Obstacle avoiding apparatus, obstacle avoiding method, obstacle avoiding program and mobile robot apparatus

• US 20060241827A1
• Filed: 02/28/2006
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukuchi, Masaki, Gutmann, Steffen
• Granted Patent: US 7,769,491 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0251 extracting 3D information from a plurality of images taken from different locations, e.g. stereo vision stereoscopic image analysis H04N13/00; depth recovery from images G06T7/593
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

The present invention provides an obstacle avoiding apparatus, an obstacle avoiding method, an obstacle avoiding program, and a mobile robot apparatus that can accurately model a robot apparatus and plan a highly precise moving route for the robot apparatus that avoids obstacles. The obstacle avoiding apparatus, to be used for a mobile robot apparatus to avoid obstacles, includes an obstacle environment map drawing section that divides the range of height from the reference surface for the mobile robot apparatus to move thereon to the height of the mobile robot apparatus into a plurality of layers corresponding to predetermined respective ranges of height and draws obstacle environment maps, each showing the condition of being occupied by one or more than one obstacles existing in the corresponding layer, and a route planning section that plans a route for the robot apparatus to move along according to an enlarged environment map prepared by enlarging the area occupied by the obstacle or obstacles in the obstacle environment maps as a function of the cross sectional profile of the mobile robot apparatus in each of the layers.

Claims

1. An obstacle avoiding apparatus to be used for a mobile robot apparatus to avoid obstacles, the apparatus comprising:

obstacle environment map drawing means for dividing the range of height from the reference surface for the mobile robot apparatus to move thereon to the height of the mobile robot apparatus into a plurality of layers corresponding to predetermined respective ranges of height and drawing obstacle environment maps, each showing the condition of being occupied by one or more than one obstacles existing in the corresponding layer; and

route planning means for planning a route for the robot apparatus to move along according to an enlarged environment map prepared by enlarging the area occupied by the obstacle or obstacles in the obstacle environment maps as a function of the cross sectional profile of the mobile robot apparatus in each of the layers.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the mobile robot apparatus is modeled by means of a plurality of cylinders that correspond respectively to the predetermined ranges of height and are perpendicular to the reference surface so as to share a common center axis, and

the cross sectional profile is circle.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the route planning means plans the route by superposing a plurality of enlarged environment maps.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the obstacle environment maps of the layer containing the reference surface shows a position lower than the reference surface as obstacle.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

acquisition means for acquiring three-dimensional position information of the environment containing the one or more than one obstacle; and

obstacle environment map updating means for updating the obstacle environment maps of the predetermined layers according to the height indicated by the three-dimensional position information acquired by the acquisition means.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

image pickup means for acquiring the three-dimensional position information, the obstacle environment map updating means being adapted to update predetermined regions in the obstacle environment maps according to the imaged area of each layer picked up by the image pickup means.

7. An obstacle avoiding method to be used for a mobile robot apparatus to avoid obstacles, the method comprising:

an obstacle environment map drawing step of dividing the range of height from the reference surface for the mobile robot apparatus to move thereon to the height of the mobile robot apparatus into a plurality of layers corresponding to predetermined respective ranges of height and drawing obstacle environment maps, each showing the condition of being occupied by one or more than one obstacles existing in the corresponding layer; and

a route planning step of planning a route for the robot apparatus to move along according to an enlarged environment map prepared by enlarging the area occupied by the obstacle or obstacles in the obstacle environment maps as a function of the cross sectional profile of the mobile robot apparatus in each of the layers.

8. An obstacle avoiding program to be used for a mobile robot apparatus to avoid obstacles, the program comprising:

an obstacle environment map drawing step of dividing the range of height from the reference surface for the mobile robot apparatus to move thereon to the height of the mobile robot apparatus into a plurality of layers corresponding to predetermined respective ranges of height and drawing obstacle environment maps, each showing the condition of being occupied by one or more than one obstacles existing in the corresponding layer; and

a route planning step of planning a route for the robot apparatus to move along according to an enlarged environment map prepared by enlarging the area occupied by the obstacle or obstacles in the obstacle environment maps as a function of the cross sectional profile of the mobile robot apparatus in each of the layers.

9. A mobile robot apparatus adapted to avoid obstacles, the robot apparatus comprising:

obstacle environment map drawing means for dividing the range of height from the reference surface for it to move thereon to its own height into a plurality of layers corresponding to predetermined respective ranges of height and drawing obstacle environment maps, each showing the condition of being occupied by one or more than one obstacles existing in the corresponding layer; and

route planning means for planning a route for it to move along according to an enlarged environment map prepared by enlarging the area occupied by the obstacle or obstacles in the obstacle environment maps as a function of the cross sectional profile of itself in each of the layers.

10. An obstacle avoiding apparatus to be used for a mobile robot apparatus to avoid obstacles, the apparatus comprising:

an obstacle environment map drawing section that divides the range of height from the reference surface for the mobile robot apparatus to move thereon to the height of the mobile robot apparatus into a plurality of layers corresponding to predetermined respective ranges of height and draws obstacle environment maps, each showing the condition of being occupied by one or more than one obstacles existing in the corresponding layer; and

a route planning section that plans a route for the robot apparatus to move along according to an enlarged environment map prepared by enlarging the area occupied by the obstacle or obstacles in the obstacle environment maps as a function of the cross sectional profile of the mobile robot apparatus in each of the layers.

11. A mobile robot apparatus adapted to avoid obstacles, the robot apparatus comprising:

an obstacle environment map drawing section that divides the range of height from the reference surface for it to move thereon to its own height into a plurality of layers corresponding to predetermined respective ranges of height and draws obstacle environment maps, each showing the condition of being occupied by one or more than one obstacles existing in the corresponding layer; and

a route planning section that plans a route for it to move along according to an enlarged environment map prepared by enlarging the area occupied by the obstacle or obstacles in the obstacle environment maps as a function of the cross sectional profile of itself in each of the layers.