Collision avoidance method, control device, and program

• US 9,827,675 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2015
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Moridaira, Tomohisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Rink, Ryan
• Application Number:
  US14/953,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20160158936A1
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1623 Parallel manipulator, Stewart platform, links are attached to a common base and to a common platform, plate which is moved parallel to the base
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1666 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1676 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39082 Collision, real time collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/02 Arm motion controller

Abstract

A collision avoidance method according to the present invention avoids collision of a robot arm 120 including an upper arm part 122 and a forearm part 124 connected to each other via an elbow part 134 with an obstacle. Movable areas of the upper arm part 122 and the forearm part 124 in a state in which positions of both ends of the robot arm 120 have been fixed are calculated. Intersections of the movable areas with a first line on a boundary surface of an obstacle area including the obstacle are calculated. A collision avoidance range in which the robot arm 120 does not collide against the obstacle area in the movable areas is determined based on the intersections that have been calculated.

Claims

1. A collision avoidance method of a robot arm that avoids collision of the robot arm with an obstacle, the robot arm including a first arm and a second arm connected to each other via a joint part, the method comprising:

calculating, as movable areas of the first arm and the second arm, trajectories drawn by the first arm and the second arm in an XYZ coordinate system when the first arm and the second arm are rotated in a state in which positions of both a first end and a second end of the robot arm have been fixed;

calculating intersections that are points, in the XYZ coordinate system, in which the movable areas and a first line intersect, wherein the first line is set on a boundary surface of an obstacle area that is coordinate data including positions of the obstacle, and wherein the first line is used for determining a collision of the robot arm with the obstacle; and

determining boundary angles of an arm angle of the robot arm based on the intersections that have been calculated, and determining, when the movable areas are separated by the boundary angles, a side of the separated movable areas which does not collide against the obstacle area, as a collision avoidance range in which the robot arm does not collide against the obstacle area in the movable areas.

2. The collision avoidance method according to claim 1, wherein:

the movable areas are formed of cones having a circle formed by a trajectory obtained by rotating the joint part in a state in which the positions of both of the ends of the robot arm have been fixed as a bottom surface and having rotational surfaces formed by the trajectories obtained by rotating the first arm and the second arm as cone side surfaces, and

the intersections are calculated separately for a first cone formed by the trajectory of the second arm and a second cone formed by the trajectory of the first arm.

3. The collision avoidance method according to claim 2, comprising, when an intersection of at least one of the movable areas with the first line is on the bottom surface, determining a range in which a first range, in which the second arm is determined not to collide with the obstacle area based on the first cone, and a second range, in which the first arm is determined not to collide with the obstacle area based on the second cone, overlap with each other as the collision avoidance range of the robot arm.

4. The collision avoidance method according to claim 3, comprising determining the first range based on the intersection on the cone side surface and the intersection on the bottom surface regarding the first cone and determining the second range based on the intersection on the cone side surface and the intersection on the bottom surface regarding the second cone.

5. The collision avoidance method according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the boundary surface of the obstacle area is formed into a curved surface.

6. The collision avoidance method according to claim 5, comprising determining a line including a contact point in a tangent line, that passes a hand position of the robot arm, contacting the curved surface, and corresponds to the first line on the curved surface, wherein the contact point is a point in which the tangent line contacts the curved surface, and

calculating the intersections that are points in which the movable areas and the determined line intersect.

7. A control device that controls a robot arm including a first arm and a second arm connected to each other via a joint part, the control device comprising:

a movable area calculation unit that calculates, as movable areas of the first arm and the second, trajectories drawn by the first arm and the second arm in an XYZ coordinate system when the first arm and the second arm are rotated in a state in which positions of both a first end and a second end of the robot arm have been fixed;

an intersection calculation unit that calculates intersections that are points, in the XYZ coordinate system, in which the movable areas and a first line intersect, wherein the first line is set on a boundary surface of an obstacle area that is coordinate data including positions of an obstacle, and wherein the first line is used for determining a collision of the robot arm with the obstacle; and

a collision avoidance range determination unit that determines boundary angles of an arm angle of the robot arm based on the intersections that have been calculated, and determines, when the movable areas are separated by the boundary angles, a side of the separated movable areas which does not collide against the obstacle area, as a collision avoidance range in which the robot arm does not collide against the obstacle area in the movable areas.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for achieving a collision avoidance method of a robot arm that avoids collision of the robot arm with an obstacle, the robot arm including a first arm and a second arm connected to each other via a joint part, the program causing a computer to execute the following steps of:

calculating, as movable areas of the first arm and the second arm, trajectories drawn by the first arm and the second arm in an XYZ coordinate system when the first and second arm are rotated in a state in which positions of both a first end and a second end of the robot arm have been fixed;

calculating intersections that are points, in the XYZ coordinate system, in which the movable areas and a first line intersect, wherein the first line is set on a boundary surface of an obstacle area that is coordinate data including positions of the obstacle, and wherein the first line is used for determining a collision of the robot arm with the obstacle; and

determining boundary angles of an arm angle of the robot arm based on the intersections that have been calculated, and determining, when the movable areas are separated by the boundary angles, a side of the separated movable areas which does not collide against the obstacle area, as a collision avoidance range in which the robot arm does not collide against the obstacle area in the movable areas.