Robot apparatus, information providing method carried out by the robot apparatus and computer storage media

• US 8,972,054 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2011
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shirado, Hirokazu, Nagano, Masakuni, Kokubo, Wataru, Iwai, Yoshiaki, Shimizu, Satoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOTT, ADAM R
• Application Number:
  US13/070,138
• Publication Number:
  US 20110238212A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 700/246, 700/257, 700/250
• US Class Current: 700/250
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 3/06 Walking aids for blind persons replacing direct visual perception by another kind of perception A61F9/08
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/009 Nursing, e.g. carrying sick persons, pushing wheelchairs, distributing drugs
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0238 using obstacle or wall sensors G05D1/0246 and G05D1/0289 take precedence; lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S17/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16

Abstract

A robot apparatus, method and computer program storage device use a memory that stores cueing point information and user information to assist a user in an external environment. The cueing points are distributed within an environmental map held by the robot apparatus, and when the user is detected by the robot apparatus as approaching a predetermined region within the external environment classified as a cueing point, the robot apparatus reacts by providing a cue to the user. The cue may user-specific, or optionally provided based on a level of care required by the user.

Claims

1. A robot apparatus, comprising:

a computer program storage device that stores cueing point information and user information,

said cueing point information including position information and level of care information associated with said position information,

said user information including identification information of a user and user-specific level of care information associated with the identification information of the user;

circuitry configured to;

decide to issue a cue based on at least said cueing point information and said user information;

recognize said user and a position of the user; and

issue at least one of an audio cue and a visual cue when the circuitry decides to issue the cue, wherein

the circuitry decides to issue the cue by (a) identifying whether the position of the user identified by the circuitry is in a predetermined range of a corresponding cueing point based on the position information, (b) identifying the user-specific level of care information based on the identification information of the user identified by the recognizing by the circuitry, and (c) comparing the level of care information associated with the position information of the corresponding cueing point with the user-specific level of care information identified by the circuitry.

2. The robot apparatus of claim 1, wherein

said circuitry is configured to determine said user-specific level of care information based on a recognition made by the circuitry.

3. The robot apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the circuitry is configured to record an environmental map, wherein cueing point information for corresponding cueing points are associated with predetermined regions within said environmental map.

4. The robot apparatus of claim 3, wherein:

the circuitry is configured to record an update of the environmental map, said update being triggered by at least one of a predetermined time period and a change in content in said environmental map.

5. The robot apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the circuitry is configured to:

recognize a behavior of said user, and

predict a future behavior of said user based on a present behavior of said user as recognized by said circuitry; and

said circuitry determines the cue to be given based on the future behavior of said user as predicted by said circuitry and a corresponding cueing point.

6. The robot apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the cue issued by said circuitry being classified into one of a plurality of patterns including behavior patterns and time patterns.

7. The robot apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a drive unit configured to move the robot apparatus;

wherein

the circuitry is configured to issue a movement command to operate said drive unit to move the robot toward the position of said user as recognized by said circuitry.

8. The robot apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a receiver configured to receive wireless communication signals from a portable wireless device.

9. The robot apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit information about the cue to a portable wireless device.

10. An information providing method performed with a robot apparatus, comprising:

storing and subsequently retrieving from a computer program storage device cueing point information and user information,

said cueing point information including position information and level of care information associated with said position information,

said user information including identification information of a user and user-specific level of care information associated with the identification information of the user;

determining with a processor to issue a cue based on at least said cueing point information and said user information;

recognizing said user and a position of the user; and

issuing at least one of an audio cue and a visual cue when the processor decides to issue the cue, wherein

the determining is conducted by (a) identifying whether the position of the user identified by the recognizing is in a predetermined range of a corresponding cueing point based on the position information, (b) identifying the user-specific level of care information based on the identification information of the user identified by the recognizing, and (c) comparing the level of care information associated with the position information of the corresponding cueing point with the identified user-specific level of care information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein

said determining step determines said user-specific level of care information based on a recognition made by the processor in said recognizing step.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

recording an environmental map in said computer program storage device, wherein cueing point information for corresponding cueing points are stored in association with predetermined regions within said environmental map.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

said recording includes recording an update of the environmental map, said update being triggered by at least one of a predetermined time period and a change in content in said environmental map.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

recognizing with the processor a behavior of said user, and

predicting a future behavior of said user based on a present behavior of said user as recognized by said processor;

wherein

said determining step determines the cue to be given based on the future behavior of said user as predicted in said predicting step and a corresponding cueing point.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the cue issued in said issuing being classified into one of a plurality of patterns including behavior patterns and time patterns.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

issuing a movement command to move the robot toward the position of said user as recognized in said recognizing step; and

moving the robot apparatus with a drive unit in response to the movement command.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving from a portable wireless communication device a signal requesting a cueing point be set for a predetermined location.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium including executable instructions, that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform an information providing method performed with a robot apparatus, the method comprising:

storing and subsequently retrieving from a computer program storage device cueing point information and user information,

said cueing point information including position information and level of care information associated with said position information,

said user information including identification information of a user and user-specific level of care information associated with the identification information of the user;

determining with the processor to issue a cue based on at least said cueing point information and said user information;

recognizing said user and a position of the user; and

issuing at least one of an audio cue and a visual cue when the processor decides to issue the cue, wherein

the determining is conducted by (a) identifying whether the position of the user identified by the recognizing is in a predetermined range of a corresponding cueing point based on the position information, (b) identifying the user-specific level of care information based on the identification information of the user identified by the recognizing, and (c) comparing the level of care information associated with the position information of the corresponding cueing point with the identified user-specific level of care information.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein

said determining step determines said user-specific level of care information based on a recognition made by the processor in said recognizing step.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein said method further comprising:

recording an environmental map in said computer program storage device, wherein cueing point information for corresponding cueing points are stored in association with predetermined regions within said environmental map.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein:

said recording includes recording an update of the environmental map, said update being triggered by at least one of a predetermined time period and a change in content in said environmental map.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein said method further comprising:

recognizing with the processor a behavior of said user, and

predicting a future behavior of said user based on a present behavior of said user as recognized by said processor;

wherein

said determining step determines the cue to be given based on the future behavior of said user as predicted in said predicting step and a corresponding cueing point.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein:

the cue issued in said issuing being classified into one of a plurality of patterns including behavior patterns and time patterns.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein said method further comprising:

receiving from a portable wireless communication device a signal requesting a cueing point be set for a predetermined location.