AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOT APPARATUS AND A RUSH-OUT COLLISION AVOIDANCE METHOD IN THE SAME APPRATUS

• US 20100222954A1
• Filed: 08/26/2009
• Published: 09/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ichinose, Ryoko, Egawa, Saku, Hosoda, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 8,504,202 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/26
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0289 with means for avoiding collisions between vehicles vehicle fittings for automatically controlling speed including means for detecting potential obstacles B60K31/0008; avoiding obstacles by action on the steering system B62D; radar, sonar, lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93

Abstract

An autonomous mobile robot apparatus and a method for avoiding collision due to rush-out, being applicable under the circumstances where persons and robots come and go each other, comprises an obstacle detector unit 3, which detects an obstacle, a route producer unit 7, which determines a route for reaching to a destination while avoiding the obstacle detected by the obstacle detector unit upon basis of a predetermined avoiding method, as well as, a velocity thereof, and a moving unit 2, which loads the obstacle detector unit and the route producer unit thereon and moves, thereby operating under circumstances mixing with a human being(s), wherein the obstacle detector unit, further, detects a terminal point of an article lying in an advancing direction of the autonomous mobile robot apparatus, and a distance between the terminal point and the autonomous mobile robot apparatus, and the route producer unit, when the obstacle detector unit detects the terminal end of said article, controls at least either one of the route and the velocity thereof, so as to avoid to collide on the obstacle, which rushes out from the terminal point, in the advancing direction of the autonomous mobile robot apparatus, centering around said terminal point, and thereby enabling quick movement while avoiding collision due to rush-out.

Claims

1. An autonomous mobile robot apparatus, comprising:

an obstacle detecting unit, which detects an obstacle;

a route producing unit, which determines a route for reaching to a destination while avoiding the obstacle detected by said obstacle detecting unit upon basis of a predetermined avoiding method, as well as, a velocity thereof; and

a moving unit, which loads said obstacle detecting unit and said route producing unit thereon and moves, thereby operating under circumstances mixing with a human being(s), wherein

said obstacle detecting unit, further, detects a terminal point of an article lying in an advancing direction of said autonomous mobile robot apparatus, and a distance between said terminal point and said autonomous mobile robot apparatus, and

said route producing unit, when said obstacle detecting unit detects the terminal end of said article, controls at least either one of the route and the velocity thereof, so as to avoid to collide on the obstacle, which rushes out from said terminal point, in the advancing direction of said autonomous mobile robot apparatus, centering around said terminal point.

2. The autonomous mobile robot apparatus, as described in the claim 1, wherein said route producing unit determines a collision avoiding area by taking either one of a stop distance of said robot apparatus and an advancing distance of said obstacle up to stoppage of said robot apparatus when said obstacle rushes out, centering around said terminal point, and further decides a possibility of collision upon the obstacle rushing out from said terminal point, upon said collision avoiding area determined.

3. The autonomous mobile robot apparatus, as described in the claim 2, wherein said route producing unit controls at least either one of the route and the velocity thereof, depending on the possibility of collision upon the obstacle rushing out from said terminal point determined upon basis of said collision avoiding.

4. The autonomous mobile robot apparatus, as described in the claim 3, wherein said route producing unit decelerates said velocity when the velocity of said autonomous mobile robot apparatus can be decelerated, in case where there is the possibility of collision upon the obstacle rushing out from said terminal point, which is determined upon basis of said collision avoiding area, and causes said robot apparatus to take a long way around as the route thereof where it is impossible to decelerate the velocity of said robot apparatus.

5. The autonomous mobile robot apparatus, as described in the claim 4, wherein said route producing unit obtains the advancing distance of said obstacle up to stoppage of said robot apparatus when said obstacle rushes out, with multiplying an estimated maximum velocity of said obstacle by stop time of said robot apparatus.

6. The autonomous mobile robot apparatus, as described in the claim 1, wherein said route producing unit selects a route having an amount less in changes of the velocity to be controlled for avoiding the collision upon the obstacle, which rushes out from said terminal point, in case where there can be obtained a plural number of routes for reaching to the destination while avoiding said obstacle detected, when said obstacle detecting unit detects the obstacle and also said terminal end.

7. A method for avoiding rush-out collision within an autonomous mobile robot apparatus having:

an obstacle detecting unit, which detects an obstacle;

a route producing unit, which determines a route for reaching to a destination while avoiding the obstacle detected by said obstacle detecting unit upon basis of a predetermined avoiding method, as well as, a velocity thereof; and

a moving unit, which loads said obstacle detecting unit and said route producing unit thereon and moves, thereby operating under circumstances mixing with a human being(s), comprising the following steps of;

measuring a distance between a terminal point of an article lying in an advancing direction of said autonomous mobile robot apparatus, and a distance between said terminal point and said autonomous mobile robot apparatus, by said obstacle detecting unit, and

controlling at least either one of the route and the velocity thereof, so as to avoid to collide on the obstacle, which rushes out from said terminal point, in the advancing direction of said autonomous mobile robot apparatus, centering around said terminal point, when said obstacle detecting unit detects the terminal end of said article.

8. The method for avoiding rush-out, as described in the claim 7, further comprising the following steps of:

determining a collision avoiding area by taking either one of a stop distance of said robot apparatus and an advancing distance of said obstacle up to stoppage of said robot apparatus when said obstacle rushes out, centering around said terminal point; and

determining a possibility of collision upon the obstacle rushing out from said terminal point, upon said collision avoiding area determined.

9. The method for avoiding rush-out, as described in the claim 8, further comprising a step of controls at least either one of the route and the velocity thereof, depending on the possibility of collision upon the obstacle rushing out from said terminal point determined upon basis of said collision avoiding.

10. The method for avoiding rush-out collision, as described in the claim 9, further comprising steps of:

decelerating said velocity when the velocity of said autonomous mobile robot apparatus can be decelerated, in case where there is the possibility of collision upon the obstacle rushing out from said terminal point, which is determined upon basis of said collision avoiding area; and

causing said robot apparatus to take a long way around as the route thereof where it is impossible to decelerate the velocity of said robot apparatus.

11. The method for avoiding rush-out collision, as described in the claim 10, wherein the advancing distance of said obstacle up to stoppage of said robot apparatus when said obstacle rushes out is obtained, with multiplying an estimated maximum velocity of said obstacle by stop time of said robot apparatus.