Outside monitoring device for mobile robot

• US 7,761,231 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2005
• Issued: 07/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Norihisa, Koshiishi, Takeshi, Matsumoto, Satoki, Kawabe, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kiswanto; Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US11/092,543
• Publication Number:
  US 20050222713A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,938 Days
• Field of Search: 700/257, 700/258, 700/58, 700/59, 700/900, 701/28
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/021 Optical sensing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/027 Electromagnetic sensing devices

Abstract

An outside monitoring device of a mobile robot for measuring a direction of a target object using a tag, which is provided on a target object and replies a receipt signal to the mobile robot in compliance with a light signal from the mobile robot, the outside monitoring device including a plurality of light emitters each irradiating the light signal to an assigned detectable region among detectable regions established around the mobile robot are provided on the mobile robot, wherein light emitters are arranged around a reference axis orthogonal to a ground plane of the mobile robot to allow the detection of the tag within detectable regions.

Claims

1. An outside monitoring device disposed on an autonomous legged mobile robot to detect a tag carried therearound, comprising:

a plurality of light transmitters on the mobile robot configured to transmit light signals toward predetermined emission regions around the mobile robot of which directions are different therefrom one another,

wherein the light transmitters are arranged around a vertical axis of the mobile robot on a ground plane,

wherein the mobile robot comprises a head part and a body part supporting the head part, and the light emitters are disposed on the head part or the body part, and

wherein the light emitters disposed on a front portion of the head part or the body part are arranged closer together and comprise a narrower light emitting range around the vertical axis of the mobile robot than the light emitters disposed on other portions of the head part or the body part.

2. The outside monitoring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a light transmitter on a front part of the mobile robot has an emission region with a smaller horizontal angle than a transmitter on a part of the mobile robot other than the front part.

8. The outside monitoring device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a reception signal from the tag;

a direction measuring unit configured to measure a direction of the tag on the basis of the reception signal;

an image pickup device, disposed on the head part, configured to pick up an image; and

a controller configured to control the mobile robot to turn the image pickup device on the basis of the measured direction.

9. The outside monitoring device as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a voice message generator configured to send a message to a target carrying the tag after the controller turns the image pickup device.

10. The outside monitoring device as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a face recognition unit configured to recognize a face image of the target on the picked up image, wherein the voice message generator sends the message to the target.

11. The outside monitoring device as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a recognition unit configured to recognize an image of the target on the picked up image, wherein the direction of the tag is detected, then the image of the target is recognized on the basis of the measured direction, and then the mobile robot performs a predetermined motion on the basis of the result of the recognition.

3. An outside monitoring device disposed on an autonomous legged mobile robot to detect a tag positioned thereon, the device comprising:

a plurality of light transmitters on the mobile robot configured to transmit light signals toward predetermined emission regions around the mobile robot of which directions are different therefrom one to another, wherein the plurality of light transmitters are arranged around a vertical axis of the mobile robot on a ground plane, wherein the mobile robot comprises a head part and a body part supporting the head part, and wherein the light emitters are disposed on the head part or the body part;

a signal generator configured to generate search signals including different transmitter identifiers (IDs) of the light transmitters to cause the light signals to include different respective transmitter IDs, respectively;

a receiver configured to receive a reception signal corresponding to the transmitter ID; and

a determining unit configured to determine, based on the reception signal, which one of the transmitter IDs corresponds to the reception signal, determine from which one of the predetermined emission regions the reception signal is transmitted, and determine a direction of the tag from the mobile robot based on the determined one of the predetermined emission regions.

4. The outside monitoring device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

a field intensity measuring unit configured to measure a field intensity of the reception signal to determine a distance between the tag and the mobile robot.

13. The outside monitoring device of claim 3, wherein the reception signal is generated and modulated by the tag in response to a search signal.

5. An outside monitoring device for a mobile robot to detect a tag positioned therearound, comprising:

a plurality of light transmitters located on the mobile robot configured to transmit light signals to predetermined emission regions around the mobile robot that are in different directions with respect to one another, the light signals including different respective transmitter identifiers (IDs), wherein the ID tag includes a receiver configured to receive the light signal and a radio wave transmitter configured to transmit a radio wave reception signal including data corresponding to a transmitter ID received by the receiver;

a radio wave receiver configured to receive the radio wave reception signal from the radio wave transmitter; and

a determining unit configured to determine which one of the transmitter IDs corresponds to the reception signal, determine from which one of the predetermined emission regions the reception signal is transmitted based on the data corresponding to the transmitter ID received by the radio wave receiver, and determine a direction of the ID tag therefrom based on the determined one of the predetermined emission regions.

6. The outside monitoring device as claimed in claim 5, wherein a light transmitter on a front part of the mobile robot has a smaller horizontal angle of an emission region than a transmitter on a part other than the front part.

7. The outside monitoring device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the determining unit is configured to determine which one of the light transmitters is directed to the ID tag to determine the direction of the ID tag therefrom on the basis of the data corresponding to the transmitter ID received by the radio wave receiver.

14. The outside monitoring device of claim 5, wherein the plurality of light emitters are disposed on a front portion of a head part or a body part of the mobile robot are arranged closer together and comprise a narrower light emitting range around the vertical axis of the mobile robot than the light emitters disposed on other portions of the head part or the body part.

12. An outside monitoring device disposed on an autonomous legged mobile robot to detect a tag carried therearound, comprising:

a plurality of light transmitters on the mobile robot configured to transmit light signals toward predetermined emission regions around the mobile robot of which directions are different therefrom one another,

wherein the light transmitters are arranged around a vertical axis of the mobile robot on a ground plane, and

wherein the mobile robot comprises a head part and a body part supporting the head part, and the light emitters are disposed on the body part, and

wherein the light emitters disposed on a front portion of the body part are arranged closer together and comprise a narrower light emitting range around the vertical axis of the mobile robot than the light emitters disposed on other portions of the body part.