Human-guided mapping method for mobile robot

• US 8,068,935 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2006
• Issued: 11/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yutaka Kanayama
• Original Assignee: Yutaka Kanayama
• Inventors: Kanayama, Yutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAMPLE, JONATHAN L
• Application Number:
  US12/085,719
• Publication Number:
  US 20090198375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,868 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40446 Graph based
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40506 Self motion topology knowledge, configuration mapping
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40508 Fuzzy identification of motion plans executed by operator
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0221 involving a learning process

Abstract

A method of mapping an operation area by a team of a human and a mobile robot 200 includes the steps of defining a graph representing the area by a human 201, guiding the robot by human along an edge 203, stopping at a vertex in the graph by the team 203, creating a vertex record if stopped at a new vertex 205, localizing the robot and vertices if stopped at an existing vertex 206, creating an edge record if finished a new edge 208, and outputting an area'"'"'s map including a set of vertex records and a set of edge record by the robot 210. The robot'"'"'s human-tracking step 203 includes the steps of obtaining a 2-DOF motion command from sensors that detect the human'"'"'s action and executing a 2-DOF motion based on the motion command.

Claims

1. A method of enabling a mobile robot to track a human in an operation area comprising the steps of:

obtaining a two-variable motion command from sensors that detect the human'"'"'s action; and

executing a motion of the robot with a translation speed and a rotation speed based on the motion command, while keeping the robot'"'"'s translation direction the same as the robot'"'"'s body direction;

creating a motion record that includes a translational speed and a rotation speed at each motion-control interval; and

outputting the set of the created motion records at the end of the human-tracking motion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the translation speed in the executing step is restricted to non-negative.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the translation speed in the executing step is restricted to non-positive.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein further comprising the step of reproducing the human-tracking motion using the set of the motion records.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein further comprising the step of reproducing the human-tracking motion in a reverse order using the set of the motion records.

6. A method of enabling a team of a human and a mobile robot to map an operation area comprising the steps of:

defining a graph that is embedded in the operation area by the human;

traversing an edge in the graph while the robot tracks the human with non-negative translation speed;

extracting geometrical features of the both-side objects by the robot while traversing an edge in the graph;

stopping at a vertex in the graph at the end of edge traversing;

telling the robot the number of the vertex by the human when the team stops at a vertex;

creating a vertex record that includes a vertex number, an anchor, a human-provided name, and a vertex position by the robot when the team stops at a new vertex;

localizing the robot and vertices by the robot when the team stops at an existing vertex;

creating an edge record that includes a pair of vertex numbers, a distance, geometrical features of the both-side objects by the robot when the team finishes traversing of a new edge; and

outputting the set of the created vertex records and the set of the created edge records as a map of the operation area by the robot at the end of the mapping session.