Inspection robot positioning method, system and device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a positioning method, system and equipment for an inspection robot. According to the environmental characteristics of the plant and station area, the anchor points in the plant and station area are divided into four areas, namely the area where laser positioning can be performed normally, the plant and station positioning gradient area, the plant and station GPS positioning area and the plant and station narrow area. After the robot is turned on, the current position information of the robot is obtained to locate the anchor point area where the robot is currently located. The corresponding positioning strategy is adopted according to the anchor point area where the robot is located, and the robot is accurately positioned by using highly reliable laser radar positioning, GPS positioning, IMU and odometer positioning methods in different plant and station area environments, thereby solving the technical problem that the positioning accuracy of existing inspection robots is limited by the plant and station area environment and the reliability is low.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of robot positioning technology, and in particular to a patrol robot positioning method, system and equipment. Background Art

[0002] For inspection robots, navigation and positioning are key technologies for accurate inspections. Before deploying a robot, a map of the inspection site must be created, and inspection points, routes, and areas must be determined. The inspection robot then uses this map, points, routes, and areas, along with end-point sensors such as lidar, GPS, IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), and odometry, for real-time positioning and control, thereby completing its assigned inspection tasks. GPS data can experience significant jumps when the robot navigates within the production area of ​​a plant or station, making reliable, stable, and precise positioning impossible, thus failing to meet inspection requirements. After operating for a period of time, IMUs and odometry can experience lightning strike errors, making accurate positioning impossible within the plant or station. Therefore, lidar is typically the primary sensor for inspection robot positioning, with GPS, IMU, and odometry serving only as auxiliary sensor data. Lidar acquires laser ranging information for real-time positioning and control, leveraging the geometric and texture features of objects. Therefore, in highly uniform environments with confined spaces or open, featureless scenes, the accuracy of the real-time control and positioning of the LiDAR environmental detection terminal will be affected, making it impossible to accurately identify and complete real-time reliable positioning. At the same time, in confined spaces, GPS signals will fail, making it difficult for LiDAR to achieve reliable positioning. The robot will be unable to complete positioning, and over time, the entire positioning system will become chaotic. Therefore, how to solve the problem of the positioning accuracy of inspection robots being limited by the plant and station area environment, and to ensure the accuracy of the positioning of robots inspecting within the plant and station area, is a technical problem that needs to be urgently addressed by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention provides a patrol robot positioning method, system and device for solving the technical problem that the positioning accuracy of existing patrol robots is limited by the plant and station area environment and the reliability is low.

[0004] In view of this, a first aspect of the present invention provides a positioning method for an inspection robot, comprising:

[0005] S1. Obtain the plant station area environmental information, divide the plant station area into anchor point areas according to the plant station area environmental information, and divide the plant station area into areas where laser positioning can be performed normally, areas where positioning of the plant station is gradually changed, areas where GPS positioning can be performed normally, and small areas where the plant station is performed;

[0006] S2. Initialize the robot's position information and obtain the robot's current position. If the robot's current position is in the laser positioning area, execute step S3. If the robot's current position is in the plant station positioning gradient area, execute step S4. If the robot's current position is in the plant station GPS positioning area, execute step S5. If the robot's current position is in the plant station's narrow area, execute step S6.

[0007] S3. If the robot's current position is within the laser positioning area, the robot obtains the reliability of the laser radar positioning during movement, uses the positioning results of the IMU and odometer to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the laser radar, and uses the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result.

[0008] S4. If the current position of the robot is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are obtained simultaneously during the movement of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are determined. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning result of the robot until the reliability of the lidar positioning or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold;

[0009] S5. If the robot's current position is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, obtain the credibility of the GPS positioning during the robot's movement, use the positioning results of the IMU and odometer to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning result, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result;

[0010] S6. If the current position of the robot is in a small area of ​​the plant station, the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning is obtained during the movement of the robot. The positioning results of the lidar are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and the interpolation verification results are used as the positioning results of the robot.

[0011] Optionally, after step S2, the following steps may be further included:

[0012] S7. During the movement of the robot, determine whether the robot is at the boundary of the area. If so, obtain the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning. Before the robot enters the target area, use the positioning credibility of the source area to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result. When the robot enters the target area, use the positioning credibility of the target area to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result until the robot completely enters the target area.

[0013] Optionally, step S1 specifically includes:

[0014] After the robot is turned on, the GPS positioning result of the robot is obtained. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result meets the requirements, the GPS positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result does not meet the requirements, the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are obtained, and the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are verified using the lidar positioning result. If the verification passes, the lidar positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the verification fails, the current position of the robot is obtained manually.

[0015] Optionally, step S3 specifically includes:

[0016] S31. If the current position of the robot is within the normal laser positioning area, obtain the reliability of the laser radar positioning during the movement of the robot, and interpolate and verify the positioning results of the laser radar using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer;

[0017] S32. If the reliability of the laser radar positioning is greater than the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning, the laser radar positioning result is used as the robot positioning result;

[0018] S33. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is not greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning, the IMU and odometer positioning results are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the robot's moving speed is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot's moving speed is restored and returns to step S32. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is not greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0019] Step S4 specifically includes:

[0020] S41. If the current position of the robot is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the reliability of the laser radar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are simultaneously obtained during the movement of the robot;

[0021] S42. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are determined. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot.

[0022] S43. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and the credibility of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the movement speed of the robot is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and / or the credibility of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold within the preset distance range of the robot, the movement speed of the robot is restored and returns to step S42. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and the credibility of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0023] Optionally, step S5 specifically includes:

[0024] S51. If the current position of the robot is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, the reliability of the GPS positioning is obtained during the movement of the robot, and the positioning results of the lidar are interpolated and verified using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer;

[0025] S52. If the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning, the GPS positioning result is used as the positioning result of the robot;

[0026] S53. If the credibility of GPS positioning is not greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning, the IMU and odometer positioning results are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the robot's moving speed is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of GPS positioning is greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot's moving speed is restored and returns to step S52. If the credibility of GPS positioning is not greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0027] A second aspect of the present invention provides a patrol robot positioning system, comprising:

[0028] Anchor area division module, used to obtain plant area environmental information, and divide the plant area into anchor area according to the plant area environmental information, and divide the plant area into laser normal positioning area, plant positioning gradient area, plant GPS normal positioning area and plant narrow area;

[0029] The initial position acquisition module is used to initialize the robot's position information and obtain the robot's current position. If the robot's current position is in the laser positioning area, the first processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the second processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station GPS positioning area, the third processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station GPS positioning area, the fourth processing module is executed.

[0030] The first processing module is used to obtain the reliability of the laser radar positioning during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is within the normal laser positioning area, interpolate and verify the laser radar positioning result using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result;

[0031] The second processing module is used to obtain the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning at the same time during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is located in the plant station positioning gradient area. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are judged. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning result of the robot until the reliability of the lidar positioning or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold;

[0032] The third processing module is used to obtain the credibility of GPS positioning during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, interpolate and verify the GPS positioning result using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification result as the positioning result of the robot;

[0033] The fourth processing module is used to obtain the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning if the robot's current position is in a small area of ​​the plant station during the movement of the robot, use the positioning results of the lidar to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification results as the positioning results of the robot.

[0034] Optionally, it also includes:

[0035] The boundary judgment module is used to determine whether the robot is at the boundary of the area during the robot's movement. If so, it obtains the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning. Before the robot enters the target area, the positioning credibility of the source area is used to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the robot's positioning result. When the robot enters the target area, the positioning credibility of the target area is used to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the robot's positioning result until the robot completely enters the target area.

[0036] Optionally, the anchor point region division module is specifically configured to:

[0037] After the robot is turned on, the GPS positioning result of the robot is obtained. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result meets the requirements, the GPS positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result does not meet the requirements, the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are obtained, and the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are verified using the lidar positioning result. If the verification passes, the lidar positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the verification fails, the current position of the robot is obtained manually.

[0038] A third aspect of the present invention provides a patrol robot positioning device, the device comprising a processor and a memory:

[0039] The memory is used to store program code and transmit the program code to the processor;

[0040] The processor is used to execute the inspection robot positioning method described in any one of the first aspects according to the instructions in the program code.

[0041] From the above technical solutions, it can be seen that the inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention has the following advantages:

[0042] The inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention divides the anchor points of the plant station area into four areas according to the environmental characteristics of the plant station area, namely the laser normal positioning area, the plant station positioning gradient area, the plant station GPS normal positioning area and the plant station narrow area. After the robot is turned on, the current position information of the robot is obtained to locate the anchor point area where the robot is currently located, and the corresponding positioning strategy is adopted according to the anchor point area. It realizes accurate positioning of the robot in different plant station area environments by using highly reliable laser radar positioning, GPS positioning, IMU and odometer positioning methods, thereby solving the technical problem that the positioning accuracy of the existing inspection robot is limited by the plant station area environment and the reliability is low.

[0043] At the same time, the inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention also provides a positioning strategy for when the robot is at the boundary of an area, thereby achieving smooth switching of the robot positioning and further ensuring reliable positioning of the entire plant station.

[0044] The inspection robot positioning device and equipment provided by the present invention are used to execute the inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention. The principles and technical effects achieved are the same as those of the inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0046] Figure 1 A schematic flow chart of a positioning method for an inspection robot provided by the present invention;

[0047] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a positioning strategy for an inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention when the robot is located in an area where laser positioning is possible;

[0048] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a positioning strategy for an inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention when the robot is located in a station positioning gradient area;

[0049] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the positioning strategy of a patrol robot positioning method provided by the present invention when the robot is located in an area where the plant station GPS can normally locate;

[0050] Figure 5 Another schematic flow chart of a positioning method for an inspection robot provided by the present invention;

[0051] Figure 6 This is a structural schematic diagram of a positioning device for an inspection robot provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solutions of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0053] In the present invention, the substation plant scenario is taken as an example. Those skilled in the art can understand that the method of the present invention can also be applied to power plants, hangars, large equipment warehouses, plants and other scenarios.

[0054] For easier understanding, see Figure 1 The present invention provides an embodiment of a positioning method for an inspection robot, comprising:

[0055] Step 101: Obtain plant area environmental information, divide the plant area into anchor point areas according to the plant area environmental information, and divide the plant area into areas where laser positioning can be performed normally, areas where positioning of the plant is gradually changed, areas where GPS positioning can be performed normally, and small areas where the plant is located.

[0056] It should be noted that, based on the environmental characteristics of the plant area, it can be divided into four types of anchor areas, namely:

[0057] Areas where laser positioning can be performed normally: This area has many devices, generally concentrated equipment areas. Within this area, the laser radar can complete positioning normally, but the GPS data will have large jumps.

[0058] Plant station positioning gradient area: The equipment in this area is relatively sparse, there are some open areas, and there are also certain equipment areas. The laser positioning in this area has jumps, and the GPS data also has jumps.

[0059] The area where the plant station GPS can normally locate: This area has fewer devices or the devices are highly consistent, and is relatively open. GPS data can complete positioning normally, but the lidar data has large jumps.

[0060] Small areas of power plants and stations: These areas are usually narrow or long, such as charging rooms or narrow, non-open areas. Both GPS data and LiDAR data have large jumps, making positioning impossible.

[0061] Step 102: Initialize the robot's position information and obtain the robot's current position.

[0062] It should be noted that before the robot performs the inspection task, it needs to obtain the initial position first. Generally, after the robot is turned on, the position information is initialized to obtain the current position information of the robot. Specifically, after the robot is turned on, the GPS positioning result of the robot is obtained. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result meets the requirements, the GPS positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result does not meet the requirements, the position coordinates of the robot before it is turned off are obtained, and the position coordinates of the robot before it is turned off are verified using the laser radar positioning result. If the laser radar positioning result and the position coordinates of the robot before it is turned off are within a certain error range, the credibility of the laser radar positioning result is high, and the verification is passed. The laser radar positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the verification fails, the current position of the robot is obtained manually.

[0063] If the current position of the robot is in the area where the laser can be normally positioned, execute step 103; if the current position of the robot is in the factory station positioning gradient area, execute step 104; if the current position of the robot is in the area where the factory station GPS can be normally positioned, execute step 105; if the current position of the robot is in a small area of ​​the factory station, execute step 106.

[0064] Step 103: If the robot's current position is within the laser positioning area, the reliability of the laser radar positioning is obtained during the robot's movement. The positioning results of the IMU and odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the laser radar, and the interpolation verification results are used as the robot's positioning results.

[0065] It should be noted that after obtaining the initialization position information of the robot, inspection work can be carried out according to the inspection task. Based on the initialization position information of the robot, it can be determined whether the anchor point area where the robot initially falls is the laser normal positioning area, the plant station positioning gradient area, the plant station GPS normal positioning area, and the plant station narrow area. If it is located in the laser normal positioning area, then during the movement of the robot, the reliability of the laser radar positioning is obtained, and the positioning results of the laser radar are interpolated and verified using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. Specifically, if Figure 2 As shown, the specific execution process of step 103 is:

[0066] 1031. If the robot's current position is within the laser positioning area, obtain the reliability of the laser radar positioning during the robot's movement, and use the positioning results of the IMU and odometer to interpolate and verify the laser radar positioning results.

[0067] 1032. If the reliability of the LiDAR positioning is greater than the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning, the LiDAR positioning result is used as the robot's positioning result;

[0068] 1033. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning, the IMU and odometer positioning results are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the robot's moving speed is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot's moving speed is restored and returns to step 1032. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0069] Step 104: If the current position of the robot is located in the plant station positioning gradient area, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are obtained simultaneously during the movement of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are judged. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning result of the robot until the reliability of the lidar positioning or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold.

[0070] It should be noted that the specific execution process of step 104 is as follows Figure 3 As shown, including:

[0071] 1041. If the current position of the robot is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are obtained simultaneously during the movement of the robot.

[0072] 1042. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are determined. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot.

[0073] 1043. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the movement speed of the robot is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold within the preset distance range of the robot, the movement speed of the robot is restored and returns to step 1042. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0074] Step 105: If the current position of the robot is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, the credibility of the GPS positioning is obtained during the movement of the robot, and the positioning results of the GPS are interpolated and verified using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot.

[0075] It should be noted that the specific execution process of step 105 is as follows Figure 4 As shown, including:

[0076] 1051. If the current position of the robot is in the area where the plant station GPS can normally locate it, the credibility of the GPS positioning is obtained during the movement of the robot, and the positioning results of the lidar are interpolated and verified using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer.

[0077] 1052. If the credibility of GPS positioning is greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning, the GPS positioning result will be used as the positioning result of the robot.

[0078] 1053. If the credibility of GPS positioning is not greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning, the IMU and odometer positioning results are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the robot's moving speed is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of GPS positioning is greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot's moving speed is restored and returns to step S52. If the credibility of GPS positioning is not greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0079] Step 106: If the current position of the robot is in a small area of ​​the plant station, the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning is obtained during the movement of the robot, and the positioning results of the IMU and odometer are interpolated and verified using the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification results are used as the positioning results of the robot.

[0080] It should be noted that in the confined area of ​​the plant, both GPS and LiDAR data experience significant jumps, making it impossible to complete positioning. Therefore, when the robot is in this area, the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning is obtained during the robot's movement. The LiDAR positioning results are used to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and the interpolation verification results are used as the robot's positioning result.

[0081] In one embodiment, Figure 5 As shown, after step 102, the following steps may also be included:

[0082] Step 107: During the movement of the robot, determine whether the robot is at the boundary of the area. If so, obtain the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning. Before the robot enters the target area, use the positioning credibility of the source area to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result. When the robot enters the target area, use the positioning credibility of the target area to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result until the robot completely enters the target area.

[0083] It should be noted that the source area is the anchor area that the robot is about to leave, and the target area is the anchor area that the robot is about to enter. For example, if the robot is currently located at the boundary between the laser normal positioning area and the plant station positioning gradient area, and is about to leave the laser normal positioning area and enter the plant station positioning gradient area, then the laser normal positioning area is the source area, and the plant station positioning gradient area is the target area. The robot is located at the area boundary and needs to enter the target area from the source area to the area boundary and then from the area boundary to the target area. Therefore, before the robot enters the target area, the IMU and odometry positioning results are interpolated and verified using the positioning reliability of the source area. The interpolation verification result is used as the robot's positioning result. When the robot enters the target area, the IMU and odometry positioning results are interpolated and verified using the positioning reliability of the target area. The interpolation verification result is used as the robot's positioning result until the robot completely enters the target area.

[0084] The inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention divides the anchor points of the plant station area into four areas according to the environmental characteristics of the plant station area, namely the laser normal positioning area, the plant station positioning gradient area, the plant station GPS normal positioning area and the plant station narrow area. After the robot is turned on, the current position information of the robot is obtained to locate the anchor point area where the robot is currently located, and the corresponding positioning strategy is adopted according to the anchor point area. It realizes accurate positioning of the robot in different plant station area environments by using highly reliable laser radar positioning, GPS positioning, IMU and odometer positioning methods, thereby solving the technical problem that the positioning accuracy of the existing inspection robot is limited by the plant station area environment and the reliability is low.

[0085] At the same time, the inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention also provides a positioning strategy for when the robot is at the boundary of an area, thereby achieving smooth switching of the robot positioning and further ensuring reliable positioning of the entire plant station.

[0086] For easier understanding, see Figure 6 The present invention provides an embodiment of a patrol robot positioning system, comprising:

[0087] Anchor area division module, used to obtain plant area environmental information, and divide the plant area into anchor area according to the plant area environmental information, and divide the plant area into laser normal positioning area, plant positioning gradient area, plant GPS normal positioning area and plant narrow area;

[0088] The initial position acquisition module is used to initialize the robot's position information and obtain the robot's current position. If the robot's current position is in the laser positioning area, the first processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the second processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station GPS positioning area, the third processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station GPS positioning area, the fourth processing module is executed.

[0089] The first processing module is used to obtain the reliability of the laser radar positioning during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is within the normal laser positioning area, interpolate and verify the laser radar positioning result using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result;

[0090] The second processing module is used to obtain the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning at the same time during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is located in the plant station positioning gradient area. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are judged. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning result of the robot until the reliability of the lidar positioning or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold;

[0091] The third processing module is used to obtain the credibility of GPS positioning during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, interpolate and verify the GPS positioning result using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification result as the positioning result of the robot;

[0092] The fourth processing module is used to obtain the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning if the robot's current position is in a small area of ​​the plant station during the movement of the robot, use the positioning results of the lidar to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification results as the positioning results of the robot.

[0093] Also includes:

[0094] The boundary judgment module is used to determine whether the robot is at the boundary of the area during the robot's movement. If so, it obtains the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning. Before the robot enters the target area, the positioning credibility of the source area is used to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the robot's positioning result. When the robot enters the target area, the positioning credibility of the target area is used to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the robot's positioning result until the robot completely enters the target area.

[0095] The anchor area division module is specifically used for:

[0096] After the robot is turned on, the GPS positioning result of the robot is obtained. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result meets the requirements, the GPS positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result does not meet the requirements, the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are obtained, and the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are verified using the lidar positioning result. If the verification passes, the lidar positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the verification fails, the current position of the robot is obtained manually.

[0097] The first processing module is specifically configured to perform the following steps:

[0098] S31. If the current position of the robot is within the normal laser positioning area, obtain the reliability of the laser radar positioning during the movement of the robot;

[0099] S32. Use the positioning results of the IMU and odometer to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning, the lidar positioning result is used as the positioning result of the robot.

[0100] S33. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is not greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning, the IMU and odometer positioning results are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the robot's moving speed is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot's moving speed is restored and returns to step S32. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is not greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0101] The second processing module is specifically configured to perform the following steps:

[0102] S41. If the current position of the robot is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the reliability of the laser radar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are simultaneously obtained during the movement of the robot;

[0103] S42. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are determined. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot.

[0104] S43. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and the credibility of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the movement speed of the robot is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and / or the credibility of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold within the preset distance range of the robot, the movement speed of the robot is restored and returns to step S42. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and the credibility of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0105] The third processing module is specifically configured to perform the following steps:

[0106] S51. If the current position of the robot is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, the credibility of the GPS positioning is obtained during the movement of the robot.

[0107] S52. Use the positioning results of the IMU and odometer to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar. If the credibility of the GPS positioning is greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning, the GPS positioning result is used as the positioning result of the robot;

[0108] S53. If the credibility of GPS positioning is not greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning, the IMU and odometer positioning results are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the robot's moving speed is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of GPS positioning is greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot's moving speed is restored and returns to step S52. If the credibility of GPS positioning is not greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

[0109] The present invention also provides an embodiment of a patrol robot positioning device, the device including a processor and a memory:

[0110] The memory is used to store program codes and transmit the program codes to the processor;

[0111] The processor is used to execute the inspection robot positioning method provided in the present invention according to the instructions in the program code.

[0112] The inspection robot positioning system and device provided by the present invention are used to execute the inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention. The principles and technical effects achieved are the same as those of the inspection robot positioning method provided by the present invention, and will not be repeated here.

[0113] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the above embodiments can still be modified, or some of the technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A positioning method for an inspection robot, characterized in that: include: S1. Obtain the plant station area environmental information, divide the plant station area into anchor point areas according to the plant station area environmental information, and divide the plant station area into areas where laser positioning can be performed normally, areas where positioning of the plant station is gradually changed, areas where GPS positioning can be performed normally, and small areas where the plant station is performed; S2. Initialize the robot's position information and obtain the robot's current position. If the robot's current position is in the laser positioning area, execute step S3. If the robot's current position is in the plant station positioning gradient area, execute step S4. If the robot's current position is in the plant station GPS positioning area, execute step S5. If the robot's current position is in the plant station's narrow area, execute step S6. S3. If the robot's current position is within the laser positioning area, the robot obtains the reliability of the laser radar positioning during movement, uses the positioning results of the IMU and odometer to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the laser radar, and uses the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result. S4. If the current position of the robot is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are obtained simultaneously during the movement of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are determined. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning result of the robot until the reliability of the lidar positioning or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold; S5. If the robot's current position is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, obtain the credibility of the GPS positioning during the robot's movement, use the positioning results of the IMU and odometer to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning result, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result; S6. If the current position of the robot is in a small area of ​​the plant station, the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning is obtained during the movement of the robot. The positioning results of the lidar are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and the interpolation verification results are used as the positioning results of the robot.

2. The inspection robot positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Steps after S2 also include: S7. During the movement of the robot, determine whether the robot is at the boundary of the area. If so, obtain the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning. Before the robot enters the target area, use the positioning credibility of the source area to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result. When the robot enters the target area, use the positioning credibility of the target area to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result until the robot completely enters the target area.

3. The inspection robot positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S1 specifically includes: After the robot is turned on, the GPS positioning result of the robot is obtained. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result meets the requirements, the GPS positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result does not meet the requirements, the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are obtained, and the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are verified using the lidar positioning result. If the verification passes, the lidar positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the verification fails, the current position of the robot is obtained manually.

4. The inspection robot positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S3 specifically includes: S31. If the current position of the robot is within the normal laser positioning area, obtain the reliability of the laser radar positioning during the movement of the robot, and interpolate and verify the positioning results of the laser radar using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer; S32. If the reliability of the laser radar positioning is greater than the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning, the laser radar positioning result is used as the robot positioning result; S33. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is not greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning, the IMU and odometer positioning results are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the robot's moving speed is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot's moving speed is restored and returns to step S32. If the credibility of the lidar positioning is not greater than the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

5. The inspection robot positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S4 specifically includes: S41. If the current position of the robot is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the reliability of the laser radar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are simultaneously obtained during the movement of the robot; S42. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are determined. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. S43. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and the credibility of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the movement speed of the robot is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and / or the credibility of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold within the preset distance range of the robot, the movement speed of the robot is restored and returns to step S42. If the credibility of the lidar positioning and the credibility of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

6. The inspection robot positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step S5 specifically includes: S51. If the current position of the robot is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, the reliability of the GPS positioning is obtained during the movement of the robot, and the positioning results of the lidar are interpolated and verified using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer; S52. If the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the reliability of the IMU and odometer positioning, the GPS positioning result is used as the positioning result of the robot; S53. If the credibility of GPS positioning is not greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning, the IMU and odometer positioning results are used as the positioning results of the robot, and the robot's moving speed is reduced to the minimum travel speed, and the robot is controlled to travel within the preset distance range. If the credibility of GPS positioning is greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot's moving speed is restored and returns to step S52. If the credibility of GPS positioning is not greater than the credibility of IMU and odometer positioning within the preset distance range of the robot, the robot is controlled to stop moving and enter the positioning alarm state.

7. A patrol robot positioning system, characterized in that: include: Anchor area division module, used to obtain plant area environmental information, and divide the plant area into anchor area according to the plant area environmental information, and divide the plant area into laser normal positioning area, plant positioning gradient area, plant GPS normal positioning area and plant narrow area; The initial position acquisition module is used to initialize the robot's position information and obtain the robot's current position. If the robot's current position is in the laser positioning area, the first processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station positioning gradient area, the second processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station GPS positioning area, the third processing module is executed. If the robot's current position is in the plant station GPS positioning area, the fourth processing module is executed. The first processing module is used to obtain the reliability of the laser radar positioning during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is within the normal laser positioning area, interpolate and verify the laser radar positioning result using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification result as the robot's positioning result; The second processing module is used to obtain the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning at the same time during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is located in the plant station positioning gradient area. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and / or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold, the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are judged. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the lidar, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning is not greater than the reliability of the GPS positioning, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used to interpolate and verify the GPS positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the positioning result of the robot. If the reliability of the lidar positioning and the reliability of the GPS positioning are not greater than the threshold, the positioning results of the IMU and the odometer are used as the positioning result of the robot until the reliability of the lidar positioning or the reliability of the GPS positioning is greater than the threshold; The third processing module is used to obtain the credibility of GPS positioning during the movement of the robot if the current position of the robot is within the normal positioning area of ​​the plant station GPS, interpolate and verify the GPS positioning result using the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification result as the positioning result of the robot; The fourth processing module is used to obtain the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning if the robot's current position is in a small area of ​​the plant station during the movement of the robot, use the positioning results of the lidar to interpolate and verify the positioning results of the IMU and odometer, and use the interpolation verification results as the positioning results of the robot.

8. The inspection robot positioning system according to claim 7, characterized in that: Also includes: The boundary judgment module is used to determine whether the robot is at the boundary of the area during the robot's movement. If so, it obtains the credibility of the IMU and odometer positioning. Before the robot enters the target area, the positioning credibility of the source area is used to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the robot's positioning result. When the robot enters the target area, the positioning credibility of the target area is used to interpolate and verify the IMU and odometer positioning results, and the interpolation verification result is used as the robot's positioning result until the robot completely enters the target area.

9. The inspection robot positioning system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The anchor area division module is specifically used for: After the robot is turned on, the GPS positioning result of the robot is obtained. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result meets the requirements, the GPS positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the credibility of the GPS positioning result does not meet the requirements, the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are obtained, and the position coordinates of the robot before shutdown are verified using the lidar positioning result. If the verification passes, the lidar positioning result is used as the current position of the robot. If the verification fails, the current position of the robot is obtained manually.

10. A patrol robot positioning device, characterized in that: The device includes a processor and a memory: The memory is used to store program code and transmit the program code to the processor; The processor is used to execute the inspection robot positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 according to the instructions in the program code.

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