INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM

• US 20110106311A1
• Filed: 10/27/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kamachi, Hideari, Fujii, Gentoku, Nakajima, Ryo
• Granted Patent: US 8,600,552 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/253
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/163 learning, adaptive, model based, rule based expert control
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39338 Impedance control, also mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39391 Visual servoing, track end effector with camera image feedback
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/03 Teaching system

Abstract

An apparatus executes movement control that causes a robot arm equipped with a camera to move up to an object, thereby enabling to cause a manipulator to move to an object quickly, accurately, and stably as a control system. Specifically, when the object is not detected, the apparatus executes teaching playback control to cause a manipulator to move along a path up to a target position set in advance based on a position of the object (Step S1). When the object is detected, the apparatus defines a position closer to the object than the target position as a new target position, sets a new path up to the new target position, executes teaching playback control to cause the manipulator to move along the new path until a switching condition for switching the movement control is fulfilled (Steps S3 and S4). When the switching condition is fulfilled, the apparatus executes visual servo control (Step S5).

Claims

1. An information processing method performed by an information processing apparatus for executing movement control that causes a manipulator to move up to an object, the manipulator being provided with a viewing device capable of visually recognizing the object, the method comprising:

a first step of, in a case that the object is not visually recognized by the viewing device, executing teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along a path up to a target position set in advance based on a posit on of the object;

a second step of, in a case that the object is visually recognized by the viewing device, defining a position closer to the object than the target position as a new target position, setting a new path up to the new target position, and executing the teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along the new path until a switching condition for switching the movement control is fulfilled; and

a third step of, in a case that the switching condition is fulfilled, acquiring position information of the object visually recognized by the viewing device, and executing visual servo control that causes the manipulator to move up to the object using the position information as feedback information.

2. An information processing method according to claim 1, wherein

the second step includes:

a candidate setting step of setting at least one candidate for the new target position and at least one candidate for the new path;

a path setting step of setting the new path based on at least a part of the at least one candidate for the new target position and the at least one candidate for the new path;

a determining step of determining whether the switching condition is fulfilled;

a moving step of, in a case that the switching condition is not fulfilled, causing the manipulator to move along the new path by way of the teaching playback control; and

a switching step of, in a case that the switching condition is fulfilled, switching the movement control from the teaching playback control to the visual servo control.

3. An information processing method according to claim 2, wherein

the candidate setting step includes:

an object detecting step of detecting a position of the object visually recognized by the viewing device;

a manipulator detecting step of detecting a position of the manipulator;

a candidate target position setting step of setting one candidate for the new target position based on the position of the object and the position of the manipulator; and

a candidate path setting step of setting, as one candidate for the new path, a path up to the candidate for the new target position set by way of a process of the candidate target position setting step,

wherein the at least one candidate for the new target position and the at least one candidate for the new path are set by executing at least one time a series of processes of the object detecting step to the candidate path setting step.

4. An information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the switching condition includes a condition that a velocity of the manipulator is no more than a constant.

5. An information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the switching condition includes a condition that deviation between the positions of the manipulator and the object is no more than a constant.

6. An information processing apparatus for executing movement control to cause a manipulator to move up to a object, the manipulator being provided with a viewing device capable of visually recognizing the object, the apparatus comprising:

a teaching playback control means for executing a teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move up to a target position along a path set in advance;

a visual processing means for detecting the object based on output information from the viewing device;

a visual servo control means for executing visual servo control that causes the manipulator to move up to the object using position information detected by the visual processing means as feedback information; and

a switching means for switching the movement control from the teaching playback control to the visual servo control when a predetermined switching condition is fulfilled,

wherein the teaching playback control means executes the teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along a path up to a target position set in advance based on a position of the object, until the object is detected by the viewing device, and

when the object is detected by the viewing device, defines a position closer to the object than the target position as a new target position, sets a new path up to the new target position, and executes the teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along the new path until the switching condition is fulfilled.

7. A computer readable medium having stored therein a program executable by a computer for executing a movement control that causes a manipulator to move up to an object, the manipulator being provided with a viewing device capable of visually recognizing the object, the program causing the computer to perform:

a first step of, in a case that the object is not visually recognized by the viewing device, executing teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along a path up to a target position set in advance, based on a position of the object;

a second step of, in a case that the object is visually recognized by the viewing device, defining a position closer to the object than the target position as a new target position, setting a new path up to the new target position, and executing the teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along the new path until a switching condition for switching the movement control is fulfilled; and

a third step of, in a case that the switching condition is fulfilled, acquiring position information of the object visually recognized by the viewing device, and executing visual servo control that causes the manipulator to move up to the object using the position information as feedback information.

8. An information processing method performed by an information processing apparatus that performs movement control to cause a manipulator to move up to an object, the manipulator being provided with a viewing device capable of visually recognizing the object,

the information processing method comprising:

a first control step of, until a switching condition for switching the movement control is fulfilled, executing teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along a path up to a target position set in advance, based on a position of the object; and

a second control step of, in a case that the switching condition is fulfilled, acquiring position information of the object visually recognized by the viewing device, executing an operation by substituting the position information as feedback information into a control equation including at least one coefficient, and executing visual servo control that causes the manipulator to move up to the object based on a result of the operation,

wherein the second control step includes;

a coefficient modifying step of modifying at least a part of the at least one coefficient based on a predetermined state of the manipulator.

9. An information processing method according to claim 8, wherein

the visual servo control executed by way of a process of the second controlling step is visual impedance control calculated in accordance with a control equation including at least:

a coefficient Fα

, indicative of a virtual external force exerted on the manipulator, variable depending on deviation between the positions of the manipulator and the object; and

a coefficient Dd, indicative of a virtual damper exerted on the manipulator, and

wherein, as a process of the coefficient modifying step, the information processing apparatus modifies the coefficient Dd based on velocity of the manipulator when the switching condition is fulfilled.

10. An information processing method according claim 9, wherein

the information processing apparatus, as a process of the coefficient modifying step, defines a condition that deviation between the positions of the manipulator and the object have become no more than a predetermined value as a small deviation condition, and modifies at least one among the coefficient Fα

and the coefficient Dd, when the small deviation condition is fulfilled.

11. An information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the information processing apparatus, as a process of the coefficient modifying step, increases the coefficient Fα

to a value greater than an initial value thereof, when the small deviation condition is fulfilled.

12. An information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the information processing apparatus, as a process of the coefficient modifying step, increases the coefficient Dd to a value greater than a value modified in a case of the switching condition being fulfilled, when the small deviation condition is fulfilled.

13. An information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the small deviation condition includes a condition that the velocity of the manipulator is no more than a constant.

14. An information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the switching condition includes a condition that deviation between the positions of the manipulator and the object is no more than a constant.

15. An information processing apparatus that performs movement control to cause a manipulator to move up to an object, the manipulator being provided with a viewing device capable of visually recognizing the object,

the information processing apparatus comprising:

a first control means for, until a switching condition for switching the movement control is fulfilled, executing teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along a path up to a target position set in advance, based on a position of the object;

a visual processing means for detecting position information of the object based on output information from the viewing device; and

a second control means for, in a case that the switching condition is fulfilled, executing an operation by substituting the position information detected by the visual processing means as feedback information into a control equation including at least one coefficient, and executing visual servo control that causes the manipulator to move up to the object based on a result of the operation,

wherein the second control means includes;

a coefficient modifying means for modifying at least a part of the at least one coefficient based on a predetermined state of the manipulator.

16. A computer readable medium having stored therein a program executable by a computer for executing movement control that causes a manipulator to move up to an object, the manipulator being provided with a viewing device capable of visually recognizing the object, the program causing the computer to perform:

a first control step of, until a switching condition for switching the movement control is fulfilled, executing a teaching playback control that causes the manipulator to move along a path up to a target position set in advance, based on a position of the object; and

a second control step of, in a case that the switching condition is fulfilled, acquiring position information of the object visually recognized by the viewing device, executing an operation by substituting the position information as feedback information into a control equation including at least one coefficient, and executing visual servo control that causes the manipulator to move up to the object based on a result of the operation,

wherein the second control step includes;

a coefficient modifying step of modifying at least a part of the at least one coefficient based on a predetermined state of the manipulator.