ROBOT DEVICE AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM

• US 20180104816A1
• Filed: 07/06/2017
• Published: 04/19/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: TOKUCHI, Kengo
• Granted Patent: US 10,987,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/008 Manipulators for service tasks
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/163 learning, adaptive, model based, rule based expert control
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1661 characterised by task planning, object-oriented languages
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1679 characterised by the tasks executed
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems

Abstract

A robot device includes a detector and a controller. The detector detects a surrounding situation. If the robot device is unable to execute a solution for solving a problem in the surrounding situation by using a function of the robot device, the controller performs control so that the solution will be executed by using an element other than the robot device.

Claims

1. A robot device comprising:

a detector that detects a surrounding situation; and

a controller that performs control, if the robot device is unable to execute a solution for solving a problem in the surrounding situation by using a function of the robot device, so that the solution will be executed by using an element other than the robot device.

2. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the element includes at least one of a person and a device other than the robot device.

3. The robot device according to claim 2, wherein the controller controls a device other than the robot device by communicating with the device so as to cause the device to execute the solution.

4. The robot device according to claim 2, wherein the controller controls a device other than the robot device by directly operating an operation unit of the device so as to cause the device to execute the solution.

5. The robot device according to claim 4, wherein, if the controller is unable to control a device other than the robot device by communicating with the device, the controller controls the device by directly operating the operation unit of the device.

6. The robot device according to claim 2, wherein the solution is executed by a collaborative work between at least two of the robot device, a device other than the robot device, and a person.

7. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the controller performs control so that information indicating the solution will be displayed.

8. The robot device according to claim 7, wherein the controller also performs control so that a device image linked with a device that is able to execute the solution will be displayed.

9. The robot device according to claim 8, wherein a function using a device linked with a device image specified by a user is executed.

10. The robot device according to claim 8, wherein, if a plurality of device images are specified by a user, a collaborative function using a plurality of devices linked with the plurality of device images is executed.

11. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the detector detects, as the surrounding situation, information concerning a person around the robot device or information concerning surroundings other than persons.

12. The robot device according to claim 11, wherein the detector determines that a problem has occurred in the surrounding situation when a value representing the information concerning the surroundings other than persons is equal to or higher than a threshold.

13. The robot device according to claim 12, wherein the threshold is changed in accordance with information concerning a person detected by the detector.

14. The robot device according to claim 11, wherein, if a problem in the surrounding situation detected from a first detection result based on information concerning a person is different from a problem in the surrounding situation detected from a second detection result based on information concerning the surroundings other than persons, the controller selects a solution for solving the problem in accordance with a priority level determined for the first detection result or a priority level determined for the second detection result.

15. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein, if the element other than the robot device is usable for a charge, the controller controls a payment operation of the robot device for using the element.

16. The robot device according to claim 15, wherein, if the robot device does not have any payment instrument, the controller causes the robot device to perform the payment operation by receiving payment support from the element.

17. The robot device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication unit that performs communication with a device other than the robot device by changing a communication method suitable for surrounding environments.

18. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein, if the solution is a solution to be executed by a person to solve the problem, the controller performs control so that information concerning how to execute the solution will be provided.

19. The robot device according to claim 1, wherein the problem that the robot device is unable to solve by using the function of the robot device is a problem that is not possible to solve only by the function of the robot device, a problem that requires a certain threshold time or longer to solve only by using the function of the robot device, or a problem that does not produce a solving result of a certain quality by using the function of the robot device.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process, the process comprising:

detecting a surrounding situation; and

performing control, if a robot device is unable to execute a solution for solving a problem in the surrounding situation by using a function of the robot device, so that the solution will be executed by using an element other than the robot device.