A robot control method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium

Abstract

This application provides a robot control method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium, relating to the field of robot technology. The method includes: when a robot travels to the waiting area of ​​a first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the elevator car, and / or, when the robot is inside the elevator car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the elevator car, controlling the robot to acquire first environmental information regarding the direction of the elevator door; wherein a first marker is provided at a first designated location inside the elevator car, and a second marker is provided at a second designated location in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs; if the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, and the height difference between the marker and the robot satisfies a preset leveling condition, then the robot is controlled to travel according to the current task path. This ensures the robot can safely enter or exit the elevator car, improving the safety of robot operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of robotics, and in particular to a robot control method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of robotics technology, robots are widely used in various scenarios to perform a variety of tasks to meet user needs. For example, a robot can receive a task path from a robot scheduling platform and follow that path to complete the task of transporting goods.

[0003] As a robot travels along its task path, it may need to enter or exit an elevator car. In related technologies, the robot can detect whether the elevator doors are open and enter or exit the car if the doors are open.

[0004] However, due to the limitations of the elevator's hardware, there may be situations where the elevator doors open but the car is not level with the floor. In such cases, if the robot continues to travel along its mission path, it may be unable to enter or exit the elevator car, or even fall or overturn during its journey, posing a significant safety hazard. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a robot control method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium to ensure the robot safely enters or exits an elevator car and improve the safety of robot operation. The specific technical solution is as follows:

[0006] A first aspect of this application provides a robot control method, the method comprising:

[0007] When the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or when the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car, the robot is controlled to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator; wherein, a first marker is set at a first designated location inside the car of the first elevator, and a second marker is set at a second designated location in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0008] If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, and the height difference between the marker and the robot meets a preset leveling condition, then the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path.

[0009] In some embodiments, when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, controlling the robot to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator includes:

[0010] If the current task path indicates that the robot needs to enter the car of the first elevator, during the robot's movement from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator to the car, the robot is controlled to acquire first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator; and / or, when the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car, the control of the robot to acquire first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator includes:

[0011] If the current task path indicates that the robot needs to exit the elevator car, during the process of the robot moving from inside the elevator car to outside the elevator car, the robot is controlled to obtain the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator.

[0012] The method further includes:

[0013] If the first environmental information indicates that there are no markers in the environment, or if the height difference between the detected markers and the robot does not meet the preset leveling conditions, the robot is controlled to stop moving.

[0014] In some embodiments, the robot is equipped with an image acquisition device;

[0015] The first environmental information for controlling the robot to acquire the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator includes:

[0016] The robot is controlled to acquire an environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator through the image acquisition device;

[0017] If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, and the height difference between the marker and the robot satisfies a preset leveling condition, then controlling the robot to travel along the current task path includes:

[0018] If a marker is detected in the environmental image, and the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction are within a specified coordinate range, the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path; wherein, when the car is in a level state, the image coordinates of the marker in the height direction in the image acquired by the image acquisition device are within the specified coordinate range.

[0019] In some embodiments, the robot is equipped with a radar sensor;

[0020] The first environmental information for controlling the robot to acquire the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator includes:

[0021] The robot is controlled to emit light signals toward the elevator door of the first elevator via the radar sensor and to receive the reflected light signals.

[0022] If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, and the height difference between the marker and the robot satisfies a preset leveling condition, then controlling the robot to travel along the current task path includes:

[0023] If the received light signal contains a target light signal reflected by a marker, the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path; wherein, when the car is in a level position, the scanning height of the radar sensor is consistent with the vertical height of the marker reflecting the target light signal.

[0024] In some embodiments, the first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector; the reflectivity of the first rectangular reflector and the second rectangular reflector is greater than a reflectivity threshold.

[0025] The at least one first rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height on the inner wall of the car, and the at least one second rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs;

[0026] The height of the at least one first rectangular reflector above the floor of the car is the same as the height of the at least one second rectangular reflector above the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0027] In some embodiments, the method is applied to the robot.

[0028] Before the robot arrives at the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and before the robot obtains the first environmental information regarding the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator, the method further includes:

[0029] Receive the current task path and an elevator list; wherein, the elevator list records the location of each elevator in the current scene;

[0030] Based on the position recorded in the elevator list, determine the next elevator that needs to be passed when traveling according to the current task path, and designate it as the first elevator;

[0031] Proceed to the location of the first elevator according to the current task path.

[0032] A second aspect of this application provides a robot control system, the robot control system comprising: a robot and a control platform;

[0033] The robot is used to perform the steps of the robot control method described in the first aspect;

[0034] The control platform is used to send the current task path and elevator list to the robot.

[0035] In some embodiments, the robot is equipped with an image acquisition device and / or a radar sensor;

[0036] The image acquisition device is used to acquire environmental images of the direction of the elevator doors;

[0037] The radar sensor is used to emit light signals toward the elevator doors and receive the reflected light signals.

[0038] In some embodiments, where the radar sensor is provided in the robot, the system further includes: a first marker disposed inside the elevator car, and a second marker disposed in the environment of the elevator waiting area;

[0039] The first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector; the reflectivity of the first rectangular reflector and the second rectangular reflector is greater than a reflectivity threshold.

[0040] The at least one first rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height on the inner wall of the car, and the at least one second rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs;

[0041] The height of the at least one first rectangular reflector above the floor of the car is the same as the height of the at least one second rectangular reflector above the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0042] A third aspect of this application provides a robot control device, the device comprising:

[0043] An environmental information acquisition module is used to control the robot to acquire first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or when the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car; wherein, a first marker is set at a first designated location inside the car of the first elevator, and a second marker is set at a second designated location in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0044] The first control module is used to control the robot to travel along the current task path if there are markers in the environment represented by the first environmental information, and the height difference between the markers and the robot meets the preset leveling conditions.

[0045] In some embodiments, the environmental information acquisition module is specifically used to control the robot to acquire first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator while the robot is moving from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator to the car if the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator.

[0046] And / or, if the current task path indicates that the robot needs to exit the elevator car, during the process of the robot moving from inside the elevator car to outside the elevator car, the robot is controlled to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator;

[0047] The device further includes:

[0048] The stop module is used to control the robot to stop moving if the first environmental information indicates that there are no markers in the environment, or if the height difference between the detected markers and the robot does not meet the preset leveling conditions.

[0049] In some embodiments, the robot is equipped with an image acquisition device;

[0050] The environmental information acquisition module is specifically used for:

[0051] The robot is controlled to acquire an environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator through the image acquisition device;

[0052] The first control module is specifically used for:

[0053] If a marker is detected in the environmental image, and the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction are within a specified coordinate range, then the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path.

[0054] When the car is in a level position, the image coordinates of the marker in the height direction in the image acquired by the image acquisition device are within the specified coordinate range.

[0055] In some embodiments, the robot is equipped with a radar sensor;

[0056] The environmental information acquisition module is specifically used for:

[0057] The robot is controlled to emit light signals toward the elevator door of the first elevator via the radar sensor and to receive the reflected light signals.

[0058] The first control module is specifically used for:

[0059] If the received light signal contains a target light signal reflected from a marker, then the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path;

[0060] When the car is at a level position, the scanning height of the radar sensor is consistent with the vertical height of the marker reflecting the target light signal.

[0061] In some embodiments, the first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector; the reflectivity of the first rectangular reflector and the second rectangular reflector is greater than a reflectivity threshold; the at least one first rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height on the inner wall of the car, and the at least one second rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs; the height of the at least one first rectangular reflector from the ground of the car is the same as the height of the at least one second rectangular reflector from the ground of the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0062] In some embodiments, the device is applied to the robot.

[0063] The device further includes:

[0064] The receiving module is used to receive the current task path and an elevator list before controlling the robot to obtain the first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator; wherein, the elevator list records the position of each elevator in the current scene.

[0065] The first elevator determination module is used to determine the next elevator that needs to be passed when traveling according to the current task path, based on the position recorded in the elevator list, and to designate it as the first elevator.

[0066] The second control module is used to travel to the location of the first elevator according to the current task path.

[0067] A fourth aspect of this application provides an electronic device, including:

[0068] Memory, used to store computer programs;

[0069] The processor, when executing a program stored in memory, implements the robot control method described in the first aspect above.

[0070] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the robot control method described in the first aspect above.

[0071] This application also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the robot control method described in the first aspect above.

[0072] Beneficial effects of the embodiments in this application:

[0073] This application provides a robot control method, which includes: when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​a first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or, when the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car, controlling the robot to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator; wherein, a first marker is set at a first designated location inside the car of the first elevator, and a second marker is set at a second designated location in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs; if the first environmental information indicates that there is a marker in the environment, and the height difference between the existing marker and the robot meets a preset leveling condition, then controlling the robot to travel according to the current task path.

[0074] Based on the above processing, when the robot needs to enter the elevator car from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator, the robot can obtain the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door. At this time, the first environmental information can represent the environmental information inside the elevator car. If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, that is, the marker is the first marker. Since the position of the first marker relative to the elevator car is fixed, if the height difference between the marker and the robot meets the preset leveling condition, it means that the actual height difference between the first marker and the robot is consistent with the height difference when the elevator car is level, thus confirming that the elevator car is level and controlling the robot to travel according to the current task path.

[0075] Similarly, when the robot needs to exit the first elevator car, it can obtain the first environmental information regarding the direction of the elevator doors. This first environmental information represents the environment of the waiting area of ​​the first elevator. If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, that marker is the second marker. Since the position of the second marker in the environment of the waiting area of ​​the first elevator is fixed, if the height difference between the marker and the robot meets a preset leveling condition, it means that the actual height difference between the second marker and the robot is consistent with the height difference when the elevator car is level. This confirms that the elevator car is level, allowing the robot to proceed along the current task path. This ensures the robot can safely enter or exit the elevator car, improving the robot's operational safety.

[0076] Of course, implementing any product or method of this application does not necessarily require achieving all of the advantages described above at the same time. Attached Figure Description

[0077] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other embodiments can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0078] Figure 1 This is a first flowchart of a robot control method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a scene including an elevator, provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 3(a) is a first example diagram of a robot passing through an elevator according to an embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 3(b) is a second example diagram of a robot passing through an elevator according to an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 3(c) is a third example of a robot passing through an elevator according to an embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figure 4 This is a second flowchart of a robot control method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0084] Figure 5 A third flowchart of the robot control method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0085] Figure 6(a) is a schematic diagram of a marker provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0086] Figure 6(b) is a schematic diagram of the radar sensor scanning the marker in Figure 6(a);

[0087] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating the robot's car leveling detection provided in this application embodiment;

[0088] Figure 8 A structural diagram of a robot control device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0089] Figure 9 This is a structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0090] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0091] With the rapid development of robotics technology, robots are widely used in various scenarios to perform a variety of tasks to meet user needs. For example, a robot can receive a task path from a robot scheduling platform and follow that path to complete the task of transporting goods.

[0092] As a robot travels along its task path, it may need to enter or exit an elevator car. In related technologies, the robot can detect whether the elevator doors are open and enter or exit the car if the doors are open.

[0093] However, due to the limitations of the elevator's hardware, there may be situations where the elevator doors open but the car is not level with the floor. In such cases, if the robot continues to travel along its mission path, it may be unable to enter or exit the elevator car, or even fall or overturn during its journey, posing a significant safety hazard.

[0094] This application provides a robot control method, which can be applied to a robot or a robot control device. For example, the control device can be a robot control platform.

[0095] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 A first flowchart of a robot control method provided in this application embodiment, the method may include the following steps:

[0096] S101: When the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car, control the robot to obtain the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator.

[0097] Specifically, a first marker is installed at a first designated location inside the car of the first elevator, and a second marker is installed at a second designated location in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0098] S102: If the first environmental information characterizes the presence of markers in the environment, and the height difference between the markers and the robot meets the preset leveling conditions, then control the robot to travel according to the current task path.

[0099] Based on the above processing, when the robot needs to enter the elevator car from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator, the robot can obtain the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door. At this time, the first environmental information can represent the environmental information inside the elevator car. If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, that is, the marker is the first marker. Since the position of the first marker relative to the elevator car is fixed, if the height difference between the marker and the robot meets the preset leveling condition, it means that the actual height difference between the first marker and the robot is consistent with the height difference when the elevator car is level, thus confirming that the elevator car is level and controlling the robot to travel according to the current task path.

[0100] Similarly, when the robot needs to exit the first elevator car, it can obtain the first environmental information regarding the direction of the elevator doors. This first environmental information represents the environment of the waiting area of ​​the first elevator. If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, that marker is the second marker. Since the position of the second marker in the environment of the waiting area of ​​the first elevator is fixed, if the height difference between the marker and the robot meets a preset leveling condition, it means that the actual height difference between the second marker and the robot is consistent with the height difference when the elevator car is level. This confirms that the elevator car is level, allowing the robot to proceed along the current task path. This ensures the robot can safely enter or exit the elevator car, improving the robot's operational safety.

[0101] The robot in this application is a mobile robot; for example, the robot can be an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot).

[0102] In addition, the robot can be equipped with image acquisition devices and / or radar sensors. The image acquisition devices can be pre-installed during the robot's production process, or they can be installed independently on the robot according to actual needs. Accordingly, the robot can acquire images captured by the image acquisition devices. For example, the image acquisition devices can be RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) cameras, RGB-D (Red, Green, and Blue-Depth) cameras, or binocular cameras, etc.

[0103] Similarly, radar sensors can be pre-installed during the production process of the robot, or they can be installed independently on the robot according to actual needs. Accordingly, the robot can acquire radar data collected by the radar sensors. For example, the radar sensor can be a single-line lidar or a multi-line lidar, etc.

[0104] The elevator in this application includes: a car and at least one elevator door.

[0105] See Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a scene including an elevator, provided as an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 The elevators in the building are single-door elevators, that is, Figure 2 The elevator shown has only one entrance and exit. Rectangle A represents the elevator car, and side 'a' of rectangle A is the side where the elevator door is located. It can be understood that the side where the elevator door is located is the elevator's entrance and exit. Rectangle B represents the area at the elevator entrance, i.e., the environment outside the car.

[0106] Alternatively, the elevator in this application can also be a two-door elevator, meaning it has two entrances and exits.

[0107] It is understandable that robots may need to frequently pass through elevators while performing tasks. "Robot passing through an elevator" can refer to the robot entering the elevator car and / or exiting the elevator car.

[0108] like Figures 3(a)-3(c) As shown in Figure 3(a), this is a first example diagram of a robot navigating an elevator according to an embodiment of this application. In Figure 3(a), the car is pre-positioned with goods that the robot needs to move. Accordingly, the robot can enter the car from entrance 1 and exit the car carrying the goods. When the elevator is a single-door elevator, the robot needs to exit the car from the entrance (i.e., entrance 1). When the elevator is a double-door elevator, the robot can exit the car from entrance 1, or from the entrance on the other side of entrance 1 (i.e., entrance 2).

[0109] Figure 3(b) is a second example diagram of a robot navigating an elevator according to an embodiment of this application. In Figure 3(b), the robot can carry goods into the elevator car from entrance 1 and wait inside the car for it to reach the desired floor. After the car reaches that floor, the robot can then carry the goods out of the car. When the elevator is a single-door elevator, the robot needs to exit the car from the entrance (i.e., entrance 1). When the elevator is a double-door elevator, the robot can exit the car from entrance 1, or from the entrance on the other side of entrance 1 (i.e., entrance 2).

[0110] Figure 3(c) shows a third example of a robot passing through an elevator according to an embodiment of this application. In Figure 3(b), the elevator is a double-door elevator. In this case, the robot can carry goods into the car from entrance 1 and exit from entrance 2. That is, the robot only passes through the elevator, and its floor does not change.

[0111] Regarding steps S101-S102, in a real-world scenario, the robot control platform can control multiple robots. A robot can be any one of these multiple robots. Correspondingly, the current task path includes the position the robot needs to travel to while performing the current task. The first elevator indicates the next elevator the robot needs to pass through while traveling along the current task path. The specific process of obtaining the current task path and determining the first elevator will be described in subsequent embodiments.

[0112] The robot can obtain its real-time position in the real world based on a preset robot localization method. For example, preset robot localization methods could include ultrasonic navigation, optical reflection navigation, or visual SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). Accordingly, the robot can determine whether it is located within the waiting area for the elevator based on its current position.

[0113] For ease of description, the direction from inside the car to outside the car can be called the exit direction, and the direction from outside the car to inside the car can be called the entry direction.

[0114] The first marker is placed at a first designated location inside the elevator car. For example, the first marker can be placed at a first designated height on the inner wall of the car. Here, the first designated height refers to the height of the first marker relative to the floor of the car.

[0115] Similarly, the second sign is placed at a second designated location in the environment surrounding the waiting area of ​​the first elevator. For example, the second sign can be placed at a second designated height on a wall near the entrance / exit of the first elevator, or a sign can be placed near the entrance / exit of the first elevator at a second designated height. The second designated height refers to the height of the second sign relative to the floor level of that floor.

[0116] In scenarios where the robot is inside the elevator car and needs to exit, in order to further ensure that the robot can be controlled on each floor based on the robot control method provided in this application, a second marker can be set at a second designated location in the environment of the waiting area on each floor.

[0117] The first specified height and the second specified height can be different or the same. It is understood that when the elevator car is level, the height difference between the first marker and the robot can be called the first height difference, and the height difference between the second marker and the robot can be called the second height difference. If the first specified height and the second specified height are the same, then the first height difference and the second height difference are also the same; if the first specified height and the second specified height are different, then the first height difference and the second height difference are also different. The method of setting the first specified height and the second specified height will be explained in subsequent embodiments.

[0118] The following describes the scenario of the robot entering the first elevator car:

[0119] As the robot moves from the area outside the first elevator into the elevator car, it will inevitably travel to the vicinity of the first elevator entrance / exit and then enter the elevator car from there. Therefore, the area near the first elevator entrance / exit on each floor can be designated as the waiting area for the first elevator. For example, a rectangular area formed by extending a predetermined distance (e.g., 1 meter) from the first elevator entrance / exit in the outward direction can be used as the waiting area for the first elevator.

[0120] At this point, the robot acquires the first environmental information regarding the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator, that is, the robot acquires the environmental information regarding the direction of entry. It can be understood that if the elevator door of the first elevator is open, the first environmental information regarding the direction of entry acquired by the robot in the waiting area of ​​the first elevator can represent the environmental information inside the elevator car. The specific process of acquiring the first environmental information will be described in subsequent embodiments.

[0121] Furthermore, if the first environmental information characterizes the presence of a marker in the environment, then the marker is considered the first marker.

[0122] Understandably, since the position of the first marker relative to the car is fixed, meaning its height relative to the car floor is also fixed, the height of the first marker relative to the floor the robot is traveling on is also fixed when the car reaches a level position. Furthermore, since the robot's height is also fixed, the height difference between the first marker and the robot is also fixed.

[0123] Furthermore, the first environmental information reflects the actual height difference between the first marker and the robot. Based on the first environmental information, if the height difference between the existing marker and the robot satisfies the preset leveling condition, it indicates that the actual height difference between the first marker and the robot is consistent with the height difference between the first marker and the robot when the elevator car reaches the leveling state. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first environmental information can be used to determine whether the elevator car has reached the leveling state, and when the elevator car reaches the leveling state, the robot can be controlled to travel according to the current task path.

[0124] In some embodiments, when moving from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator to the elevator car, the robot can stop at a designated position in the waiting area and begin acquiring first environmental information about the direction of the elevator doors. If the acquired first environmental information indicates that there are no markers in the environment, or if the height difference between the existing markers and the robot does not meet a preset leveling condition, the robot can continue acquiring first environmental information until it acquires first environmental information that meets the preset leveling condition. This designated position can be the closest point in the waiting area to the elevator car. Thus, once the elevator car is detected to be level, the robot can be controlled to move into the elevator car.

[0125] In this way, the robot can autonomously decide the detection area, that is, the robot can determine when to perform car leveling detection based on its own position, so as to avoid wasting computing resources.

[0126] The following describes the scene of the robot exiting the first elevator car:

[0127] If the robot needs to exit the elevator car, it acquires first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door, i.e., it acquires environmental information about the exit direction. It can be understood that if the elevator door is open, the first environmental information about the exit direction acquired by the robot inside the car can represent the environmental information of the waiting area of ​​the first elevator. The specific process of acquiring the first environmental information will be described in subsequent embodiments.

[0128] Furthermore, if the first environmental information characterizes the presence of a marker in the environment, then the marker is considered the second marker.

[0129] Understandably, since the position of the second marker in the environment of the elevator waiting area is fixed, meaning its height relative to the floor is also fixed, the height of the second marker relative to the elevator car floor is also fixed when the elevator car reaches the floor level. Furthermore, since the robot's height is also fixed, the height difference between the second marker and the robot is also fixed.

[0130] Furthermore, the first environmental information reflects the actual height difference between the second marker and the robot. Based on the first environmental information, if the height difference between the existing marker and the robot satisfies the preset leveling condition, it indicates that the actual height difference between the second marker and the robot is consistent with the height difference between the second marker and the robot when the elevator car reaches the leveling state. Therefore, in this application, the first environmental information can be used to determine whether the elevator car has reached the leveling state, and when the elevator car reaches the leveling state, the robot is controlled to travel according to the current task path.

[0131] In some embodiments, the robot can stop moving after entering a designated position in the elevator car (e.g., the center position of the car), and begin acquiring first environmental information about the direction of the elevator doors when the car reaches the desired floor. For example, the control platform can send a message to the robot indicating that the car has reached the desired floor when it reaches the desired floor, and then the robot can begin acquiring first environmental information about the direction of the elevator doors after receiving the message.

[0132] Correspondingly, if the acquired first environmental information indicates that there are no markers in the environment, or if the height difference between the markers in the environment and the robot does not meet the preset leveling conditions, the first environmental information can be continuously acquired until the first environmental information that meets the preset leveling conditions is acquired.

[0133] In this way, the robot can autonomously decide the detection area, that is, the robot can determine when to perform car leveling detection based on its own position, so as to avoid wasting computing resources.

[0134] In some embodiments, the step of controlling the robot to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator includes:

[0135] If the current task path indicates that the robot needs to enter the car of the first elevator, during the process of the robot moving from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator to the car, the robot is controlled to obtain the first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator.

[0136] And / or, the step described above, whereby when the robot is inside the elevator car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car, controlling the robot to obtain the first environmental information regarding the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator, includes:

[0137] If the current task path indicates that the robot needs to exit the elevator car, during the process of the robot moving from inside the elevator car to outside the elevator car, the robot is controlled to obtain the first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator.

[0138] The method further includes the following steps: if the first environmental information characterizes that there are no markers in the environment, or if the height difference between the detected markers and the robot does not meet the preset leveling conditions, the robot is controlled to stop moving.

[0139] In this embodiment, if the current task path indicates that the robot needs to enter the car of the first elevator, during the process of the robot moving from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator to the car, the robot can be controlled to obtain the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door in real time. For example, during the process of the robot moving from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator to the car, the robot can be controlled to continuously obtain the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door. The specific process of obtaining the first environmental information will be described in subsequent embodiments.

[0140] Correspondingly, if the current task path indicates that the robot needs to exit the elevator car, it can also be controlled to acquire the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door in real time as the robot moves from inside the elevator car to outside. For example, while the robot is moving from inside the elevator car to outside, it can be controlled to continuously acquire the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door.

[0141] If the first environmental information indicates that there are no markers in the environment, or if the height difference between the detected markers and the robot does not meet the preset leveling conditions, it means that the robot cannot drive into or out of the elevator car normally. If it continues to drive, it may fall or overturn during the driving process. Therefore, it is necessary to control the robot to stop driving.

[0142] Correspondingly, after stopping, the robot continues to acquire first environmental information. Once the latest acquired first environmental information indicates that there are markers in the environment and the height difference between the markers and the robot meets the preset leveling conditions, the robot is controlled to continue traveling along the current task path until it travels into the car of the first elevator or exits from the car of the first elevator, at which point the acquisition of first environmental information can be stopped.

[0143] Based on the above processing, during operation, the robot can continuously acquire environmental information for leveling detection, and stops moving once it determines that the elevator car is not level. That is, the robot will only move into or out of the elevator car if the elevator car is level. This allows for real-time detection during robot movement, ensuring its safety.

[0144] In this application, environmental information may be obtained through any of the following methods:

[0145] Method 1: The robot is equipped with image acquisition devices. See also... Figure 4 , Figure 4 A second flowchart of a robot control method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

[0146] S401: When the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or, when the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car, the robot is controlled to acquire an environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator through an image acquisition device.

[0147] S402: If a marker is detected in the environmental image, and the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction are within the specified coordinate range, then control the robot to travel according to the current task path.

[0148] When the car is at a level position, the image coordinates of the markers in the height direction in the image acquired by the image acquisition device are within a specified coordinate range.

[0149] In this embodiment, the installation position of the image acquisition device is pre-set. The image acquisition device can be installed directly in front of the robot, the height of the image acquisition device relative to the ground on which the robot travels is fixed, and the lens direction of the image acquisition device is always consistent with the robot's forward direction.

[0150] To ensure that the robot captures landmarks in the environmental image when the elevator car is level, there can be multiple first landmarks, all with the same height. Similarly, there can be multiple second landmarks, also with the same height. This prevents other objects from obstructing the landmarks.

[0151] The shape and size of the first and second markers can be preset by technicians according to actual needs, so that the markers can be accurately detected in the environmental image.

[0152] In the case of Method 1, the scenario of the robot entering the first elevator car is described as follows:

[0153] After the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator, it needs to enter the elevator car. At this time, the robot's forward direction is the inward direction, and correspondingly, the lens of the image acquisition device is also facing the inward direction. In this way, the image acquisition device can capture images of the robot in the inward direction.

[0154] In this embodiment of the application, the image acquired by the image acquisition device (which may be called the original image) can be preprocessed to obtain an environmental image for detecting markers.

[0155] For example, the image acquired by the image acquisition device (which can be called the original image) can be cropped, and a portion of the image region in the original image can be determined as the environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator. For example, the original image can be detected to determine the minimum bounding matrix occupied by the door frame of the first elevator in the original image, and then the image region corresponding to the minimum bounding rectangle can be determined as the environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator.

[0156] In this way, the environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator can only represent the environment inside the car, avoiding interference from the environment outside the car of the first elevator on the judgment result.

[0157] Then, the environmental image can be input into a pre-trained object detection model to obtain the detection result of the environmental image. Correspondingly, if there are markers in the environmental image, the detection result is the bounding box of the marker. The object detection model can be a YOLO model, R-CNN (Region-based Convolutional Neural Networks), etc.

[0158] Correspondingly, the robot can pre-acquire an image of the elevator door's orientation when the elevator car reaches a level position in the waiting area of ​​the first elevator (this can be called the first leveling image). It is understood that the first leveling image will necessarily contain a first marker inside the elevator car. Furthermore, a detection box for the first marker in the first leveling image can be obtained, and a specified coordinate range (this can be called the first specified coordinate range) can be determined based on this detection box. For example, the image coordinates of the center point of the detection box in the height direction can be determined (this can be called the center image coordinates), and the image coordinates within a preset distance from these center image coordinates in the height direction are defined as the specified coordinate range.

[0159] After detecting a marker in the environmental image, it can be determined whether the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction fall within a specified coordinate range. For example, for a detection bounding box of a marker in the environmental image, if any pixel in the detection bounding box has image coordinates in the height direction that match the specified coordinate range, then the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction can be considered to fall within the specified coordinate range.

[0160] Furthermore, the image coordinates of the marker in the height direction within the environmental image can reflect the actual height difference between the first marker and the robot. If a marker is detected in the environmental image, and the detected marker's image coordinates in the height direction fall within a specified range, it indicates that the actual height difference between the first marker and the robot is consistent with the height difference between the first marker and the robot when the elevator car reaches the leveling position. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether the elevator car has reached the leveling position using the environmental image, and control the robot to travel along the current task path when the elevator car reaches the leveling position.

[0161] In the case of Method 1, the scenario of the robot exiting the first elevator car is described as follows:

[0162] If the robot needs to exit the elevator car, the robot's forward direction is the exit direction, and correspondingly, the lens of the image acquisition device is also pointing in the exit direction. In this way, the image acquisition device can capture images of the robot in the exit direction.

[0163] In this embodiment, the image acquired by the image acquisition device (which may be referred to as the raw image) can be preprocessed to obtain an environmental image for detecting markers. The specific preprocessing process for the raw image can be referred to the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0164] Then, the environmental image can be input into a pre-trained object detection model to obtain the detection result of the environmental image. Correspondingly, if there are markers in the environmental image, the detection result of the environmental image is the bounding box of the marker.

[0165] Correspondingly, the robot pre-acquires an image (which can be called the second leveling image) of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator when the elevator car reaches the leveling state. It is understood that the second leveling image must contain a second landmark in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs. Furthermore, a detection box for the second landmark in the second leveling image can be obtained, and a specified coordinate range (which can be called the second specified coordinate range) can be determined based on this detection box. For example, the image coordinates of the center point of the detection box in the height direction can be determined (which can be called the center image coordinates), and the image coordinates within a preset distance from the center image coordinates in the height direction are determined as the specified coordinate range.

[0166] After detecting a marker in the environmental image, it can be determined whether the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction fall within a specified coordinate range. For example, for a detection bounding box of a marker in the environmental image, if any pixel in the detection bounding box has image coordinates in the height direction that match the specified coordinate range, then the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction can be considered to fall within the specified coordinate range.

[0167] Furthermore, the image coordinates of the marker in the height direction within the environmental image can reflect the actual height difference between the second marker and the robot. If a marker is detected in the environmental image, and the detected marker's image coordinates in the height direction fall within a specified range, it indicates that the actual height difference between the second marker and the robot is consistent with the height difference between the second marker and the robot when the elevator car reaches the leveling position. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether the elevator car has reached the leveling position using the environmental image, and control the robot to travel along the current task path when the elevator car reaches the leveling position.

[0168] It is understandable that the height of the first marker relative to the floor of the elevator car (i.e., the first designated height) and the height of the second marker from the floor of the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs (i.e., the second designated height) may be the same or different.

[0169] If the first specified height and the second specified height are the same, then for any environmental image captured by the image acquisition device, the same specified coordinate range can be used to determine whether the car is in a level position. That is, the first specified coordinate range and the second specified coordinate range are consistent.

[0170] If the first specified height and the second specified height are different, then for the environmental image representing the inside of the elevator car, the first specified coordinate range can be used to determine whether the car is level; for the environmental image representing the waiting area of ​​the first elevator, the second specified coordinate range can be used to determine whether the car is level. The first specified coordinate range and the second specified coordinate range are not identical.

[0171] Based on the above processing, when the robot is equipped with an image acquisition device, it can acquire an environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator. Furthermore, by combining the image coordinates (i.e., a specified coordinate range) of the markers in the image representing the car reaching a level position, and the image coordinates of the markers in the environmental image in the height direction, it can be determined whether the car has reached a level position. Therefore, when it is determined that the car is at a level position, the robot can be controlled to travel along the current task path. This ensures the robot can safely enter or exit the elevator car, improving the safety of robot operation.

[0172] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if no marker is detected in the environmental image, or if the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction are not within the specified coordinate range, then return to step S401.

[0173] In this embodiment, if no marker is detected in the environmental image, or if the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction are not within the specified coordinate range, indicating that the elevator car has not reached the level, the robot can continuously acquire images until the device acquires the latest environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator. Based on the latest acquired environmental image, the robot can then re-determine whether the elevator car has reached the level. For example, the robot can re-acquire the environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator through the image acquisition device after a preset time interval.

[0174] Based on the above processing, when the elevator car has not reached the floor level, the robot can wait in place and acquire environmental images of the direction of the elevator doors in real time until it is determined that the car has reached the floor level. This enables real-time monitoring of the elevator car's status, improving the robot's operating efficiency.

[0175] Method 2: The robot is equipped with radar sensors. See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 A third flowchart of a robot control method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

[0176] S501: When the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or, when the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car, the robot is controlled to emit a light signal in the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator through the radar sensor and receive the reflected light signal.

[0177] S502: If the received light signal contains a target light signal reflected by a marker, control the robot to travel along the current task path.

[0178] When the car is level with the floor, the scanning height of the radar sensor is consistent with the vertical height of the marker reflecting the target light signal.

[0179] In this embodiment, the robot is equipped with a radar sensor. The radar sensor can be mounted on the upper surface of the robot, and the scanning height of the radar sensor is the distance between the radar sensor and the plane in which the robot is located.

[0180] To determine whether the light signal received by the radar sensor is a reflected light signal from a marker (i.e., a target light signal), a marker made of a highly reflective material can be used. This ensures that the intensity of the light signal reflected by the marker is greater than the intensity of the light signals reflected by other objects in the environment. Accordingly, based on the intensity of the received light signal, it is determined whether the received light signal is reflected by the marker. For example, if the received light signal contains a light signal with an intensity greater than a preset intensity threshold, it is determined that the received light signal contains a target light signal reflected by a marker.

[0181] Furthermore, to avoid interference from other objects in the environment and improve the accuracy of the radar sensor in determining whether a target light signal reflected from a marker exists, the radar sensor can repeatedly emit light signals towards the elevator door of the first elevator. It then determines the proportion of the received reflected light signals with an intensity greater than a preset intensity threshold. If this proportion exceeds the preset threshold, it can be determined that the received light signal contains a target light signal reflected from a marker.

[0182] In the case of Method 2, the scenario of the robot entering the first elevator car is described as follows:

[0183] After the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator, it needs to enter the elevator car. At this time, the robot's forward direction is the inward direction. Accordingly, the radar sensor can be controlled to emit light signals in the inward direction and receive the reflected light signals.

[0184] At this time, if the received light signal contains the target light signal reflected by the marker, it indicates that the marker is the first marker at the first designated position in the car of the first elevator, and the height of the first marker in the vertical direction is consistent with the scanning height of the radar sensor. Therefore, it can be determined that the car has reached the leveling state, and the robot is controlled to travel according to the current task path.

[0185] In the case of Method 2, the scenario of the robot exiting the first elevator car is described as follows:

[0186] If the robot needs to exit the elevator car, its forward direction is the exit direction. Accordingly, the radar sensor can be controlled to emit light signals in the exit direction and receive the reflected light signals.

[0187] At this time, if the received light signal contains the target light signal reflected by the marker, it indicates that the marker is a second marker set at the second designated location in the environment of the waiting area of ​​the first elevator, and the vertical height of the second marker is consistent with the scanning height of the radar sensor. Therefore, it can be determined that the car has reached the leveling state, and the robot is controlled to travel according to the current task path.

[0188] In some embodiments, the first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector; the reflectivity of the first rectangular reflector and the second rectangular reflector is greater than a reflectivity threshold.

[0189] At least one first rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height on the inner wall of the car, and at least one second rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs; the height of at least one first rectangular reflector from the ground of the car is the same as the height of at least one second rectangular reflector from the ground of the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0190] In this embodiment of the application, the first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector. The number of first rectangular reflectors and the number of second rectangular reflectors may be the same or different.

[0191] Understandably, since the radar sensor is usually positioned in a fixed location on the robot, and its scanning height is also usually fixed, in order for the radar sensor to receive the light signal reflected back from the marker when the elevator car is level, the height of the first marker relative to the floor of the car (i.e., the first specified height) and the height of the second marker from the floor of the waiting area of ​​the first elevator (i.e., the second specified height) must be consistent, as well as consistent with the height of the radar sensor relative to the ground where the robot is located.

[0192] Thus, the number and size of the first and second rectangular reflectors can be set according to the actual conditions of their environment. For example, multiple first rectangular reflectors at the same height can be set on the inner walls of both sides of the elevator car. Alternatively, a horizontal strip-shaped first rectangular reflector can be set on each inner wall so that when the elevator car is level, the robot can receive the light signal reflected back from the first rectangular reflector at any position scanned by the radar sensor at a first specified height. In addition, multiple second rectangular reflectors at the same height can be set on the wall near the elevator door in the waiting area of ​​the first elevator.

[0193] Based on the above processing, when the robot is equipped with radar sensors, the scanning results of the radar sensors can determine whether the elevator car has reached the floor level. This allows the robot to be controlled to travel along the current task path once the floor level is determined. Thus, the robot can safely enter or exit the elevator car, improving its operational safety.

[0194] Referring to Figure 6(a), Figure 6(a) is a schematic diagram of a marker provided in an embodiment of this application. In Figure 6(a), the area indicated by rectangle A is the elevator car, and the area indicated by rectangle B is the area at the elevator entrance. The area filled with diagonal lines represents the marker. A reflector (i.e., the first marker in this application) can be affixed inside the elevator car, and a reflector (i.e., the second marker in this application) is also affixed to the wall near the elevator entrance of the first elevator. When the car is in a level position, the scanning height of the radar sensor is consistent with the vertical height of the reflector. As shown in Figure 6(b), Figure 6(b) is a schematic diagram of the radar sensor scanning the marker in Figure 6(a). L represents the scanning height of the radar sensor. To improve the fault tolerance of radar scanning, a certain width can be set for the reflector. For example, L1 represents the distance between the bottom of the reflector and the ground, and L2 represents the distance between the top of the reflector and the ground. L1 can be set to L-10cm and L2 to L+10cm, meaning the reflector is located within the height range of [L-10cm, L+10cm].

[0195] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if the target optical signal is not present in the received optical signal, then returning to step S501.

[0196] In this embodiment, if the received light signal does not contain the target light signal, it indicates that the car has not reached the leveling position. In this case, the robot can obtain the latest scan result through the radar sensor and re-determine whether the car has reached the leveling position based on the latest scan result. For example, the robot can re-scan through the radar sensor after a preset time interval.

[0197] Based on the above processing, when the elevator car has not reached the floor level, the robot can wait in place and acquire the scanning results of the radar sensors in real time until it is determined that the car has reached the floor level. In this way, the real-time monitoring of the elevator car status can be achieved, improving the robot's operating efficiency.

[0198] In some embodiments, the method further includes: if the first environmental information characterizes the presence of a marker in the environment, and the height of the marker in the vertical direction meets a preset condition, then controlling the robot to stop acquiring environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator.

[0199] In this embodiment, when the elevator car reaches a level position, the robot can be controlled to stop acquiring environmental information about the direction of the elevator doors of the first elevator. For example, the aforementioned image acquisition equipment and / or radar sensors can be turned off.

[0200] Based on the above processing, false detections by image acquisition devices and / or radar sensors can be avoided, and resource waste caused by image acquisition devices and / or radar sensors being constantly in working state can be avoided.

[0201] In some embodiments, the method is applied to a robot, and before the step of controlling the robot to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, the method further includes:

[0202] Step 1: Receive the current task path and the elevator list.

[0203] The elevator list records the location of each elevator in the current scene.

[0204] Step 2: Based on the position recorded in the elevator list, determine the next elevator that needs to be passed when traveling along the current task path, and designate it as the first elevator.

[0205] Step 3: Proceed to the location of the first elevator according to the current task path.

[0206] In this embodiment, the robot can communicate with a control platform. For example, the control platform may include a robot control platform and an elevator control platform. The robot can obtain the current task path sent by the robot control platform.

[0207] In addition, the robot can also obtain an elevator list sent by the elevator control platform. The elevator list records the index of each elevator in the current scene, as well as the location of each elevator.

[0208] Thus, based on the current task path and the index and position of each elevator recorded in the elevator list, the robot can determine the next elevator it needs to pass when traveling along the current task path, and designate it as the first elevator. Then, it can travel towards the position of the first elevator according to the current task path until it reaches the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and executes the above step S101.

[0209] See Figure 7 , Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the robot performing car leveling detection in an embodiment of this application.

[0210] S701: Start.

[0211] S702: Get the elevator list.

[0212] That is, after the robot is powered on, it requests the control platform to download a list of all elevators in the operating area. The list contains the location and index of all elevators that it may pass through.

[0213] S703: Get the current path.

[0214] That is, the robot obtains the current task path from the control platform.

[0215] S704: Determine whether it is necessary to pass through the elevator. If yes, proceed to step S705; otherwise, proceed to step S712.

[0216] That is, the robot calculates whether the current task path intersects with one or more elevators in the elevator list. If there is an intersection, it means that the robot will pass through at least one elevator, and step S705 is executed; if there is no intersection, it means that the robot will not pass through any elevators at present, and step S712 is executed.

[0217] S705: Determine the nearest elevator.

[0218] That is, based on the index and position of one or more elevators obtained, the elevator closest to the robot's current task path is calculated as the first elevator.

[0219] S706: Calculate the distance between the robot and the elevator.

[0220] That is, control the robot to move towards the first elevator and calculate the distance between the robot's current position and the first elevator.

[0221] S707: Determine if the distance is less than the threshold. If yes, proceed to step S708; otherwise, proceed to step S712.

[0222] That is, during the robot's movement, the distance between the robot's current position and the first elevator is determined. If the distance is less than the set distance threshold, it means that the robot is currently in the waiting area of ​​the first elevator, and step S708 is continued; otherwise, it means that the robot is far from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator, and step S712 is executed.

[0223] S708: Determine if the robot is inside the car. If not, proceed to step S709; if yes, proceed to step S710.

[0224] S709: Initiate area detection inside the car.

[0225] That is, if the robot is not in the elevator car, it means that the robot is in the waiting area of ​​the first elevator. Then, the reflector (first marker) in the elevator car is detected to ensure the safety of entering the elevator.

[0226] S710: Determine whether to cross the elevator. If yes, proceed to step S711; otherwise, proceed to step S712.

[0227] If the robot is inside the elevator car, determine whether the current task path indicates that the robot needs to exit the elevator car.

[0228] S711: Enables area detection at elevator entrances.

[0229] If the current task path crosses the elevator, it means the robot needs to exit the elevator car, so the reflector near the elevator entrance is detected; if the current task path does not cross the elevator, it means the robot's current task path is already inside the elevator, so detection is not activated.

[0230] S712: Detection not enabled.

[0231] S713: End.

[0232] In the technical solution of this application, the acquisition, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision and disclosure of environmental information are all carried out with the user's authorization.

[0233] Based on the same inventive concept, this application provides a robot control system, which includes: a robot and a control platform;

[0234] The robot is used to perform the steps of any of the robot control methods in the above embodiments;

[0235] The control platform is used to send the current task path and elevator list to the robot.

[0236] In some embodiments, the robot is equipped with an image acquisition device and / or a radar sensor;

[0237] The image acquisition device is used to acquire environmental images of the direction of the elevator doors;

[0238] The radar sensor is used to emit light signals toward the elevator doors and receive the reflected light signals.

[0239] In some embodiments, where the radar sensor is provided in the robot, the system further includes: a first marker disposed inside the elevator car, and a second marker disposed in the environment of the elevator waiting area;

[0240] The first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector; the reflectivity of the first rectangular reflector and the second rectangular reflector is greater than a reflectivity threshold.

[0241] The at least one first rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height on the inner wall of the car, and the at least one second rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs;

[0242] The height of the at least one first rectangular reflector above the floor of the car is the same as the height of the at least one second rectangular reflector above the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0243] Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of this application provide a robot control device. See also Figure 8 , Figure 8 This application provides a structural diagram of a robot control device, which includes:

[0244] The environmental information acquisition module 801 is used to control the robot to acquire first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or the robot is located inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car; wherein, a first marker is set at a first designated position inside the car of the first elevator, and a second marker is set at a second designated position in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0245] The first control module 802 is used to control the robot to travel along the current task path if there are markers in the environment represented by the first environmental information, and the height difference between the markers and the robot meets the preset leveling conditions.

[0246] In some embodiments, the environmental information acquisition module 801 is specifically used to control the robot to acquire first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator while the robot is moving from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator to the car if the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator.

[0247] And / or, if the current task path indicates that the robot needs to exit the elevator car, during the process of the robot moving from inside the elevator car to outside the elevator car, the robot is controlled to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator;

[0248] The device further includes:

[0249] The stop module is used to control the robot to stop moving if the first environmental information indicates that there are no markers in the environment, or if the height difference between the detected markers and the robot does not meet the preset leveling conditions.

[0250] In some embodiments, the robot is equipped with an image acquisition device;

[0251] The environmental information acquisition module 801 is specifically used for:

[0252] The robot is controlled to acquire an environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator through the image acquisition device;

[0253] The first control module 802 is specifically used for:

[0254] If a marker is detected in the environmental image, and the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction are within a specified coordinate range, then the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path.

[0255] When the car is in a level position, the image coordinates of the marker in the height direction in the image acquired by the image acquisition device are within the specified coordinate range.

[0256] In some embodiments, the robot is equipped with a radar sensor;

[0257] The environmental information acquisition module 801 is specifically used for:

[0258] The robot is controlled to emit light signals toward the elevator door of the first elevator via the radar sensor and to receive the reflected light signals.

[0259] The first control module 802 is specifically used for:

[0260] If the received light signal contains a target light signal reflected from a marker, then the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path;

[0261] When the car is at a level position, the scanning height of the radar sensor is consistent with the vertical height of the marker reflecting the target light signal.

[0262] In some embodiments, the first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector; the reflectivity of the first rectangular reflector and the second rectangular reflector is greater than a reflectivity threshold; the at least one first rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height on the inner wall of the car, and the at least one second rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs; the height of the at least one first rectangular reflector from the ground of the car is the same as the height of the at least one second rectangular reflector from the ground of the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

[0263] In some embodiments, the device is applied to the robot, and the device further includes:

[0264] The receiving module is used to receive the current task path and an elevator list before controlling the robot to obtain the first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator; wherein, the elevator list records the position of each elevator in the current scene.

[0265] The first elevator determination module is used to determine the next elevator that needs to be passed when traveling according to the current task path, based on the position recorded in the elevator list, and to designate it as the first elevator.

[0266] The second control module is used to travel to the location of the first elevator according to the current task path.

[0267] This application also provides an electronic device, such as... Figure 9 As shown, it includes:

[0268] Memory 901 is used to store computer programs;

[0269] When the processor 902 executes the program stored in the memory 901, it implements the steps of any of the robot control methods described in the above embodiments.

[0270] Furthermore, the aforementioned electronic device may also include a communication bus and / or a communication interface, with the processor 902, the communication interface, and the memory 901 communicating with each other via the communication bus.

[0271] The communication bus mentioned in the above electronic devices can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This communication bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used to represent it in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0272] The communication interface is used for communication between the aforementioned electronic devices and other devices.

[0273] The memory may include random access memory (RAM) or non-volatile memory (NVM), such as at least one disk storage device. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one storage device located remotely from the aforementioned processor.

[0274] The processors mentioned above can be general-purpose processors, including central processing units (CPUs), network processors (NPs), etc.; they can also be digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components.

[0275] In another embodiment provided in this application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of any of the robot control methods described above.

[0276] In another embodiment provided in this application, a computer program product containing instructions is also provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute any of the robot control methods described above.

[0277] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc.

[0278] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0279] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a related manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the system, apparatus, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium embodiments are basically similar to the method embodiments, so the descriptions are relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0280] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application are included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A robot control method, characterized in that, The method includes: When the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or when the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car, the robot is controlled to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator; wherein, a first marker is set at a first designated location inside the car of the first elevator, and a second marker is set at a second designated location in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs. If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, and the height difference between the marker and the robot meets a preset leveling condition, then the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, the robot is controlled to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator, including: If the current task path indicates that the robot needs to enter the car of the first elevator, during the process of the robot moving from the waiting area of ​​the first elevator to the car, the robot is controlled to obtain the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator. And / or, When the robot is inside the elevator car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the elevator car, the robot is controlled to obtain first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door, including: If the current task path indicates that the robot needs to exit the elevator car, during the process of the robot moving from inside the elevator car to outside the elevator car, the robot is controlled to obtain the first environmental information of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator. The method further includes: If the first environmental information indicates that there are no markers in the environment, or if the height difference between the detected markers and the robot does not meet the preset leveling conditions, the robot is controlled to stop moving.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The robot is equipped with an image acquisition device; The first environmental information for controlling the robot to acquire the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator includes: The robot is controlled to acquire an environmental image of the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator through the image acquisition device; If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, and the height difference between the marker and the robot satisfies a preset leveling condition, then controlling the robot to travel along the current task path includes: If a marker is detected in the environmental image, and the image coordinates of the detected marker in the height direction are within a specified coordinate range, then the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path. When the car is in a level position, the image coordinates of the marker in the height direction in the image acquired by the image acquisition device are within the specified coordinate range.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The robot is equipped with radar sensors; The first environmental information for controlling the robot to acquire the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator includes: The robot is controlled to emit light signals toward the elevator door of the first elevator via the radar sensor and to receive the reflected light signals. If the first environmental information indicates the presence of a marker in the environment, and the height difference between the marker and the robot satisfies a preset leveling condition, then controlling the robot to travel along the current task path includes: If the received light signal contains a target light signal reflected from a marker, then the robot is controlled to travel along the current task path; When the car is at a level position, the scanning height of the radar sensor is consistent with the vertical height of the marker reflecting the target light signal.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector; the reflectivity of the first rectangular reflector and the second rectangular reflector is greater than a reflectivity threshold. The at least one first rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height on the inner wall of the car, and the at least one second rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs; The height of the at least one first rectangular reflector above the floor of the car is the same as the height of the at least one second rectangular reflector above the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method is applied to the robot. Before the robot arrives at the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and before the robot obtains the first environmental information regarding the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator, the method further includes: Receive the current task path and an elevator list; wherein, the elevator list records the location of each elevator in the current scene; Based on the position recorded in the elevator list, determine the next elevator that needs to be passed when traveling according to the current task path, and designate it as the first elevator; Proceed to the location of the first elevator according to the current task path.

7. A robot control system, characterized in that, The robot control system includes: a robot and a control platform; The robot is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-6; The control platform is used to send the current task path and elevator list to the robot.

8. The robot control system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The robot is equipped with an image acquisition device and / or a radar sensor; The image acquisition device is used to acquire environmental images of the direction of the elevator doors; The radar sensor is used to emit light signals toward the elevator doors and receive the reflected light signals.

9. The robot control system according to claim 8, characterized in that, When the robot is equipped with the radar sensor, the system further includes: a first marker installed inside the elevator car, and a second marker installed in the environment of the elevator waiting area. The first marker includes at least one first rectangular reflector, and the second marker includes at least one second rectangular reflector; the reflectivity of the first rectangular reflector and the second rectangular reflector is greater than a reflectivity threshold. The at least one first rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height on the inner wall of the car, and the at least one second rectangular reflector is disposed at the same height in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs; The height of the at least one first rectangular reflector above the floor of the car is the same as the height of the at least one second rectangular reflector above the floor to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs.

10. A robot control device, characterized in that, The device includes: An environmental information acquisition module is used to control the robot to acquire first environmental information about the direction of the elevator door of the first elevator when the robot travels to the waiting area of ​​the first elevator and the current task path indicates that it needs to enter the car of the first elevator, and / or when the robot is inside the car and the current task path indicates that it needs to exit the car; wherein, a first marker is set at a first designated location inside the car of the first elevator, and a second marker is set at a second designated location in the environment to which the waiting area of ​​the first elevator belongs. The first control module is used to control the robot to travel along the current task path if there are markers in the environment represented by the first environmental information, and the height difference between the markers and the robot meets the preset leveling conditions.

11. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: Memory, used to store computer programs; A processor, when executing a program stored in memory, implements the method of any one of claims 1-6.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method described in any one of claims 1-6.

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