AUTONOMOUS LOCOMOTION APPARATUS, AUTONOMOUS LOCOMOTION METHOD, AND PROGRAM FOR AUTONOMOUS LOCOMOTION APPARATUS

• US 20140031981A1
• Filed: 10/07/2013
• Published: 01/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: YAMAGAMI, Katsuyoshi, WAKITA, Yumi, FERNANDO, Jeffry Bonar, TANIGAWA, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 9,079,307 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/253
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1676 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40203 Detect position of operator, create non material barrier to protect operator
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

The autonomous locomotion apparatus has a human information acquisition unit which detects a person. When there is probability of contact between the detected person and the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on movement information of the person, the autonomous locomotion apparatus controls a traveling speed or a rotational speed of the autonomous locomotion apparatus to perform a guide operation which presents a path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus which is intended to cause the person to predict, so that it causes the person to avoid the path without giving the person a sense of uneasiness.

Claims

1. An autonomous locomotion apparatus which autonomously moves based on a moving path, comprising a control unit,

the control unit comprising:

an environment information acquisition unit that acquires environment information including information about a person or an object in surroundings of the autonomous locomotion apparatus;

a human information acquisition unit that detects the person based on the environment information acquired by the environment information acquisition unit;

a contact probability judgment unit that judges presence or absence of probability of guiding an avoiding operation of the person on condition that there is probability of contact between the person and the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on the environment information at a moment when the person is detected by the human information acquisition unit;

a guide operation generation unit that generates guide operation information which presents a predicted moving path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus to the person on the condition that there is probability of guiding an avoiding operation of the person;

a traveling speed and rotational speed control unit that controls movement of the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on the guide operation information from the guide operation generation unit;

a reaction information acquisition unit that acquires reaction information of the person with respect to a guide operation performed by the traveling speed and rotational speed control unit controlling the movement of the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on the guide operation information; and

a guide operation keeping unit that keeps the guide operation according to the reaction information acquired by the reaction information acquisition unit.

2. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an avoiding operation generation unit that generates an avoiding operation to be performed by the autonomous locomotion apparatus on condition that an obstacle other than the person is included in the environment information acquired by the environment information acquisition unit, or on condition that it is impossible to induce the person to make a movement of avoiding the moving path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus.

3. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the environment information acquisition unit acquires the environment information observed by an environment observation unit which includes at least one of an LRF sensor, a millimeter-wave sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and a stereo-camera.

4. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the human information acquisition unit acquires a position, a speed, and a direction of travel of the person as movement information.

5. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide operation generation unit generates the predicted moving path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus with respect to the person by selecting a candidate from guide path candidates of high priorities based on a magnitude and a direction of a repulsive force applied to the person due to potential of the autonomous locomotion apparatus.

6. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the guide operation generation unit generates the guide operation according to the movement information of the person, and the guide operation indicates that the moving path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus which is intended to cause the person to predict, is a path for the autonomous locomotion apparatus to temporarily travel in a direction opposite to that of a goal of the autonomous locomotion apparatus.

7. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the guide operation generation unit generates the guide operation which is intended to cause the person to indicate a destination by the movement when the destination of the person is unknown even with the movement information of the person acquired by the human information acquisition unit.

8. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide operation generation unit generates, as the guide operation, an operation of the autonomous locomotion apparatus to block the moving path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus which is intended to cause the person to predict.

9. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide operation generation unit generates, as the guide operation, an operation for the autonomous locomotion apparatus to approach one of walls of both sides of the moving path while the autonomous locomotion apparatus is traveling to present the moving path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus which is intended to cause the person to predict.

10. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the traveling speed and rotational speed control unit makes a traveling speed or a rotational speed of the autonomous locomotion apparatus slower during a predetermined period of time immediately after starting of the guide operation than in other periods, and

the traveling speed and rotational speed control unit acquires the reaction information of the person by the reaction information acquisition unit in the predetermined period of time immediately after starting of the guide operation.

11. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the traveling speed and rotational speed control unit controls the traveling speed and the rotational speed to cause the autonomous locomotion apparatus to approach one of the walls of both sides of the path, when it is intended to cause the person to predict that the autonomous locomotion apparatus is to turn at a T-shaped passage or intersection.

12. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, after it is judged that the destination of the person is indicated by the movement based on the movement information of the person acquired by the human information acquisition unit, the guide operation keeping unit keeps performing the operation of the autonomous locomotion apparatus in a space in a passage other than that toward the indicated destination.

13. The autonomous locomotion apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the avoiding operation generation unit generates the avoiding operation on condition that the reaction of the person may cause a collision between the person and the autonomous locomotion apparatus even though the guide operation is performed.

14. An autonomous locomotion method for an autonomous locomotion apparatus to autonomously move based on a moving path, comprising:

acquiring environment information including information about a person or an object in surroundings of the autonomous locomotion apparatus by an environment information acquisition unit;

detecting the person by a human information acquisition unit based on the environment information acquired by the environment information acquisition unit;

judging presence or absence of probability of guiding an avoiding operation of the person by a contact probability judgment unit on condition that there is probability of contact between the person and the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on the environment information at a moment when the person is detected by the human information acquisition unit;

generating guide operation information which presents a predicted moving path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus to the person by a guide operation generation unit on condition that there is probability of guiding an avoiding operation of the person;

controlling movement of the autonomous locomotion apparatus by a traveling speed and rotational speed control unit based on the guide operation information from the guide operation generation unit;

acquiring, by a reaction information acquisition unit, reaction information of the person with respect to a guide operation performed by the traveling speed and rotational speed control unit controlling the movement of the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on the guide operation information; and

keeping, by a guide operation keeping unit, the guide operation according to the reaction information acquired by the reaction information acquisition unit.

15. A computer-readable recording medium including a program for an autonomous locomotion apparatus which autonomously moves based on a moving path, wherein

the program causes a computer to function as:

an environment information acquisition unit that acquires environment information including information about a person or an object in surroundings of the autonomous locomotion apparatus;

a human information acquisition unit that detects the person based on the environment information acquired by the environment information acquisition unit;

a contact probability judgment unit that judges presence or absence of probability of guiding an avoiding operation of the person on condition that there is probability of contact between the person and the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on the environment information at a moment when the person is detected by the human information acquisition unit;

a guide operation generation unit that generates guide operation information which presents a predicted moving path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus to the person on the condition that there is probability of guiding an avoiding operation of the person;

a traveling speed and rotational speed control unit that controls movement of the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on the guide operation information from the guide operation generation unit;

a reaction information acquisition unit that acquires reaction information of the person with respect to a guide operation performed by the traveling speed and rotational speed control unit controlling the movement of the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on the guide operation information; and

a guide operation keeping unit that keeps the guide operation according to the reaction information acquired by the reaction information acquisition unit.