Mobile robot and method of controlling same

• US 10,423,163 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2016
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Choi, Hyukdoo, Jeon, Hyeongshin
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan Q
• Application Number:
  US15/735,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20190072975A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• Field of Search: 701 28
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4061 Steering means; Means for avoiding obstacles; Details related to the place where the driver is accommodated
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/28 Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2826 the condition of the floor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2852 Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/00 Manipulators not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0085 Cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/02 Sensing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/00 Manipulators mounted on wheels or on carriages B25J1/00 takes precedence; programme-controlled manipulators B25J9/00 ; vehicle aspects B60, B62, e.g. remote-controlled steering for motor vehicles B62D1/24; control of position of vehicles G05D1/00
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/007 mounted on wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/00 Programme-controlled manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/16 Programme controls programme controls in general G05B19/00, e.g. numerical pogramme controls G05B19/18; recording or playback systems G05B19/42
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1664 characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• 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 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means

Abstract

A moving robot includes a main body, a driving unit moving the main body, a camera installed on one side of the main body and capturing an image related to a marker, a memory storing information related to a pattern of the marker, and a controller extracting information related to at least one longitudinal line segment included in an appearance of the marker from the captured image, detecting information related to a position and a posture of the main body on the basis of the extracted information related to at least one of the longitudinal line segment and the pattern, and controlling the driving unit on the basis of at least one of the detected position and posture of the main body.

Claims

1. A moving robot comprising:

a main body;

a driving unit moving the main body;

a camera at one side of the main body to capture an image related to a marker;

a memory that stores information related to a pattern of the marker, the pattern of the marker including at least one longitudinal segment and at least one diagonal line segment that crosses the at least one longitudinal segment; and

a controller configured to extract, from the captured image, pattern information related to the at least one longitudinal line segment and the at least one diagonal line segment included in an appearance of the pattern of the marker, to detect information related to a position and a posture of the main body based on the pattern information related to the at least one longitudinal line segment, and to control the driving unit based on at least one of the detected information related to the position and the posture of the main body.

2. The moving robot of claim 1, wherein

the controller calculates a distance between the marker and the main body based on the pattern information related to a length of the at least one longitudinal line segment.

3. The moving robot of claim 2, wherein

the controller calculates a distance between the marker and the main body using information related to a magnification of the camera and the extracted longitudinal line segment.

4. The moving robot of claim 1, wherein

the controller detects information related to a direction relative to the marker based on the pattern information related to a distance between the extracted longitudinal line segments.

5. The moving robot of claim 1, wherein

the memory stores information related to a path of the moving robot, and

the controller compares the detected information related to the position and the posture of the main body and the information related to the path, and the controller controls the driving unit based on a result of the comparison.

6. The moving robot of claim 1, wherein

the camera captures, at every preset period, an image related to the marker, and

the controller updates, at every preset period, the detected information related to the position and the posture of the main body.

7. The moving robot of claim 1, wherein

the controller extracts, as a longitudinal edge, a portion of the image associated with the marker, in which a first color is changed to a second color among pixels included in the image, and

the controller groups a portion of the extracted longitudinal edge that satisfies a preset condition to detect the longitudinal line segment.

8. The moving robot of claim 1, wherein

the pattern of the marker includes a plurality of longitudinal line segments and two diagonal line segments.

9. The moving robot of claim 8, wherein

the pattern of the marker is divided into a plurality of regions by the longitudinal line segments and the diagonal line segments.

10. The moving robot of claim 9, wherein

the plurality of regions have a value equal to or greater than a predetermined area value.

11. The moving robot of claim 9, wherein

any one of the plurality of regions is provided in a color different from adjacent ones of the plurality of regions.

12. The moving robot of claim 11, wherein

the plurality of regions are provided in black or white, and

any one of the plurality of regions is divided by a first edge and a second edge.

13. The moving robot of claim 12, wherein

the first edge correspond to a portion of the image associated with the marker in which one region provided in white, from among the plurality of regions, is changed to another region provided in black.

14. The moving robot of claim 13, wherein

the pattern of the marker includes the at least one diagonal line segment and the at least one longitudinal line segment, and

any one of the at least one longitudinal line segment is formed by connecting at least one first edge and at least one second edge in a crossing manner.

15. The moving robot of claim 14, wherein

the pattern information includes information related to at least one of a number of edges included in each of the longitudinal line segment, a length of each of the edges, and a kind of each of the edges.

16. The moving robot of claim 12, wherein

the second edge correspond to a portion of the image associated with the marker in which one region provided in black, from among the plurality of regions, is changed to another region provided in white.

17. The moving robot of claim 8, wherein

the plurality of longitudinal line segments are separated into a plurality of edges by the diagonal line segment.

18. The moving robot of claim 17, wherein

the controller detects a direction allocated to any one longitudinal line segment based on a length of each of edges separated from any one of the plurality of longitudinal line segments.

19. A method for controlling a moving robot, the method comprising:

capturing an image related to a marker, wherein the marker including at least one line segment and at least one diagonal line segment;

extracting, from the captured image, pattern information related to the at least one longitudinal line segment and the at least one diagonal line segment included in an appearance of the marker;

detecting information related to a position of the main body based on the pattern information related to at least one longitudinal line segment;

detecting information related to a posture of the main body based on the pattern information related to the at least one longitudinal line segment; and

controlling a driving unit based on at least one of the detected information relating to the position and the posture of the main body.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein

the detecting of information related to a position of the main body includes calculating a distance between the marker and the main body based on the pattern information related to a length of the at least one longitudinal line segment.