Cooperative control system and method for hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on multiple operation platforms

Abstract

The invention discloses a hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot cooperative control system and method based on multiple operation platforms, and the system comprises a main control system, a wireless network communication system, and a transfer robot system, and the wireless network communication system is electrically connected with the main control system and the transfer robot system. The control module is used for analyzing and calling a proper motion model and controlling the transfer robot system to execute a task instruction; the data processing module is used for data uniformity conversion of multiple operation platforms; the wireless network communication system is used for establishing a communication channel between the main control system and the transfer robot system; the transfer robot system is used for receiving the control instruction and cooperatively executing task actions such as material carrying, grabbing, placing and sorting. Monitoring and control are integrated, unified and centralized cooperative control of transfer robots under various operation platforms is achieved, operation switching of operators under different control platforms is avoided, the operation difficulty and personnel burden can be effectively relieved, the material transfer efficiency and safety are improved, and the labor cost is saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of robot control, and relates to a cooperative control system and method of a hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on multiple operating platforms. Background Art

[0002] During the maintenance of large generator sets, there are many large and heavy tools and parts that need to be grabbed and transported to the work site by transfer robots. There are also a wide variety and number of small tools that need to be sorted and transported to the work site by transfer robots. In view of the differences in functions and tasks, the current transfer robots are designed to be controlled by different operating platforms to perform tasks. Usually, in order to meet the requirements of the maintenance cycle, multiple operators are required to control the transfer robots separately to perform tasks collaboratively. In actual applications, the following problems are exposed: the quality requirements of operators are high, and long-term training is required before they can take up their posts, and the training cost is high; the operators have single skills and it is difficult to cope with the task requirements of the transfer robot shift operation on multiple operating platforms, and the risk response ability is poor; during long-distance transportation, the inconvenience of communication between operators leads to unclear division of labor and low coordination efficiency; operators are prone to operating errors, which may damage the transferred objects at the least or injure people at the worst, posing safety hazards. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a collaborative control system and method for a hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on multiple operating platforms. A control interface is used to control the transfer robots on different operating platforms, and manual operation is replaced by instructions. The collaborative control of the transfer robots is achieved through rapid roaming technology, which effectively reduces the operating difficulty and personnel burden, improves material transfer efficiency and safety, and saves labor costs.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a collaborative control system and method for a hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on a multi-operating platform, which includes a main control system, a wireless network communication system, and a transfer robot system; the wireless network communication system is electrically connected to the main control system and the transfer robot system; the main control system is located at any position in the working area and is moved according to the needs of the operator; the wireless network communication system is arranged according to the location of the generator set to be repaired and the material warehouse, and the number of wireless access point devices is obviously increased according to the actual working range; the transfer robot system performs transfer work on the designated channel of the workshop building; the transfer robot system is used to receive control instructions and collaboratively perform material handling, grasping, placement, and sorting tasks.

[0005] The main control system includes an instruction module, a data processing module, and a control module, wherein the instruction module is used to receive user task objectives, the data processing module is used for data uniformity conversion of multiple operating platforms, and the control module is used to analyze and call appropriate motion models and control the transfer robot system to execute task instructions; the main control system includes at least one workstation and a logic controller; the main control system and the transfer robot system both have wired and wireless communication connection capabilities.

[0006] The wireless network communication system is used to establish a communication channel between the main control system and the transfer robot system; the wireless network communication system includes at least one wireless access point device and a network hub device, and connects the main control system and the transfer robot system through 802.11k / v / r fast roaming technology.

[0007] The workstation is used to run the command module, data processing module and control module of the control system; the logic controller is used to control the execution components in the transfer robot system; the execution components include at least one three-axis motion mechanism and one six-axis robotic arm; the workstation, logic controller and wireless access point device are connected to the network hub device in a wired manner by default; the transfer robot system and the wireless network communication system are connected in a wireless manner by default.

[0008] The interactive mode of the instructions and data of the multi-operation platform includes but is not limited to API and communication protocol; the instructions and data include but are not limited to: tasks, status, parameter signals of devices, units, and components; the communication protocols include but are not limited to: MODBUS TCP / IP, PROFINET, ETHERNET / IP.

[0009] The transfer robot system includes at least 4 transfer robots: a first transfer robot, a second transfer robot, a third transfer robot, and a fourth transfer robot; the first transfer robot is used to perform mobile sorting tasks, the second transfer robot and the fourth transfer robot are used to perform handling tasks, and the third transfer robot is used to perform mobile grasping and placement tasks; the 4 transfer robots in the transfer robot system are multi-operation platforms.

[0010] It also includes a safety module for safely monitoring the task actions of the transfer robot system; obtaining the hazardous factors of the work site through the environmental perception equipment applied to the transfer robot system; performing feature conversion on the hazardous factors through the feature extraction template applied to the transfer robot system to generate a hazardous factor description.

[0011] The risk factor description includes: a risk factor description of the path that has been passed on the trajectory path planned by the transfer robot system, a risk factor description of the path that has not been passed on the trajectory path planned by the transfer robot system, a risk factor description of the rotation behavior expansion path, and a risk factor description predicted on the corrected trajectory path; based on the risk factor description, a risk level assessment is performed to control the transfer robot system to execute a safe behavior strategy; the main control system is accessed through an API and a communication protocol to provide system monitoring reminders to the operator.

[0012] The effectiveness process of the safety module includes obtaining the dangerous factors at the work site and the depth and height information of obstacles on the travel path through the environmental perception equipment applied to each transfer robot. According to the dangerous factor judgment method, when the depth information is less than the threshold and the height information is greater than the threshold, the target is judged to be a dangerous factor, and then the three-dimensional contour information and other characteristic information of the dangerous factor are further measured.

[0013] The method for constructing a cooperative control system of a hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on multiple operating platforms as described above comprises the following steps: S1, deploying the hardware and software of the main control system, wireless network communication system, and transfer robot system; S2, starting and running the hardware and software of the main control system, wireless network communication system, and transfer robot system, and establishing a communication connection; S3, setting the task objectives of the transfer robot; S4, processes the conversion task information and issues the task to the transfer robot system to execute the task.

[0014] The main beneficial effects of the present invention are: It integrates multiple operating platforms into one and unifies multiple operating interfaces and instructions. When there is a large-scale generator set maintenance task, the operator only needs to issue task instructions to all transfer robots through this system, without having to learn how to use multiple operating platforms separately. This lowers the usage threshold, improves personnel utilization, and saves labor costs.

[0015] A wireless network communication system based on 802.11k / v / r fast roaming technology is used to build a wireless communication network framework that can be expanded as the maintenance work space needs, achieving the goal of global wireless network coverage of the generator set maintenance space, thereby breaking through the spatial communication barriers of operators and ensuring the quality and stability of network communication.

[0016] The multi-core processing mode of the workstation CPU is used to parallelly process instructions, control, and data processing tasks, and the coordinated control of the transfer robot system is achieved through the motion model algorithm, which can improve the efficiency and safety of material transfer during unit maintenance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a system architecture diagram of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a device network relationship diagram of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional coordinate identification of risk factors of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 4 A flow chart is constructed for the system of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] like Figure 1~Figure 4 In the invention, a cooperative control system of a hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on a multi-operation platform is provided, which includes a main control system, a wireless network communication system, and a transfer robot system; Figure 1 In the process, the wireless network communication system is electrically connected to the main control system and the transfer robot system.

[0023] Embodiment 1, Main control system, such as Figure 2 In the present invention, the main control system includes a workstation and a logic controller, both of which have wired and wireless communication connection capabilities, and the default connection is a wired network connection method and a network hub device. The main control system has a certain degree of mobility and can be installed at any location in the workshop hall and can be moved according to the needs of the operator. The workstation mainly runs the command module, data processing module, and control module, which are used to receive user instructions and issue collaborative tasks to the transfer robot system based on a multi-operating platform. The logic controller mainly runs the control program of the execution component in the transfer robot system, which controls the execution mechanism to complete tasks such as grabbing, placing, and sorting. The execution component includes at least one three-axis motion mechanism and one six-axis robotic arm, wherein the three-axis motion mechanism is used for grabbing and placing tasks, and the six-axis robotic arm is used for sorting tasks.

[0024] The instruction module is a functional module in this system for receiving user task objectives, and includes an independent graphical user interface. The user task objective configuration includes at least: the transfer robot object, the quantity, attributes, and location of the materials to be transferred, the tasks of performing grabbing, placing, and sorting behaviors, and the material transfer destination.

[0025] The data processing module is a functional module used for data uniformity conversion of multiple operating platforms in this system. The four types of transfer robots in the transfer robot system are controlled by four independent operating platforms. The data processing module processes the external API, MODBUS TCP / IP communication protocol, PROFINET communication protocol, and ETHERNET / IP communication protocol of each operating platform respectively, receives data signals and processes them uniformly for other functions of the system, and sends data signals after reverse conversion to each transfer robot. The data signal covers each transfer robot and its execution components, and the signal types include at least: tasks, status, and parameter signals of equipment, units, and components.

[0026] The control module is a function in this system used to analyze and call the appropriate motion model and control the transfer robot system to execute task instructions. This module calls the data collected by the data processing module and the instruction module as input evaluation conditions, uses the G-MAPF algorithm to perform instruction calculations and issue collaborative motion control instructions to each transfer robot, and controls the actuator equipped by the transfer robot to execute user tasks according to the matching status between the transfer robot and the target node. The control functions of the control module include at least: path planning, resource occupation, automatic tasks, task allocation, status monitoring, disabled routes, detours, and exception handling.

[0027] Embodiment 2, Wireless network communication systems, such as Figure 2 In the invention, the wireless network communication system includes at least one wireless access point device and a network hub device. The network devices are arranged according to the location of the generator set to be repaired and the material warehouse. The number of wireless access point devices is obviously increased according to the actual working range to ensure that the transfer robot can fully cover the wireless network on the transfer route. The wireless network system connects the main control system and the transfer robot system through 802.11k / v / r fast roaming technology, which can help the transfer robot system automatically switch to the access point with the best signal when roaming between multiple wireless access points. The switching time does not exceed 20ms, ensuring that the transfer robot system is always connected to the best signal wireless network during operation.

[0028] Embodiment 3, Transfer robot systems, such as Figure 2In the invention, the transfer robot system includes four transfer robots controlled by four independent operating platforms, including: the first transfer robot, the second transfer robot, the third transfer robot, and the fourth transfer robot. The first transfer robot is equipped with a six-axis robot arm and an end effector, and the mobile chassis performs workspace transfer, the 3D vision camera performs material identification, and the six-axis robot arm cooperates with the end effector to complete the sorting task; the second transfer robot and the fourth transfer robot are equipped with a mechanism actuator, and the mobile chassis performs space transfer to perform the handling task; the fourth transfer robot is equipped with a three-axis motion mechanism and an end effector, which is used to perform material grabbing and placement tasks, and the mobile chassis performs space transfer.

[0029] Embodiment 4, Since the generator maintenance process is a three-dimensional space operation process, the transfer robot system often encounters many moving and fixed obstacles during the transfer process. In order to prevent damage to personnel and equipment, a safety module is required to monitor the task actions of the transfer robot system. The safety module takes effect as follows: 1. The environmental perception devices applied to each transfer robot are used to obtain the dangerous factors at the work site, including the depth and height information of obstacles on the travel path. According to the dangerous factor determination method, when the depth information is less than the threshold and the height information is greater than the threshold, the target is determined to be a dangerous factor, and then the three-dimensional contour information and other characteristic information of the dangerous factor are further measured. Figure 3 As shown, the three-dimensional coordinates of the left and right images of the risk factors are obtained from the environmental perception device, and a risk factor dataset is constructed: D = { d 1, d 2, ... , d n},in D is the risk factor dataset, d i It is i The original data of risk factors.

[0030] 2. Perform feature conversion on the risk factors by using a feature extraction template applied to the transfer robot system: OXYZ With the left imaging three-dimensional coordinate system O l X l Y l Z l overlap, point P For a point in space, P l and P rPoints P The imaging point in the left and right imaging three-dimensional coordinate system. f l and f r are the focal lengths of the left and right environmental sensing devices respectively. P The relationship between the coordinates of the imaging point in the left and right imaging space and the coordinate system of the environment perception device is: ; ; In the formula, , Indicates that the left environmental sensing device is along x and y The normalized focal length in the direction, , Indicates that the right environmental sensing device is along x and y The normalized focal length in the direction. M lr To represent the left environment-aware device coordinates O l X l Y l Z l and the right environment perception device coordinate system O r X r Y r Z r Position relationship: ; The risk factor characteristics are then converted into the following description: ; ; ; Generate a set of risk factor descriptions: F = { f 1, f 2, ... , f n},in F is the risk factor description set after feature transformation, f i It is through feature extraction template from d i The features extracted from .

[0031] 3. The description of risk factors includes: the description of risk factors of the paths that have been passed on the planned trajectory path of the transfer robot system, the description of risk factors of the paths that have not been passed on the planned trajectory path of the transfer robot system, the description of risk factors of the expansion path of the rotation behavior, and the description of risk factors predicted on the corrected trajectory path. K-means image segmentation is used to determine the area of ​​the risk factor, the cvFindContours function in OpenCV is used to detect the contour of the risk factor, the boundingRect function is used to obtain the envelope information of the risk factor, and the object is marked with an external rectangular frame to extract and fit the contour of the risk factor.

[0032] 4. Based on the description of the risk factors, the risk level is evaluated. The evaluation method is: randomly select the pixel points within the rectangular frame circumscribing the outline of a single risk factor and calculate their three-dimensional coordinates in the world coordinate system ( x , y , z ).in x and z They represent the horizontal distance and height distance of the risk factor relative to the environmental perception device, and then determine whether it is an obstacle based on the set threshold. The specific steps are: first calculate the three-dimensional coordinates of several randomly selected pixel points in the rectangular frame di(x,y, z) ,Will x Median of values x 0 is set as the threshold value, which will satisfy x - x 0>  The purpose is to remove the pixels with errors; then take the remaining pixels x The coordinate average of x * As the horizontal distance of the object, take z The maximum value of the coordinate z m As the height distance of the object. x * and z m With threshold X d , Z d For comparison, z m > Z d and x * < X d When , it is determined that the risk factor has a high risk level, and the transfer robot system needs to be controlled to execute a safe behavior strategy.

[0033] 5. Access the main control system through API and communication protocol to provide system monitoring reminders to the operators, assisting them in quickly judging, locating, and troubleshooting dangerous factors, thereby improving operational convenience.

[0034] Embodiment 5, The method for constructing a cooperative control system of a hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on multiple operating platforms as described above comprises the following steps: S1, deploying the hardware and software of the main control system, wireless network communication system, and transfer robot system; S2, start and run the hardware and software of the main control system, wireless network communication system, and transfer robot system, and establish a communication connection; S3, setting the task objectives of the transfer robot; S4, processes the conversion task information and issues the task to the transfer robot system to execute the task.

[0035] In the above embodiment, monitoring and control are integrated into one to achieve unified centralized collaborative control of the transfer robot under multiple operating platforms, avoiding the operator's operation switching under different control platforms, which can effectively reduce the operation difficulty and personnel burden, improve material transfer efficiency and safety, and save labor costs.

[0036] The above-mentioned embodiments are only preferred technical solutions of the present invention and should not be regarded as limitations of the present invention. The embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be arbitrarily combined with each other without conflict. The protection scope of the present invention shall be the technical solutions recorded in the claims, including the equivalent replacement solutions of the technical features in the technical solutions recorded in the claims. That is, equivalent replacement improvements within this scope are also within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A collaborative control system for a hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on a multi-operation platform, characterized by: It includes a main control system, a wireless network communication system, and a transfer robot system; the wireless network communication system is electrically connected to the main control system and the transfer robot system; the main control system is located at any position in the working area and can be moved according to the needs of the operator; the wireless network communication system is arranged according to the location of the generator set to be repaired and the material warehouse, and the number of wireless access point devices is obviously increased according to the actual working scope; the transfer robot system performs transfer work on the designated channel of the workshop building; the transfer robot system is used to receive control instructions and coordinate the execution of material handling, grasping, placement, and sorting tasks.

2. The collaborative control system of the hydropower station maintenance tool transport robot based on multiple operating platforms according to claim 1 is characterized by: The main control system includes an instruction module, a data processing module, and a control module, wherein the instruction module is used to receive user task objectives, the data processing module is used for data uniformity conversion of multiple operating platforms, and the control module is used to analyze and call appropriate motion models and control the transfer robot system to execute task instructions; the main control system includes at least one workstation and a logic controller; the main control system and the transfer robot system both have wired and wireless communication connection capabilities.

3. The collaborative control system of the hydropower station maintenance tool transfer robot based on multiple operating platforms according to claim 1 is characterized by: The wireless network communication system is used to establish a communication channel between the main control system and the transfer robot system; the wireless network communication system includes at least one wireless access point device and a network hub device, and connects the main control system and the transfer robot system through 802.11k / v / r fast roaming technology.

4. The collaborative control system of the hydropower station maintenance tool transport robot based on multiple operating platforms according to claim 2 is characterized by: The workstation is used to run the command module, data processing module and control module of the control system; the logic controller is used to control the execution components in the transfer robot system; the execution components include at least one three-axis motion mechanism and one six-axis robotic arm; the workstation, logic controller and wireless access point device are connected to the network hub device in a wired manner by default; the transfer robot system and the wireless network communication system are connected in a wireless manner by default.

5. The collaborative control system of the hydropower station maintenance tool transport robot based on multiple operating platforms according to claim 2 is characterized by: The interactive mode of the instructions and data of the multi-operation platform includes but is not limited to API and communication protocol; the instructions and data include but are not limited to: tasks, status, parameter signals of devices, units, and components; the communication protocols include but are not limited to: MODBUS TCP / IP, PROFINET, ETHERNET / IP.

6. The cooperative control system of the hydropower station maintenance tool transport robot based on multiple operation platforms according to claim 1 is characterized by: The transfer robot system includes at least 4 transfer robots: a first transfer robot, a second transfer robot, a third transfer robot, and a fourth transfer robot; the first transfer robot is used to perform mobile sorting tasks, the second transfer robot and the fourth transfer robot are used to perform handling tasks, and the third transfer robot is used to perform mobile grasping and placement tasks; the 4 transfer robots in the transfer robot system are multi-operation platforms.

7. The cooperative control system of the hydropower station maintenance tool transport robot based on multiple operation platforms according to claim 1 is characterized by: It also includes a safety module for safely monitoring the task actions of the transfer robot system; obtaining the hazardous factors of the work site through the environmental perception equipment applied to the transfer robot system; performing feature conversion on the hazardous factors through the feature extraction template applied to the transfer robot system to generate a hazardous factor description.

8. The cooperative control system of the hydropower station maintenance tool transport robot based on multiple operation platforms according to claim 7 is characterized by: The risk factor description includes: a risk factor description of the path that has been passed on the trajectory path planned by the transfer robot system, a risk factor description of the path that has not been passed on the trajectory path planned by the transfer robot system, a risk factor description of the rotation behavior expansion path, and a risk factor description predicted on the corrected trajectory path; based on the risk factor description, a risk level assessment is performed to control the transfer robot system to execute a safe behavior strategy; the main control system is accessed through an API and a communication protocol to provide system monitoring reminders to the operator.

9. The cooperative control system of the hydropower station maintenance tool transport robot based on multiple operation platforms according to claim 7 is characterized by: The effectiveness process of the safety module includes obtaining the dangerous factors at the work site and the depth and height information of obstacles on the travel path through the environmental perception equipment applied to each transfer robot. According to the dangerous factor judgment method, when the depth information is less than the threshold and the height information is greater than the threshold, the target is judged to be a dangerous factor, and then the three-dimensional contour information and other characteristic information of the dangerous factor are further measured.

10. The method for constructing a cooperative control system of a hydropower station maintenance tool transport robot based on multiple operation platforms according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The steps include: S1, deploying the hardware and software of the main control system, wireless network communication system, and transfer robot system; S2, starting and running the hardware and software of the main control system, wireless network communication system, and transfer robot system, and establishing a communication connection; S3, setting the task objectives of the transfer robot; S4, processes the conversion task information and issues the task to the transfer robot system to execute the task.

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