ROBOT DEVICE, METHOD OF CONTROLLING ROBOT DEVICE, AND PROGRAM

• US 20110245974A1
• Filed: 03/09/2011
• Published: 10/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shimizu, Satoru, KAWAMOTO, Kenta, Suto, Yasuhiro, Tsuboi, Toshimitsu
• Granted Patent: US 8,880,222 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/259
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1664 characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning

Abstract

There is provided a robot device including an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an order for encouraging a robot device to establish joint attention on a target from a user, a position/posture estimation unit that estimates a position and posture of an optical indication device, which is operated by the user to indicate the target by irradiation of a beam, in response to acquisition of the order, and a target specifying unit that specifies a direction of the target indicated by irradiation of the beam based on an estimation result of the position and posture and specifies the target on an environment map representing a surrounding environment based on a specifying result of the direction.

Claims

1. A robot device, comprising:

an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an order for encouraging a robot device to establish joint attention on a target from a user;

a position/posture estimation unit that estimates a position and posture of an optical indication device, which is operated by the user to indicate the target by irradiation of a beam, in response to acquisition of the order; and

a target specifying unit that specifies a direction of the target indicated by irradiation of the beam based on an estimation result of the position and posture and specifies the target on an environment map representing a surrounding environment based on a specifying result of the direction.

2. The robot device according to claim 1, further comprising an interaction processing unit that confirms establishment of interaction performed on establishment of joint attention with the user.

3. The robot device according to claim 2, wherein the interaction processing unit confirms establishment of the interaction after the order is acquired.

4. The robot device according to claim 2, wherein the interaction processing unit confirms establishment of the interaction before the order is acquired.

5. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the position/posture estimation unit estimates the position and posture of the optical indication device by recognizing the optical indication device gripped by the user.

6. A method of controlling a robot device, comprising the steps of:

acquiring an order for encouraging establishment of joint attention with a robot device on a target from a user;

estimating a position and posture of an optical indication device, which is operated by the user to indicate the target by irradiation of a beam, in response to acquisition of the order; and

specifying a direction of the target indicated by irradiation of the beam based on an estimation result of the position and posture and specifying the target on an environment map representing a surrounding environment based on a specifying result of the direction.

7. A program for causing a computer to execute the method of controlling the robot device recited in claim 6.