Collision detection system for evaluating obstacle recognition capability of intelligent mobile robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a collision detection system for evaluating obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot, which comprises a bottom plate, guardrails, a base frame, a simulation obstacle, a rigid structure cylinder, a force sensor and a camera, and is characterized in that the bottom plate is provided with two parallel guardrails to form a test area; the front part of the test area is provided with a starting test point of a tested robot, the rear part of the test area is provided with the base frame and the simulation obstacle, and is provided with an avoiding outlet, the simulation obstacle is provided with a guide rail groove for installing the force sensor, and the force sensor is arranged in the guide rail groove. The rigid structure cylinder is fixedly connected to the front of the force sensor and serves as a collision contact object with a detected robot, the camera is arranged over the rigid structure cylinder, and the camera is installed on the base frame. According to the invention, omnibearing robot obstacle avoidance capability testing can be realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the aging of the population, rising labor costs, and increasing consumer demand for intelligent services, the market demand for mobile robots has continued to grow. In particular, in some industries that are highly dependent on manpower, the application demand for mobile robots is more urgent. At the same time, the differences in demand in different fields and different application scenarios are gradually emerging, and the market has shown a higher interest in innovative robot products with a wide range of application scenarios. At present, mobile robots have broad application prospects in many fields such as medical services, educational services, catering services, hotel services, and retail services. With the continuous advancement of technology and the continuous expansion of application scenarios, the market demand for mobile robots will continue to grow.

[0003] The use scenarios of mobile robots often have many different types of obstacles at the same time. Whether the mobile robot can achieve high automation and intelligence depends on whether it can efficiently perceive the surrounding environment, quickly identify obstacles, and effectively avoid obstacles. At present, the main obstacle avoidance measures taken by mobile robots include stopping on the spot after identifying obstacles, replanning the route to bypass after identifying obstacles, and stopping forward and reversing after identifying obstacles. In all obstacle avoidance processes, it should be ensured that all measures will not cause the mobile robot to collide with the surrounding environment. In order to perform collision tests on the obstacle avoidance function, a simulated collision environment system can be built to test the mobile robot.

[0004] At present, most of the research and development on robot obstacle avoidance or anti-collision function testing in the industry only provides fixed obstacles and single variable tests. For example:

[0005] 1. A robot collision test method and system disclosed in publication number CN117885137A, when the robot is driving towards an empty obstacle placement area, if the first information sent by the sensing device that the robot has reached a preset position is received; the obstacle driving device is controlled to start and the obstacle is placed in the obstacle placement area; after the robot stops running, the interval distance between the robot's stop position and the obstacle is obtained; according to the interval distance, the anti-collision capability of the robot at the current detection distance is determined, wherein the current detection distance is the distance between the sensing device and the obstacle placement area. It can use the obstacle driving device to temporarily or suddenly place the obstacle in the obstacle placement area to replace the sudden appearance of a person or holding an object, thereby ensuring the safety of the robot's anti-collision capability test.

[0006] 2. Publication No. CN116352756A discloses a system and method for detecting obstacle avoidance functions of an indoor scene intelligent service robot. The detection system comprises a power supply module, an image capture module, a force sensing module, a high-speed data acquisition module, a computer module, a fixed base, an obstacle substrate and a fence. The fence encloses a collision scene test activity tooling area with an exit. A simulated obstacle arranged at the exit of the fence is installed on the fixed base. The obstacle substrate connected to the force sensing module is arranged on the simulated obstacle. The force sensing module is connected to the high-speed data acquisition module. Both the high-speed data acquisition module and the image capture module are connected to the computer module. The power supply module is used to supply power to the image capture module. The image capture module monitors in real time whether the robot collides with the simulated obstacle.

[0007] 3. Publication No. CN115824548A discloses a mobile robot collision safety testing and evaluation method and detection system, which adopts a combination of simulated collision and actual collision, builds a robot simulation model library, uses actual collision results to improve the simulated collision model, and performs multi-mode simulated collision tests based on the optimization model; the robot collision force detection device used in the actual collision includes a robot acceleration and angular velocity acquisition module, a collision force and torque acquisition module, a power supply module and a measurement and control module, which are used to carry out actual collision tests and collect robot motion process parameters and collision parameters; a mobile robot collision safety detection system is also disclosed, including a cloud platform, an industrial control computer and a robot collision force detection device, to realize the robot's full-process collision safety testing and evaluation; it enriches the types of robot collision tests and reduces the cost of robot collision tests by combining actual collisions with simulated collisions.

[0008] At present, the industry's research and development of mobile robot obstacle avoidance or anti-collision function detection methods and devices mostly only consider the situation where the mobile robot collides or stops completely, and does not consider the possible collisions that may occur during the robot's detour or other avoidance actions. In addition, most devices are limited to the design of single obstacles and fixed obstacles, and do not consider the situation of multiple obstacles of different sizes and shapes. It is difficult to test the situation where the robot recognizes multiple obstacles to complete obstacle avoidance. Summary of the invention

[0009] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition ability of an intelligent mobile robot, which can detect the collision direction and collision force of the mobile robot when it stops when encountering an obstacle, retreats when encountering an obstacle, or collides with an obstacle, thereby realizing a full-scale robot obstacle avoidance ability test.

[0010] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0011] A collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot, comprising: a bottom plate, a guardrail, a base frame, a simulated obstacle, a rigid structure cylinder, a force sensor and a camera, wherein two parallel guardrails are arranged on the bottom plate to form a rectangular test area for the robot under test, a starting test point of the robot under test is arranged at the front of the test area surrounded by the two guardrails, the base frame and the simulated obstacle are arranged at the rear of the test area, the base frame is constructed as a frame structure capable of forming an avoidance exit for the robot under test to exit the test area on both sides of the simulated obstacle, a guide groove for installing the force sensor is opened on the simulated obstacle, the rigid structure cylinder is fixedly connected in front of the force sensor as a collision contact object with the robot under test, a detachable fixing clamping device can be used to connect the rigid structure cylinder and the force sensor into a force-bearing whole, the camera is arranged directly above the rigid structure cylinder, and the camera is installed on the base frame;

[0012] The contact point between the rigid structure cylinder and the force sensor is the force contact point of the sensor. When the robot under test collides with the rigid structure cylinder, the force received by the force contact point of the force sensor is recorded as the test force F. meas The collision force of the robot under test on the rigid structure cylinder is recorded as the actual collision force F coll , the test force F meas The actual collision force F coll The angle between them is denoted as θ, then we have

[0013] The present invention is provided with a guardrail, which is used to ensure that the robot walks in the specified operating area during the test. By real-time monitoring by a camera and recording the operating trajectory of the robot under test, it can be obtained that when the robot under test encounters an obstacle, the next step is to stop, retreat, detour or collide, which is used to evaluate the obstacle avoidance ability of the robot under test. When a collision occurs, it can be obtained whether the collision direction of the robot under test is a head-on collision or a side collision, as well as the size of the collision force. When the robot under test detours an obstacle, an avoidance exit at the rear of the test area is used to detect its detour ability.

[0014] In order to quickly obtain the collision direction when the robot under test collides with the simulated obstacle, the upper surface of the top of the rigid structure cylinder of the present invention has a 360° angle scale line, and the center of the angle scale line is located on the central axis of the rigid structure cylinder. When the robot under test collides with the rigid structure cylinder, the collision contact point between the robot under test and the rigid structure cylinder is obtained through the camera to obtain the test force F meas The actual collision force F coll The included angle θ is used to facilitate the calculation of the actual collision force value.

[0015] The force sensor of the present invention is preferably a force sensor with an S-type cantilever shear structure.

[0016] The simulated obstacles of the present invention include plate-shaped obstacles, cylindrical obstacles and prismatic obstacles, which can simulate obstacle objects of different shapes, sizes and types, such as walls, doors, tables, furniture and pedestrians, etc., for the robot under test to identify and detect different obstacles.

[0017] The force sensor of the present invention is installed in the guide rail groove in an adjustable height, and its specific installation height is determined according to the height of the robot to be tested, so that it can be applicable to the detection of robots of different heights.

[0018] The height of the rigid structure cylinder of the present invention is ≤150mm and the diameter is ≤50mm. Specifically, a stainless steel metal part can be used. The size of the rigid structure cylinder is preferably much smaller than the robot being tested to avoid the robot from misidentifying obstacles. When the rigid structure cylinder is subjected to external force, it can maintain good force transmission, reduce the attenuation of force in the object, and improve the accuracy of the collision force value test.

[0019] The base frame of the present invention comprises two vertical poles, on which are mounted height-adjustable horizontal poles, on which the cameras are mounted, and the height-adjustable cameras are adapted to different types of robot tests.

[0020] The simulated obstacle of the present invention is fixedly connected to the base frame, and specifically an adjustable or replaceable obstacle mounting bracket can be provided to adapt to different simulated obstacles.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] 1. The present invention comprehensively considers various movement modes of mobile robots. Through the same detection system, various situations can be obtained when the robot under test encounters an obstacle, such as stopping, retreating, detouring or colliding, which is used to evaluate the obstacle avoidance ability of the robot under test. When a collision occurs, the rigid structural cylinder used in the present invention can simply, quickly and accurately obtain whether the robot under test will collide head-on or sideways with the obstacle, as well as the magnitude of the collision force, and in particular, can accurately detect the magnitude of the side collision force. When the robot under test detours an obstacle, an avoidance exit is located at the rear of the test area to detect its detour ability.

[0023] 2. The present invention can be used to simulate a variety of obstacle avoidance scenarios by replacing simulated obstacles. Obstacles of different sizes, such as plates, cylinders, and prisms, can be used to simulate obstacles such as table legs and pedestrians, thereby more comprehensively testing the obstacle avoidance capability of the mobile robot.

[0024] 3. The height positions of the force sensor and the camera of the present invention can be adjusted to adapt to the testing of mobile robots of different sizes and types.

[0025] 4. The present invention adopts a rigid structural cylinder as a collision contact object, which can maintain good force transmission, reduce the attenuation of force in the object, and improve the accuracy of the collision force value test. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 A three-dimensional structural diagram of a collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot provided by the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A three-dimensional structure diagram from another angle;

[0028] Figure 3 This is the state diagram of the robot under test detouring from the avoidance exit;

[0029] Figure 4 It is the schematic diagram of the connection structure between the force sensor and the rigid structure cylinder;

[0030] Figure 5 This is the force analysis diagram when the robot under test collides head-on with a rigid structural cylinder;

[0031] Figure 6 This is the force analysis diagram when the robot under test collides with the rigid structural cylinder.

[0032] Description of reference numerals:

[0033] 1-base plate; 2-guardrail; 3-base frame; 4-simulated obstacle; 4a-guide rail groove; 5-avoidance exit; 6-rigid structural cylinder; 7-force sensor; 7a-fixed clamping device; 8-camera; 9-tested robot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention more obvious, the exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments of the present invention, and it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0035] In the following description, a large number of specific details are provided to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented without one or more of these details. In other examples, in order to avoid confusion with the present invention, some technical features well known in the art are not described.

[0036] It should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in different forms and should not be interpreted as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make the disclosure thorough and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0037] The purpose of the terms used herein is only to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. When used herein, the singular forms "one", "an" and "said / the" are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "consisting of" and / or "comprising", when used in this specification, determine the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or groups. When used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the relevant listed items.

[0038] In order to fully understand the present invention, a detailed structure will be proposed in the following description to illustrate the technical solution proposed by the present invention. The optional embodiments of the present invention are described in detail as follows, but in addition to these detailed descriptions, the present invention may also have other implementations.

[0039] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, a collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot comprises: a bottom plate 1, a guardrail 2, a base frame 3, a simulated obstacle 4, a rigid structure cylinder 6, a force sensor 7 and a camera 8. Two parallel guardrails 2 are arranged on the bottom plate 1 to form a rectangular test area for a robot 9 to be tested. A starting test point of the robot 9 to be tested is arranged at the front of the test area surrounded by the two guardrails 2. A base frame 3 and a simulated obstacle 4 are arranged at the rear of the test area. The base frame 3 is constructed into a frame structure capable of forming an avoidance exit 5 for the robot 9 to be tested to exit the test area on both sides of the simulated obstacle 4. A guide groove 4a for installing the force sensor 7 is provided on the simulated obstacle 4. The rigid structure cylinder 6 is fixedly connected in front of the force sensor 7 as a collision contact object with the robot 9 to be tested. A detachable fixing clamping device 7a can be used to connect the rigid structure cylinder 6 and the force sensor 7 into a force-bearing whole. A camera 8 is arranged directly above the rigid structure cylinder 6, and the camera 8 is installed on the base frame 3.

[0040] The contact point between the rigid structure cylinder 6 and the force sensor 7 is the sensor force contact point. When the robot 9 under test collides with the rigid structure cylinder 6, the force received by the force contact point of the force sensor 7 is recorded as the test force F. meas The collision force of the robot under test on the rigid structure cylinder 6 is recorded as the actual collision force F coll , the test force F meas The actual collision force F coll The angle between them is denoted as θ, then we have

[0041] Figure 5 The force diagram shows the force when the robot 9 under test collides with the rigid structure cylinder 6. At this time, θ = 0 and the actual collision force F coll =Test force F meas .

[0042] Figure 6 The force diagram shows the force when the robot 9 under test collides with the rigid structure cylinder 6 sideways. The lateral collision point in the figure is the collision contact point between the robot 9 under test and the rigid structure cylinder 6 at this time. At this time, the actual collision force where F′ meas That is, the test force of the force sensor 7 during a side collision.

[0043] In order to quickly obtain the collision direction when the robot 9 under test collides with the simulated obstacle 4, the upper surface of the top of the rigid structure cylinder 6 has a 360° angle scale line, and the center of the angle scale line is located on the central axis of the rigid structure cylinder 6. When the robot 9 under test collides with the rigid structure cylinder 6, the collision contact point of the robot 9 under test and the rigid structure cylinder 6 is obtained by the camera 8, and the test force F can be obtained by the position of the collision contact point on the angle scale line at this time. meas The actual collision force F coll The included angle θ is used to facilitate the calculation of the actual collision force value.

[0044] In one embodiment, the force sensor 7 is preferably a force sensor with an S-type cantilever shear structure.

[0045] In some embodiments, the simulated obstacles 4 include plate-shaped obstacles, cylindrical obstacles and prismatic obstacles, which can simulate obstacle objects of different shapes, sizes and types, such as walls, doors, tables, furniture and pedestrians, etc., for the robot under test to identify and detect different obstacles.

[0046] In one embodiment, the force sensor 7 is installed in the guide rail groove 4a in an adjustable height, and its specific installation height is determined according to the height of the robot 9 to be measured, so that it can be suitable for the detection of robots of different heights. The connection method of the force sensor 7 in the guide rail groove 4a can be implemented using existing technology and will not be elaborated here.

[0047] In some embodiments, the height of the rigid structure cylinder 6 is ≤150mm and the diameter is ≤50mm. Specifically, a stainless steel metal component can be used. The size of the rigid structure cylinder is preferably much smaller than the robot 9 under test to avoid the machine from misidentifying obstacles. When the rigid structure cylinder 6 is subjected to external force, it can maintain good force transmission, reduce the attenuation of force in the object, and improve the accuracy of the collision force value test.

[0048] In one embodiment, the base frame 3 includes two vertical poles, on which height-adjustable cross bars are mounted, and the camera 8 is mounted on the cross bars. The height-adjustable camera 8 is adapted to different types of robot tests.

[0049] In one embodiment, the simulated obstacle 4 is fixedly connected to the base frame 3 , and specifically, an adjustable or replaceable obstacle mounting bracket may be provided to adapt to different simulated obstacles 4 .

[0050] The fixing method of the bottom plate and the guardrail of the present invention, as well as the left-right distance and the upper-lower height of the guardrail can be set according to the size of the robot 9 to be tested.

[0051] The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot, characterized in that: include: A bottom plate, a guardrail, a base frame, a simulated obstacle, a rigid structure cylinder, a force sensor and a camera, wherein two parallel guardrails are arranged on the bottom plate to form a rectangular test area for the robot under test, a starting test point of the robot under test is arranged at the front of the test area surrounded by the two guardrails, and the base frame and the simulated obstacle are arranged at the rear of the test area. The base frame is constructed as a frame structure capable of forming an escape exit for the robot under test to exit the test area on both sides of the simulated obstacle, a guide groove for installing the force sensor is opened on the simulated obstacle, the rigid structure cylinder is fixedly connected in front of the force sensor as a collision contact object with the robot under test, the camera is arranged directly above the rigid structure cylinder, and the camera is installed on the base frame; The contact point between the rigid structure cylinder and the force sensor is the force contact point of the sensor. When the robot under test collides with the rigid structure cylinder, the force received by the force contact point of the force sensor is recorded as the test force F. meas The collision force of the robot under test on the rigid structure cylinder is recorded as the actual collision force F coll , the test force F meas The actual collision force F coll The angle between them is denoted as θ, then 2. The collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper surface of the top of the rigid structure cylinder has a 360° angle scale line, the center of which is located on the central axis of the rigid structure cylinder. When the robot under test collides with the rigid structure cylinder, the collision contact point between the robot under test and the rigid structure cylinder is obtained by the camera to obtain the test force F meas The actual collision force F coll The angle θ.

3. The collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The force sensor is a force sensor with an S-type cantilever shear structure.

4. The collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The simulated obstacles include plate-shaped obstacles, cylindrical obstacles and prismatic obstacles.

5. The collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The force sensor is installed in the guide rail groove in an adjustable manner.

6. The collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the rigid structural cylinder is ≤150 mm, and the diameter is ≤50 mm.

7. The collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base frame comprises two vertical poles, on which a height-adjustable horizontal pole is mounted, and the camera is mounted on the horizontal pole.

8. The collision detection system for evaluating the obstacle recognition capability of an intelligent mobile robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The simulated obstacle is fixedly connected to the base frame.

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