APPARATUS, METHOD AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM CONTROLLING WHOLE-BODY OPERATION OF HUMANOID ROBOT

• US 20110040405A1
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: LIM, Bok Man, Kim, Myung Hee, Roh, Kyung Shik, Lim, San, Xu, Guo Chun
• Application Number:
  US12/852,175
• Publication Number:
  US 20110040405A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1664 characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/36587 Binary format
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40264 Human like, type robot arm

Abstract

Disclosed are an apparatus, a method and a computer-readable medium controlling whole-body operation of a humanoid robot. The humanoid robot recognizes a motion control code using binary data mapped according to a motion command represented by a language understood by a human to implement a whole-body operation. Since a control mode corresponding to a task space control and a control mode corresponding to a joint space control are used together to describe whole-body motion, the whole-body operation more similar to a human action may be easily implemented.

Claims

1. An apparatus controlling a whole-body operation of a humanoid robot, the apparatus comprising:

an external controller to map a motion command described according to a motion scenario to data recognized by the robot and to provide the data; and

a robot controller to control the whole-body operation of the robot according to whole-body motion generated using a control code recognized by the mapped data.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein communication modules to perform wired or wireless communication are respectively included in the external controller and the robot controller in order to transmit the mapped data.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mapped data provided by the external controller is binary data to recognize the control code.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the external controller includes a control mode setting unit to set control modes corresponding to the motion command, and a mapping unit to perform mapping to the binary data based on the setting result.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

the control mode setting unit includes a plurality of switches which are independently operated, and

any one or both of a control mode corresponding to a task space control and a control mode corresponding to a joint space control is allocated to each of the plurality of switches.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the number of the plurality of switches is increased or decreased according to a motion feature and a restriction condition.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the robot controller includes a code analysis unit to analyze a control code corresponding to the mapped data using a code table.

8. An apparatus controlling a whole-body operation of a humanoid robot, the apparatus comprising:

an external controller to set control modes to define a motion feature and a restriction condition according to a motion command describing whole-body motion of the humanoid robot and to binary data mapped according to the set control modes to the robot; and

a robot controller to drive joints of the robot according to whole-body motion generated using a control algorithm suitable for a control code recognized by the binary data.

9. A method of controlling a whole-body operation of a humanoid robot, the method comprising:

mapping, by a processor, a motion command described according to a motion scenario to data recognized by the robot;

providing the mapped data to the robot; and

controlling, by the processor, the whole-body operation of the robot according to whole-body motion generated using a control code recognized by the mapped data.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the mapping of the data is performed in the unit of segments corresponding to unit operations of the whole-body operation.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the mapping of the data includes setting control modes using a plurality of switches which are independently operated, setting bit values according to the set control modes, and obtaining binary data.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

a group configured by control modes is allocated to each of the plurality of switches, and

the group includes any one or both of a control mode corresponding to a task space control and a control mode corresponding to a joint space control.

14. At least one computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that control at least one processor to implement the method of claim 9.

15. At least one computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that control at least one processor to implement the method of claim 10.

16. At least one computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that control at least one processor to implement the method of claim 11.

17. At least one computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions that control at least one processor to implement the method of claim 12.

13. A method of controlling a whole-body operation of a humanoid robot, the method comprising:

converting, by a processor, a motion command represented by a language used by a human into a control code understood by the robot;

generating, by the processor, whole-body motion using a control algorithm suitable for the converted control code; and

driving, by the processor, joints of the robot according to the generated whole-body motion and controlling the whole-body operation.