Robot device, method of controlling robot device, computer program, and program storage medium

• US 10,675,764 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2019
• Issued: 06/09/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sawada, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, II, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US16/543,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20190366555A1
• Time in Patent Office: 295 Days
• Field of Search: 382100
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0085 Cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/0058 Means for cleaning manipulators, e.g. dust removing means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/023 including video camera means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1674 characterised by safety, monitoring, diagnostic
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39053 Probe, camera on hand scans many points on own robot body, no extra jig
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• 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: H04N 23/811 by dust removal, e.g. from surfaces of the image sensor or processing of the image signal output by the electronic image sensor

Abstract

Provided is an excellent robot device capable of preferably detecting difference between dirt and a scratch on a lens of a camera and difference between dirt and a scratch on a hand. A robot device detects a site in which there is the dirt or the scratch using an image of the hand taken by a camera as a reference image. Further, this determines whether the detected dirt or scratch is due to the lens of the camera or the hand by moving the hand. The robot device performs cleaning work assuming that the dirt is detected, and then this detects the difference between the dirt and the scratch depending on whether the dirt is removed.

Claims

1. A signal processing device for a moving apparatus, the signal processing device comprising:

circuitry configured to

determine whether there is a foreign object on an image capturing device by comparing a first image captured by the image capturing device with a reference image captured at a position different from a position at which the first image is captured, wherein

information indicating there is the foreign object is used to control performance of a cleaning work on the image capturing device.

2. The signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

control capturing of a second image captured by the image capturing device after the cleaning work on the image capturing device.

3. The signal processing device according to claim 2, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether there is the foreign object on the image capturing device by comparing the second image with the reference image.

4. The signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

control capturing of the first image captured by the image capturing device of the moving apparatus.

5. The signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

control performance of the cleaning work on the image capturing device using the information indicating there is the foreign object.

6. The signal processing device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether there is the foreign object on the image capturing device based on a correlation between the first image and the reference image.

7. The signal processing device according to claim 6, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

determine that there is the foreign object on the image capturing device in a case that a site exists in which the correlation between the first image and the reference image is higher than a predetermined value.

8. The signal processing device according to claim 7, wherein the information indicating there is the foreign object is used to control performance of the cleaning work on the site of the image capturing device.

9. The signal processing device according to claim 8, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

control performance of the cleaning work on the site of the image capturing device using the information indicating there is the foreign object.

10. A signal processing method for a moving apparatus, the signal processing method comprising:

determining, using circuitry, whether there is a foreign object on an image capturing device by comparing a first image captured by the image capturing device with a reference image captured at a position different from a position at which the first image is captured, wherein

information indicating there is the foreign object is used to control performance of a cleaning work on the image capturing device.

11. The signal processing method according to claim 10, further comprising:

controlling capturing of the first image captured by the image capturing device of the moving apparatus.

12. The signal processing method according to claim 10, further comprising:

controlling capturing of a second image captured by the image capturing device after the cleaning work on the image capturing device.

13. The signal processing method according to claim 12, further comprising:

determining whether there is the foreign object on the image capturing device by comparing the second image with the reference image.

14. The signal processing method according to claim 10, further comprising:

controlling performance of the cleaning work on the image capturing device using the information indicating there is the foreign object.

15. The signal processing method according to claim 10, further comprising:

determining whether there is the foreign object on the image capturing device based on a correlation between the first image and the reference image.

16. The signal processing method according to claim 15, further comprising:

determining that there is the foreign object on the image capturing device in a case that a site exists in which the correlation between the first image and the reference image is higher than a predetermined value.

17. The signal processing method according to claim 16, wherein the information indicating there is the foreign object is used to control performance of the cleaning work on the site of the image capturing device.

18. The signal processing method according to claim 17, further comprising:

controlling performance of the cleaning work on the site of the image capturing device using the information indicating there is the foreign object.