CROSSWALK WALKING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20120101632A1
• Filed: 10/20/2011
• Published: 04/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: ROH, Kyung Shik, HA, Tae Sin, SHIN, Dong Min
• Granted Patent: US 9,498,884 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/248
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/162 Mobile manipulator, movable base with manipulator arm mounted on it
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1669 characterised by special application, e.g. multi-arm co-operation, assembly, grasping
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1682 Dual arm manipulator; Coordination of several manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40298 Manipulator on vehicle, wheels, mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45108 Aid, robot for aid to, assist human disabled

Abstract

A crosswalk walking assistance system to assist a pedestrian by moving a movable robot along with the pedestrian along a boundary of a crosswalk when the pedestrian crosses at the crosswalk, and a method of controlling the same. The crosswalk walking assistance system includes guide rails formed along boundary lines of a crosswalk, robots moving along the guide rails, and a controller connected to the guide rails.

Claims

1. A crosswalk walking assistance system comprising:

guide rails formed along boundary lines of a crosswalk;

robots moving along the guide rails; and

a controller connected to the guide rails.

2. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the boundary lines are both lines of a width of the crosswalk.

3. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 2, wherein

the robots move along the guide rails formed on the boundary lines forward and backward, and

the robots are respectively provided on the guide rails.

4. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 1, wherein

each respective guide rail of the guide rails includes a sensor to sense an object passing through the respective guide rail, and

the sensor includes a conductivity sensor and a pressure sensor.

5. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 1, wherein:

the controller is electrically connected to the guide rails, and

the controller includes;

a power supply to supply power to the robots; and

a communication unit to perform communication between traffic lights and the robots.

6. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 1, wherein each of the robots includes:

a driving unit;

a sensor unit to sense variation in surrounding circumstances;

a power reception unit to receive power;

a communication unit to perform communication between the controller and another robot of said robots; and

a control unit to control the driving unit according to signals transmitted from the sensor unit and the communication unit.

7. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 6, wherein each of the robots includes a rotatable body.

8. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 6, wherein

the sensor unit includes a camera, an infrared sensor, a distance sensor and an obstacle sensor, and

a plurality of sensor units are provided outside at least one robot.

9. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 7, wherein at least one sensor unit is provided outside the rotatable body of at least one robot.

10. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 6, wherein the power reception unit receives power from the controller through a guide rail of the guide rails.

11. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 6, wherein the communication unit receives a signal of traffic lights from the controller and transmits information sensed by the sensor unit of a respective robot to the another robot of said robots or receives information sensed by the sensor unit of said another robot.

12. A crosswalk walking assistance system comprising:

guide lines formed along boundary lines of a crosswalk;

robots moving along the guide lines; and

controllers provided on ends of the guide lines.

13. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 12, wherein each of the robots includes:

a sensor to recognize a respective guide line of the guide lines;

a docking unit which is in contact with the controller to receive power; and

a battery to store power received from the controller.

14. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 13, wherein the sensor includes an infrared sensor and a hall sensor.

15. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 12, wherein the guide lines have a color different from that of a road surface and have reflectivity different from that of the road surface.

16. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 12, wherein the guide lines include a magnetic material.

17. The crosswalk walking assistance system according to claim 12, wherein each of the controllers includes:

a docking unit which is in contact with a respective robot of the robots to supply power; and

a beacon signal unit to transmit a beacon signal to the respective robot so as to recognize the position of the respective robot.

18. A method comprising:

sensing, by a robot, whether or not an obstacle is present on a movement path of the robot if information indicating that a signal of a traffic light is changed to a walk signal is received by the robot from a controller;

moving the robot along a guide rail or a guide line while outputting a voice signal indicating that the signal is changed to the walk signal, if it is sensed by the robot that an obstacle is not present;

determining, by the robot, whether or not the obstacle is a person if it is sensed by the robot that an obstacle is present, and outputting a voice signal by the robot recommending that the person move to the inside of a crosswalk if the obstacle is determined to be a person;

generating an alert signal by the robot to remove the obstacle if it is determined that the obstacle is not a person;

moving the robot along the guide rail or the guide line to thereby move to the other side of the crosswalk while outputting a voice signal indicating that the signal has changed to the walk signal if the obstacle is removed; and

outputting an indication by the robot that the signal has changed to a stop signal if movement of the robot to the other side of the crosswalk is completed, and then waiting by the robot until the signal is changed to the walk signal.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the signal of the traffic light is transmitted from the controller through the guide rail or is wirelessly transmitted to the robot.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the determining of whether or not the obstacle is a person includes:

measuring a temperature of the obstacle using an infrared sensor of the robot so as to determine whether or not the obstacle is a person;

measuring a conductivity level of the obstacle using a conductivity sensor of the guide rail so as to determine whether or not the obstacle is a person, if the temperature is not within a predetermined range;

measuring pressure generated by the obstacle using a pressure sensor of the guide rail so as to determine whether or not the obstacle is a person, if the conductivity level is not within a predetermined range;

measuring a variation in distance based on a movement speed of the obstacle using a distance sensor of the robot so as to determine whether or not the obstacle is a person, if the pressure is not within a predetermined range;

photographing the obstacle using a camera of the robot so as to determine whether or not the obstacle is a person based on the photographed image, if the variation in distance is not within a predetermined range; and

determining that the obstacle is a vehicle if the image is not a person.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the predetermined ranges are ranges of information measured by the sensors when the obstacle is a person.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein the moving of the robot along the guide rail or the guide line includes moving first and second robots, which are located on guide rails or guide lines provided on opposite boundary lines of the crosswalk so as to face each other in a diagonal direction, in opposite directions.

23. The method according to claim 18, wherein the moving of the robot along the guide rail or the guide line includes transmitting a signal for requesting extension of a walk signal time to the controller and extending the walk signal time, if the movement of the robot through the crosswalk is not completed within a walk signal time.

24. The method according to claim 18, wherein the moving of the robot along the guide rail or the guide line includes:

if a walk signal time is insufficient to move the robot to the other side of the crosswalk, increasing a movement speed of the robot to a predetermined upper-limit movement speed if the increased movement speed would allow the robot to move to the other side of the crosswalk, and

returning the robot to an original position if the robot cannot be moved to the other side of the crosswalk at the predetermined upper-limit movement speed.

25. A system comprising:

a guide rail formed along a boundary line of a crosswalk;

a robot which moves along the guide rail; and

a controller connected to the guide rail to control the robot.