Moving body control system

Abstract

A moving body position specifying unit (72) that acquires a local ground image generated by scanning the ground portion at the current position of the moving body, specifies the position of the local ground image in the ground image of the entire predetermined region, and specifies the current position of the moving body on the basis of the specified position; a moving body control unit (73) that specifies a deviation between the set prescribed path and the current position of the moving body, and causes the moving body to travel so as to reduce the deviation; a malfunction detection unit (75) that determines the presence or absence of a malfunction in the traveling system of the moving body (1) on the basis of the frequency of occurrence of deviation greater than a predetermined threshold value; furthermore, when it is determined that there is a malfunction in the traveling system of the moving body, the moving body control unit (73) derives a correction amount corresponding to the malfunction, and continuously corrects the operation of the traveling system of the moving body by using the derived correction amount.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile body control system. Background Art

[0002] A food delivery vehicle is configured to determine its current position, compare the current position with a specified route, judge whether the running is normal, and when the error of the current position relative to the route exceeds the allowable error, infer that the steering wheel has failed or the travel control device is not functioning properly; in the case where the error of the current position still exceeds the allowable error even after resetting the control program of the travel control device, infer that the steering wheel has failed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

[0003] [Prior Art Documents]

[0004] [Patent Documents]

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent, Laid-Open No. 2009-153575 Summary of the Invention

[0006] (Problems to be Solved by the Invention)

[0007] In the above food delivery vehicle, although it is possible to infer a failure of the steering wheel, the failure of the steering wheel cannot be detected until it becomes impossible to run normally due to resetting of the control program of the travel control device or the like. Thus, it is difficult to detect a failure of the running system before it becomes impossible to continue running normally.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to obtain a mobile body control system that can detect a failure of a mobile body running system before it becomes impossible to continue running normally.

[0009] (Means for Solving the Problems)

[0010] The mobile body control system of the present invention includes: a mobile body position determination unit that determines the current position of a mobile body traveling along a path in a specified area on the ground; a mobile body control unit that controls the movement of the mobile body based on the determined current position of the mobile body; a path setting unit that sets the path as data; and a failure detection unit. The mobile body position determination unit performs the following processes: (a) obtaining, from the mobile body, a partial ground image generated by scanning the ground portion of the current position of the mobile body, (b) determining the position of the partial ground image in the ground image of the entire specified area, and (c) determining the current position of the mobile body based on the determined position; the mobile body control unit determines the deviation between the specified path set by the path setting unit and the current position of the mobile body, and causes the mobile body to travel in a manner that reduces the deviation. The failure detection unit determines whether there is a failure in the traveling system of the mobile body based on the occurrence frequency of the deviation greater than a specified threshold. Moreover, when it is determined that there is a failure in the traveling system of the mobile body, the mobile body control unit derives a correction amount corresponding to the failure, and continuously corrects the operation of the traveling system of the mobile body using the derived correction amount.

[0011] (Advantages of the Invention)

[0012] According to the present invention, an object is to obtain a mobile body control system that detects a failure in the traveling system of a mobile body before it becomes unable to continue normal traveling.

[0013] The above or other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become clearer based on the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings. Description of the Drawings

[0014] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the structure of the mobile body control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 It is for Figure 1 explaining the ground on which the mobile body 1 travels in

[0016] Figure 3 It is showing Figure 1 a perspective view of the mechanical structure of the mobile body 1 in

[0017] Figure 4 It is showing Figure 3 an example of the scanner 12a in the mobile body 1 shown in

[0018] Figure 5 It is showing Figure 3 another example of the scanner 12a in the mobile body 1 shown in

[0019] Figure 6 It is showingFigure 1 Block diagram of the electrical structure of the mobile body 1.

[0020] Figure 7 It represents Figure 1 Block diagram of the configuration of the management server 2 in the middle.

[0021] Figure 8 It is for Figure 1 Flowchart for explaining the operation of the management server 2 in the middle. Detailed implementation mode

[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023]

First Embodiment

[0024] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the structure of the mobile body control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 It is for Figure 1 The ground on which the mobile body 1 travels in the middle is explained. As Figure 1 shown, the mobile body control system includes a mobile body 1 and a management server 2.

[0025] Figure 1 The mobile body 1 shown is a self-propelled mobile body, and is an automatic guided vehicle (AGV: Automatic Guided Vehicle), an autonomous mobile robot (AMR: Autonomous Mobile Robot), etc. The mobile body 1 optically scans the ground 101 at the current position of the mobile body 1 while moving along a specified path on the ground 101 in a specified area. In this mobile body control system, there is no need to set physical markers (markers) etc. on the ground 101 as a path. The management server 2 sets the path in the form of data, searches for a part in the ground image of the ground 101 in the specified area that is consistent with the local ground image at the current position of the mobile body 1, determines the actual current position of the mobile body 1 based on the consistent position, and controls the operation of the mobile body 1 according to the set path and the current position.

[0026] Here, the ground 101 is, for example, the ground (traveling surface) of a factory, a warehouse, etc. In addition to the original pattern 101a (that is, the pattern on the surface of floor materials such as tiles and concrete), there are also scratches, dirt, etc. Therefore, in the ground image of the specified area with high resolution, the image pattern varies according to the position. Therefore, for example, by using pattern matching, image retrieval using machine learning, etc., the current position of the mobile body 1 is uniquely determined.

[0027] Figure 3 It represents Figure 1A perspective view of the mechanical structure of the mobile body 1. As Figure 3 shown, the mobile body 1 includes: four casters 11 provided at the four corner portions of the bottom surface, scanners 12a, 12b, and a frame body 13 to which the casters 11 and the scanners 12a, 12b are fixed.

[0028] The caster 11 has a follower wheel that contacts the ground 101, and is fixed to the frame body 13 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction.

[0029] The scanner 12a optically scans a part of the ground 101 and generates a local ground image (first local ground image). The scanner 12a is disposed at the front end portion in the advancing direction of the mobile body 1. The scanner 12b optically scans a part of the ground 101 and generates a local ground image (second local ground image). The scanner 12b is disposed at the rear end portion in the advancing direction of the mobile body 1.

[0030] Each of the scanners 12a, 12b is configured to: (a) be disposed on the bottom surface side of the mobile body 1 opposite to the ground, and (b) repeatedly generate a line image of a specified width perpendicular to the advancing direction of the mobile body 1 as a local ground image.

[0031] The scanners 12a, 12b scan the ground at a specified high resolution (e.g., 600 dpi).

[0032] The frame body 13 is the main body of the frame structure.

[0033] Furthermore, the mobile body 1 includes drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d.

[0034] Each of the drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d includes: a drive wheel 31 that contacts the ground, a support portion 32 that rotatably supports the drive wheel 31, a wheel frame portion 33 to which the support portion 32 is fixed, a rotational support portion 34 that rotatably fixes one end of the wheel frame portion 33 to the frame body 13 (one of the cross bars 13a, 13b), and a spring member 35 that applies a force to the other end of the wheel frame portion 33 to make it face the frame body 13 (the other of the cross bars 13a, 13b).

[0035] By doing so, using the restoring force of the spring member 35, the drive wheel 31 is pressed against the ground with a specified pressure.

[0036] Further, each of the drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d has a drive device (not shown) that generates driving force for traveling and transmits it to the drive wheel 31. Further, the drive devices are provided independently of the drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, respectively, and individually generate driving force and transmit it to the drive wheel 31. Here, the drive device generates driving force by an electric motor and transmits this driving force to the drive wheel 31 through gears or the like. The drive wheel 31 has, for example, a drive shaft connected to the drive device, a hard wheel fixed to the drive shaft, and an elastic tire fitted outside the wheel.

[0037] Figure 4 is a diagram showing Figure 3 an example of the scanner 12a in the mobile body 1 shown. For example, as Figure 4 shown, each of the scanners 12a and 12b has a light emitting part (not shown) that irradiates light onto the ground, an image sensor 41, and a reduction optical system 42 (one or more lenses) that condenses the reflected light formed by the light emitted from the light emitting part and reflected by the ground onto the image sensor 41.

[0038] Figure 5 is a diagram showing Figure 3 another example of the scanner 12a in the mobile body 1 shown. Further, for example, as Figure 5 shown, the scanners 12a and 12b may also have a contact image sensor. In this case, the scanners 12a and 12b become scanners having an equal magnification optical system including a line sensor 41a including a plurality of light receiving elements and a lens array 42a.

[0039] Figure 6 is a block diagram showing Figure 1 the electrical structure of the mobile body 1 in Figure 6 shown. As

[0040] shown, in addition to the above-described drive device 51, the mobile body 1 further includes a power supply device 52, a communication device 53, and a controller 54.

[0041] The communication device 53 performs data communication with an external device (such as a server) by wireless communication based on a prescribed communication protocol.

[0042] The controller 54 includes a computer or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), which performs data processing, control of the driving device 51, control of the communication device 53, etc. through a computer (software processing) or an ASIC (hardware processing).

[0043] In the first embodiment, according to a request from the controller 54, the communication device 53 (a) sends a local ground image or a line image (each line image constituting the local ground image) to the management server 2, and receives from the management server 2 the deviation between the current position of the moving body 1 and the path detected by the management server 2 based on the local ground image, or the control amount corresponding to the deviation. Then, the controller 54 controls the driving device 51 according to the received deviation or control amount (the control amount of each driving device 51) so that the moving body 1 travels on the above path, or controls the driving device 51 to stop the moving body 1.

[0044] In addition, the local ground image is composed of a specified number of line images. The scanners 12a and 12b repeatedly generate line images with a specified width perpendicular to the advancing direction of the moving body 1, and an image conversion unit (not shown) buffers the line images and uses the specified number of line images as the local ground image. The image conversion unit can be provided in the moving body 1 (controller 54) or in the management server 2.

[0045] Alternatively, it can be configured to use one of the first local ground image and the second local ground image as the local ground image, and derive the current position in the same way for the first local ground image and the second local ground image respectively.

[0046] Alternatively, it can be configured that the data of the local ground image or the line image is compressed in the moving body 1 and then sent to the management server 2, and the data is decompressed in the management server 2.

[0047] In addition, if the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 31 of the drive wheel units 21a and 21b are the same as the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 31 of the drive wheel units 21c and 21d, the moving body 1 moves straight; if the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 31 of the drive wheel units 21a and 21b are different from the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 31 of the drive wheel units 21c and 21d, the moving body 1 turns. Thus, the driving devices 51 of the respective drive wheel units 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d are controlled in a manner that reduces the above deviation.

[0048] Alternatively, it can be configured to derive the inclination of the advancing direction with respect to the path based on the deviation obtained from the first local ground image and the deviation obtained from the second local ground image.

[0049] Figure 7 represents Figure 1 a block diagram of the configuration of the management server 2 in

[0050] Figure 1 The management server 2 in

[0051] has a communication device 61, an arithmetic processing device 62, and a storage device 63. The communication device 61 performs data communication with the mobile body 1 via a predetermined communication channel 3 (wireless channel and / or wired channel). For example, the communication device 61 is a wireless network interface, a data communication interface for a mobile phone network, a short-range wireless communication interface, etc. Additionally, it can be configured such that a wireless terminal is provided in the communication channel 3, the communication device 61 is connected to the wireless terminal via a wired channel, and the mobile body 1 is connected to the wireless terminal via a wireless channel, whereby the communication device 61 can perform data communication with the mobile body 1.

[0052] The arithmetic processing device 62 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (ReadOnly Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. It operates as various processing units by loading a program from the ROM or the storage device 63 into the RAM and executing the program by the CPU. Here, the arithmetic processing device 62 operates as a path setting unit 71, a mobile body position determination unit 72, a mobile body control unit 73, a ground image update unit 74, and a failure detection unit 75.

[0053] The storage device 63 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs or data. Here, ground data 63a is pre-stored in the storage device 63.

[0054] The ground data 63a includes image data of the ground image of the entire ground in the above-mentioned predetermined area, and position data indicating the correspondence between the position (pixel position) in the ground image and the actual position on the ground. Based on this image data, the position of the local ground image within the ground image is determined (i.e., the position of the part in the ground image closest to the local ground image), and based on this position data, the position of the local ground image within the ground image is converted into the actual position on the ground.

[0055] The path setting unit 71 sets the path of the mobile body 1 within the specified area of the ground 101 as path data. For example, the path is composed of one or more links, and the path data includes the coordinate values of the start and end points of each link. For example, it can also be configured such that the path setting unit 71 is connected to the manufacturing execution system (MES), and sets the path of the mobile body 1 according to the actions (such as the handling of components, etc.) of the mobile body 1 required by the manufacturing execution system.

[0056] The mobile body position determination unit 72 determines the current position of the mobile body 1 traveling along the path within the specified area of the ground 101. Specifically, the mobile body position determination unit 72 performs the following processes: (a) obtains a partial ground image generated by scanning the ground portion of the current position of the mobile body 1 from the traveling mobile body 1, (b) determines the position of the partial ground image in the ground image of the entire specified area, and (c) determines the current position (the actual position on the ground 101) of the mobile body 1 based on the determined position. Here, the partial ground image is generated by scanning the portion of the ground 101 opposite to the bottom surface of the mobile body 1 using the scanners 12a and 12b arranged on the bottom surface side of the mobile body 1. In addition, the current position of the mobile body 1 is expressed, for example, by the physical distance from a specified reference position on the ground 101. In addition, the position of the partial ground image in the ground image of the entire specified area is expressed by pixel positions, etc. in the ground image of the entire specified area, and the correspondence relationship between the current position of the mobile body 1 and the position of this partial ground image is known.

[0057] In the first embodiment, the mobile body position determination unit 72 obtains the partial ground image using the communication device 61. In addition, regarding the ground image and the partial ground image, it can be color image data generated by the color scanners 12a and 12b, or grayscale image data generated by the monochrome scanners 12a and 12b.

[0058] In addition, the mobile body position determination unit 72 determines the position of the partial ground image in the ground image of the entire specified area, for example, by pattern matching or image retrieval using machine learning. At this time, even if a part of the ground image of the entire specified area does not completely match the partial ground image, the position with the highest accuracy in the ground image of the entire specified area is determined as the position of the partial ground image.

[0059] The mobile body control unit 73 controls the actions of the mobile body 1 according to the determined current position of the mobile body 1. In the first embodiment, the mobile body control unit 73 uses the communication device 61 to send an action instruction based on the determined current position of the mobile body 1 to the mobile body, thereby controlling the actions of the mobile body 1.

[0060] In addition, specifically, the mobile body control unit 73 performs the following processes: (a) determines the deviation between the path set by the path setting unit 71 and the current position of the mobile body 1, and causes the mobile body 1 to travel in a manner that reduces this deviation (for example, steers the mobile body 1 according to the deviation), and (b) when the determined current position is a stop position, causes the mobile body 1 to stop.

[0061] The ground image update unit 74 updates the partial ground image portion determined in the ground image of the entire specified area using the acquired partial ground image. By doing so, even if there are changes in the ground 101 (temporal changes, adhesion of dirt, etc.), since the portion of the ground image of the entire specified area that the mobile body 1 passes through is updated to the latest ground image, it is possible to suppress detection errors of the current position in the mobile body position determination unit 72.

[0062] The failure detection unit 75 counts the deviations larger than a specified threshold among the above-mentioned deviations, and judges whether there is a failure in the traveling system of the mobile body 1 based on the occurrence frequency of the deviations larger than the specified threshold within a specified time. Specifically, when this occurrence frequency is higher than the specified threshold, it is judged that there is a failure in the traveling system of the mobile body 1, and conversely, it is judged that there is no failure in the traveling system of the mobile body 1. Examples of failures in the traveling system include: a decrease in the output power of a part of the drive device 51, a decrease in the ground contact friction of a part of the drive wheels 31 (tires) with respect to the ground 101 due to dirt or temporal changes, etc.

[0063] For example, when the failure detection unit 75 judges that there is a failure in the traveling system of the mobile body 1, it notifies this failure to an operator or the like. In this case, specifically, the failure detection unit 75 displays a message indicating the failure on a display device (not shown) or sends it to an operator or the like.

[0064] In addition, when it is judged that there is a failure in the traveling system of the mobile body 1, the mobile body control unit 73 derives a correction amount corresponding to this failure, and uses this correction amount to correct the operation of the mobile body 1. For example, for the deviations detected multiple times, when the deviation directions with respect to the path are the same, the mobile body control unit 73 judges that there is a deviation in the driving force transmitted from the four drive devices 51 to the ground 101, and controls the drive devices 51 to continuously increase or decrease the rotational speed of the left drive wheels 31 and / or the right drive wheels 31 by a certain correction amount so that the mobile body 1 steers in the direction opposite to the deviation direction to suppress the deviation. Here, the correction amount is set based on, for example, the average value of the magnitudes of the above-mentioned counted deviations.

[0065] Next, the operation of the above mobile body control system will be described. Figure 8 It is a Figure 1 flowchart for explaining the operation of the management server 2 in

[0066] The path setting unit 71 of the management server 2 sets the path of the mobile body 1 according to user operations, etc. (step S1). For example, path data representing the path is pre-stored in the storage device 63, and the path setting unit 71 reads out the path data and sets it as the path of the mobile body 1.

[0067] After that, the mobile body control unit 73 uses the communication device 61 to send an action instruction to the mobile body 1 to start the mobile body 1 moving. In the mobile body 1, after the controller 54 receives the action instruction using the communication device 53, it controls the drive device 51 to start the mobile body 1 moving. Then, in the mobile body 1, (a) when the action instruction is received, the drive device 51 is controlled to adjust the movement of the mobile body 1 (for example, turning the mobile body 1 to the right or left to approach the path), and (b) during the movement, the scanners 12a and 12b are operated to repeatedly acquire line images, and the line images or local ground images (image data thereof) are sent to the management server 2 using the communication device 53.

[0068] In the management server 2, when the line image or the local ground image is received using the communication device 61 (step S2), the mobile body position determination unit 72 retrieves the local ground image in the overall ground image by pattern matching or the like, determines the position of the local ground image in the overall ground image, and determines the actual current position of the mobile body 1 corresponding to this position (step S3). In addition, in the case where a line image is received, a specified number of line images are buffered and used as the local ground image. When the position of the local ground image in the overall ground image is determined, the ground image update unit 74 updates the corresponding part in the overall ground image in the ground data 63a using the received local ground image (step S4).

[0069] Then, the mobile body control unit 73 determines whether the determined current position is the stop position (step S5). When the determined current position is not the stop position, the mobile body control unit 73 determines the deviation between the above path and the current position of the mobile body 1 (step S6), and sends the magnitude of the deviation or the control amount corresponding to the mobile body 1 as an action instruction to the mobile body 1 to reduce the deviation (step S7).

[0070] Then, the fault detection unit 75 determines whether the deviation detected this time is greater than a specified threshold value (step S8). When the deviation detected this time is greater than the specified threshold value, it determines whether the occurrence frequency of such a deviation exceeds the specified threshold value (i.e., whether it is a fault) (step S9). When the occurrence frequency exceeds the specified threshold value (i.e., when a fault has occurred), the above-mentioned correction process (derivation and application of a correction amount corresponding to the type or degree of the fault) or error process (notification of the fault or stopping of the moving body 1, etc.) is performed (step S10). On the other hand, when the deviation detected this time is not greater than the specified threshold value, or when the above-mentioned occurrence frequency does not exceed the specified threshold value, the correction process or error process in step S10 is not performed.

[0071] Then, it returns to step S2, and the processes after step S3 are performed on the next local ground image. Additionally, it can also be configured such that: when no deviation greater than the specified threshold value is detected, no action instruction is sent to the moving body 1, and the moving body 1 maintains its current direction and speed of travel.

[0072] In addition, when the determined current position in step S5 is the stop position, the moving body control unit 73 uses the communication device 61 to send a stop instruction to the moving body 1 (step S11). Then, the moving body control unit 73 determines whether the determined current position (or its stop position) is the end of the path (step S12). When the determined current position (or its stop position) is the end of the path, the travel of the moving body 1 on this path ends.

[0073] On the other hand, in the case where the determined current position (or its stop position) is not the end of the path, if a specified condition (the specified action of the moving body 1 at this position ends, a re-travel instruction is received from the management server 2, etc.) is satisfied, the moving body 1 travels on the path again. After that, it returns to step S2, and the processes after step S3 are performed on the next local ground image.

[0074] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the moving body position determination unit 72 determines the current position of the moving body 1 traveling along a path in a specified area of the ground 101. The moving body control unit 73 controls the operation of the moving body 1 based on the determined current position of the moving body 1. Further, the moving body position determination unit 72 performs the following processes: (a) acquiring, from the moving body 1, a partial ground image generated by scanning the ground portion of the current position of the moving body 1; (b) determining the position of the partial ground image in the ground image of the entire specified area; and (c) determining the current position of the moving body based on the determined position. The moving body control unit 73 (a) determines the deviation between the specified path set by the path setting unit 71 and the current position of the moving body 1, and causes the moving body 1 to travel in a manner that reduces this deviation. The failure detection unit 75 determines whether there is a failure in the traveling system of the moving body 1 based on the occurrence frequency of deviations greater than a specified threshold value. Further, when it is determined that there is a failure in the traveling system of the moving body 1, the moving body control unit 73 derives a correction amount corresponding to the failure, and continuously corrects the operation of the traveling system of the moving body 1 using the derived correction amount.

[0075] By doing so, a failure is detected at an early stage based on the occurrence frequency of deviations, and thus, it is possible to detect a failure in the traveling system of the moving body 1 before it becomes impossible to continue normal traveling.

[0076]

Second Embodiment

[0077] In the second embodiment, the management server 2 is not provided, and the moving body 1 includes a storage device 63 (ground data 63a), a path setting unit 71, a moving body position determination unit 72, a moving body control unit 73, a ground image update unit 74, and a failure detection unit 75. That is, in the case where the management server 2 is not used, the moving body 1 stores the ground image of the entire area of the ground 101 (i.e., the moving range of the moving body 1). Similarly, the position of the partial ground image in the ground image is determined, and the actual current position corresponding to the position is determined, thereby automatically controlling traveling and stopping, and similarly detecting failures.

[0078] In addition, regarding the other structures and operations of the moving body 1 in the second embodiment, since they are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

[0079] In addition, regarding the above embodiments, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the gist and scope thereof and without diminishing the intended advantages. Since these changes and modifications are obvious to those skilled in the art, these changes and modifications should also be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

[0080] For example, in the above-described first and second embodiments, it may also be configured such that a position on the path close to the stop position is set as the deceleration position, and when the current position is the deceleration position, the moving body 1 decelerates to approach the stop position. Further, when the braking distance from the stop instruction to the actual stop is known, a position closer to the actual stop position by the braking distance may be set as the stop position.

[0081] Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, it may also be configured such that the path setting unit 71 sets path data for each of the plurality of moving bodies 1 in the same manner, the moving body position determination unit 72 determines the current positions of the plurality of moving bodies 1 in the same manner, and the moving body control unit 73 controls the operations of the plurality of moving bodies 1 in the same manner.

[0082] Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the scanner 12b may not be provided on the moving body 1.

[0083] Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, it may also be configured such that when the correction amount derived by the moving body control unit 73 exceeds a specified threshold value, the failure detection unit 75 notifies of a failure or causes the moving body control unit 73 to stop the traveling of the moving body 1. In this case, the traveling of the moving body 1 is continued until the correction amount exceeds the threshold value. Further, the threshold value for stopping the traveling may be set separately from the threshold value for notification and may be set to a value larger than the threshold value for notification.

[0084] (Industrial Applicability)

[0085] The present invention can be applied to, for example, a moving body control system.

Claims

1. A mobile body control system, characterized in that: It includes: A mobile body position determination unit that determines the current position of a mobile body traveling along a path in a specified area on the ground, A mobile body control unit that controls the operation of the mobile body based on the determined current position of the mobile body, A path setting unit that sets the path as data, and A failure detection unit; The mobile body position determination unit performs the following processes: (a) obtains a local ground image generated by scanning the ground portion of the current position of the mobile body from the mobile body, (b) determines the position of the local ground image in the overall ground image of the specified area, and (c) determines the current position of the mobile body based on the determined position; The mobile body control unit determines the deviation between the specified path set by the path setting unit and the current position of the mobile body, and causes the mobile body to travel in a manner that reduces the deviation; The failure detection unit determines whether there is a failure in the traveling system of the mobile body based on the occurrence frequency of the deviation greater than a specified threshold; When it is determined that there is a failure in the traveling system of the mobile body, the mobile body control unit derives a correction amount corresponding to the failure, and continuously corrects the operation of the traveling system of the mobile body using the derived correction amount.

2. The mobile body control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mobile body control system further includes: a plurality of drive wheels in contact with the ground, and a plurality of drive devices that generate driving force for traveling and transmit it to the drive wheels, For the deviations detected multiple times, when the deviation directions with respect to the path are the same, the mobile body control unit determines that there is a deviation in the driving force transmitted from the plurality of drive devices to the ground, and controls the drive devices to continuously increase or decrease the rotation speed of a part or all of the plurality of drive wheels by the correction amount, so that the mobile body turns in the direction opposite to the deviation direction to suppress the deviation.

3. The mobile body control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the correction amount exceeds a specified threshold, the failure detection unit notifies the failure or causes the mobile body control unit to stop the traveling of the mobile body.

4. The mobile body control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mobile body control system further includes a management server, The management server has a communication device, the mobile body position determination unit, the mobile body control unit, the path setting unit, and the failure detection unit, The mobile body position determination unit obtains the local ground image using the communication device, The mobile body control unit uses the communication device to send an operation instruction based on the determined current position of the mobile body to the mobile body, thereby controlling the operation of the mobile body.

Images