TELE-OPERATION SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

• US 20130211592A1
• Filed: 02/14/2013
• Published: 08/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: KIM, Kyung Rock
• Granted Patent: US 9,327,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/258
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/00 Controls for manipulators programme controls B25J9/16; control in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 3/00 Manipulators of master-slave type, i.e. both controlling unit and controlled unit perform corresponding spatial movements
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35444 Gesture interface, controlled machine observes operator, executes commands
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39449 Pendant, pda displaying camera images overlayed with graphics, augmented reality
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39451 Augmented reality for robot programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883

Abstract

A tele-operation system enabling a robot arm to move by following a motion of a motion of a hand of a user without an additional mechanical apparatus, the tele-operation system including a slave robot having a robot arm, a master console configured to detect a gesture of a user, and to control the slave robot from a remote place so that the slave robot moves by following the gesture of the user.

Claims

1. A tele-operation system, comprising:

a slave robot comprising a robot arm; and

a master console configured to detect a gesture of a user, and to control the slave robot from a remote place so that the slave robot moves by following the gesture of the user.

2. The tele-operation system of claim 1, wherein:

the slave robot comprises a sensor configured to detect a work environment of the slave robot.

3. The tele-operation system of claim 2, wherein:

the sensor comprises a three-dimensional (3D) depth sensor.

4. The tele-operation system of claim 2, wherein:

the slave robot comprises a slave control unit configured to transmit information detected by the sensor to the master console, and to control the robot arm according to a command of the master console.

5. The tele-operation system of claim 4, wherein:

the slave control unit is configured to determine space coordinates of the robot arm through the sensor, and to transmit the determined space coordinates of the robot arm to the master console.

6. The tele-operation system of claim 4, wherein:

the slave control unit is configured to receive space coordinates of a hand of the user from the master console and convert the received space coordinates to be suitable for the space coordinates of the robot arms, and to transmit the converted space coordinates to the master console.

7. The tele-operation system of claim 4, wherein:

the slave control unit is configured to control the robot arm by converting the command of the master console to be suitable for the space coordinates of the robot arm.

8. The tele-operation system of claim 1, wherein:

the master console comprises a sensor to detect the gesture of the user.

9. The tele-operation system of claim 8, wherein:

the sensor comprises a three-dimensional (3D) depth sensor.

10. The tele-operation system of claim 8, wherein:

the master console comprises a display unit configured to display an image showing the work environment of the slave robot transmitted from the slave robot, and to display the gesture of the user detected by the sensor on the image in a form of augmented reality.

11. The tele-operation system of claim 10, wherein:

the display unit is configured to display the robot arm of the slave robot, display a hand of the user detected by the sensor in a form of augmented reality, and display a matching position, at which the hand of the user being displayed in the form of augmented reality is needed to be positioned to control a motion of the robot arm.

12. The tele-operation system of claim 10, wherein:

the display unit is configured to display a space coordinate system of the hand of the user and a space coordinate system of the robot arm.

13. The tele-operation system of claim 10, wherein:

the display unit is configured to display various information provided to manipulate the slave robot.

14. The tele-operation system of claim 8, further comprising:

a master control unit configured to transmit a driving signal to the slave robot so that the slave robot moves by following the gesture of the user detected by the sensor.

15. The tele-operation system of claim 14, wherein:

the master control unit is configured to determine space coordinates of the hand of the user through information detected by the sensor.

16. The tele-operation system of claim 15, wherein:

the master control unit is configured to transmit the determined space coordinates of the hand of the user to the slave robot.

17. The tele-operation system of claim 14, wherein:

the master control unit is configured to receive space coordinates of the robot arm from the slave robot, and to convert the received space coordinates of the robot arm to be suitable for the space coordinates of the hand of the user.

18. The tele-operation system of claim 17, wherein:

the master control unit is configured to transmit the converted space coordinates to the slave robot.

19. The tele-operation system of claim 14, wherein:

the master control unit, when the hand of the user is moved after the hand of the user is positioned at the matching position of the robot arm that is displayed on the display unit, is configured to transmit a driving signal to the slave robot so that the robot arm of the slave robot moves by following a motion of the hand of the user.

20. The tele-operation system of claim 19, wherein:

the master control unit, when the hand of the user positioned at the matching position of the robot arm is moved at a faster speed than a predetermined speed, is configured to stop a tele-operation of the slave robot by stopping transmitting the driving signal to the slave robot.

21. A method of controlling a tele-operation system having a master console and a slave robot, the method comprising:

displaying a robot arm of the slave robot and a hand of a user on a display unit of the master console;

determining whether the hand of the user displayed on the display unit is matched to the robot arm displayed on the display unit; and

transmitting a driving signal to the slave robot positioned at a remote place from the master console if the hand of the user displayed on the display unit is matched to the robot arm of the slave robot displayed on the display unit, so that the robot arm of the slave robot moves by following a motion of the hand of the user.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the displaying of the robot arm of the slave robot and the hand of the user on the display unit of the master console comprises:

displaying the robot arm on the display unit of the master console;

displaying the hand of the user on the display unit in a form of augmented reality by detecting a gesture of the user; and

displaying a matching position, at which the hand of the user being displayed in the form of augmented reality is needed to be positioned to control the motion of the robot arm of the slave robot, on the robot arm.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the determining of whether the hand of the user displayed on the display unit is matched to the robot arm displayed on the display unit, comprises:

determining whether the hand of the user is positioned at the matching position being displayed on the robot arm and whether space coordinates of the hand of the user are matched with space coordinates of the robot arm.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the transmitting of the driving signal to the slave robot positioned at the remote place from the master console, so that the robot arm of the slave robot moves by following the motion of the hand of the user, comprises:

detecting the motion of the hand of the user by the master console; and

transmitting a driving signal to the slave robot, so that the robot arm of the slave robot positioned at the remote place from the master console moves by following the motion of the hands of the user.