AUTONOMOUS MOVING DEVICE

• US 20170212518A1
• Filed: 07/25/2014
• Published: 07/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: IIMURA, Taiki, YAMAMOTO, Kenjiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,156,847 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0214 in accordance with safety or protection criteria, e.g. avoiding hazardous areas monitoring the location of vehicles within a certain area, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas, in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/217 Validation; Performance evaluation; Active pattern learning techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/10 Terrestrial scenes scenes under surveillance with static cameras G06V20/52; scenes perceived from the exterior of a vehicle G06V20/56; scenes perceived from the interior of a vehicle G06V20/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads

Abstract

An autonomous moving device includes a database that stores information on which objects are necessary to avoid and which are not necessary to avoid. When the autonomous object travels, an object detection unit detects an object on the road by using a sensor; a collation unit collates the detected object on a road surface with an object stored in the database; a determination input unit receives an input of an operator regarding whether or not to avoid the object where there is no data which is the same as or similar to the object in the database as a result of collation which is performed by the collation unit; and an operation generation unit commands the next operation of the moving object, based on the result of collation which is performed by the collation unit and the determination unit.

Claims

1. An autonomous moving device comprising:

a database that stores information on which avoiding an object is needful and information on which avoiding the object is needless, when an autonomous moving object travels;

an object detection unit that detects an object on a road surface in the periphery of the moving object by using a sensor which is included in the moving object;

a collation unit that collates a detected object on a road surface with an object which is stored in the database;

a determination input unit that receives an input of determination of avoidance need and needlessness with respect to the object on a road surface from an operator, in a case where data which is the same as or similar to the object on a road surface is not in the database as a result of collation which is performed by the collation unit; and

an operation generation unit that commands a next operation of the moving object, based on the result of collation which is performed by the collation unit and determination results of avoidance need and needlessness which are input by the determination input unit.

2. The autonomous moving device according to claim 1,

wherein the database is configured with a avoidance need class that stores information on which avoiding an object on a road surface is needful and an avoidance needlessness class that stores information on which avoiding an object on a road surface is needless, and the amount of characteristics which are able to be used for comparing characteristics of an object is defined in the information on each object, and

wherein each of the avoidance need class and the avoidance needlessness class has a data group that is configured by representative data which is information on an object that is representative of the data group, and sub-data which is information on an object similar to characteristics of the representative data and is associated with the representative data, as an element.

3. The autonomous moving device according to claim 2,

wherein the collation unit collates the object on a road surface that is detected by the object detection unit with each representative data of the database, and extracts a plurality of pieces of the representative data similar to the object on a road surface,

wherein the collation unit collates the object on a road surface with the sub-data that is associated with each representative data that is extracted, and extracts the data group with a high rate of the data similar to the object on a road surface as a candidate data group,

wherein the collation unit transmits avoidance need and needlessness classes which involve the candidate data group to the operation generation unit, in a case where the amount of characteristics of the representative data or the sub-data in the candidate data group which is extracted is within a predetermined difference between the amount of characteristics of the representative data or the sub-data and the amount of characteristics of the object on a road surface,

wherein the collation unit transmits information on the candidate data group to the determination input unit, in a case where the amount of characteristics of the representative data or the sub-data in the candidate data group which is extracted is also not within the predetermined difference between the amount of characteristics of the representative data or the sub-data and the amount of characteristics of the object on a road surface, and

wherein the determination input unit displays the information on the candidate data group and the object on a road surface for the operator, and receives an input of avoidance need and needlessness determination with respect to the object on a road surface from the operator.

4. The autonomous moving device according to claim 3,

wherein the determination input unit displays the candidate data group and the object on a road surface on a monitor, when receiving information on the candidate data group from the collation unit,

wherein the determination input unit receives absence or presence of the same type of a data group as the object on a road surface in the candidate data group which is displayed on the monitor, from the operator,

wherein, in a case where there is the same type of a data group as the object on a road surface, the determination input unit adds information on the object on a road surface to the data group, and determines whether avoiding the object on a road surface is needful or needless, based on information of avoidance need and needlessness classes that involve the data group, and

wherein, in a case where there is no the same type of a data group as the object on a road surface, the determination input unit receives avoidance determination of the object on a road surface from the operator, adds the information on the object on a road surface to the database as representative data, based on results of the avoidance determination, and determines avoidance need and needlesness, based on the determination results.

5. The autonomous moving device according to claim 1,

wherein the sensor, the object detection unit, the collation unit, and the operation generation unit are included in the moving object, and

wherein the database and the determination input unit are included in a server which can communicate with the moving object.