Movable robot

• US 8,234,011 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2011
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• 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: Nakajima, Yuichiro, Nomura, Hideki, Lee, Haeyeon
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOYER, DALE S
• Application Number:
  US13/137,119
• Publication Number:
  US 20120053727A1
• Time in Patent Office: 376 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382103-104, 382106-107, 382/141, 382153-154, 382/171, 382/282, 382284-286, 700245-264, 701/28, 901 1- 50
• 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 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 plurality of body trunk side cameras that is arranged on the body trunk;

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

a first calculating unit that calculates first relative positional relationship, with respect to the movable robot, of one or more objects existing within a photographed scope based on at least two body trunk side images taken by the plurality of body trunk side cameras; and

a second calculating unit that calculates second relative positional relationship, with respect to the movable robot, of one or more objects existing within a photographed scope based on a body trunk side image taken by at least one of the plurality of body trunk side cameras and a connected member side image taken by the connected member side camera;

wherein the second calculating unit selects a body trunk side image in which portion of the connected member being photographed is the smallest to be used in the calculation of the second relative positional relationship.