Movable robot

• US 8,010,232 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2007
• Issued: 08/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nomura, Hideki, Lee, Haeyeon, Nakajima, Yuichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moyer; Dale
• Application Number:
  US12/279,561
• Publication Number:
  US 20100185327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,657 Days
• Field of Search: 700245-264, 901/47
• US Class Current: 700/259
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/007 mounted on wheels
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/03 by measuring coordinates of points
• 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 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/32 involving image mosaicing

Abstract

A technique to wholly recognize the surrounding environment may be provided by excluding unknown environment which arises due to parts of a body of a robot hindering the sight of the robot during operations.

The robot of the present invention is provided with a body trunk including head and torso, at least one connected member that is connected to the body trunk by a joint in which a driving mechanism is provided, a body trunk side camera that is arranged on the body trunk, and a connected member side camera that is arranged on the connected member. Further, the robot is provided with a composite image creation unit that creates composite image of a body trunk side image taken by the body trunk side camera and a connected member side image taken by the connected member side camera, such that a part of the body trunk side image is replaced with a part of the connected member side image so as to exclude the connected member from the body trunk side image.

Claims

1. A moveable robot comprising:

a body trunk;

a connected member that is connected to the body trunk by a joint in which a driving mechanism is provided;

a plurality of body trunk side cameras that are arranged on the body trunk;

a connected member side camera that is arranged on the connected member; and

a composite image creation unit that creates a composite image in which the connected member is excluded from a body trunk side image by replacing a part of the body trunk side image taken by the body trunk side camera with a part of a connected member side image taken by the connected member side camera;

wherein the composite image creation unit creates the composite image for each body trunk side image taken by the respective body trunk side camera.

2. The movable robot as in claim 1, wherein the composite image creation unit comprises:

a first specifying unit that specifies an area in which the connected member is photographed within the body trunk side image;

a second specifying unit that specifies an area within the connected member side image that photographs the same area specified by the first specifying unit; and

a unit that replaces the area of the body trunk side image specified by the first specifying unit with the connected member side image of the area specified by the second specifying unit.

3. The movable robot as in claim 1, further comprising a unit that calculates a relative positional relationship, with respect to the movable robot, of an object existing within a photographed scope by utilizing the composite image created by the composite image creation unit.

4. A movable robot comprising:

a body trunk;

a connected member that is connected to the body trunk by a joint in which a driving mechanism is provided;

a body trunk side camera that is arranged on the body trunk;

a connected member side camera that is arranged on the connected member;

a composite image creation unit that creates a composite image in which the connected member is excluded from a body trunk side image by replacing a part of the body trunk side image taken by the body trunk side camera with a part of the connected member side image taken by the connected member side camera; and

an adjusting unit that is configured to adjust direction of the connected member side camera in a case where the connected member is in a scope of photograph of the body trunk side camera, such that the connected member side camera is directed to turn to a direction in which the scope of the photograph of the body trunk side camera is taken by the connected member side camera.

5. The movable robot as in claim 4, further comprising a plurality of body trunk side cameras;

wherein the composite image creation unit creates the composite image for each body trunk side image taken by the respective body trunk side camera.

6. The movable robot as in claim 4, wherein the composite image creation unit comprises:

a first specifying unit that specifies an area in which the connected member is photographed within the body trunk side image;

a second specifying unit that specifies an area within the connected member side image that photographs the same area specified by the first specifying unit; and

a replacing unit that replaces the area of the body trunk side image specified by the first specifying unit with the connected member side image of the area specified by the second specifying unit.

7. The movable robot as in claim 4, further comprising a calculating unit that calculates a relative positional relationship, with respect to the movable robot, of an object existing within a photographed scope by utilizing the composite image created by the composite image creation unit.