Robot apparatus and walking control method thereof

• US 20050066397A1
• Filed: 09/07/2004
• Published: 03/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sabe, Kohtaro, Hidai, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,418,312 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 57/032 with alternately or sequentially lifted supporting base and legs; with alternately or sequentially lifted feet or skid B62D57/024 takes precedence

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a robot apparatus and a walking control method thereof capable of changing walking control modes in accordance with floor surfaces by discriminating states of the floor surfaces for walking without modifying a step-based walking schedule and capable of providing stable walking even if floor surface states change greatly.

A robot apparatus comprises: an action control section 11 to output a walking start instruction; a floor surface discrimination section 12 to discriminate a category for a current floor surface; and a walking control section 13 to compute an adaptive operation amount. The walking control section 13 obtains sensor values of a foot sole sensor and the like from the current floor surface by means of an in-place stepping motion and the like. Based on the sensor value, the walking control section 13 computes the adaptive operation amount as a correction amount from a standard gait model. The floor surface discrimination section 12 performs pattern recognition for the adaptive operation amount to discriminate the category for the current floor surface. The walking control section 13 is supplied with the floor surface category and selects an optimum walking model for the floor surface category. Again from the sensor value, the walking control section 13 computes the adaptive operation amount as a correction amount for the sensor value and provides walking control accordingly.

Claims

1. An autonomously movable legged mobile robot apparatus comprising:

walking surface discrimination means for discriminating a walking surface category as a current walking surface'"'"'s category from a plurality of prepared categories based on information about the current walking surface; and

walking control means for controlling walking by selecting a specified walking control mode in accordance with the walking surface category discriminated by the walking surface discrimination means.

2. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the walking control means computes a walking control amount from a sensor value output from a sensor provided for at least a leg based on a selected walking control mode;

and

the walking surface discrimination means uses the walking control amount as information about the current walking surface.

3. The robot apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the walking control means has a different walking control model for each of the categories, selects a walking control model corresponding to the walking surface category to be input, and uses the sensor value to compute a correction amount from the walking control model as the walking control amount.

4. The robot apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the walking control means converts the sensor value into the walking control amount using a specified parameter, has a different parameter for each of the categories, and computes the walking control amount using a parameter corresponding to the walking surface category to be input.

5. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the walking surface discrimination means uses a sensor value output from a sensor provided for at least a leg as information about the current walking surface.

6. The robot apparatus according to claim 1 comprising:

an imaging means,

wherein the walking surface discrimination means extracts a walking surface area from an input image captured by the imaging means and uses the walking surface area as information about the current walking surface.

7. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the walking surface discrimination means discriminates a walking surface category by means of pattern recognition of information about the current walking surface.

8. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the walking surface discrimination means has a learnt characteristic amount obtained by previously learning a characteristic amount of information about a walking surface for each category classified in accordance with a specified criterion and compares a characteristic amount of information about a current walking surface with the learnt characteristic amount so as to discriminate a walking surface category.

9. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the plurality of categories are obtained by classifying characteristic amounts of information about walking surfaces based on a previously learnt characteristic amount;

and

the walking surface discrimination means compares a characteristic amount of information about a current walking surface with the learnt characteristic amount to discriminate a walking surface category.

10. The robot apparatus according to claim 1 comprising:

motion generation means for generating an in-place stepping motion to discriminate the walking surface category.

11. The robot apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the walking control means computes a walking control amount from a sensor value output from a sensor provided for at least a leg based on a selected walking control mode during the in-lace stepping motion;

and

the walking surface discrimination means uses the walking control amount as information about the walking surface.

12. The robot apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the walking control means computes a chronological walking control amount from a chronological sensor value output from a sensor provided for at least a leg based on a selected walking control mode;

and

the walking surface discrimination means uses a characteristic amount equivalent to data resulting from Fourier transforming the chronological walking control amount and performs pattern recognition of the characteristic amount to discriminate a walking surface category.

13. The robot apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the walking surface discrimination means uses a characteristic amount equivalent to data resulting from Fourier transforming a chronological sensor value output from a sensor provided for at least a leg and performs pattern recognition of the characteristic amount to discriminate a walking surface category.

14. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the walking surface discrimination means continuously discriminates a walking surface category during walking.

15. A walking control method of an autonomously movable legged mobile robot apparatus comprising the steps of:

discriminating a walking surface category as a current walking surface'"'"'s category from a plurality of prepared categories based on information about the walking surface; and

controlling walking by selecting a specified walking control mode in accordance with the walking surface category discriminated by the walking surface discrimination step.

16. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15 comprising the step of:

computing a walking control amount from a sensor value output from a sensor provided for at least a leg based on a selected walking control mode,

wherein the walking surface discrimination step uses the walking control amount as information about the current walking surface.

17. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the walking control amount computation step, the walking surface discrimination step, and the walking control step are repeated during walking.

18. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the walking surface discrimination step uses a sensor value output from a sensor provided for at least a leg as information about the current walking surface.

19. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the walking surface discrimination step extracts a walking surface area from an input image captured by imaging means and uses the walking surface area as information about the current walking surface.

20. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the walking surface discrimination step discriminates a walking surface category by means of pattern recognition of information about the current walking surface.

21. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the walking surface discrimination step compares a characteristic amount of information about current walking surface with a learnt characteristic amount obtained by previously learning a characteristic amount of information about a walking surface for each category classified in accordance with a specified criterion so as to discriminate a walking surface category.

22. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15, wherein

the plurality of categories are obtained by classifying characteristic amounts of information about walking surfaces based on a previously learnt characteristic amount;

and

the walking surface discrimination step compares a characteristic amount of information about a current walking surface with the learnt characteristic amount to discriminate a walking surface category.

23. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15 comprising the step of:

generating an in-place stepping motion before the walking surface discrimination step so as to discriminate the walking surface category.

24. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15 comprising the steps of:

generating an in-lace stepping motion before the walking surface discrimination step so as to discriminate the walking surface category; and

computing a walking control amount from a sensor value output from a sensor provided for at least a leg based on a selected walking control mode during the in-place stepping motion,

wherein the walking surface discrimination step uses the walking control amount as information about the walking surface.

25. The walking control method of the robot apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the walking surface discrimination step continuously discriminates a waling surface category during walking.