Robot

• US 7,218,994 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2005
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Shimizu, Katsutoshi, Okabayashi, Keiju, Murase, Yuichi, Kanda, Shinji, Iwashita, Sumihisa, Sawasaki, Naoyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marc; McDieunel
• Application Number:
  US11/083,900
• Publication Number:
  US 20050165508A1
• Time in Patent Office: 785 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 700/258, 700/259, 318/568.12, 342/47, 342/53, 701/225
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0251 extracting 3D information from a plurality of images taken from different locations, e.g. stereo vision stereoscopic image analysis H04N13/00; depth recovery from images G06T7/593
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0285 using signals transmitted via a public communication network, e.g. GSM network
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/008 based on physical entities controlled by simulated intelligence so as to replicate intelligent life forms, e.g. based on robots replicating pets or humans in their appearance or behaviour

Abstract

A robot for freely moving about in an environment where there is an obstacle. The robot includes a communication section transmitting by wireless an image taken by a camera to a base station, and via the base station to a communication terminal making a radio communication with the base station, and receiving by wireless movement target position information specified on the image by an operation of the communication terminal via the base station, and a motion control section that moves the robot up to a movement target position specified by the movement target position information acquired in the communication section.

Claims

1. A robot capable of freely advancing, retreating and rotating, comprising:

a sensor that senses whether or not a front obstacle is an obstacle having a predetermined height or less that the robot can get over, or an obstacle having more than the predetermined height that the robot can not get over; and

a motion control section that controls the robot to continuously advance to get over the obstacle if the height of the obstacle sensed by the sensor is the predetermined height or less during the advancement, or to perform an obstacle avoidance movement including at least one of the retreat and rotation, if the height of the obstacle sensed by the sensor is more than the predetermined height.

2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is composed of a first sensor sensing the contact with the obstacle having the predetermined height or less during the advancement, and a second sensor sensing the contact with the obstacle having more than the predetermined height, in which the obstacle is determined to have the predetermined height or less if the obstacle is sensed by only the first contact sensor of the first and second contact sensors, or the obstacle is determined to have more than the predetermined height if the obstacle is sensed by the second sensor.

3. The robot according to claim 2, further comprising a distance sensor measuring a distance up to a measuring point that is forward obliquely below, in addition to the first and second contact sensors,

wherein the motion control section decreases an advancing speed when the distance sensor senses a predetermined distance or less during the advancement.

4. A robot capable of freely advancing, retreating and rotating, comprising:

a sensor that senses whether or not a front obstacle is an obstacle having a predetermined height or less that the robot can get over, or an obstacle having more than the predetermined height that the robot can not get over;

a motion control section that controls the robot to continuously advance to get over the obstacle if the height of the obstacle sensed by the sensor is the predetermined height or less during the advancement, or to perform an obstacle avoidance movement including at least one of the retreat and rotation, if the height of the obstacle sensed by the sensor is more than the predetermined height; and

a communication section that receives control data from a base station by wireless, the control data being transmitted from a communication terminal making a radio communication with the base station to the base station,

wherein the motion control section is operated based on the control data received by the communication section, and performs the obstacle avoidance movement without waiting for the control data to be received by the communication section.

5. A robot capable of freely moving, comprising:

a camera;

a movement target position information acquisition section that acquires movement target position information specified on an image photographed by the camera;

a motion control section that moves the robot up to a movement target position specified by the movement target position information acquired by the movement target position information acquisition section; and

a communication section that transmits an image taken by the camera to a base station by wireless, and via the base station to a communication terminal making a radio communication with the base station, and receives by wireless the movement target position information specified on the image by an operation of the communication terminal via the base station, in which the movement target position acquisition section includes the communication section.

6. A robot capable of freely moving, comprising:

a camera;

a movement target position information acquisition section that acquires movement target position information specified on an image photographed by the camera; and

a motion control section that moves the robot up to a movement target position specified by the movement target position information acquired by the movement target position information acquisition section,

wherein the camera is composed of a pair of left and right cameras installed a predetermined distance away from each other to have a parallax; and

a distance measurement section that measures a distance up to the movement target position specified by the movement target position information acquired by the movement target position information acquisition section, employing the parallax of the pair of left and right cameras,

wherein the motion control section recognizes a movement distance based on the distance measured by the distance measurement section when the robot moves up to the movement target position.

7. The robot according to claim 6, wherein the distance measurement section measures a distance up to the movement target position and a distance up to the obstacle, employing the parallax between the pair of left and right cameras, and wherein the motion control section performs an obstacle avoidance movement including the operation of changing the movement direction by acquiring information about the distance up to the obstacle measured by the distance measurement section.

8. A robot capable of freely moving, comprising:

a camera;

a movement target position information acquisition section that acquires movement target position information specified on an image photographed by the camera;

a motion control section that moves the robot up to a movement target position specified by the movement target position information acquired by the movement target position information acquisition section;

a visual line movement section that moves a visual line of the camera to the left or right; and

a direction calculation section that calculates a direction to the movement target position in consideration of an orientation of the camera when taking the image on which the movement target information acquired by the movement target position acquisition section is based,

wherein the motion control section recognizes a movement direction based on the direction calculated by the direction calculation section when the robot moves up to the movement target position.

9. A robot capable of freely moving, comprising:

a camera;

a movement target position information acquisition section that acquires movement target position information specified on an image photographed by the camera;

a motion control section that moves the robot up to a movement target position specified by the movement target position information acquired by the movement target position information acquisition section; and

an image storage section that stores rewritably a reference image ahead in the advancement direction, which is photographed by the camera,

wherein the motion control section controls the robot to advance by repeating a pattern matching between the current image photographed by the camera and the reference image stored in the image storage section to modify the advancement direction.

10. A robot capable of advancing, retreating and rotating, comprising:

a sensor that senses the existence of an obstacle hampering an advancement of the robot;

a motion control section that performs an obstacle avoidance movement in which the robot retreats to a position where the robot is rotatable by avoiding the obstacle when the sensor senses the existence of the obstacle during the advancement of the robot; and

a communication section that receives control data from a base station by wireless, the control data being transmitted from a communication terminal to the base station,

wherein the motion control section is operated based on the control data received by the communication section, and performs the obstacle avoidance movement without waiting for the control data to be received by the communication section.