Novel modularized rescue robot search and rescue method

Abstract

The invention provides a novel modularized rescue robot search and rescue method, and relates to the technical field of rescue and rescue equipment. The search and rescue method of the novel modularized rescue robot is achieved through the modularized search and rescue robot adopting the power structure design of a composite power unit structure, and the modularized search and rescue robot is composed of four modularized crawler wheel power units and a machine equipment body. Each modularized power unit is provided with driving power through a direct current motor, four motors control four independent crawler wheels respectively, and two independent crawler wheel power units on the same side of the search and rescue machine equipment body form a composite power unit. According to the method invented by the robot, the robot is used as a pioneer and a prospector in land disasters such as collapse and earthquakes by utilizing the characteristics of high exploration capability, high passing capability and the like of the robot, and help is provided for a rescue team to obtain effective information at the first time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of rescue and search equipment, and specifically to a new modular rescue robot search and rescue method. Background Art

[0002] The western and southwestern regions of China are areas with frequent earthquakes. The horror of earthquake disasters not only lies in their short occurrence time and strong destructive power, but also because the earthquake-prone areas are mostly mountainous areas with dense mountains, complex geological conditions and diverse environmental factors. Coupled with the damage of earthquake disasters to roads and communication facilities, it increases the difficulty of search and rescue. After an earthquake disaster occurs, the geological structure is damaged, and buildings will collapse to varying degrees, forming a large number of relatively unstable ruins. Although there are building supports that can form a certain number of survival spaces, they are extremely prone to secondary collapses, making the rescue difficult, and there are also risks to the lives of rescue personnel. Therefore, using intelligent robots as rescue aids is an effective means to improve search and rescue efficiency. Therefore, the present invention proposes a new modular rescue robot and rescue method, which can effectively improve rescue efficiency and thus solve the above-mentioned troubles and problems. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Aiming at the deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a new modular rescue robot search and rescue method. This invention is a method invention based on the robot. Utilizing the characteristics of the robot such as strong exploration ability and strong passing ability, it acts as a pioneer and explorer in land disasters such as landslides and earthquakes, obtaining effective information for the rescue team in the first time and helping the rescue team better carry out rescue tasks. It has the advantages of strong passing ability and adaptability to multiple environments. Compared with technical solutions such as search and rescue drones or remote sensing satellites that explore the disaster area from an aerial perspective, this technical solution is more intuitive and timely in obtaining geographical information. And the use conditions are not restricted by time and space. Compared with mechanical dogs or other wheeled and tracked robots, it has stronger passing ability. And the design of the robot entering the disaster area first in this solution improves the utilization rate of the robot in rescue. And because of the robot's structure design, in case of an accident during the robot's mission, it can carry out self-rescue without consuming rescue resources to rescue the robot.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention is realized through the following technical solutions: A search and rescue method for a new type of modular rescue robot, which is realized by a modular search and rescue robot with a power structure designed with a composite power unit structure. The modular search and rescue robot is composed of four modular tracked wheel power units and a main body of the machine equipment. Each modular power unit is driven by a DC motor. The four motors respectively control the four independent tracked wheels. And two independent tracked wheel power units on the same side of the main body of the search and rescue machine equipment form a composite power unit, and the composite power unit is powered by a reduction motor. A lidar and a binocular depth camera are arranged on the top of the main body of the machine equipment. A soft robotic arm is arranged at the bottom of one end of the main body of the machine equipment. The electronic board adopted by the main body of the machine equipment uses as the circuit board CPU, and the on-board computer uses NANO to process the data of the lidar and the depth camera; Through the above technical solutions, the modular robot is composed of a main body of the machine equipment and two composite power units. The two composite power units are composed of two independent power units and a rotatable shock-absorbing structure unit. The entire rescue robot is driven by four independent power units, and the angles and heights of the independent power units are adjusted through the two composite power units, so that the entire rescue robot can adapt to various environments and realize the function of smooth movement in complex road surface environments.

[0005] Preferably, the independent power unit of the modular search and rescue robot is powered by a DC motor with a Hall sensor, and has a driving wheel and five driven wheels. The central gear is the driving wheel, the gear in the lower left is the secondary driving wheel, and the rest are driven wheels. The power is transmitted between the driving wheel and the secondary driving wheel through a synchronous belt to provide power for the other four driven wheels; Through the above technical solutions, the four independent power units are all driven by separate motors, ensuring that when one or two of the motors fail, the driving of the entire device will not be affected.

[0006] Preferably, the two composite power units of the modular search and rescue robot are each composed of two independent power units to form a composite power unit. Each composite power unit is powered by a reduction motor. The composite power unit itself can rotate around the main body of the machine equipment, thereby driving the two independent power units to adjust the angle and direction. Two shock-absorbing rods with a load-bearing capacity of 250 pounds are added to the connection structure between the composite power unit and the independent power unit, so as to achieve the purpose of protecting the power unit during the movement process; Through the above technical solution, when the robot performs actions such as jittering, leaping, and landing, the independent power unit bears pressure when landing, which can conduct the pressure to the shock-absorbing rod. The spring in the shock-absorbing rod deforms, and the opening and closing angle of the power unit changes accordingly, thus protecting the robot and the composite power unit.

[0007] Preferably, the soft robotic arm of the modular search and rescue robot is composed of spliced square structures, which are connected in series by elastic nylon ropes around the square structures. It adopts a single-section linear drive method, and each nylon rope in each direction is controlled by a drive device. By controlling the lengths of the nylon lines in different directions, the compression and elongation degrees of the springs in different directions are controlled to change the bending degree of the overall robotic arm, which can flexibly change the direction and length, and can grasp and transport objects of different shapes. At the same time, a camera is installed at the top of the soft robotic arm, which can more comprehensively and intuitively observe the spatial distribution to prepare for further rescue. Through the above technical solution, many narrow spaces will be generated after an earthquake. Due to too many unstable factors in this space, rescue personnel cannot directly enter and the rescue difficulty is relatively large, and the best rescue time may be missed. Therefore, a soft robotic arm is installed on the machine equipment, and a camera is set at the top of the soft robotic arm, which is convenient to extend into the narrow space for exploration and reconnaissance.

[0008] Preferably, the lidar of the modular search and rescue robot can perform SLAM mapping, enabling the robot to capture a two-dimensional map of the surrounding environment. The main purpose of using SLAM mapping is to obtain a two-dimensional plane map of the disaster area in real time. For the robot to achieve autonomous navigation and movement, the mapping algorithms use and respectively. In a narrow space environment, mapping algorithm is used, and in a rugged environment such as disaster area rescue where the ground is uneven, the Hector mapping algorithm is used for mapping. Through the above technical solution, can the lidar be used to perform SLAM mapping to obtain a two-dimensional map of the robot in the environment? The main purpose of SLAM mapping is to obtain a two-dimensional plane map of the disaster area in real time, and secondly, to achieve the autonomous navigation and movement of the robot. is a SLAM algorithm based on lidar using algorithm to complete the construction of a two-dimensional grid map. Compared with , Hector has higher requirements for the lidar frequency and lower robustness. In a situation where the ground is uneven such as disaster area rescue, an odometer is not needed and cannot be used.

[0009] Preferably, the binocular depth camera of the modular search and rescue robot is used to realize The map is constructed, and the depth camera is equipped with an infrared sensor. After entering the disaster area, the robot can use infrared sensing to detect the presence or absence of vital signs; Through the above technical solution, I used a depth camera to achieve The construction of the map is very important for the disaster area environment to be monitored by depth cameras. Modeling is crucial for rescue missions. Customers can obtain the robot's visual information through the depth camera, which is equipped with an infrared sensor to collect infrared information of survivors during the operation of the robot.

[0010] Preferably, the main body of the modular search and rescue robot is internally provided with power batteries, signal transmitting and receiving equipment, network connection equipment, GPS positioning devices, radio equipment, playback equipment and other essential devices for search and rescue machines. Combined with the complex terrain conditions after the disaster area, in order to ensure that the robot can flexibly respond to different environments, the power system of the machine is composed of four independent power units, which can ensure that the robot still retains its ability to move when one or two power units are paralyzed, thus greatly improving the robot's ability to respond to emergencies.

[0011] The present invention provides a novel modular rescue robot search and rescue method, which has the following beneficial effects: 1. The present invention provides a new modular rescue robot search and rescue method. The invention scheme is a method invention based on the robot. The robot has strong exploration and passing capabilities. It plays the role of a pioneer and explorer in land disasters such as landslides and earthquakes, and helps the rescue team to obtain effective information at the first time, helping the rescue team to better carry out rescue tasks. At the first time of the earthquake, the rescuers cannot enter the disaster area to understand the situation due to aftershocks, road collapse and other reasons. This technical scheme can send the robot into the disaster area at the first time to collect two-dimensional and three-dimensional spatial information on its geographical conditions. It is convenient for the rescue team to formulate a rescue plan. After the rescue becomes stable, because the disaster area map has been built in the robot's onboard computer in the early stage, the material transportation channel can be automatically established using automatic navigation technology.

[0012] 2. The present invention provides a new modular rescue robot search and rescue method, which has the advantages of strong passability and adaptability to multiple environments. Compared with technical solutions such as search and rescue drones or remote sensing satellites that explore the disaster area from an overlooking perspective, this technical solution can obtain geographical information more intuitively and in a more timely manner. And the usage conditions are not restricted by time and space. Compared with robotic dogs or other wheeled or tracked robots, it has stronger passing ability. And the design of the first-to-enter-the-disaster-area plan in this solution improves the utilization rate of the robot in rescue. And due to the robot's structure design, the robot can perform self-rescue in case of an accident during the execution of tasks, without consuming rescue resources to rescue the robot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the modular rescue robot of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the modular rescue robot of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the independent power unit of the modular rescue robot of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the composite power unit of the modular rescue robot of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the soft robotic arm of the modular rescue robot of the present invention; FIG. 6 is of the rescue robot of the present invention control flow program block diagram; FIG. 7 is a motor control flow chart of the robot of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the Hector mapping algorithm of the present invention; FIG. 9 is an algorithm program flow chart of the binocular depth camera for seeing pictures in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present invention. In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms used here are only for describing specific embodiments, rather than intending to limit the exemplary embodiments according to this application. For the convenience of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn in actual proportional relationship. Technologies, methods, and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant fields may not be discussed in detail, but in appropriate cases, the said technologies, methods, and devices should be regarded as part of the authorization specification. In all the examples shown and discussed here, any specific value should be interpreted as merely exemplary, rather than as a limitation. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values. It should be noted that: similar reference numerals and letters denote similar items in the following drawings. Therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further discussed in subsequent drawings.

[0015] Embodiment 1: As shown in FIGS. 1-5, an embodiment of the present invention provides a new modular rescue robot search and rescue method, which is realized by a modular search and rescue robot with a power structure designed by a composite power unit structure. The modular search and rescue robot is composed of four modular tracked wheel power units and a main body of the machine equipment. Each modular power unit is driven by a DC motor. The four motors respectively control the four independent tracked wheels, and the two independent tracked wheel power units on the same side of the main body of the search and rescue machine equipment form a composite power unit, and the composite power unit is powered by a reduction motor. A lidar and a binocular depth camera are arranged on the top of the main body of the machine equipment. A soft robotic arm is arranged at the bottom of one end of the main body of the machine equipment. The electronic board adopted by the main body of the machine equipment takes as the circuit board CPU, and the on-board computer adopts NANO is used to process data from lidar and depth cameras. The independent power unit of the modular search and rescue robot is powered by a DC motor with a Hall sensor, and has an active wheel and five driven wheels. The central gear is the active wheel, the gear in the lower left is the secondary active wheel, and the rest are driven wheels. Power is transmitted between the active wheel and the secondary active wheel through a synchronous belt to provide power for the other four driven wheels. Each of the two composite power units of the modular search and rescue robot consists of two independent power units to form a composite power unit. Each composite power unit is powered by a reduction motor and can rotate around the main body of the machine equipment by itself, thereby driving the two independent power units to adjust the angle and direction. Two shock-absorbing rods with a load-bearing capacity of 250 pounds are added to the connection structure between the composite power unit and the independent power unit, so as to achieve the purpose of protecting the power unit during the movement process.

[0016] When the robot crosses an obstacle, a motor driver needs to be equipped. The driver mainly controls the current speed of the motor with high precision. In the mature field of motion control, for a DC brush motor to operate safely and stably, it is necessary to perform dual closed-loop control on the current and speed of the motor. The control flow program of this rescue robot is as shown in the Figure 6 appendix; Robot kinematic analysis: The four-wheel drive vehicle uses rubber wheels. If the rigid body motion of the vehicle is linearly decomposed into two components, then only the speeds of the four wheels need to be calculated when the output chassis translates in the X+ direction and rotates in the Z+ direction. Through the combination of formulas, the rotational speeds of the four wheels required for the "translation + rotation" motion synthesized by these three simple motions can be calculated. Among them, VA, VB, , VD are the rotational speeds of the four wheels A, B, C, and D respectively, that is, the rotational speeds of the motors. V is the translation speed of the vehicle along the X-axis, and is the rotational speed of the vehicle along the Z-axis; a is half of the wheelbase D of the vehicle, and b is half of the wheelbase H of the vehicle. When the vehicle translates along the X-axis:

[0017] When the vehicle rotates around its geometric center: VA = -w(a + b) = -w(a + b) = +w(a + b) VD = +w(a + b) When the speed of the vehicle translating along the X-axis is , the rotational speeds of the four wheels are as follows:

[0018]

[0019] What is adopted on the robot is , for the original acceleration and angular velocity, they can be read through the bus, and then use algorithm to fuse the attitude of the system, so as to control the robot algorithmically. The motor control process of the robot is as shown in the appendix Figure 7 ; Embodiment

[0020] As shown in Figures 1-5, the embodiment of the present invention provides a new modular rescue robot search and rescue method. The lidar of the modular search and rescue robot can perform SLAM mapping, enabling the robot to capture a two-dimensional map of the surrounding environment. The main purpose of using SLAM mapping is to obtain a two-dimensional plane map of the disaster area in real time. For the robot to achieve autonomous navigation and movement, the mapping algorithms use and respectively. In a narrow space environment, use mapping algorithm. In a rough environment such as disaster area rescue where the ground is uneven, use the Hector mapping algorithm for mapping. Use for mapping, and its mapping algorithm is as shown in the appendix Figure 8 ; The Hector mapping process is divided into positioning and mapping positioning: The mathematical purpose of positioning is to solve of the three values. Here, the bilinear interpolation algorithm is used. The program steps for environmental mapping are as follows: : Obtain the radar data of a certain frame

[0021] : Calculate with the map data at this time to obtain the positioning ξ; : Compare the pose data with the threshold. If either the displacement change or the angle change is greater than the threshold, then update the map; : Correct the position through the pose data ξ; : Take from and for loop calculation. Take the current coordinate of the robot as the starting point of the algorithm and coordinate as the end point, and use algorithm to determine the coordinates passed by the laser from the starting point to the end point, and then use the grid map construction algorithm to update the occupancy rate. The calculation equation is as follows: S += S - + Or S += S - +

[0022] S6: Now it can be determined whether it is occupied by the occupancy rate of the map. In Hector, the threshold is that if >0, it means it is occupied, and if <0, it means it is free. After multiple iterative updates, the occupancy rate of the map becomes more and more accurate, resulting in accurate positioning; The binocular depth camera of the modular search and rescue robot is used to achieve the construction of the map, and an infrared sensor is set on the depth camera. After the robot enters the disaster area, it can achieve infrared sensing to detect the presence or absence of vital signs. For the 3D modeling of the disaster area environment through the depth camera in the disaster area, it is crucial for the rescue mission. Through the depth camera, the customer can obtain the visual information of the robot. The depth camera is equipped with an infrared sensor, which can collect the infrared information of survivors during the operation of the robot. The algorithm program for using the binocular depth camera to view the figure is as attached Figure 9 shown; Inside the main body of the machine equipment of the modular search and rescue robot, there are power batteries, signal transmitting and receiving devices, network connection devices, and GPS positioning devices, as well as devices essential for search and rescue machines such as radio equipment and playback equipment. Considering the complex terrain conditions in the disaster area, in order to ensure that the robot can flexibly respond to different environments, the power system of this machine consists of four independent power units, which can ensure that the robot still retains its mobility when one or two power units are paralyzed. This greatly improves the robot's ability to respond to emergencies and can realize sending the robot into the interior of the disaster area to collect two-dimensional and three-dimensional spatial information about its geographical conditions in the first time. It is convenient for the rescue team to formulate a rescue plan. After the rescue becomes stable, because the disaster area map has been built in the on-board computer of the robot in the early stage, the automatic navigation technology can be used to automatically establish a material transportation channel.

[0023] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, for those of ordinary skill in the art, it can be understood that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A novel modular rescue robot search and rescue method, characterized in that: The search and rescue method is implemented by a modular search and rescue robot with a power structure design that adopts a composite power unit structure. The modular search and rescue robot consists of four modular track wheel power units and a machine equipment body. Each modular power unit is driven by a DC motor. The four motors control four independent track wheels respectively, and two independent track wheel power units on the same side of the search and rescue machine equipment body form a composite power unit. The composite power unit is powered by a reduction motor. A laser radar and a binocular depth camera are arranged on the top of the machine equipment body. A soft robotic arm is arranged at the bottom of one end of the machine equipment body. The electronic board used in the machine equipment body uses STM32 as the circuit board CPU, and the onboard computer uses JestonNANO to process data from the laser radar and the depth camera.

2. A novel modular rescue robot search and rescue method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The independent power unit of the modular search and rescue robot is powered by a DC motor with a Hall sensor, and has a driving wheel and five driven wheels. The central gear is the driving wheel, the gear on the lower left is the secondary driving wheel, and the rest are driven wheels. Power is transmitted between the driving wheel and the secondary driving wheel through a synchronous belt to provide power for the remaining four driven wheels.

3. A novel modular rescue robot search and rescue method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two composite power units of the modular search and rescue robot are composed of two independent power units to form a composite power unit. Each composite power unit is powered by a reduction motor. The composite power unit itself can rotate around the main body of the machine, thereby driving the two independent power units to adjust the angle and direction. Two shock-absorbing rods with a load-bearing capacity of 250 pounds are added to the connection structure between the composite power unit and the independent power unit, so as to achieve the purpose of protecting the power unit during movement.

4. A novel modular rescue robot search and rescue method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The soft robotic arm of the modular search and rescue robot is composed of a spliced ​​block structure, which is connected in series by elastic nylon ropes around the block structure. It adopts a single-section linear drive method, and the nylon ropes in each direction are controlled by a drive device. The bending degree of the overall robotic arm can be changed by controlling the length of the nylon line in different directions and the degree of spring compression and elongation in different directions. The direction and length can be flexibly changed, and objects of different shapes can be grasped and transported. A camera is installed on the top of the soft robotic arm.

5. A novel modular rescue robot search and rescue method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The laser radar of the modular search and rescue robot can perform SLAM mapping, so that the robot can capture a two-dimensional map of the surrounding environment. The main purpose of using SLAM mapping is to obtain a two-dimensional plane map of the disaster area in real time. In order to realize the autonomous navigation and movement of the robot, the mapping algorithms use Gmapping and Hectot respectively. The Gmapping mapping algorithm is used in a small space environment, and the Hector mapping algorithm is used for mapping in a rugged environment with uneven ground such as disaster area rescue.

6. A novel modular rescue robot search and rescue method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The binocular depth camera of the modular search and rescue robot is used to realize the construction of a 3D map, and an infrared sensor is provided on the depth camera. After entering the disaster area, the robot can realize infrared sensing to detect the presence or absence of vital signs.

7. A novel modular rescue robot search and rescue method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body of the modular search and rescue robot is equipped with power batteries, signal transmitting and receiving equipment, network connection equipment, GPS positioning devices, radio equipment, playback equipment and other essential devices for search and rescue machines. Combined with the complex terrain conditions after the disaster area, in order to ensure that the robot can flexibly respond to different environments, the power system of the machine is composed of four independent power units, which can ensure that the robot still retains its ability to move when one or two power units are paralyzed, thus greatly improving the robot's ability to respond to emergencies.

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