Self-growing robot and environment exploration method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a self-growing robot and an environment exploration method thereof. The self-growing robot comprises a driving storage mechanism, a plastic film body, a flexible sensing unit, a signal receiving module, pneumatic artificial muscles arranged on the inner wall of the plastic film body and a tail end guiding sensing mechanism. The flexible sensing units are attached to the surface of the plastic film body, the sensing units are designed in an array mode, detection of obstacles in the environment is achieved while flexibility is guaranteed, the tail end guiding sensing mechanism is used for sensing the posture of the robot, information of a proximity sensor, an encoder and a gyroscope is combined, and the detection accuracy of the robot is improved. Navigation in an unknown environment can be realized; besides, pre-bending is set according to environment obstacle information, the environment obstacle is used for guiding the robot to grow, a larger area can be covered by combining pneumatic artificial muscles, a proximity sensor is used for detecting angular points in the environment according to the method, and the environment is explored by adopting a depth-first strategy; and a relatively high environment exploration rate can be realized within relatively few exploration times.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of self-growing robots, and in particular to a self-growing robot and an environment exploration method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The collision of traditional rigid robots with environmental obstacles is usually considered harmful, so various methods are needed to avoid obstacles in the environment.

[0003] As a new type of flexible robot, the self-growing robot has strong flexibility and can make full use of the collision with the environment. The collision can guide the self-growing robot, reduce its uncertainty, reduce the need for precision, and use it to explore unknown spaces.

[0004] In addition, traditional vision and radar-based navigation and SLAM algorithms are difficult to effectively complete tasks in low-light environments and small spaces, and there are also limitations on volume and size. Self-growing robots can extend their own length infinitely and have strong flexibility in small spaces.

[0005] However, current self-growing robots have difficulty maintaining their own compliance while effectively perceiving environmental obstacles.

[0006] Based on this problem, the present invention designs a novel self-growing robot and its environment exploration method. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a self-growing robot and an environmental exploration method thereof, so as to solve the problems of poor exploration effect and low exploration efficiency of the previous self-growing robots.

[0008] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following solutions:

[0009] A self-growing robot, comprising a drive storage mechanism, materials required for a plastic film body arranged in the drive storage mechanism, a flexible sensing unit and a signal receiving module arranged in an array on the outer wall of the plastic film body, a pneumatic artificial muscle arranged on the inner wall of the plastic film body, and an end guide sensing mechanism located at the end of the inner wall of the plastic film body;

[0010] The drive storage mechanism includes a main body tank, a drive motor arranged on the outer upper surface of the main body tank and with the drive end extending into the interior of the main body tank, and a material reel arranged inside the main body tank and connected to the drive motor. The main body tank is provided with an air inlet and a hole, and the active end of the plastic film body extends out of the hole. The air inlet is used to inflate the plastic film body, the flexible sensing unit is used to sense obstacles in the environment, the pneumatic artificial muscle is used to drive the adjustment of the posture of the active end of the plastic film body, and the end guide sensing mechanism provides guidance for the growth of the film body and realizes the perception of the end posture of the active end of the plastic film body.

[0011] Preferably, an outlet plug is provided on the outside of the hole.

[0012] Preferably, the flexible sensing unit and the signal receiving module are connected via a flexible flat cable and are arranged on both sides of the outer wall of the plastic film body.

[0013] Preferably, the flexible sensing unit comprises a flexible circuit board, an AD7147 chip arranged on the flexible circuit board, and a tooth electrode, the tooth electrode is arranged in a strip shape, and the bristles are arranged on the surface of the flexible circuit board.

[0014] Preferably, the signal receiving module includes a circuit board, a serial port arranged on the circuit board, a download port, an STM32 chip and a connecting terminal, the serial port is connected to the host computer via a USB data cable, the connecting terminal is used to connect the soft cable, and the download port is used to burn the required program.

[0015] Preferably, the end guide sensing mechanism includes an internal roller arranged inside the plastic film body, a guide roller, a gyroscope, a bracket and bristles arranged on the surface of the internal roller, the internal roller is installed on the bracket through bearings arranged on both sides, and the gyroscope chip is bonded to the bracket.

[0016] Preferably, a coupling is provided between the driving motor and the material reel.

[0017] Preferably, the driving motor is provided with an encoder for sensing the length of the self-growing robot.

[0018] Preferably, the pneumatic artificial muscles are evenly spaced and arranged on the inner wall of the plastic film body.

[0019] An environment exploration method for a self-growing robot comprises the following steps:

[0020] Step S1, driving the storage mechanism to inflate, the material storage reel releases the material, and the self-growing robot grows;

[0021] Step S2, using a proximity sensor to detect obstacle information in the environment;

[0022] Step S3, determining whether the position where the collision occurs has changed, that is, whether the self-growing robot has reached the corner point of the obstacle at this time, if so, executing step S4, otherwise continuing to execute step S2;

[0023] Step S4, the self-growing robot stops growing, and the pneumatic artificial muscle swings to the side where there is no obstacle to explore a larger area and complete a single exploration;

[0024] Step S5, judging whether the obstacle at the end of the current robot can be avoided by setting pre-bending according to the obstacle information in the environment, if so, executing step S6, otherwise executing step S7;

[0025] Step S6, exploring the unknown environment according to the depth-first strategy, setting the next pre-bending point of the self-growing robot according to the obstacle information, and then returning to execute step S1;

[0026] Step S7 determines whether there is a fork in the road based on the obstacle information in the environment. If yes, step S8 is executed. Otherwise, the exploration of the environment is completed.

[0027] Step S8: If there is a fork in the road environment, a pre-bending point is set near the fork.

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has achieved the following technical effects:

[0029] The present invention attaches capacitive flexible sensing units to the surface of the self-growing robot. The sensing units adopt an array design, and each group of sensing units is a toothed electrode. While ensuring flexibility, it realizes the detection of obstacles in the environment. The robot end guidance sensing mechanism is equipped with a gyroscope for sensing the posture of the robot. Combining the information of the proximity sensor, encoder and gyroscope, the robot can navigate in an unknown environment. The present invention proposes an algorithm for exploring an unknown environment using collision. The robot sets a pre-bend according to the environmental obstacle information, and uses the environmental obstacles to guide the growth of the robot. Combined with pneumatic artificial muscles, it can cover a larger area. The algorithm uses proximity sensors to detect corner points in the environment and uses a depth-first strategy to explore the environment. A higher environmental exploration rate can be achieved with a fewer number of explorations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0031] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the storage mechanism of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the terminal guiding sensor mechanism of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the flexible sensing unit and the signal receiving module of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the pre-bent self-growing robot of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the corner point of the self-growing robot of the present invention encountering an obstacle;

[0037] Figure 7 A flowchart of the environmental exploration method of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the self-growth exploration process of the present invention;

[0039] Among them, 1. drive storage mechanism; 2. plastic film body; 3. end guide sensor mechanism; 4. flexible sensor unit; 5. pneumatic artificial muscle; 6. stepper motor; 7. coupling; 8. body tank; 9. air inlet; 10. outlet plug; 11. material reel; 12. internal roller; 13. bristles; 14. guide roller; 15. gyroscope; 16. bracket; 17. bearing; 18. serial port; 19. STM32 chip; 20. connecting terminal; 21. soft flat cable; 22. AD7147 chip; 23. tooth electrode; 24. signal receiving module; 25. folds; 26. tape. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in 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 creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0041] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a self-growing robot and an environmental exploration method thereof, so as to solve the problems of poor exploration effect and low exploration efficiency of the previous self-growing robots.

[0042] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0043] refer to Figures 1 to 2 A self-growing robot comprises a driving storage mechanism, materials required for a plastic film body arranged in the driving storage mechanism, a flexible sensing unit and a signal receiving module arranged in an array on the outer wall of the plastic film body, a pneumatic artificial muscle arranged on the inner wall of the plastic film body, and an end guide sensing mechanism located at the end of the inner wall of the plastic film body; the driving storage mechanism comprises a body tank, a driving motor arranged on the outer upper surface of the body tank and having a driving end extending into the interior of the body tank, and a material reel arranged in the body tank and connected to the driving motor, an air inlet and a hole are provided on the body tank, the active end of the plastic film body extends out of the hole, the air inlet is used to inflate the plastic film body, the flexible sensing unit is used to sense obstacles in the environment, the pneumatic artificial muscle is used to drive the adjustment of the posture of the active end of the plastic film body, and the end guide sensing mechanism provides guidance for the growth of the film body and realizes the perception of the end posture of the active end of the plastic film body; the present invention attaches a capacitive flexible sensing unit to the surface of the self-growing robot, the sensing unit adopts an array design, and each group of sensing units is a toothed electrode. While ensuring compliance, it also realizes the detection of obstacles in the environment. The robot's end guidance sensor mechanism is equipped with a gyroscope to sense the robot's posture. Combining the information of the proximity sensor, encoder and gyroscope, the robot can navigate in an unknown environment. The present invention proposes an algorithm for exploring an unknown environment using collision. The robot sets pre-bends according to environmental obstacle information, and uses environmental obstacles to guide the robot's growth. Combined with pneumatic artificial muscles, it can cover a larger area. The algorithm uses proximity sensors to detect corners in the environment and uses a depth-first strategy to explore the environment. A high environmental exploration rate can be achieved with a relatively small number of explorations.

[0044] refer to Figure 2 The driving mechanism uses a stepper motor, which is installed on the upper surface of the main tank by screw connection and connected to the material reel through a coupling. At the same time, the stepper motor is equipped with an encoder to sense the length of the self-growing robot.

[0045] refer to Figure 2There is a hole on one side of the main tank, and the outlet plug is installed on the main tank by gluing. The plastic film material of the self-growing robot is folded outward and fixed to the outlet plug by tape. An air inlet is installed on the other side of the main tank. When the self-growing robot grows, the stepper motor drives the material reel to rotate and release the plastic film material. At this time, the air inlet is inflated, thereby realizing the growth of the robot. Conversely, the stepper motor drives the material reel to rotate in the opposite direction, retracting the plastic film material, thereby realizing the recycling of the self-growing robot.

[0046] refer to Figure 1 The flexible sensing unit and the signal receiving module are connected by a flexible flat cable and are arranged on both sides of the outer wall of the plastic film body.

[0047] refer to Figure 4 The flexible sensing unit includes a flexible circuit board, an AD7147 chip and a tooth electrode arranged on the flexible circuit board. The tooth electrode is arranged in a strip shape, and the bristles are arranged on the surface of the flexible circuit board. The AD7147 chip is directly welded on the flexible circuit board to convert the analog quantity of the sensor capacitance into a digital quantity. The multiple tooth electrodes are arranged in a strip shape, which can sense the obstacle information at different positions of the self-growing robot, and there is a common negative electrode. The bristles are cast on the surface of the flexible sensing unit to increase the friction between the robot and the environment, which improves the stability and robustness of the robot in dealing with external interference, and also protects the flexible sensing unit.

[0048] refer to Figure 4 The signal receiving module includes a circuit board, a serial port, a download port, an STM32 chip and a connection terminal arranged on the circuit board. The serial port is connected to the host computer via a USB data cable, the connection terminal is used to connect the soft cable, and the download port is used to burn the required program; STM32 is the main control chip of the sensor. In order to ensure the flexibility of the sensing unit, the signal receiving module and the flexible sensing unit are designed separately. Considering that the distance between the signal receiving module and the flexible sensing unit is long, the use of analog signals will definitely cause large noise. Therefore, the AD7147 chip is placed on the flexible sensing unit and communicates with the single-chip computer via SPI. While ensuring the maximum flexibility of the sensing unit, the proximity perception of the self-growing robot is realized.

[0049] refer to Figure 3, the terminal guide sensor mechanism includes an internal roller arranged inside the plastic film body, a guide roller, a gyroscope, a bracket and bristles arranged on the surface of the internal roller, the internal roller is installed on the bracket through bearings arranged on both sides, and the gyroscope chip is bonded to the bracket; further, four guide rollers are installed on the bracket and are evenly arranged in a circle to provide guidance for the growth of the self-growing robot and reduce the resistance of the material eversion during the growth process. Two internal rollers are installed on the bracket through bearings on both sides. Bristles are attached to its surface to increase the friction with the plastic film, so that the terminal guide sensor mechanism follows the growth of the self-growing robot and is always located at the end of the robot. The gyroscope chip is bonded to the bracket to sense the posture of the end of the self-growing robot.

[0050] refer to Figure 2 A coupling is provided between the driving motor and the material reel.

[0051] refer to Figure 1 The pneumatic artificial muscles are evenly spaced on the inner wall of the plastic film body; most self-growing robots will install the pneumatic artificial muscles on the outside of the robot, but since a flexible array sensor is installed on the outside, installing it on the outside will affect the perception function of the proximity sensor, so it can only be installed on the inside of the robot.

[0052] refer to Figure 5 , which is a pre-bent self-growing robot. Flatten the plastic film, fold it along the axis, and bend the plastic film to form a Z-shaped fold with a fixed width, and use tape to fix the fold on one side. At this time, the films on both sides are unfolded to form an asymmetric structure in length. At this time, air is inflated inside the plastic film, and the plastic film will bend in the direction where the tape is present, and the bending angle can also be controlled according to the length of the adhesive. The present invention uses this method to control the growth direction of the self-growing robot so that it can enter a narrow space.

[0053] refer to Figure 6 , is a concept related to the corner point of the obstacle. The self-growing robot is regarded as an inflatable beam with a constraint at the end. When it collides with the environment, the support point of the robot will bend, and the end will grow along one side of the obstacle. All self-growing robots within the range of θ will be guided to point A of the obstacle due to the guidance of the obstacle. Point A is the corner point of the obstacle. The corner point of the obstacle reduces the uncertainty of the self-growing robot when exploring an unknown environment.

[0054] refer to Figure 7 , an environment exploration method of a self-growing robot, comprising the following steps:

[0055] Step S1, driving the storage mechanism to inflate, the material storage reel releases the material, and the self-growing robot grows;

[0056] Step S2, using a proximity sensor to detect obstacle information in the environment;

[0057] Step S3, determining whether the position where the collision occurs has changed, that is, whether the self-growing robot has reached the corner point of the obstacle at this time, if so, executing step S4, otherwise continuing to execute step S2;

[0058] Step S4, the self-growing robot stops growing, and the pneumatic artificial muscle swings to the side where there is no obstacle to explore a larger area and complete a single exploration;

[0059] Step S5, judging whether the obstacle at the end of the current robot can be avoided by setting pre-bending according to the obstacle information in the environment, if so, executing step S6, otherwise executing step S7;

[0060] Step S6, exploring the unknown environment according to the depth-first strategy, setting the next pre-bending point of the self-growing robot according to the obstacle information, and then returning to execute step S1;

[0061] Step S7 determines whether there is a fork in the road based on the obstacle information in the environment. If yes, step S8 is executed. Otherwise, the exploration of the environment is completed.

[0062] Step S8: If there is a fork in the road environment, a pre-bending point is set near the fork.

[0063] Below Figure 8 Taking the environment in as an example, the execution steps of the algorithm are described in detail.

[0064] like Figure 8 As shown in a, no pre-bending point is set during the initial exploration. Due to the guidance of obstacles in the environment, the robot stops moving after detecting point A, completing the first environmental exploration.

[0065] like Figure 8 As shown in b, according to the environmental information, the obstacle is on the left side of the robot, so the pre-bend is set to make the self-growing robot turn right. After that, the self-growing robot continues to move forward and reaches point C under the guidance of the environment. At this time, there is no obstacle on the left side of the robot, but there is an obstacle on the right side of the robot, so the pneumatic artificial muscle swings to the left. At this time, the second exploration of the environment is completed.

[0066] like Figure 8As shown in Figure c, according to the environmental information, the second obstacle is on the right side of the robot, so a pre-bend is set to make the self-growing robot turn left at point D. The self-growing robot then continues to grow until point E, where obstacles are detected on both sides of the self-growing robot. At this time, the robot cannot avoid obstacles by pre-bending. The robot reaches the end of the environment. At this time, it is found that the robot has a large range of undetected obstacles near area F, indicating that there may be a fork in the road in the environment.

[0067] like Figure 8 As shown in Figure d, according to the obstacle information in the environment, a pre-bend is set at the fork in the road, and the robot continues to grow until obstacles are found on both sides near area G, completing the exploration of the environment.

[0068] The present invention uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The above examples are only used to help understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, according to the ideas of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

Claims

1. A self-growing robot, comprising a drive storage mechanism, materials required for a plastic film body arranged in the drive storage mechanism, a flexible sensing unit and a signal receiving module arranged in an array on the outer wall of the plastic film body, a pneumatic artificial muscle arranged on the inner wall of the plastic film body, and an end guide sensing mechanism located at the end of the inner wall of the plastic film body; The drive storage mechanism includes a main body tank, a drive motor arranged on the outer upper surface of the main body tank and with the drive end extending into the interior of the main body tank, and a material reel arranged inside the main body tank and connected to the drive motor. The main body tank is provided with an air inlet and a hole, and the active end of the plastic film body extends out of the hole. The air inlet is used to inflate the plastic film body, the flexible sensing unit is used to sense obstacles in the environment, the pneumatic artificial muscle is used to drive the adjustment of the posture of the active end of the plastic film body, and the end guide sensing mechanism provides guidance for the growth of the film body and realizes the perception of the end posture of the active end of the plastic film body.

2. A self-growing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: An outlet plug is arranged on the outer side of the hole.

3. A self-growing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible sensing unit and the signal receiving module are connected via a flexible flat cable and are arranged on both sides of the outer wall of the plastic film body.

4. A self-growing robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The flexible sensing unit includes a flexible circuit board, an AD7147 chip arranged on the flexible circuit board, and a tooth electrode, the tooth electrode is arranged in a strip shape, and the bristles are arranged on the surface of the flexible circuit board.

5. A self-growing robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The signal receiving module includes a circuit board, a serial port arranged on the circuit board, a download port, an STM32 chip and a connecting terminal. The serial port is connected to the host computer via a USB data cable, the connecting terminal is used to connect the soft cable, and the download port is used to burn the required program.

6. A self-growing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end guide sensing mechanism includes an internal roller arranged inside the plastic film body, a guide roller, a gyroscope, a bracket and bristles arranged on the surface of the internal roller. The internal roller is installed on the bracket through bearings arranged on both sides, and the gyroscope chip is bonded to the bracket.

7. A self-growing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: A coupling is arranged between the driving motor and the material reel.

8. A self-growing robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: The driving motor is provided with an encoder for sensing the length of the self-growing robot.

9. The self-growing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pneumatic artificial muscles are evenly spaced and arranged on the inner wall of the plastic film body.

10. A method for environmental exploration of a self-growing robot, characterized in that: The application of the self-growing robot according to any one of claims 1 to 9 comprises the following steps: Step S1, driving the storage mechanism to inflate, the material storage reel releases the material, and the self-growing robot grows; Step S2, using a proximity sensor to detect obstacle information in the environment; Step S3, determining whether the position where the collision occurs has changed, that is, whether the self-growing robot has reached the corner point of the obstacle at this time, if so, executing step S4, otherwise continuing to execute step S2; Step S4, the self-growing robot stops growing, and the pneumatic artificial muscle swings to the side where there is no obstacle to explore a larger area and complete a single exploration; Step S5, judging whether the obstacle at the end of the current robot can be avoided by setting pre-bending according to the obstacle information in the environment, if so, executing step S6, otherwise executing step S7; Step S6, exploring the unknown environment according to the depth-first strategy, setting the next pre-bending point of the self-growing robot according to the obstacle information, and then returning to execute step S1; Step S7 determines whether there is a fork in the road based on the obstacle information in the environment. If so, step S8 is executed. Otherwise, the exploration of the environment is completed. Step S8: If there is a fork in the road environment, a pre-bending point is set near the fork.

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