ROBOT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DRIVING THE SAME

• US 20140052296A1
• Filed: 05/03/2013
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hanwha Robotics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Samsung Techwin Corporation (Hanwha Corporation)
• Inventors: LEE, Jin-han, KIM, Yang-hyun, KIM, Ki-sung
• Granted Patent: US 9,126,338 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/259
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40298 Manipulator on vehicle, wheels, mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00

Abstract

Provided is a method of driving a system for a robot including obtaining scan data which includes information about at least one of a coordinate and a direction of the robot, estimating a plurality of location changes of the robot by matching a plurality of consecutive scan data pairs of the obtained scan data, generating a path of the robot by connecting the estimated location changes, estimating a position of a corrected instantaneous center of rotation (ICR), and correcting the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs based on the corrected ICR.

Claims

1. A method of driving a robot, the method comprising:

obtaining scan data which includes information about at least one of a coordinate and a direction of the robot;

estimating a plurality of location changes of the robot by matching a plurality of consecutive scan data pairs of the obtained scan data;

generating a path of the robot by connecting the estimated location changes;

estimating a position of a corrected instantaneous center of rotation (ICR); and

correcting the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs based on the corrected ICR.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the position of the corrected ICR is disposed in a vicinity of a plurality of extension lines that extends from a rotation axis of the robot at each position on the generated path, and

wherein each of the extension lines comprises an ICR for the each position of the robot.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a previous location of the corrected plurality of consecutive scan data pairs is used for estimating a next location change of the robot.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein in the estimating the plurality of location changes, a relative location change of one scan data is estimated based on another earlier scan data with respect to time among the consecutive scan data pairs.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the path of the robot comprises:

setting a reference point of the robot at a predetermined time; and

generating the path of the robot by connecting the estimated location changes with respect to the reference point.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the estimating the position of the corrected ICR comprises:

generating a plurality of extension lines, each comprising an ICR of the robot at each position on the generated path; and

estimating the position of the corrected ICR at a point of the closest distance from the plurality of extension lines.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the correcting the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs further comprises changing the ICR of the robot at each position on the path to the corrected ICR.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the correcting the plurality of consecutive scan data further comprises changing a position of the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the correcting the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs further comprises changing a direction of the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the correcting the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs further comprises changing a position and a direction of the scan data pairs.

11. The method of claim 1, before the estimating the plurality of location changes, further comprising:

sensing a travel direction of the robot by using a gyro sensor;

detecting a travel distance of the robot by using en encoder; and

correcting a location and a direction of the robot by using the travel direction and the travel distance.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the scan data is obtained, from a space where the robot moves, using a signal emitted from and received by the robot after the signal is reflected from an object around the robot.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising setting a starting point during the matching of the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs based on data of the corrected location and direction of the robot.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of location changes is estimated from data of the corrected location and direction and the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs.

15. A robot comprising:

a distance measurement unit which obtains scan data including information about at least one of a coordinate and a direction of the robot;

a location change estimation unit which estimates a plurality of location changes of the robot by matching a plurality of consecutive scan data pairs of the obtained scan data;

a path generation unit which generates a path of the robot by connecting the estimated location changes;

a corrected instantaneous center of rotation (ICR) estimation unit which estimates a position of a corrected ICR; and

a primary correction unit which corrects and outputs the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs based on the corrected ICR.

16. The robot of claim 15, wherein the position of the corrected ICR is disposed in a vicinity of a plurality of extension lines that extends from a rotation axis of the robot at each position on the generated path and each of the extension lines comprises an ICR for the each position of the robot.

17. The robot of claim 15, wherein the corrected plurality of consecutive scan data pairs output from the primary correction unit is an input for the location change estimation unit.

18. The robot of claim 15, wherein the location change estimation unit estimates a relative location change of one scan data based on another earlier scan data with respect to time among the consecutive scan data pairs.

19. The robot of claim 15, wherein the path generation unit sets a reference point of the robot at a predetermined time and generates the path of the robot by connecting the estimated location changes with respect to the reference point.

20. The robot of claim 15, wherein the corrected ICR estimation unit generates a plurality of extension lines, each comprising an ICR of the robot at each position on the generated path and estimates the position of the corrected ICR at a point of the closet distance from the plurality of extension lines.

21. The robot of claim 15, wherein the correction unit changes at least one of a position and a direction of the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs.

22. The robot of claim 15, further comprising:

a gyro sensor which senses a travel direction of the robot;

an encoder which detects a travel distance of the robot; and

a secondary correction unit which corrects a location and a direction of the robot based on the travel direction and the travel distance and outputs the corrected location and direction of the robot to the location change estimation unit.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing a method of driving a robot, the method comprising:

obtaining scan data which includes information about at least one of a coordinate and a direction of the robot;

estimating a plurality of location changes of the robot by matching a plurality of consecutive scan data pairs of the obtained scan data;

generating a path of the robot by connecting the estimated location changes;

estimating a position of a corrected instantaneous center of rotation (ICR); and

correcting the plurality of consecutive scan data pairs based on the corrected ICR.