a laser (lasers per se H01S) · CPC title