Method and device for adjusting height of actuating mechanism of submarine robot and electronic equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and device for adjusting the height of an executing mechanism of a latent robot and electronic equipment, and relates to the technical field of robots, and the method comprises the steps that the latent robot is controlled to move according to a current locking path in an overall path of the latent robot; in the moving process of the submarine robot, if the current to-be-utilized distance reaches a first distance threshold value, the submarine robot does not meet the height requirement of the next height limiting position in the overall path at present, the submarine robot is controlled to adjust the height of an execution mechanism of the submarine robot according to the height requirement; if the next height limiting position is located in the current locking path and the submarine robot does not meet the height requirement at present, determining a cut-off position before the height limiting position from the current locking path; and when the submarine robot meets the height requirement, the submarine robot is controlled to move according to the current locking path. According to the scheme, the safety of the submarine robot is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of robots, and in particular, to a method, device, and electronic device for adjusting the height of an execution mechanism of a latent robot. Background Art

[0002] Currently, in scenarios such as industrial production, latent robots can be used to replace humans in performing cargo handling. A latent robot has an execution mechanism, and the latent robot can adjust the height of the execution mechanism to achieve picking up and placing goods.

[0003] However, in actual working scenarios, there are some areas where the space is limited, so that when the latent robot passes through these areas, its own height cannot be too high, otherwise collisions may occur, which has an adverse impact on the safety of the latent robot.

[0004] Therefore, how to adjust the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot to improve the safety of the latent robot is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a method, device, and electronic device for adjusting the height of an execution mechanism of a latent robot to improve the safety of the latent robot. The specific technical solutions are as follows:

[0006] The embodiments of the present application first provide a method for adjusting the height of an execution mechanism of a latent robot, and the method includes:

[0007] Controlling the movement of the latent robot according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot; wherein, the overall path is a topological path generated based on each preset topological point in the working scenario from the starting position of the latent robot to the target position to be reached; the current locked path is the path between two specified topological points adjacent to the current position of the latent robot;

[0008] During the movement of the latent robot, if the current available distance reaches the first distance threshold and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement of the next height limit position in the overall path, then controlling the latent robot to adjust the height of its own execution mechanism according to the height requirement until the latent robot meets the height requirement; wherein, the current available distance represents the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height limit position in the overall path;

[0009] During the movement of the stealth robot, if the next height limit position is located in the current locked path and the stealth robot currently does not meet the height requirement, a truncation position before the height limit position is determined from the current locked path, and when the stealth robot meets the height requirement when located at the current truncation position, the stealth robot is controlled to move according to the current locked path.

[0010] Optionally, before controlling the stealth robot to move according to the current locked path when the stealth robot meets the height requirement when located at the current truncation position, the method further includes:

[0011] If the stealth robot does not meet the height requirement when moving to the current truncation position, control the stealth robot to stop moving until the stealth robot meets the height requirement.

[0012] Optionally, when the height limit position is a height-limited area, meeting the height requirement means that when the stealth robot is carrying goods, the overall height of the stealth robot, the actuator, and the loaded goods is not greater than a preset limit height; when the stealth robot is not carrying goods, the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuator is not greater than a preset limit height;

[0013] When the height limit position is the picking position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuator is less than the lower surface height of the bin at this picking position;

[0014] When the height limit position is the placing position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuator is greater than the upper surface height of the bin at this placing position.

[0015] Optionally, when the next height limit position is the picking position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuator is a preset picking height; the preset picking height is less than the lower surface height of the bin at this picking position; the method further includes:

[0016] When it is detected that the stealth robot reaches this picking position, control the stealth robot to lift the actuator until the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuator is greater than the upper surface height of the bin at this picking position, so that the actuator can lift the goods at this picking position;

[0017] After the AGV robot lifts the goods at the picking position, control the AGV robot to move while keeping the height of the actuator unchanged until the horizontal distance between the AGV robot and the picking position reaches a second distance threshold, and then release the height holding; wherein, the second distance threshold is determined based on the size of the AGV robot and the bin length of the picking position.

[0018] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0019] When the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, if in the overall path, the distance between the AGV robot and the goods placement position is greater than a third distance threshold and the actuator is not at the lowest height, control the AGV robot to lower the actuator to the lowest height; wherein, the third distance threshold is not less than the first distance threshold.

[0020] Optionally, when the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, the height requirement means that the overall height of the AGV robot and the actuator is a preset goods placement height; the preset goods placement height is greater than the upper surface height of the bin at the goods placement position;

[0021] The method further includes:

[0022] When it is detected that the AGV robot reaches the goods placement position, control the AGV robot to lower the actuator until the overall height of the AGV robot and the actuator is less than the lower surface height of the bin at the goods placement position, so that the actuator places the lifted goods at the goods placement position.

[0023] Optionally, the first distance threshold is calculated by the following method:

[0024] Based on the current height of the actuator and the height requirement of the next height limit position, calculate the adjustment duration required for the AGV robot to adjust the height of the actuator to meet the height requirement;

[0025] Based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the AGV robot, calculate the first distance threshold.

[0026] Optionally, the calculating the first distance threshold based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the AGV robot includes:

[0027] Multiply the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the AGV robot to obtain the current first distance threshold;

[0028] When the current available distance does not reach the current first distance threshold, if the moving speed of the latent robot changes, return to the step of performing the product of the calculated adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the latent robot to obtain the current first distance threshold.

[0029] Optionally, before controlling the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot, the method further includes:

[0030] For each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, if the path intersects with the height-limited area and the direction represented by the path indicates entering the height-limited area, record the intersection position of the path and the height-limited area, and determine the path as the area entry path;

[0031] The current available distance is calculated as follows:

[0032] When the overall path includes an area entry path, determine the next area entry path in the overall path after the current position of the latent robot, and obtain the intersection position of the next area entry path and the height-limited area recorded in advance as the available position;

[0033] Calculate the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the available position in the overall path as the available distance.

[0034] Optionally, before controlling the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot, the method further includes:

[0035] For each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, calculate and record the length of the path;

[0036] Calculating the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the available position in the overall path as the available distance includes:

[0037] Determine each topological point between the current position of the latent robot and the available position in the overall path as the available topological point;

[0038] Obtain the length of the path formed by connecting every two adjacent available topological points recorded in advance as the available length;

[0039] Calculate the sum of the distance between the current position of the stealth robot and the next topological point to be utilized in the overall path, the lengths of each to-be-utilized length obtained, and the distance between the previous topological point to be utilized and the to-be-utilized position in the overall path, to obtain the to-be-utilized distance.

[0040] The embodiment of the present application also provides a height adjustment device for the actuator of a stealth robot. The device includes:

[0041] A movement control module, configured to control the movement of the stealth robot according to the current locked path in the overall path of the stealth robot; wherein, the overall path is a topological path generated based on each preset topological point in the working scenario, from the starting position of the stealth robot to the target position to be reached; the current locked path is the path between two specified topological points adjacent to the current position of the stealth robot.

[0042] A height adjustment module, configured to, during the movement of the stealth robot, if the current to-be-utilized distance reaches the first distance threshold and the stealth robot currently does not meet the height requirement of the next height limit position in the overall path, control the stealth robot to adjust the height of its actuator according to the height requirement until the stealth robot meets the height requirement; wherein, the current to-be-utilized distance represents the distance between the current position of the stealth robot and the next height limit position in the overall path.

[0043] A truncation module, configured to, during the movement of the stealth robot, if the next height limit position is located in the current locked path and the stealth robot currently does not meet the height requirement, determine the truncation position before the height limit position from the current locked path, and control the stealth robot to move according to the current locked path when the stealth robot meets the height requirement when located at the current truncation position.

[0044] Optionally, the device further includes: a stop control module, configured to, before the truncation module controls the stealth robot to move according to the current locked path when the stealth robot meets the height requirement when located at the current truncation position, if the stealth robot does not meet the height requirement when moving to the current truncation position, control the stealth robot to stop moving until the stealth robot meets the height requirement.

[0045] Optionally, when the height limit position is a height-restricted area, meeting the height requirement means that: when the latent robot is carrying cargo, the overall height of the latent robot, the actuator, and the loaded cargo is not greater than a preset restricted height; when the latent robot is not carrying cargo, the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is not greater than a preset restricted height;

[0046] In the case where the height-restricted position is a pickup position in a shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at the pickup position;

[0047] In the case where the height-restricted position is a cargo storage position in a shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the cargo storage position.

[0048] Optionally, when the next height-restricted position is a pickup position in a shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is a preset pickup height; the preset pickup height is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at the pickup position; the device further includes:

[0049] a picking module, configured to control the lurking robot to lift the actuator when detecting that the lurking robot has arrived at the picking position, until the overall height of the lurking robot and the actuator is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the picking position, so that the actuator lifts the goods at the picking position;

[0050] A height holding module is used to control the latent robot to move while keeping the height of the actuator unchanged after the latent robot lifts the goods at the picking position, until the horizontal distance between the latent robot and the picking position reaches a second distance threshold, and then release the height holding; wherein the second distance threshold is determined based on the size of the latent robot and the bin length of the picking position.

[0051] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0052] a height lowering module configured to control the latent robot to lower the actuator to the lowest height when the next height-limited position is a cargo placement position in a shelf and, if, in the overall path, the distance between the latent robot and the cargo placement position is greater than a third distance threshold and the actuator is not at the lowest height; wherein the third distance threshold is not less than the first distance threshold.

[0053] Optionally, when the next height limit position is a goods placement position in the shelf, the height requirement indicates that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is a preset goods placement height; the preset goods placement height is greater than the upper surface height of the bin at this goods placement position; the device further includes:

[0054] A goods placement module, configured to control the latent robot to lower the actuator until the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is less than the lower surface height of the bin at this goods placement position when it is detected that the latent robot reaches the goods placement position, so that the actuator places the lifted goods at this goods placement position.

[0055] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0056] An adjustment duration calculation module, configured to calculate the adjustment duration required for the latent robot to adjust the height of the actuator to meet the height requirement based on the current height of the actuator and the height requirement of the next height limit position;

[0057] A first distance threshold calculation module, configured to calculate a first distance threshold based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the latent robot.

[0058] Optionally, the first distance threshold calculation module is specifically configured to multiply the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the latent robot to obtain the current first distance threshold; when the current distance to be utilized does not reach the current first distance threshold, if the moving speed of the latent robot changes, then return to execute the step of multiplying the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the latent robot to obtain the current first distance threshold.

[0059] Optionally, the device further includes: a first preprocessing module, configured to, before the movement control module controls the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot, for each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, if the path intersects with the height limit area and the direction represented by the path indicates entering the height limit area, record the intersection position of the path and the height limit area, and determine the path as an area entry path;

[0060] The device further includes:

[0061] A position to be utilized determination module, configured to, when the overall path includes a height limit area entry path, determine the next area entry path in the overall path that is located after the current position of the latent robot, and obtain the intersection position of the next area entry path and the height limit area recorded in advance as the position to be utilized;

[0062] A distance to be utilized calculation module, configured to calculate, in the overall path, the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the position to be utilized as the distance to be utilized.

[0063] The device further includes: a second preprocessing module, configured to calculate and record the length of a path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among preset topological points before the movement control module controls the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot.

[0064] The distance to be utilized calculation module includes:

[0065] A to-be-utilized topological point determination sub-module, configured to determine, in the overall path, each topological point between the current position of the latent robot and the position to be utilized as the to-be-utilized topological point.

[0066] A to-be-utilized length acquisition sub-module, configured to acquire the length of a path formed by connecting every two adjacent to-be-utilized topological points recorded in advance as the to-be-utilized length.

[0067] A to-be-utilized distance calculation sub-module, configured to calculate the sum of the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next to-be-utilized topological point in the overall path, the acquired to-be-utilized lengths, and the distance between the previous to-be-utilized topological point of the position to be utilized and the position to be utilized in the overall path, so as to obtain the to-be-utilized distance.

[0068] An embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, including:

[0069] A memory, configured to store a computer program.

[0070] A processor, configured to implement the method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot according to any one of the above when executing the program stored in the memory.

[0071] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot according to any one of the above is implemented.

[0072] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot according to any one of the above.

[0073] Advantageous effects of the embodiments of the present application:

[0074] The method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided by the embodiment of the present application first controls the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot. During the movement of the latent robot, if the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height limit position reaches the first distance threshold and the latent robot does not meet the height requirement of the height limit position, then control the latent robot to adjust the height of its actuator according to the height requirement, which can enable the latent robot to adjust the height of the actuator in advance before reaching the height limit position. In addition, when the height limit position is located in the current locked path and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement, then determine the truncation position before the height limit position from the current locked path, and when the latent robot meets the height requirement when located at the current truncation position, then control the latent robot to move according to the current locked path, so that the latent robot entering the height limit position can meet the height requirement. Therefore, through this solution, the safety of the latent robot can be improved.

[0075] Of course, it is not necessary for any product or method implementing the present application to achieve all the above-mentioned advantages simultaneously. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0076] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present application, and those of ordinary skill in the art can also obtain other embodiments based on these drawings.

[0077] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the working scenario of this embodiment;

[0078] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the shelf in this embodiment;

[0079] Figure 3 It is the first flow chart of the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided by this embodiment;

[0080] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the height limit area in the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided by this embodiment;

[0081] Figure 5 It is another schematic diagram of the height limit area in the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided by this embodiment;

[0082] Figure 6 It is the second flow chart of the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided by this embodiment;

[0083] Figure 7 The third process schematic diagram of the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided in this embodiment;

[0084] Figure 8 The fourth process schematic diagram of the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided in this embodiment;

[0085] Figure 9 The structural schematic diagram of the device for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided in this embodiment;

[0086] Figure 10 The structural schematic diagram of the electronic device provided in this embodiment. Detailed implementation manners

[0087] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the present application belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0088] The working scenario of the embodiments of the present application can be as Figure 1 shown. The latent robot can carry goods from the shelves in the high-level shelf storage area to the workbench area. The goods are generally bins, so that the relevant equipment and personnel in the workbench area can process the goods. The latent robot can also carry goods from the workbench area to the high-level shelf storage area and place the carried goods in the shelves in the high-level shelf storage area.

[0089] The shelves in this embodiment can be as Figure 2 shown. The shelves are generally divided into multiple layers. The latent robot can place the carried goods in the bottom layer bin of the shelf. The bottom layer bin has an upper surface and a lower surface of the bin. Since the bin itself has a certain thickness, the height of the upper surface of the bin is greater than the height of the lower surface of the bin.

[0090] CTU (Container Transfering Unit) can transfer the goods in the bottom layer bin to the upper layer bin of the shelf. CTU can also transfer the goods in the upper layer bin to the bottom layer bin, so that the latent robot can carry away the goods in the bottom layer bin. Therefore, the bottom layer bin is the buffer position where CTU is connected to the latent robot. The bottom layer bin can be used as both the picking position and the placing position in the shelf.

[0091] Since there are some height-restricted areas with limited height requirements in the working scenario, and the latent robot needs to pick up goods at the picking position in the shelf or place goods at the placing position in the shelf, which also poses certain requirements on the height of the latent robot. Such positions can all be called height-restricted positions. Therefore, it is necessary to reasonably adjust the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot to avoid collisions between the latent robot and obstacles, thereby improving the safety of the latent robot.

[0092] To solve the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a method, device, and electronic device for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of a latent robot. The method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot can be applied to an electronic device, such as a personal computer or a server. In a specific scenario, the method can be applied to a robot control system.

[0093] The method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot provided by the embodiments of the present application may include the following steps:

[0094] Control the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot; where the overall path is a topological path generated based on each preset topological point in the working scenario from the starting position of the latent robot to the target position to be reached; the current locked path is the path between two specified topological points adjacent to the current position of the latent robot.

[0095] During the movement of the latent robot, if the current available distance reaches the first distance threshold and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement of the next height-restricted position in the overall path, then control the latent robot to adjust the height of its execution mechanism according to the height requirement until the latent robot meets the height requirement; where the current available distance represents the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height-restricted position in the overall path.

[0096] During the movement of the latent robot, if the next height-restricted position is located in the current locked path and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement, then determine the truncation position before the height-restricted position from the current locked path, and control the latent robot to move according to the current locked path when the latent robot meets the height requirement at the current truncation position.

[0097] In this embodiment, first, the latent robot is controlled to move according to the currently locked path in the overall path of the latent robot. During the movement of the latent robot, if the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height limit position reaches the first distance threshold and the latent robot does not meet the height requirement of the height limit position, the latent robot is controlled to adjust the height of its actuator according to the height requirement, which can enable the latent robot to adjust the height of the actuator in advance before reaching the height limit position. In addition, when the height limit position is located on the current locked path and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement, the cut-off position before the height limit position is determined from the current locked path, and when the latent robot meets the height requirement at the current cut-off position, the latent robot is then controlled to move according to the current locked path, so that the latent robot entering the height limit position can meet the height requirement. Therefore, the safety of the latent robot can be improved through this solution.

[0098] Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, taking the robot control system as the execution subject as an example, the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided in the embodiments of the present application will be introduced.

[0099] As Figure 3 shown, the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided in the embodiments of the present application may include the following steps:

[0100] S301, control the latent robot to move according to the currently locked path in the overall path of the latent robot; where the overall path is a topological path generated based on each preset topological point in the working scenario, from the starting position of the latent robot to the target position to be reached; the currently locked path is the path between two specified topological points adjacent to the current position of the latent robot.

[0101] The robot control system can control the movement of the latent robot by using the overall path and the locked path. Specifically, a plurality of topological points can be set in advance in the area where the latent robot is allowed to move in the working scenario, and the coordinates of each topological point are recorded in the robot control system. There may be multiple latent robots in the working scenario, and the robot control system can control any latent robot to go to the target position to perform a handling task. A path planning module can be configured in the robot control system to generate a topological path as the overall path according to the current starting position of the latent robot, the target position to be reached, and each preset topological point in the working scenario. The overall path can be represented as a sequence composed of each topological point that the latent robot has to pass through. The specific way to generate the topological path can be any path planning algorithm, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

[0102] Among the preset topological points in the working scenario, multiple specified topological points can be included, and the specified topological points can be set manually according to requirements. For example, the picking position in the shelf and the placing position in the shelf can both be used as specified topological points. When it is necessary to control the movement of the autonomous mobile robot, the path between two adjacent specified topological points before and after the current position of the autonomous mobile robot can be locked, that is, this section of the path is exclusively occupied by the autonomous mobile robot, thus avoiding collisions caused by other autonomous mobile robots passing through this path. Therefore, the locked path can be called a locked path, and the locked path is a subset of the overall path.

[0103] Before the autonomous mobile robot reaches the end point of the current locked path, the robot control system can determine whether the path between the next two adjacent specified topological points in the overall path is occupied by other autonomous mobile robots. If it is occupied, the autonomous mobile robot can be controlled to stop moving at the end point of the current locked path until the next section of the path is no longer occupied. Then, the autonomous mobile robot is controlled to move into the next section of the path, and the previous locked path is released, and the next section of the path is used as the current locked path, so as to control the autonomous mobile robot to continue moving, and so on, until the autonomous mobile robot reaches the target position.

[0104] S302. During the movement of the autonomous mobile robot, if the current distance to be utilized reaches the first distance threshold and the autonomous mobile robot does not meet the height requirement of the next height limit position in the overall path, the autonomous mobile robot is controlled to adjust the height of its actuator according to the height requirement until the autonomous mobile robot meets the height requirement. Here, the current distance to be utilized means: in the overall path, the distance between the current position of the autonomous mobile robot and the next height limit position.

[0105] In this embodiment, the robot control system can record the parameter information of the autonomous mobile robot. The parameter information mainly includes the size (length, width, height) information of the autonomous mobile robot and the ability set (the height range that the actuator can adjust and the adjustment speed). The autonomous mobile robot can also report its own status information to the robot control system in real time through the UDP (User Datagram Protocol) communication method of the local area network. The status information mainly includes the pose (coordinates and orientation angle) of the autonomous mobile robot, the status of the actuator (the status of height adjustment and the stable status), height, and cargo information (whether it is carrying cargo and the type of the carried cargo). In addition, the robot control system can also record the size information (length, width, height) of various types of goods in the working scenario, and the size information of the goods can be set through the front-end page of the robot control system.

[0106] The height limit positions in this embodiment may include: a height limit area, a picking position in a shelf, and a placing position in a shelf. When the height limit position is the height limit area, meeting the height requirement of the height limit position means that when the latent robot is carrying goods, the overall height of the latent robot, the actuator, and the loaded goods is not greater than a preset limit height; when the latent robot is not carrying goods, the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is not greater than the preset limit height.

[0107] The height limit area may be a rectangular area, and the position and limit height of the height limit area may be pre-configured in the robot control system.

[0108] When the height limit position is the picking position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement of the height limit position means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at this picking position.

[0109] When the height limit position is the placing position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement of the height limit position means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at this placing position.

[0110] In one implementation, the first distance threshold can be set according to experience and requirements. For example, a distance value can be pre-configured for the latent robot, so that the robot control system can obtain this configured distance value as the first distance threshold. Or, a default distance value can be configured for the robot control system. When the latent robot is not pre-configured with a distance value, this default distance value is obtained as the first distance threshold.

[0111] In another implementation, the first distance threshold can also be calculated in the following way:

[0112] Step A1, based on the current height of the actuator and the height requirement of the next height limit position, calculate the adjustment duration required for the latent robot to adjust the height of the actuator to meet the height requirement.

[0113] It can be understood that the latent robot can change its overall height by adjusting the height of the actuator, so that the latent robot can meet the height requirement. Therefore, the adjustment duration required can be calculated according to the current height of the actuator, the height requirement of the height limit position, and the speed of adjusting the actuator. For example, when the height limit position is the height limit area and the latent robot is carrying goods, first subtract the above limit height from the overall height of the latent robot, the actuator, and the loaded goods to obtain a height difference, and then calculate the ratio of the height difference to the speed of adjusting the actuator to obtain the required adjustment duration.

[0114] Step A2: Calculate a first distance threshold based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the latent robot.

[0115] For example, the product of the calculated adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the latent robot can be obtained as the first distance threshold.

[0116] By calculating the first distance threshold according to the duration of the adjustment actuator and the current moving speed of the latent robot, it can be ensured that when the latent robot moves to the next height limit position at the current moving speed, it just meets the height requirement, that is, seamless switching is achieved, and the height adjustment process of the actuator does not affect the working efficiency of the latent robot.

[0117] S303: During the movement of the latent robot, if the next height limit position is located in the current locked path and the latent robot does not currently meet the height requirement, determine a truncation position before the height limit position in the current locked path, and control the latent robot to move according to the current locked path when the latent robot meets the height requirement at the current truncation position.

[0118] For example, in the case where the height limit position is a height-limited area, the truncation position can be a position before the intersection of the height-limited area and the overall path and at a certain distance threshold from the intersection position. This distance threshold can be set according to experience and requirements. The truncation position can be a topological point or not. Since the height-limited area is artificially delimited, usually a slightly larger area is delimited around the obstacle with height restrictions. Therefore, there will be a certain redundant space near the edge of the height-limited area. That is to say, when the latent robot reaches the edge of the height-limited area, it will not collide with the obstacle. Therefore, it is not necessary to use the topological point before the height-limited area as the truncation position.

[0119] As Figure 4 shown, the intersection positions of the height-limited area and each topological path in the working scenario include P1 between topological point A and topological point B, and P2 between topological point C and topological point D. The overall path of the latent robot includes the path from topological point A to topological point B. Then the intersection position of the height-limited area and the overall path is P1. In this way, the truncation position can be determined in the path from topological point A to P1.

[0120] In the case where the height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, the truncation position can be the previous topological point of this goods placement position in the overall path; similarly, in the case where the height limit position is the goods picking position in the shelf, the truncation position can also be the previous topological point of this goods picking position in the overall path.

[0121] The next height limit position is located in the current locked path, that is, the distance between the stealth robot and the next height limit position is less than the length of the current locked path. At this time, the robot control system can determine whether the stealth robot currently meets the height requirement. If it meets the requirement, the stealth robot can continue to move according to the current locked path. When the stealth robot meets the height requirement at the current truncation position, before controlling the stealth robot to move according to the current locked path, if the stealth robot does not meet the height requirement when it moves to the current truncation position, the stealth robot can be controlled to stop moving until the stealth robot meets the height requirement.

[0122] It can be understood that determining the truncation position when it is detected that the next height limit position is located in the current locked path can timely control the stealth robot that does not meet the height requirement to stop moving before the height limit position, thus ensuring the safety of the stealth robot. And since the height of the actuator is adjusted when the distance between the stealth robot and the height limit position reaches the first distance threshold, the height requirement of the height limit position can finally be met at or before the truncation position.

[0123] In this embodiment, first, the stealth robot is controlled to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the stealth robot. During the movement of the stealth robot, if the distance between the current position of the stealth robot and the next height limit position reaches the first distance threshold and the stealth robot does not meet the height requirement of this height limit position, the stealth robot is controlled to adjust the height of its own actuator according to the height requirement, which can enable the stealth robot to adjust its height while moving. In addition, when the height limit position is located in the current locked path and the stealth robot currently does not meet the height requirement, the truncation position before the height limit position is determined from the current locked path, which can enable the stealth robot to stop moving before the height limit position when it does not meet the height requirement until the height of the stealth robot is adjusted to meet the height requirement, and then the stealth robot is continued to be controlled to move according to the current locked path, so that the stealth robot entering the height limit position can meet the height requirement. Therefore, the safety of the stealth robot can be improved through this solution.

[0124] Moreover, in this solution, when the distance between the current position of the stealth robot and the next height limit position reaches the first distance threshold, the stealth robot is controlled to adjust the height of the actuator, which can enable the stealth robot to adjust the height of the actuator during the movement. Therefore, while improving the safety of the stealth robot, this solution also takes into account the working efficiency of the stealth robot.

[0125] In an embodiment of the present application, when the next height limit position is the picking position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is the preset picking height; the preset picking height is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at this picking position.

[0126] For most cases, when the latent robot enters the picking position, the actuator gradually rises from a low position and does not exceed the height of the lower surface of the bin at the picking position. In this case, it is safe for the latent robot to enter the picking position. However, there are a few cases. For example, the latent robot goes to the picking position to pick up goods immediately after putting down goods at the goods placement position, and the height requirement at the goods placement position is higher than the restricted height indicated by the height requirement at the picking position. In this case, if the actuator lifts too high, it is very likely to collide with the bin at the picking position. Therefore, in this embodiment, a height value less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at this picking position is preset as the preset picking height in advance, so that before the latent robot reaches the picking position, the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is adjusted to the preset picking height, so that the latent robot can smoothly enter the picking position without collision.

[0127] The preset picking height can be flexibly adjusted according to the bin situation on site. For example, the robot control system can first obtain the height of the lower surface of the bin at this picking position, and then subtract a preset threshold from the height of the lower surface of the bin to obtain the preset picking height. The preset threshold can be set according to the specific scenario. In the case where the height of the lower surface of the bin cannot be obtained, the robot control system can also first obtain the height of the upper surface of the bin, and then subtract a preset threshold (for example, it can be defaulted to 10 cm) from the height of the upper surface of the bin to obtain the preset picking height.

[0128] Furthermore, the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the latent robot provided in this embodiment further includes the following steps:

[0129] Step B1, when it is detected that the latent robot reaches this picking position, control the latent robot to lift the actuator until the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is greater than the height of the lower surface of the bin at this picking position, so that the actuator can lift the goods at this picking position;

[0130] When a latent robot goes to a pickup location to pick up goods, it generally needs to first reach the pickup location and then lift the actuator in place to lift the goods from the storage bin. This actuator lifting action generally takes about 2 seconds. To improve the efficiency of the latent robot's pickup, a preset pickup height can be pre-issued when the latent robot is dispatched to the pickup location. The preset pickup height can be slightly lower than the height of the lower surface of the storage bin. For example, if the height of the lower surface of the storage bin cannot be obtained, the height of the upper surface of the storage bin can be reduced by 10 cm as the preset pickup height. In this way, the latent robot can adjust its height to the preset pickup height while moving. When lifting in place, it only needs to slightly lift the actuator until the overall height is greater than the height of the upper surface of the storage bin at the pickup location to complete the pickup. This can shorten the pickup time and improve work efficiency.

[0131] Step B2, after the latent robot lifts up the goods at the picking position, control the latent robot to move while keeping the height of the actuator unchanged, until the horizontal distance between the latent robot and the picking position reaches a second distance threshold, and then release the height hold; wherein the second distance threshold is determined based on the size of the latent robot and the warehouse length of the picking position.

[0132] It is understandable that after the latent robot picks up the goods at the picking position through the lifting actuator, the height of the actuator needs to be maintained, otherwise the lifted goods may collide with the upper edge or lower edge of the bin at the picking position.

[0133] In one implementation, the position of the latent robot can be the coordinates of the latent robot's geometric center. The second distance threshold can be half the sum of the latent robot's length and the bin length, plus a preset positioning error value. When the Manhattan distance between the latent robot's position and the pickup point's coordinates exceeds the second distance threshold, the robot control system can no longer maintain the latent robot's height constant, allowing the latent robot's actuator to adjust its height as needed.

[0134] In this embodiment, first, the pick-up height is preset to control the autonomous mobile robot to enter the pick-up position. The preset pick-up height is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at the pick-up position. Then, when the autonomous mobile robot reaches the pick-up position, the execution mechanism of the autonomous mobile robot is controlled to lift until the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the execution mechanism is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the pick-up position, so that the execution mechanism can lift the goods at the pick-up position. After that, the autonomous mobile robot is controlled to move while the height of the execution mechanism remains unchanged until the horizontal distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the pick-up position reaches the second distance threshold, and then the height holding is released. Through this embodiment, the autonomous mobile robot can safely pick up goods at the pick-up position and safely leave the pick-up position, that is, the safety of the pick-up process of the autonomous mobile robot is ensured.

[0135] Similarly, in an embodiment of the present application, when the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, the height requirement means that the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the execution mechanism is the preset goods placement height; the preset goods placement height is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the goods placement position.

[0136] When the execution mechanism of the autonomous mobile robot lifts the goods and enters the goods placement position, it is necessary to ensure that the height of the goods (i.e., the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the execution mechanism) is higher than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the goods placement position, otherwise the goods may collide with the shelf. Therefore, in this embodiment, a height value greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the goods placement position is set as the preset goods placement height for the goods placement position, so that before the autonomous mobile robot reaches the goods placement position, the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the execution mechanism is adjusted to the preset goods placement height, so that the autonomous mobile robot can smoothly enter the goods placement position without collision. In this case, the method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the autonomous mobile robot provided in this embodiment further includes:

[0137] When it is detected that the autonomous mobile robot reaches the goods placement position, the autonomous mobile robot is controlled to lower the execution mechanism until the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the execution mechanism is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at the goods placement position, so that the execution mechanism can place the lifted goods at the goods placement position.

[0138] Similar to the case of picking up goods, this process also takes more than 2 seconds. To improve the goods placement efficiency, the preset goods placement height can also be pre-issued during the movement of the AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) to the goods placement position, so that the AGV adjusts its height while moving. The preset goods placement height can be slightly higher than the upper surface height of the storage bin, and the specific height can be set according to the actual situation. Then, the robot control system can issue a height value lower than the lower surface height of the storage bin to the AGV (in the case where the lower surface height of the storage bin cannot be obtained, this height value can be the upper surface height of the storage bin minus 10 cm). In this way, the AGV only needs to slightly lower the actuator to complete the goods placement, thereby shortening the goods placement time and improving work efficiency.

[0139] In this embodiment, first, the AGV is controlled to enter the goods placement position according to the preset goods placement height. The preset goods placement height is greater than the upper surface height of the storage bin at the goods placement position. Then, when the AGV reaches this goods placement position, the AGV is controlled to lower the actuator until the overall height of the AGV and the actuator is less than the lower surface height of the storage bin at this goods placement position, so that the actuator places the lifted goods at this goods placement position. Through this embodiment, the AGV can safely place goods at the goods placement position, ensuring the safety of the goods placement process of the AGV.

[0140] In an embodiment of the present application, the method for adjusting the height of the actuator of the AGV provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes:

[0141] In the case where the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, if in the overall path, the distance between the AGV and this goods placement position is greater than the third distance threshold, and the actuator is not at the lowest height, then the AGV is controlled to lower the actuator to the lowest height; where the third distance threshold is not less than the first distance threshold.

[0142] The above-mentioned third distance threshold can be set according to experience and requirements, and this third distance threshold should not be less than the above-mentioned first distance threshold. For example, the third distance threshold can be the above-mentioned first distance threshold. It can be understood that after the AGV leaves the picking position, if the subsequent path does not pass through the height limit area and the distance to the goods placement position is far, the actuator can be adjusted to the lowest height it supports, thereby reducing the overall center of gravity of the AGV and reducing the risk of the AGV tipping over.

[0143] Since the height of the actuating mechanism may be adjusted to ensure safety in five situations: before the stealth robot enters the picking position, before it enters the placing position, before it enters the height-limited area, during the process of leaving the picking position, and during the carrying and walking after leaving the picking position. For each of the above situations, when the stealth robot meets the height requirements in that situation, it can be considered that the stealth robot is in the safety state corresponding to that situation. In an ideal state, the seamless switching of the stealth robot from one safety state to another should be achieved. For example, after the stealth robot leaves the picking position, it can first lower the actuating mechanism to the lowest height, then walk a certain distance. When the distance to the placing position reaches the first distance threshold, it starts to adjust the actuating mechanism, and when the stealth robot reaches the placing position, the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuating mechanism is just adjusted to the preset placing height. During this process, the stealth robot can first switch from the safety state corresponding to the process of leaving the picking position to the safety state corresponding to carrying and walking, and then switch to the safety state corresponding to entering the placing position.

[0144] However, this can only be achieved when the distance between the picking position and the placing position is relatively far, and the robot control system can obtain real-time information such as the moving speed of the stealth robot, the height of the actuating mechanism, and the adjustment speed of the actuating mechanism to calculate the accurate first distance threshold. If seamless switching cannot be achieved, then only by slightly sacrificing the safety of one safety state can the safety of another safety state with a higher risk factor be ensured. For example, the safety state corresponding to carrying and walking is S1, and entering the placing position is another safety state S2, and the risk factor of S2 is higher. The risk of S1 comes from the fact that if the height of the actuating mechanism is too high, it may cause the center of gravity to be too high, which may lead to the risk of the stealth robot tipping over. However, since the mass of the stealth robot itself is not small, this risk is relatively small. The risk of S2 comes from the fact that if the height of the actuating mechanism is too low, it is very likely that the goods lifted by the actuating mechanism will collide with the shelf. Therefore, when seamless switching cannot be achieved, for example, when real-time information such as the moving speed of the stealth robot, the height of the actuating mechanism, and the adjustment speed of the actuating mechanism cannot be obtained, the safety state S2 should be given priority. The third distance threshold and the first distance threshold can be set slightly larger in advance, so that the stealth robot can switch to the safety state S2 in time, that is, adjust the height of the actuating mechanism in time so that the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuating mechanism is greater than the upper surface height of the storage position at the placing position. In addition, if the first distance threshold is set too small, it will cause the stealth robot to decelerate or even stop to adjust the height of the actuating mechanism. If the first distance threshold is set too large, it will cause the stealth robot to switch to another safety state in advance. Therefore, the first distance threshold that meets the on-site use requirements can be found through multiple adjustments.

[0145] In this embodiment, when the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, if the distance between the latent robot and the goods placement position in the overall path is greater than the third distance threshold and the actuator is not at the lowest height, the latent robot is controlled to lower the actuator to the lowest height; the third distance threshold is greater than the first distance threshold. Through this embodiment, the safety of the latent robot carrying goods and walking can be improved.

[0146] In an embodiment of the present application, considering that the moving speed of the latent robot may change during the moving process, and thus the first distance threshold may also need to change accordingly. Therefore, step A2 above, calculating the first distance threshold based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the latent robot, includes:

[0147] Step A21, calculating the product of the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the latent robot to obtain the current first distance threshold;

[0148] Step A22, when the current available distance has not reached the current first distance threshold, if the moving speed of the latent robot changes, return to execute the step of calculating the product of the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the latent robot to obtain the current first distance threshold.

[0149] It can be understood that when the current available distance reaches the current first distance threshold, the actuator is already in the height adjustment state. At this time, even if the moving speed of the latent robot changes, the previously calculated first distance threshold can still be used as the current first distance threshold. And if the moving speed of the latent robot changes when the current available distance has not reached the current first distance threshold, the product of the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the latent robot can be recalculated to obtain a new first distance threshold.

[0150] The above change in the moving speed may refer to the latent robot accelerating or decelerating. The robot control system can judge whether the current available distance reaches the current first distance threshold when the latent robot is in uniform motion again after accelerating or decelerating. The robot control system can also achieve the same purpose by judging whether the actuator is in the height adjustment state.

[0151] In this embodiment, first calculate the product of the adjusted duration obtained previously and the current moving speed of the latent robot to obtain the current first distance threshold; and in the case where the current distance to be utilized has not reached the current first distance threshold, if the moving speed of the latent robot changes, return to execute the step of calculating the product of the adjusted duration obtained and the current moving speed of the latent robot to obtain the current first distance threshold. In this way, the first distance threshold can be adjusted in real time according to the speed change of the latent robot, enabling the latent robot to achieve seamless switching in the case of speed change and improving the working efficiency of the latent robot.

[0152] In an embodiment of the present application, in the above step S301, before controlling the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot, the method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot further includes:

[0153] For each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, if the path intersects with the height-limited area and the direction represented by the path indicates entering the height-limited area, record the intersection position of the path and the height-limited area, and determine the path as the area entry path.

[0154] It can be understood that the path in this embodiment has a direction. For example, Figure 4 - Figure 5 the arrow in

[0155] In this embodiment, when the robot control system is started, the intersection positions of the height-limited area and each topological path can be calculated and recorded in advance, and the identifiers of each area entry path can be recorded. At the same time, for each area entry path, the coordinates of the intersection position of the area entry path and the height-limited area, as well as information such as the identifier and height requirement of the height-limited area, can be used as the attribute information of the area entry path and recorded together. In this way, the current distance to be utilized can be calculated through the following steps:

[0156] Step C1, in the case where the overall path includes an area entry path, determine the next area entry path in the overall path that is located after the current position of the latent robot, and obtain the intersection position of the next area entry path and the height-limited area recorded in advance as the position to be utilized;

[0157] Step C2, calculate the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the position to be utilized in the overall path as the distance to be utilized.

[0158] Since the intersection positions of the height-limited area and each topological path have been recorded in advance, and the area entry path has been determined, after generating the overall path of the latent robot, it can be first determined whether the overall path contains the area entry path. If it does, it can directly determine that the overall path passes through the height-limited area and directly obtain the intersection position of the area entry path and the height-limited area, without having to calculate the intersection position again, thereby reducing the occupation of computing resources in this embodiment and improving the computing speed.

[0159] Further, in step S301 above, before controlling the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot, the method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot further includes:

[0160] For each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, calculate and record the length of the path;

[0161] In this case, step C2 above, calculating the distance between the current position and the position to be utilized of the latent robot in the overall path as the distance to be utilized includes:

[0162] Step C21, determining each topological point between the current position and the position to be utilized of the latent robot in the overall path as the topological point to be utilized;

[0163] Step C22, obtaining the length of the path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points to be utilized recorded in advance as the length to be utilized;

[0164] Step C23, calculating the sum of the distance between the current position of the latent robot in the overall path and the next topological point to be utilized, the lengths to be utilized obtained, and the distance between the previous topological point to be utilized and the position to be utilized of the position to be utilized in the overall path, to obtain the distance to be utilized.

[0165] As Figure 5 shown, the overall path of the latent robot starts from the starting position A and successively passes through the topological points B, C, D, E, F, G. And there is an intersection position P1 with the height-limited area between the topological points D and E. Then the topological points B, C, D are the topological points to be utilized, and the lengths of |BC| and |CD| are the lengths to be utilized. The distance to be utilized is the sum of the lengths of the line segments |AB|, |BC|, |CD|, and |DP1|. The robot control system only needs to calculate the distance between the starting position A and the topological point B, and the distance between the topological point D and the intersection position P1, without having to calculate the lengths of the line segments |BC| and |CD|, thereby being able to quickly calculate the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height-limited position in the overall path and improving the performance of the robot control system.

[0166] In this embodiment, the intersection positions of the height-limited area and the paths formed by connecting each topological point are pre-calculated and recorded, as well as the lengths of the paths formed by connecting the topological points. Thus, when it is necessary to calculate the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height-limitation position in the overall path, these information can be directly obtained, without recalculating the intersection positions of the overall path and the height-limited area, and the lengths of the paths formed by connecting the topological points included in the overall path, thereby improving the execution efficiency of the embodiments of the present application.

[0167] In one embodiment, the overall process of the method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot can be as Figures 6 - 8 shown:

[0168] First, as Figure 6 shown, this embodiment can first execute step S601 to obtain the overall path and the locked path output by the planning module; S602, check whether the height-limited area is passed within a certain range along the overall path; where the certain range refers to the larger value between the length of the current locked path and the first distance threshold; if so, execute S603; if not, execute S610;

[0169] S603, compare whether the height of the execution mechanism meets the requirements of the height-limited area; that is, when the latent robot is carrying goods, the overall height of the latent robot, the execution mechanism and the loaded goods is not greater than the preset limit height; when the latent robot is not carrying goods, the overall height of the latent robot and the execution mechanism is not greater than the preset limit height. If not, execute S604 and S608; if so, execute S610.

[0170] S604, compare whether the distance between the latent robot and the entry point of the height-limited area reaches the first distance threshold; if so, execute S605; if not, execute S610.

[0171] S605, determine whether the latent robot has left the picking position; if not, execute S606 to issue the limit height of the picking position to the latent robot; if so, execute S607 to issue the limit height of the height-limited area to the latent robot. In this embodiment, issuing the height value to the latent robot means controlling the latent robot to adjust its own execution mechanism according to the height value.

[0172] S608, judge whether the distance between the latent robot and the entry point of the height-limited area is less than the length of the locked path; if not, no operation is performed, that is, there is no need to issue other height-adjustment instructions to the latent robot temporarily. If so, execute S609 to truncate the locked path outside the height-limited area, that is, determine the truncation position before the height-limited area from the current locked path.

[0173] S610 is controlled separately according to the tasks performed by the stealth robot.

[0174] As Figures 7 - 8 shown, after S610, S701 can be executed to determine whether the stealth robot has reached the picking position; if so, S702 is executed to send the height value of the picking position bin to the stealth robot, for example, sending the height value of the lower surface of the bin; if not, S703 is executed.

[0175] S703 determines whether the stealth robot has reached the goods placement position; if so, S704 is executed to send the preset goods placement height to the stealth robot; if not, S705 is executed.

[0176] S705 determines whether the stealth robot is on its way to the picking position; if so, S706 is executed; if not, S707 is executed.

[0177] S706 compares whether the height of the actuator meets the picking height requirement. Meeting the picking height requirement means that the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuator is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at the picking position. If so, S708 is executed to send the lowest height value to the stealth robot; if not, S709 and S710 are executed.

[0178] S709 determines whether the distance between the stealth robot and the picking position is less than the length of the locked path; if so, step S711 is executed to truncate the locked path to the previous topological point of the picking position; if not, no operation is performed.

[0179] S707 determines whether the stealth robot is on its way to the goods placement position; if so, S801 is executed; if not, the process ends.

[0180] S710 determines whether the distance between the stealth robot and the picking position reaches the first distance threshold; if so, S712 is executed to send the preset picking height to the stealth robot; if not, S708 is executed to send the lowest height value to the stealth robot, that is, to control the stealth robot to lower the actuator to the lowest height.

[0181] S801 compares whether the height of the actuator meets the height requirement of the goods placement position. Meeting the height requirement of the goods placement position means that the overall height of the stealth robot and the actuator is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the goods placement position. If so, S802 is executed to send the height value of the goods placement position bin to the stealth robot, that is, the height of the upper surface of the bin; if not, S803 and S804 are executed.

[0182] S803. Determine whether the distance between the stealth robot and the goods placement position is less than the length of the locked path. If so, execute S805 to truncate the locked path to the topological point before the goods placement position, that is, determine the truncation position before the goods placement position from the current locked path. If not, no operation is performed.

[0183] S804. Determine whether the distance between the stealth robot and the goods placement position reaches the first distance threshold. If so, execute S806. If not, execute S807 to send the lowest height value to the stealth robot, that is, control the stealth robot to lower the actuator to the lowest height.

[0184] S806. Determine whether the stealth robot has left the goods pickup position. If so, execute S808 to send the bin height value of the goods placement position to the stealth robot. If not, execute S809 to send the bin height value of the goods pickup position, that is, the upper surface height of the bin, to the stealth robot so that the stealth robot maintains the height until it leaves the goods pickup position.

[0185] In this embodiment, first, control the stealth robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the stealth robot. During the movement of the stealth robot, if the distance between the current position of the stealth robot and the next height limit position reaches the first distance threshold and the stealth robot does not meet the height requirement of the height limit position, then control the stealth robot to adjust the height of its own actuator according to the height requirement, which can enable the stealth robot to adjust the height while moving. In addition, when the height limit position is located in the current locked path and the stealth robot currently does not meet the height requirement, determine the truncation position before the height limit position from the current locked path, which can enable the stealth robot to stop moving before the height limit position when it does not meet the height requirement until the stealth robot adjusts the height to meet the height requirement, and then continue to control the stealth robot to move according to the current locked path, so that the stealth robot entering the height limit position can meet the height requirement. Therefore, the safety of the stealth robot can be improved through this solution.

[0186] Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application also provides an actuator height adjustment device for a stealth robot, as Figure 9 shown. The device includes:

[0187] The movement control module 901 is configured to control the movement of the latent robot according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot; wherein, the overall path is a topological path generated based on each preset topological point in the working scenario, from the starting position of the latent robot to the target position to be reached; the current locked path is the path between two specified topological points adjacent before and after the current position of the latent robot.

[0188] The height adjustment module 902 is configured to, during the movement of the latent robot, if the current available distance reaches the first distance threshold and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement of the next height limit position in the overall path, control the latent robot to adjust the height of its actuator according to the height requirement until the latent robot meets the height requirement; wherein, the current available distance represents the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height limit position in the overall path.

[0189] The truncation module 903 is configured to, during the movement of the latent robot, if the next height limit position is located in the current locked path and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement, determine the truncation position before the height limit position from the current locked path, and control the latent robot to move according to the current locked path when the latent robot meets the height requirement at the current truncation position.

[0190] Optionally, the device further includes: a stop control module, configured to, before the truncation module 903 controls the latent robot to move according to the current locked path when the latent robot meets the height requirement at the current truncation position, if the latent robot does not meet the height requirement when moving to the current truncation position, control the latent robot to stop moving until the latent robot meets the height requirement.

[0191] Optionally, in the case where the height limit position is a height-limited area, meeting the height requirement means that when the latent robot is carrying goods, the overall height of the latent robot, the actuator and the loaded goods is not greater than the preset limit height; when the latent robot is not carrying goods, the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is not greater than the preset limit height.

[0192] In the case where the height limit position is the picking position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is less than the lower surface height of the bin at the picking position.

[0193] When the height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at this goods placement position.

[0194] Optionally, when the next height limit position is the goods picking position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is the preset picking height; the preset picking height is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at this picking position; the device further includes:

[0195] A goods picking module, configured to control the latent robot to lift the actuator until the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at this picking position when it detects that the latent robot reaches this picking position, so that the actuator can lift the goods at this picking position;

[0196] A height holding module, configured to control the latent robot to move while keeping the height of the actuator unchanged after the latent robot lifts the goods at this picking position until the horizontal distance between the latent robot and the picking position reaches a second distance threshold, and then release the height holding; wherein, the second distance threshold is determined based on the size of the latent robot and the length of the bin at the picking position.

[0197] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0198] A height reduction module, configured to control the latent robot to lower the actuator to the lowest height if the distance between the latent robot and this goods placement position in the overall path is greater than a third distance threshold and the actuator is not at the lowest height when the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf; wherein, the third distance threshold is not less than the first distance threshold.

[0199] Optionally, when the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is the preset goods placement height; the preset goods placement height is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at this goods placement position; the device further includes:

[0200] A goods placement module, configured to control the latent robot to lower the actuator until the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at this goods placement position when it detects that the latent robot reaches the goods placement position, so that the actuator can place the lifted goods at this goods placement position.

[0201] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0202] An adjustment duration calculation module, configured to calculate an adjustment duration required for the stealth robot to adjust the height of the actuator to meet the height requirement based on the current height of the actuator and the height requirement of the next height limit position.

[0203] A first distance threshold calculation module, configured to calculate a first distance threshold based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the stealth robot.

[0204] Optionally, the first distance threshold calculation module is specifically configured to multiply the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the stealth robot to obtain the current first distance threshold; in the case where the current distance to be utilized does not reach the current first distance threshold, if the moving speed of the stealth robot changes, return to execute the step of multiplying the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the stealth robot to obtain the current first distance threshold.

[0205] Optionally, the device further includes: a first preprocessing module, configured to, before the movement control module 901 controls the stealth robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the stealth robot, for each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, if the path intersects with the height limit area and the direction represented by the path indicates entering the height limit area, record the intersection position of the path and the height limit area, and determine the path as an area entry path.

[0206] The device further includes:

[0207] A position to be utilized determination module, configured to, in the case where the overall path includes an area entry path for the height limit area, determine the next area entry path in the overall path that is located after the current position of the stealth robot, and obtain the intersection position of the next area entry path and the height limit area recorded in advance as the position to be utilized.

[0208] A distance to be utilized calculation module, configured to calculate the distance between the current position of the stealth robot and the position to be utilized in the overall path as the distance to be utilized.

[0209] The device further includes: a second preprocessing module, configured to, before the movement control module 901 controls the stealth robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the stealth robot, calculate and record the length of each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points.

[0210] The distance to be utilized calculation module includes:

[0211] The topological point to be utilized determination sub-module is used to determine each topological point between the current position of the latent robot and the position to be utilized in the overall path as the topological point to be utilized;

[0212] The length to be utilized acquisition sub-module is used to acquire the length of the path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points to be utilized recorded in advance as the length to be utilized;

[0213] The distance to be utilized calculation sub-module is used to calculate the sum of the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next topological point to be utilized in the overall path, the lengths to be utilized obtained, and the distance between the previous topological point to be utilized of the position to be utilized and the position to be utilized in the overall path, so as to obtain the distance to be utilized.

[0214] An embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, as Figure 10 shown, including:

[0215] A memory 1001 for storing a computer program;

[0216] A processor 1002, when executing the program stored on the memory 1001, implements the method for adjusting the height of the execution mechanism of the latent robot described in any one of the above.

[0217] And the above electronic device may further include a communication bus and / or a communication interface, and the processor 1002, the communication interface, and the memory 1001 complete communication with each other through the communication bus.

[0218] The communication bus mentioned in the above electronic device may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This communication bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of representation, only a thick line is used in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0219] The communication interface is used for communication between the above electronic device and other devices.

[0220] The memory may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), and may also include a Non-Volatile Memory (NVM), such as at least one disk memory. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one storage device located far from the aforementioned processor.

[0221] The above-mentioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, including a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), etc.; it may also be a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0222] In another embodiment provided by the present application, there is also provided a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above-mentioned execution mechanism height adjustment methods of the latent robot are implemented.

[0223] In another embodiment provided by the present application, there is also provided a computer program product containing instructions, which when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute any of the above-mentioned execution mechanism height adjustment methods of the latent robot in the embodiments.

[0224] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a Solid State Disk (SSD), etc.

[0225] It should be noted that in this text, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising an..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the said element.

[0226] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a related manner. For the same or similar parts among the embodiments, reference can be made to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the embodiments of the device, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium, since they are basically similar to the method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and reference can be made to the corresponding parts of the method embodiments for the relevant content.

[0227] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application are all included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for adjusting the height of the actuator of a stealth robot, characterized in that, The method includes: Controlling the movement of the latent robot according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot; wherein, the overall path is a topological path generated based on preset topological points in the working scenario, from the starting position of the latent robot to the target position to be reached; the current locked path is the path between two specified topological points adjacent to the current position of the latent robot; During the movement of the latent robot, if the current available distance reaches the first distance threshold and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement of the next height limit position in the overall path, controlling the latent robot to adjust the height of its actuator according to the height requirement until the latent robot meets the height requirement; wherein, the current available distance means the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height limit position in the overall path; During the movement of the latent robot, if the next height limit position is located in the current locked path and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement, determining a truncation position before the height limit position from the current locked path, and controlling the latent robot to move according to the current locked path when the latent robot meets the height requirement when located at the current truncation position.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Before controlling the latent robot to move according to the current locked path when the latent robot meets the height requirement when located at the current truncation position, the method further includes: If the latent robot does not meet the height requirement when moving to the current truncation position, controlling the latent robot to stop moving until the latent robot meets the height requirement.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the height limit position is a height limit area, meeting the height requirement means that when the latent robot is carrying goods, the overall height of the latent robot, the actuator and the loaded goods is not greater than the preset limit height; when the latent robot is not carrying goods, the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is not greater than the preset limit height; When the height limit position is a picking position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is less than the lower surface height of the bin at this picking position; When the height limit position is a goods placement position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is greater than the upper surface height of the bin at this goods placement position.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that When the next height limit position is a picking position in the shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is the preset picking height; The preset picking height is less than the lower surface height of the bin at this picking position; the method further includes: When it is detected that the autonomous mobile robot reaches the picking position, control the autonomous mobile robot to lift the actuator until the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the actuator is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the picking position, so that the actuator can lift the goods at the picking position; After the autonomous mobile robot lifts the goods at the picking position, control the autonomous mobile robot to move while keeping the height of the actuator unchanged until the horizontal distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the picking position reaches a second distance threshold, and then release the height keeping; wherein, the second distance threshold is determined based on the size of the autonomous mobile robot and the length of the bin at the picking position.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, if the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the goods placement position in the overall path is greater than a third distance threshold and the actuator is not at the lowest height, control the autonomous mobile robot to lower the actuator to the lowest height; wherein, the third distance threshold is not less than the first distance threshold.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that When the next height limit position is the goods placement position in the shelf, the height requirement means that the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the actuator is a preset goods placement height; the preset goods placement height is greater than the height of the upper surface of the bin at the goods placement position; The method further includes: When it is detected that the autonomous mobile robot reaches the goods placement position, control the autonomous mobile robot to lower the actuator until the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the actuator is less than the height of the lower surface of the bin at the goods placement position, so that the actuator can place the lifted goods at the goods placement position.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first distance threshold is calculated by the following method: Based on the current height of the actuator and the height requirement of the next height limit position, calculate the adjustment duration required for the autonomous mobile robot to adjust the height of the actuator to meet the height requirement; Based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot, calculate the first distance threshold.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The calculating the first distance threshold based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot includes: Multiply the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot to obtain the current first distance threshold; When the current available distance does not reach the current first distance threshold, if the moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot changes, return to execute the step of multiplying the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot to obtain the current first distance threshold.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein Before controlling the autonomous mobile robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the autonomous mobile robot, the method further includes: For each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, if the path intersects with the height-limited area and the direction represented by the path indicates entering the height-limited area, record the intersection position of the path and the height-limited area, and determine the path as the area entry path; The current distance to be utilized is calculated as follows: When the overall path includes the area entry path, determine the next area entry path in the overall path that is after the current position of the latent robot, and obtain the intersection position of this next area entry path and the height-limited area recorded in advance as the position to be utilized; Calculate the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the position to be utilized in the overall path as the distance to be utilized.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Before controlling the latent robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot, the method further includes: For each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, calculate and record the length of the path; Calculating the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the position to be utilized in the overall path as the distance to be utilized includes: Determine each topological point between the current position of the latent robot and the position to be utilized in the overall path as the topological point to be utilized; Obtain the length of the path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points to be utilized as the length to be utilized; Calculate the sum of the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next topological point to be utilized in the overall path, the lengths to be utilized obtained, and the distance between the previous topological point to be utilized and the position to be utilized in the overall path to obtain the distance to be utilized.

11. An actuator height adjustment device for a stealth robot, characterized in that, The device includes: A movement control module for controlling the movement of the latent robot according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot; wherein, the overall path is a topological path generated based on each preset topological point in the working scenario from the starting position of the latent robot to the target position to be reached; the current locked path is the path between two specified topological points adjacent to the current position of the latent robot; A height adjustment module for, during the movement of the latent robot, if the current distance to be utilized reaches the first distance threshold and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement of the next height-limited position in the overall path, controlling the latent robot to adjust the height of its execution mechanism according to the height requirement until the latent robot meets the height requirement; wherein, the current distance to be utilized represents the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next height-limited position in the overall path; A truncation module, configured to, during the movement of the latent robot, if the next height limit position is in the current locked path and the latent robot currently does not meet the height requirement, determine a truncation position before the height limit position from the current locked path, and control the movement of the latent robot along the current locked path when the latent robot meets the height requirement at the current truncation position.

12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that, The device further includes: a stop control module, configured to, before the truncation module controls the movement of the latent robot along the current locked path when the latent robot meets the height requirement at the current truncation position, if the latent robot does not meet the height requirement when moving to the current truncation position, control the latent robot to stop moving until the latent robot meets the height requirement. and / or In the case where the height limit position is a height limit area, meeting the height requirement means that: when the latent robot is loaded with goods, the overall height of the latent robot, the actuator and the loaded goods is not greater than a preset limit height; when the latent robot is not loaded with goods, the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is not greater than a preset limit height. In the case where the height limit position is a picking position in a shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is less than the lower surface height of the bin at the picking position. In the case where the height limit position is a goods placement position in a shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is greater than the upper surface height of the bin at the goods placement position. and / or In the case where the next height limit position is a picking position in a shelf, meeting the height requirement means that the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is a preset picking height; the preset picking height is less than the lower surface height of the bin at the picking position; the device further includes: A picking module, configured to, when detecting that the latent robot reaches the picking position, control the latent robot to lift the actuator until the overall height of the latent robot and the actuator is greater than the upper surface height of the bin at the picking position, so that the actuator can lift the goods at the picking position. A height holding module, configured to, after the latent robot lifts the goods at the picking position, control the latent robot to move while keeping the height of the actuator unchanged until the horizontal distance between the latent robot and the picking position reaches a second distance threshold, and then release the height holding; wherein, the second distance threshold is determined based on the size of the latent robot and the length of the bin at the picking position. and / or The device further includes: A height reduction module, configured to, when the next height limit position is a goods placement position in the shelf, if the distance between the autonomous mobile robot and the goods placement position in the overall path is greater than a third distance threshold and the actuator is not at the lowest height, control the autonomous mobile robot to lower the actuator to the lowest height; wherein the third distance threshold is not less than the first distance threshold; and / or When the next height limit position is a goods placement position in the shelf, the height requirement indicates that the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the actuator is a preset goods placement height; the preset goods placement height is greater than the upper surface height of the bin at the goods placement position; the apparatus further includes: A goods placement module, configured to, when detecting that the autonomous mobile robot reaches the goods placement position, control the autonomous mobile robot to lower the actuator until the overall height of the autonomous mobile robot and the actuator is less than the lower surface height of the bin at the goods placement position, so that the actuator places the lifted goods at the goods placement position; and / or The apparatus further includes: An adjustment duration calculation module, configured to calculate an adjustment duration required for the autonomous mobile robot to adjust the height of the actuator to meet the height requirement based on the current height of the actuator and the height requirement of the next height limit position; A first distance threshold calculation module, configured to calculate a first distance threshold based on the obtained adjustment duration and the current moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot; and / or The first distance threshold calculation module is specifically configured to multiply the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot to obtain the current first distance threshold; when the current distance to be utilized does not reach the current first distance threshold, if the moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot changes, return to execute the step of multiplying the obtained adjustment duration by the current moving speed of the autonomous mobile robot to obtain the current first distance threshold; and / or The apparatus further includes: a first preprocessing module, configured to, before the movement control module controls the autonomous mobile robot to move according to the current locked path in the overall path of the autonomous mobile robot, for each path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among the preset topological points, if the path intersects with the height limit area and the direction represented by the path indicates entering the height limit area, record the intersection position of the path and the height limit area, and determine the path as an area entry path; The apparatus further includes: A position to be utilized determination module, configured to, when the overall path includes an area entry path of the height limit area, determine the next area entry path after the current position of the autonomous mobile robot in the overall path, and obtain the intersection position of the next area entry path and the height limit area recorded in advance as the position to be utilized; A distance to be utilized calculation module, configured to calculate the distance between the current position of the autonomous mobile robot and the position to be utilized in the overall path as the distance to be utilized; and / or The device further includes: a second preprocessing module, configured to calculate and record the length of a path formed by connecting every two adjacent topological points among preset topological points before the movement control module controls the movement of the latent robot according to the current locked path in the overall path of the latent robot. The to-be-utilized distance calculation module includes: A to-be-utilized topological point determination sub-module, configured to determine each topological point between the current position of the latent robot and the to-be-utilized position in the overall path as a to-be-utilized topological point. A to-be-utilized length acquisition sub-module, configured to acquire the length of a path formed by connecting every two adjacent to-be-utilized topological points recorded in advance as the to-be-utilized length. A to-be-utilized distance calculation sub-module, configured to calculate the sum of the distance between the current position of the latent robot and the next to-be-utilized topological point in the overall path, each to-be-utilized length obtained, and the distance between the previous to-be-utilized topological point of the to-be-utilized position and the to-be-utilized position in the overall path, to obtain the to-be-utilized distance.

13. An electronic device, characterized in that, Comprising: A memory, configured to store a computer program. A processor, configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-10 when executing the program stored on the memory.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1-10 is implemented.

15. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that, When the computer program product runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-10.

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