Method for controlling a set of robots, and set of robots

• US 10,303,170 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2013
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées Bretagne, Thales SA
• Original Assignee: École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées Bretagne, Thales SA
• Inventors: Brunet, Jean-Philippe, Sousselier, Thomas, Dreo, Johann, Jaulin, Luc
• Primary Examiner(s): McPherson, James M
• Application Number:
  US14/649,867
• Publication Number:
  US 20150331421A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,999 Days
• Field of Search: 701 23
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0692 specially adapted for under-water vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/104 involving a plurality of aircrafts, e.g. formation flying traffic control systems for aircraft G08G5/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

A method is provided for piloting a set of robots comprising, for each robot, a step of generation of a guidance instruction for the robot at a given instant, the guidance instructions for the set of robots being determined from a single set of constraints comprising a pack constraint comprising at least one set of at least one first relative positioning constraint between a robot and its neighbors of the first order in the pack for the set of robots to form a pack exhibiting a predetermined shape, the method further comprising a step of piloting of the robots so as to observe the guidance instruction.

Claims

1. A method for piloting a set of robots to bring it into or keep it in a predetermined pack configuration and for it to follow a trajectory that is globally parallel to a predetermined trajectory, the method comprising, for each robot of the set of robots:

a step of generation of a guidance instruction for the robot at a given instant corresponding to a correction to be made to a velocity vector of the robot, the guidance instruction of each robot of the set of robots being determined using at least one measurement made by a perception device embedded on board the robot permitting to localize the robot relative to at least another robot of the set of robots and using a set of at least one constraint for determining the guidance instruction, the set of at least one constraint being common to all robots of the set of robots and comprising a pack constraint comprising at least one set of at least one relative positioning constraint including a first relative positioning constraint comprising a first distance constraint corresponding to a predetermined distance having to separate the robot from its closest neighbors, called neighbors of the first order in the predetermined pack configuration, and

a step of piloting the robot so as to observe the guidance instruction,

in which the set of at least one constraint includes a belonging constraint representative of a second relative positioning constraint that another robot of the set of robots has to respect relative to the robot to belong to a neighborhood of the robot at the given instant, and the predetermined trajectory which is a four-dimensional trajectory and a position that the robot ought to occupy if it followed the predetermined trajectory, and in which the step of generation of the guidance instruction for the robot at the given instant comprises a step of determination of the neighborhood of the robot, the neighborhood comprising each other robot verifying the constraint of belonging, the guidance instruction for the robot at the given instant being generated from the position of the robot;

relative to a set of at least one target position defined from a position of each robot of the neighborhood and from the pack constraint and relative to a reference position, when the neighborhood is not empty,

relative to the reference position when the neighborhood is empty.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the tolerance range is the reference position.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the preferred position is a position of a predetermined curve, a predetermined surface or a predetermined volume which is reached most rapidly by the robot given its velocity vector.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the step of generation of the guidance instruction comprises:

an acquisition step, to acquire, by means of a perception device embedded on board the robot, measurements making it possible to locate the other robots relative to the robot,

the step of determination of the neighborhood of the robot using the measurements the neighborhood being empty when no measurement enabling the robot to locate the other robots is acquired in the acquisition step.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, in which the step of generation of the guidance instruction for the robot comprises, when the neighborhood comprises at least one robot called neighbor, for each neighbor:

a step of determination of a position occupied by the at least one neighbor relative to the robot from measurements, acquired in the acquisition step, making it possible to locate the neighbor,

a step of determination of a set of positions that the robot can occupy relative to the neighbor in order to observe the pack constraint and a step of determination of a target position corresponding to the position of the set of positions that the robot could reach most rapidly.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, in which the step of determination of the guidance instruction for the robot comprises:

a step of determination of a barycenter corresponding to a weighted average of the target position and of the position by first and respectively second weights,

a step of determination of a position error affecting the position of the robot to reach the barycenter,

a step of determination of a correction to be made to the velocity vector of the robot so as to reduce the position error.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the set of at least one constraint comprises at least one constraint that is variable as a function of a measurable parameter.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the set of at least one constraint comprises at least one constraint having a single value.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which, when no obstacle verifying a predetermined avoidance condition is detected by the robot, the step of generation of the guidance instruction for the robot is performed at regular time intervals and is followed by a step of piloting of the robot so that it observes the guidance instruction, and, when the robot detects at least one obstacle verifying the predetermined obstacle avoidance condition, a step of generation of an obstacle avoidance guidance instruction followed by a step of piloting of the robot so that it observes the obstacle avoidance guidance instruction.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, in which each robot of the set of robots generates the guidance instruction and handles the piloting step of piloting the robot so as to observe the guidance instruction.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which, the tolerance range is further defined by an orientation relative to a three-dimensional trajectory included in the four-dimensional trajectory.

12. A set of robots suitable for implementing the method as claimed in claim 1, comprising a guidance device embedded on board each robot of the set of robots, the embedded guidance device being configured so as to implement the step of generation of the guidance instruction.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the set of at least one constraint comprises a plurality of constraints.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the single set of at least one constraint comprises a plurality of constraints comprising the trajectory.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the guidance instruction of each robot of the set of robots being determined by a guidance device embedded on board the robot, the guidance device embedded on board the robot using localization of the robot relative to at least another robot of the set of robots determined using the measurements made by the perception device embedded on board the robot and the set of at least one constraint for determining the guidance instruction, the set of at least one constraint being a single set of at least one constraint common to common to all robots of the set of robots.

16. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the guidance instruction being determined using localization of the robot relative to at least another robot of the set of robot determined using the measurements made by the perception device embedded on board the robot.