Map production method, mobile robot, and map production system

• US 10,006,772 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2016
• Issued: 06/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Kazuma, Nakata, Yohei, Saito, Masahiko, Harada, Naoyuki, Matsui, Shuhei, Wakasugi, Kensuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Paige, Tyler
• Application Number:
  US15/193,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20170010100A1
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: 701450
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0276 using signals provided by a source external to the vehicle involving a plurality of vehicles G05D1/0287; automatically controlling vehicle speed responsive to externally generated signals B60K31/0058
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/10 Terrestrial scenes scenes under surveillance with static cameras G06V20/52; scenes perceived from the exterior of a vehicle G06V20/56; scenes perceived from the interior of a vehicle G06V20/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

There is provided a map production method to be performed by a mobile robot which moves in a first region and includes a first sensor and a second sensor. The map production method includes acquiring first information from the first sensor, acquiring second information from the second sensor, acquiring third information from a third sensor provided in the first region, acquiring fourth information indicating a detection region of the second sensor calculated from the first information and the second information, acquiring fifth information indicating a detection region of the third sensor calculated from the third information, and updating map information of the first region for a third region, including a first object, if a the second region overlaps with the third region is judged to be present from the fourth information and the fifth information.

Claims

1. A map production method to be performed by a first mobile robot which moves in a first region and includes a first sensor and a second sensor, the map production method comprising:

acquiring first information from the first sensor, the first information indicating an amount of movement of the first mobile robot;

acquiring second information from the second sensor, the second information indicating a distance from a first object present in an observation region of the first mobile robot to the first mobile robot;

acquiring third information from a third sensor provided in the first region and being physically separate from the first mobile robot, the third information including video information of an observation region of the third sensor;

acquiring a sensed region of the second sensor which is calculated based on the first information and the second information;

acquiring a sensed region of the third sensor which is calculated based on the third information;

judging whether the sensed region of the second sensor overlaps with the sensed region of the third sensor; and

updating map information of the first region which is stored in advance in the first mobile robot for a second region in which the first object exists if the sensed region of the second sensor is judged to overlap with the sensed region of the third sensor.

2. The map production method according to claim 1, further comprising

estimating a current position and posture of the first mobile robot based on the first information and the second information, wherein

the sensed region of the second sensor is calculated based on the current position and posture of the first mobile robot.

3. The map production method according to claim 1, wherein

the map information of the first region is updated by updating reliability of first positional information indicating a position of the first object.

4. The map production method according to claim 3, wherein

the reliability of the first positional information is updated by updating a first variance value of the first positional information to a second variance value smaller than the first variance value.

5. The map production method according to claim 1, wherein

the third sensor is installed in the first region,

the map information of the first region is expressed in a first coordinate system,

the sensed region of the third sensor is expressed in a second coordinate system, and

the map production method further includes performing transformation from the second coordinate system into the first coordinate system.

6. The map production method according to claim 1, wherein

the third sensor is provided in a second mobile robot which is in the first region and is different from the first mobile robot,

the map information of the first region is expressed in a first coordinate system,

the sensed region of the third sensor is expressed in a second coordinate system of the second mobile robot, and

the map production method further includes performing transformation from the second coordinate system into the first coordinate system.

7. A map production method to be performed by a first mobile robot which moves in a first region and includes a first sensor and a second sensor, the map production method comprising:

acquiring first information from the first sensor, the first information indicating an amount of movement of the first mobile robot;

acquiring second information from the second sensor, the second information indicating a distance from a first object in an observation region of the first mobile robot to the first mobile robot;

acquiring third information from a third sensor provided in the first region and being physically separate from the first mobile robot, the third information including video information of an observation region of the third sensor;

acquiring a sensed region of the second sensor which is calculated based on the first information and the second information;

acquiring a sensed region of the third sensor which is calculated based on the third information;

judging, based on the sensed region of the second sensor, the sensed region of the third sensor, and map information of the first region which is stored in advance in the first mobile robot, whether a second object in a second region is changed from a first position to a second position, the second region being outside of the sensed region of the second sensor and within the sensed region of the third sensor; and

updating the map information of the first region for the second region if the second object is judged to be changed from the first position to the second position.

8. The map production method according to claim 7, further comprising:

estimating a current position and posture of the first mobile robot based on the first information and the second information, wherein

the sensed region of the second sensor is calculated based on the current position and posture of the first mobile robot.

9. The map production method according to claim 8, wherein

if the current position of the first mobile robot is not present in the sensed region of the third sensor and the sensed region of the second sensor does not overlap with the sensed region of the third sensor, the map information of the first region is updated for the second region.

10. The map production method according to claim 7, wherein

the map information of the first region for the second region is updated by updating reliability of first positional information indicating a position of the second object.

11. The map production method according to claim 10, wherein

the reliability of the first positional information is updated by updating a first variance value of the first positional information to a second variance value larger than the first variance value.

12. The map production method according to claim 11, wherein

the second variance value is made larger than the first variance value in accordance with an amount of change from the first position to the second position.

13. The map production method according to claim 11, further comprising:

updating a third variance value of a third region, for which the second information is not acquired from the second sensor for a predetermined time, to a fourth variance value larger than the third variance value for the map information.

14. The map production method according to claim 7, wherein

the third sensor is installed in the first region,

the map information of the first region is expressed in a first coordinate system,

the sensed region of the third sensor is expressed in a second coordinate system, and

the map production method further includes performing transformation from the second coordinate system into the first coordinate system.

15. The map production method according to claim 7, wherein

the third sensor is provided in a second mobile robot which is in the first region and is different from the first mobile robot,

the map information of the first region is expressed in a first coordinate system,

the sensed region of the third sensor is expressed in a second coordinate system of the second mobile robot, and

the map production method further includes performing transformation from the second coordinate system into the first coordinate system.

16. A mobile robot which moves in a first region, the mobile robot comprising:

a first sensor; and

a second sensor, wherein

the mobile robot

acquires first information from the first sensor, the first information indicating an amount of movement of the mobile robot,

acquires second information from the second sensor, the second information indicating a distance from a first object in an observation region of the mobile robot to the mobile robot,

acquires third information from a third sensor provided in the first region and being physically separate from the mobile robot, the third information including video information of an observation region of the third sensor,

acquires a sensed region of the second sensor which is calculated based on the first information and the second information,

acquires a sensed of the third sensor which is calculated based on the third information,

judges whether the sensed region of the second sensor overlaps with the sensed region of the third sensor, and

updates map information of the first region which is stored in advance in the mobile robot for a second region in which the first object exists if the sensed region of the second sensor is judged to overlap with the sensed region of the third sensor.

17. A mobile robot which moves in a first region, the mobile robot comprising:

a first sensor; and

a second sensor, wherein

the mobile robot

acquires first information from the first sensor, the first information indicating an amount of movement of the mobile robot,

acquires second information from the second sensor, the second information indicating a distance from a first object in an observation region of the mobile robot to the mobile robot,

acquires third information from a third sensor provided in the first region and being physically separate from the mobile robot, the third information including video information of an observation region of the third sensor,

acquires a sensed region of the second sensor which is calculated based on the first information and the second information,

acquires a sensed region of the third sensor which is calculated based on the third information,

judges, based on the sensed region of the second sensor, the sensed region of the third sensor, and map information of the first region which is stored in advance in the mobile robot, whether a second object in a second region is changed from a first position to a second position, the second region being outside of the sensed region of the second sensor and within the sensed region of the third sensor, and

updates the map information of the first region for the second region if the second object is judged to be changed from the first position to the second position.

18. A map production system, comprising:

a mobile robot which includes a first sensor and a second sensor and moves in a first region;

a third sensor provided in the first region and being physically separate from the mobile robot; and

a server connected to the mobile robot and the third sensor, wherein

the server

acquires first information from the first sensor, the first information indicating an amount of movement of the mobile robot,

acquires second information from the second sensor, the second information indicating a distance from a first object in an observation region of the mobile robot to the mobile robot,

acquires third information from the third sensor installed in the first region, the third information including video information of an observation region of the third sensor,

acquires a sensed region of the second sensor which is calculated based on the first information and the second information,

acquires a sensed region of the third sensor which is calculated based on the third information,

judges whether the sensed region of the second sensor overlaps with the sensed region of the third sensor, and

updates map information of the first region which is stored in advance in the mobile robot for a second region in which the first object exists if the sensed region of the second sensor is judged to overlap with the sensed region of the third sensor.

19. A map production system comprising:

a mobile robot which includes a first sensor and a second sensor and moves in a first region;

a third sensor provided in the first region and being physically separate from the mobile robot; and

a server connected to the mobile robot and the third sensor, wherein

the server

acquires first information from the first sensor, the first information indicating an amount of movement of the mobile robot,

acquires second information from the second sensor, the second information indicating a distance from a first object in an observation region of the mobile robot to the mobile robot,

acquires third information from the third sensor provided in the first region, the third information including video information of an observation region of the third sensor,

acquires a sensed region of the second sensor which is calculated based on the first information and the second information,

acquires a sensed region of the third sensor which is calculated based on the third information,

judges, based on the sensed region of the second sensor, the sensed region of the third sensor, and map information of the first region which is stored in advance in the mobile robot, whether a second object in a second region is changed from a first position to a second position, the second region being outside of the sensed region of the second sensor and within the sensed region of the third sensor, and

updates the map information of the first region for the second region if the second object is judged to be changed from the first position to the second position.