Robot control system, control method and device and robot

Abstract

The invention provides a robot control system, a control method, a device and a robot, the system comprises a first processor and a plurality of second processors, the first processor issues control instructions to the plurality of second processors respectively, and responds to the received control instructions to control the plurality of second processors. The plurality of second processors synchronously send an image acquisition instruction to an image acquisition device, receive a to-be-processed image sent by the image acquisition device and send the to-be-processed image to the first processor, and the first processor receives and processes the to-be-transmitted image sent by the second processors. According to the scheme, the image acquisition instructions are synchronously sent to the second processors through the first processor, synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices (such as multiple cameras) is achieved, and alignment of the robot mechanical arm and the image data is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of artificial intelligence technology, and in particular to a robot control system, control method, device and robot. Background Technology

[0002] In robotic systems, cameras are typically installed on the robot's head, waist, wrists, and other parts to enable self-positioning or perform tasks. Currently, the main communication methods between cameras and processors are Universal Serial Bus (USB) or Ethernet. A key challenge is how to achieve simultaneous exposure and acquisition from multiple cameras, and then combine the data from these cameras at the same moment into a single image frame. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure provides a robot control system, control method, device, and robot to solve problems in related technologies.

[0004] A first aspect of this disclosure provides a robot control system, the system comprising: a first processor and a plurality of second processors;

[0005] The first processor issues control commands to the plurality of second processors respectively;

[0006] In response to the received control command, the plurality of second processors synchronously send image acquisition commands to the image acquisition device, receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, and send the image to be processed to the first processor;

[0007] The first processor receives and processes the image to be transmitted sent by the second processor.

[0008] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the second processor includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit;

[0009] In response to the control command, the first processing unit generates a pulse command and a data transmission interrupt command based on the control command, and sends the pulse command to the second processing unit;

[0010] In response to the received pulse command, the second processing unit synchronously sends the image acquisition command to the image acquisition device based on the pulse command.

[0011] In some embodiments of this disclosure,

[0012] In response to the image acquisition command sent by the first processor, the first processing unit sends the data transmission interrupt command to the second processing unit;

[0013] In response to the received data transmission interruption command, the second processing unit retrieves image slices of the image to be processed from the buffer and sends the image slices to the first processing unit; wherein the image to be processed is divided into multiple image slices, and each image slice contains identification information belonging to the same image to be processed;

[0014] The first processing unit receives and sends the image fragments of the image to be processed sent by the second processing unit to the first processor.

[0015] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first processor, in response to the received image segments of the image to be processed, merges the image segments according to the identification information belonging to the same image to be processed, to obtain the target image.

[0016] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first processor is further configured to merge multiple images to be processed sent by multiple image acquisition devices within the same control cycle to obtain a target image.

[0017] A second aspect of this disclosure provides a robot control method, the method comprising:

[0018] Control instructions are sent to multiple second processors in the same control cycle, and the control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices.

[0019] Receive multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command;

[0020] The multiple images to be processed are merged to obtain the target image.

[0021] In some embodiments of this disclosure, before receiving the plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command, the method includes:

[0022] A first transmission channel and a second transmission channel are created; wherein the first transmission channel is used to transmit image data, and the second transmission channel is used to transmit joint motion control data, and the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel have different frequencies;

[0023] The plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command received include:

[0024] The first transmission channel receives the multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command.

[0025] In some embodiments of this disclosure, receiving the plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command based on the first transmission channel includes:

[0026] Within the first transmission channel, the image slices are merged into a target image based on the first identification information of the image slices and the second identification information of the image to be processed.

[0027] In some embodiments of this disclosure, sending control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle includes:

[0028] Each of the plurality of second processors is controlled to switch its first processing unit to an operating mode;

[0029] The control command is sent to all first processing units within the same control cycle.

[0030] A third aspect of this disclosure provides a method for controlling a robot, the method comprising:

[0031] In response to the control command received from the first processor, an image acquisition command is synchronously sent to the image acquisition device;

[0032] The image to be processed is received from the image acquisition device and then sent to the first processor.

[0033] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the second processor includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit, and receiving control instructions sent by the first processor includes:

[0034] The first processing unit receives the control command and generates a pulse command and a data transmission interrupt command.

[0035] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the synchronous sending of image acquisition commands to the image acquisition device includes:

[0036] The pulse command is sent from the first processing unit to the second processing unit; the pulse command is synchronized with the exposure command, and the image acquisition command includes the exposure command.

[0037] In response to the received pulse command, the second processing unit synchronously sends the exposure command to the image acquisition device.

[0038] In some embodiments of this disclosure, after receiving the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, the method further includes:

[0039] The image to be processed is divided into multiple image segments according to the second identification information corresponding to the image to be processed, and each image segment contains the first identification information.

[0040] In some embodiments of this disclosure, sending the image to be processed to the first processor includes:

[0041] In response to receiving the data transmission interruption command sent by the first processing unit, the second processing unit acquires and sends the image slice to the first processing unit based on the data transmission interruption command.

[0042] The first processing unit sends the received image slices to the first processor.

[0043] In some embodiments of this disclosure, sending the image to be processed to the first processor includes:

[0044] The image to be processed is transmitted to the first processor via a first transmission channel created by the first processor.

[0045] A fourth aspect of this disclosure provides a control device for a robot, the device comprising:

[0046] The first sending unit is used to send control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle. The control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices.

[0047] The first receiving unit is used to receive multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command;

[0048] The processing unit is used to merge the multiple images to be processed to obtain the target image.

[0049] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus includes:

[0050] A creation unit is configured to create a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel before the receiving unit receives multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command; wherein the first transmission channel is used to transmit image data, the second transmission channel is used to transmit joint motion control data, and the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel have different frequencies;

[0051] The first receiving unit is further configured to receive the plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command based on the first transmission channel.

[0052] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first receiving unit includes:

[0053] The processing module merges the image segments into a target image within the first transmission channel, based on the first identification information of the image segments and the second identification information of the image to be processed.

[0054] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first transmitting unit includes:

[0055] A switching module is used to control the first processing unit among the plurality of second processors to switch to the operating mode respectively;

[0056] The sending module is used to send the control command to all second processing units within the same control cycle.

[0057] A fifth aspect of this disclosure provides a control device for a robot, the device comprising:

[0058] The second sending unit is used to synchronously send an image acquisition command to the image acquisition device in response to the control command sent by the first processor.

[0059] The second receiving unit is used to receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device;

[0060] The third sending unit is used to send the image to be processed to the first processor.

[0061] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus further includes: a second processor comprising a first processing unit and a second processing unit, a third receiving unit and a generating unit;

[0062] The third receiving unit is further configured to receive the control command based on the first processing unit;

[0063] The generation unit is used to generate pulse commands and data transmission interrupt commands.

[0064] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the second transmitting unit includes:

[0065] A first transmitting module is configured to send the pulse command to a second processing unit based on the first processing unit; the pulse command is synchronized with the exposure command, and the image acquisition command includes the exposure command.

[0066] The second transmitting module is used to transmit the exposure command to the image acquisition device synchronously by the second processing unit in response to the received pulse command.

[0067] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus further includes:

[0068] The segmentation unit is used to divide the image to be processed into multiple image segments according to the second identification information corresponding to the image to be processed after the second receiving unit receives the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device. Each image segment contains the first identification information.

[0069] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the third transmitting unit includes:

[0070] The processing module is configured to respond to receiving the data transmission interruption command sent by the first processing unit, and based on the data transmission interruption command, the second processing unit acquires and sends the image slice to the first processing unit.

[0071] The third sending module is used to send the received image slices to the first processor by the first processing unit.

[0072] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the third transmitting unit includes:

[0073] The fourth sending module is used to transmit the image to be processed to the first processor via the first transmission channel created by the first processor.

[0074] A sixth aspect of this disclosure provides an electronic device comprising: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the methods described in the second or third aspect of this disclosure.

[0075] A seventh aspect of this disclosure provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are used to cause a computer to perform the methods described in the second or third aspect of this disclosure.

[0076] An eighth aspect embodiment of this disclosure provides a robot, including: a first processor and a second processor;

[0077] The first processor includes the robot control device as described in the fourth aspect;

[0078] The second processor includes the robot control device as described in the fifth aspect.

[0079] In summary, according to the robot control system, control method, device, and robot proposed in this disclosure, the system includes: a first processor and multiple second processors. The first processor issues control commands to the multiple second processors respectively. In response to the received control commands, the multiple second processors synchronously send image acquisition commands to an image acquisition device and receive images to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, and send the images to be processed to the first processor. The first processor receives and processes the images to be transmitted sent by the second processors. The solution of this disclosure achieves synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices (such as multiple cameras) by having the first processor synchronously send image acquisition commands to multiple second processors, thereby achieving alignment between the robot arm and the image data.

[0080] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0081] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure, and are not intended to unduly limit this disclosure.

[0082] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a robot control system provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0083] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a robot provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0084] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of another robot control system provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0085] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of another robot control system provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0086] Figure 5 A flowchart of a robot control method is provided in this embodiment;

[0087] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating another robot control method provided in this disclosure embodiment;

[0088] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating another robot control method provided in this disclosure embodiment;

[0089] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating another robot control method provided in this disclosure embodiment;

[0090] Figure 9 A flowchart illustrating another robot control method provided in this disclosure embodiment;

[0091] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating another robot control method provided in this disclosure embodiment;

[0092] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating another robot control method provided in this disclosure embodiment;

[0093] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a robot control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0094] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another robot control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0095] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another robot control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0096] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another robot control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0097] Figure 16 A schematic diagram of the structure of a robot control system provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0098] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0099] Embodiments of this disclosure are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain this disclosure, and should not be construed as limiting this disclosure.

[0100] In robotic systems, cameras are typically installed on the robot's head, waist, wrists, and other parts to enable self-positioning or perform tasks. Currently, the main communication methods between cameras and processors are Universal Serial Bus (USB) or Ethernet. A key challenge is how to achieve simultaneous exposure and acquisition from multiple cameras, and then combine the data from these cameras at the same moment into a single image frame.

[0101] Therefore, in order to solve the problems existing in the related technologies, this disclosure proposes a robot control system. The system includes: a first processor and a plurality of second processors. The first processor sends control commands to the plurality of second processors respectively. In response to the received control commands, the plurality of second processors synchronously send image acquisition commands to an image acquisition device and receive an image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, and send the image to be processed to the first processor. The first processor receives and processes the image to be transmitted sent by the second processors.

[0102] The disclosed solution achieves synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices (such as multiple cameras) by having the first processor send image acquisition commands to multiple second processors simultaneously, thereby aligning the robot arm with the image data.

[0103] This disclosure is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of some embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, each step in a particular embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a particular embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily interchanged. Furthermore, the optional implementation methods in a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; moreover, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a particular embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0104] In each of the disclosed embodiments, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0105] The terminology used in the embodiments of this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0106] In this embodiment of the disclosure, unless otherwise stated, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "the," "this," etc., can mean "one and only one," or "one or more," "at least one," etc. For example, when using articles such as "a," "an," "the," etc. in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as either a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0107] In some embodiments, the terms “in response to…”, “in response to determining…”, “in the case of…”, “when…”, “if…”, “if…”, etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0108] In some embodiments, the terms “greater than,” “greater than or equal to,” “not less than,” “more than,” “more than or equal to,” “not less than,” “higher than,” “higher than or equal to,” “not lower than,” and “above” can be used interchangeably, as can the terms “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not greater than,” “less than,” “less than or equal to,” “not more than,” “lower than,” “lower than or equal to,” “not higher than,” and “below”.

[0109] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of this disclosure are only for distinguishing different descriptive objects and do not constitute restrictions on the position, order, priority, number or content of the descriptive objects. For the description of the descriptive objects, please refer to the description in the claims or the context of the embodiments. The use of prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions.

[0110] In the embodiments disclosed herein, "multiple" refers to two or more.

[0111] In the embodiments disclosed herein, terms such as “import”, “input”, and “read in” can be used interchangeably.

[0112] In some embodiments, devices, etc., can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. Terms such as “device”, “equipment”, “circuit”, “network element”, “node”, “function”, “unit”, “section”, “system”, “network”, “chip”, “chip system”, “entity”, and “subject” can be used interchangeably.

[0113] The first aspect of this disclosure provides a robot control system, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the system includes: a first processor 11 and a plurality of second processors 12;

[0114] The first processor 11 sends control commands to the plurality of second processors 12 respectively. When the first processor 11 responds to the task assignment to the robot or other task assignments in other scenarios, the first processor 11 responds to the task assignment and sends control commands to the plurality of second processors 12 respectively. In this embodiment of the present disclosure, when the first processor 11 sends control commands to the plurality of second processors 12, the control commands of all second processors 12 are in a synchronized state. Based on this, the synchronization when the second processor 12 triggers the acquisition of the image to be processed can be achieved, that is, all image acquisition devices (such as cameras) are exposed synchronously.

[0115] In response to the received control command, the plurality of second processors 12 synchronously send image acquisition commands to the image acquisition device 13, and receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device 13, and send the image to be processed to the first processor 11; after all the second processors 12 receive the control command sent by the first processor 11, they synchronously send image acquisition commands to the image acquisition device 13. Since the control commands of all the second processors are synchronous, and the image acquisition commands sent by the second processors to the image acquisition device 13 are also synchronous, synchronous acquisition by multiple cameras is achieved.

[0116] The first processor 11 receives and processes the image to be transmitted sent by the second processor.

[0117] To better understand the robot's operation process, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a robot provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. J1 and Jx are labeled as joint motors. One arm of the robot includes multiple joint motors, such as 5 joint motors, 8 joint motors, etc. Figure 2 The diagram simplifies the representation of the number of joint motors, but does not imply that the arm has only two joint motors; H indicates the robot's end effector, such as a dexterous hand; C indicates an image acquisition device (such as a camera). This embodiment does not limit the specific form of the image acquisition device or the number of cameras included in an image acquisition device.

[0118] In some embodiments, the joint motion control data and image data in this disclosure are transmitted via the Ethercat protocol, which can achieve high-precision time alignment of motion and image, and further improve the accuracy of positioning assistance.

[0119] Please continue reading Figure 3 Each joint motor contains a second processor 12. When the first processor 11 sends control commands to multiple second processors 12, it synchronously sends control commands to the second processors 12 located in the joint motor. The image acquisition command is sent to the image acquisition device 13 by any of the second processors 12, or by the second processor 12 located in the joint motor Jx (closest to the end effector). It should be noted that since the control commands of multiple second processors 12 are triggered synchronously, the synchronous triggering purpose can be achieved regardless of which second processor 12 in the joint motor triggers the image acquisition command of the image acquisition device 13.

[0120] In some embodiments, the EtherCAT protocol can be used to establish synchronization between control commands and image acquisition commands; or other implementation methods can be used to achieve synchronous exposure of the image acquisition device 13. This disclosure does not limit the specific implementation form of synchronous exposure.

[0121] like Figure 4 As shown, the second processor 12 includes a first processing unit 121 and a second processing unit 122;

[0122] In response to the control command, the first processing unit 121 generates a pulse command and a data transmission interrupt command based on the control command, and sends the pulse command to the second processing unit 122. In some embodiments, the first processing unit 121 may be an Ethercat slave chip, and the first processor 11 may be an Ethercat master chip. After the Ethercat master chip and the Ethercat slave chip establish synchronization, in response to the control command sent by the first processor 11 (Ethercat master chip), the first processing unit 121 (Ethercat slave chip) generates two signals: one signal is a pulse command (or a pulse signal SYNC signal), and the pulse commands of all Ethercat slave chips (first processing unit 121) are triggered synchronously; the other signal is a data transmission interrupt command (Interrupt Request, IRQ), which is an interrupt signal sent by the first processing unit 121 to the second processing unit 122 for data packet transmission and reception processing. Please continue reading. Figure 3 .

[0123] In response to the received pulse command, the second processing unit 122 synchronously sends the image acquisition command to the image acquisition device 13 based on the pulse command. In some embodiments, the image acquisition command includes an exposure signal. After receiving the pulse command SYNC signal, the second processing unit 122 synchronously triggers the sending of the exposure signal to the image acquisition device 13. This exposure signal is used to control the exposure of the image acquisition device 13 (camera). This exposure signal is synchronized with the SYNC signal. Since the SYNC signal of the first processing unit 121 (Ethercat slave chip) is synchronized, all image acquisition devices 13 (cameras) are exposed synchronously.

[0124] In some embodiments, in response to an image acquisition instruction sent by the first processor 11, the first processing unit 121 sends a data transmission interruption instruction to the second processing unit 122; the first processing unit 121 (such as an Ethercat slave chip) sends an image acquisition instruction to the first processing unit 121 according to a preset control cycle, and the first processing unit 121 sends a data transmission interruption instruction to the second processing unit 122 based on the image acquisition instruction.

[0125] In response to the received data transmission interruption command, the second processing unit 122 retrieves image slices of the image to be processed from the buffer and sends the image slices to the first processing unit 121; wherein the image to be processed is divided into multiple image slices, and each image slice contains identification information belonging to the same image to be processed;

[0126] In some embodiments, since the Ethercat protocol cannot directly send a whole frame of image, in order to transmit the image to be processed under the Ethercat framework, the image to be processed acquired by the image acquisition device 13 needs to be split, that is, the image to be processed is divided into multiple image segments. The image splitting process is executed by the second processing unit 122.

[0127] The first processing unit 121 receives and sends the image fragments of the image to be processed sent by the second processing unit 122 to the first processor 11. That is, the fragmentation of the data to be processed is completed in the Ethercat slave chip, and the merging or combination of the images to be processed is completed in the Ethercat master chip.

[0128] In some embodiments, the first processor 11, in response to the received image segments of the image to be processed, merges the image segments according to the identification information belonging to the same image to be processed, to obtain the target image. When the second processing unit 122 divides the image to be processed, each image segment is configured with different first identification information, and each image to be processed is configured with different second identification information. When the first processor 11 performs image merging, the merging of image segments can be achieved through the first identification information of the image segments and the second identification information of the images to be processed.

[0129] In some embodiments, in order to achieve higher precision in robot collaboration, the first processor 11 receives multiple images to be processed from multiple image acquisition devices within the same control cycle, and merges the multiple images to be processed within the same control cycle to obtain a target image, thereby achieving nanosecond-level alignment of the joint motion control data and image data of the robotic arm, which can further improve the precision of collaboration.

[0130] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a robot control method provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This method can be applied to intelligent robots and to a first processor within the robot; this disclosure does not limit its scope. Figure 5 As shown, the control method of the robot includes steps 101-103.

[0131] Step 101: Send control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle. The control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices.

[0132] Figure 5 The steps shown are applied to a first processor, which is illustrated using an Ethercat master chip as an example. However, this approach is not intended to limit the first processor to only Ethercat master chips.

[0133] Before execution, the first processor needs to be initialized, including the mapping of Process Data Objects (PDOs), which includes, but is not limited to, communication parameters and mapping parameters. For details on the implementation method of PDO mapping, please refer to the detailed description of the relevant technology. This disclosure will not elaborate further here.

[0134] The initialization process also includes: controlling the second processing unit to switch to the operation mode (OP mode in the Ethercat system), which can be used to control the robot; the initialization also includes: entering the control cycle, which can also be the control cycle of a pulse command, such as a control cycle of 1ms, 2ms, etc. The specific content of the control cycle and initialization is not limited in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0135] After initialization, the first processor sends control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle. The control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices to achieve synchronous exposure of all cameras.

[0136] Step 102: Receive multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command.

[0137] The number of images to be processed is related to the number of image acquisition devices. When there are 2 image acquisition devices and each image acquisition device has 1 camera, 2 images to be processed are acquired. When there are 2 image acquisition devices and each image acquisition device has 2 cameras, 4 images to be processed are acquired. Specifically, this embodiment does not limit the number of image acquisition devices and the number of cameras configured on each image acquisition device.

[0138] Step 103: Merge the multiple images to be processed to obtain the target image.

[0139] Images acquired by multiple image acquisition devices are integrated into a single target image, which is then sent to other applications for processing. In this embodiment, since the first processor sends control commands to all second processors operating in the same control cycle, the images to be processed are acquired synchronously based on these control commands. Therefore, the stitching time is also synchronized during the merging process.

[0140] In summary, the robot control method provided in this disclosure includes: sending control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle, wherein the control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices; receiving multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control instructions; and merging the multiple images to be processed to obtain a target image. The solution of this disclosure achieves synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices (such as multiple cameras) by having a first processor synchronously send image acquisition instructions to multiple second processors within the same cycle, thereby aligning the robot arm with the image data and merging the received multiple images to be processed to obtain the target image, thus improving the accuracy of applying the target image.

[0141] Figure 6 A flowchart of a robot control method proposed in this disclosure is further shown. Figure 6 This may include the following steps:

[0142] Step 201: Create a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel; wherein the first transmission channel is used to transmit image data, the second transmission channel is used to transmit joint motion control data, and the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel have different frequencies.

[0143] Since the amount of image data is greater than the amount of joint motion control data, in order to ensure synchronization during the transmission of image data and joint motion control data, this embodiment of the disclosure provides two transmission channels for transmitting joint motion control data and image data respectively. That is, a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel are created. The first transmission channel is used to transmit image data, and the second transmission channel is used to transmit joint motion control data. The first transmission channel and the second transmission channel have different frequencies.

[0144] In some embodiments, since the image data is large in volume, it needs to operate at a higher cycle frequency. Therefore, when creating the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel, the operating frequency of the first transmission channel can be set to be greater than that of the second transmission channel. The specific operating frequency can be set according to the actual data transmission requirements, and this embodiment does not limit it.

[0145] In this embodiment of the disclosure, Ethercat slave chips can operate in different control cycles depending on the requirements. Ethercat slave chips in the same control cycle belong to one transmission channel. Therefore, the number of first and second transmission channels created varies with the number of different control cycles. This embodiment of the disclosure does not limit the number of first and second transmission channels.

[0146] Step 202: Send control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle. The control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices.

[0147] Send control commands to all second processors within the same control cycle.

[0148] Step 203: Receive the plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command based on the first transmission channel.

[0149] Based on the first transmission channel created in step 201, the acquired multiple images to be processed are transmitted to the first processor.

[0150] The joint motion control data corresponding to the joint motors of each second processor under the same control cycle are transmitted via the second transmission channel. This embodiment of the disclosure synchronously acquires and transmits joint motion control data and image data.

[0151] Step 204: Merge the multiple images to be processed to obtain the target image.

[0152] When executing the receiving of the multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command based on the first transmission channel, the following methods can be used, but are not limited to: within the first transmission channel, merging the image slices into a target image based on the first identification information of the image slices and the second identification information of the images to be processed. The first transmission channel can be implemented through thread control. Within the first transmission channel, the transmission is the second processing unit dividing the image to be processed into multiple image slices. Each image slice contains the first identification information of the image to be processed, and each image to be processed contains corresponding second identification information. Within the first transmission channel, the target image can be obtained directly by merging the images based on the first identification information of the image slices and the second identification information of the images to be processed.

[0153] Figure 7 A flowchart of a robot control method proposed in this disclosure is further shown. Based on Figure 7 The illustrated embodiment further explains step 101. Figure 7 This may include the following steps:

[0154] Step 301: Control the first processing unit among the plurality of second processors to switch to the operation mode.

[0155] In some embodiments, the first processing unit (Ethercat slave chip) in the second processor includes a configuration mode, an operation mode, etc. It is necessary to ensure that the Ethercat slave chip is running in the operation mode in order to complete the control of the robot.

[0156] Step 302: Send the control command to all first processing units within the same control cycle.

[0157] For a description of step 302, please refer to the detailed description of the above embodiments, and therefore it will not be repeated here.

[0158] This disclosure also provides a robot control method, wherein the method is applied to a second processor within the robot, such as... Figure 8 As shown, it includes:

[0159] Step 401: In response to the control command received from the first processor, an image acquisition command is synchronously sent to the image acquisition device.

[0160] Please continue reading Figure 4 After receiving the control command sent by the first processor, the second processor synchronously sends an image acquisition command to the image acquisition device. All second processors that receive the control command synchronously execute the method described in this embodiment of the present disclosure. This embodiment of the present disclosure uses one of the second processors as an example for illustration. However, it should be clear that this method of illustration is not intended to limit there to only one second processor.

[0161] Since the control commands sent by the first processor are synchronous, and the image acquisition commands sent by the second processor to the image acquisition device are also synchronous, synchronous acquisition by multiple cameras is achieved.

[0162] Step 402: Receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, and send the image to be processed to the first processor.

[0163] In summary, the robot control method provided in this disclosure includes: responding to a control command sent by a first processor, synchronously sending an image acquisition command to an image acquisition device, receiving an image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, and sending the image to be processed to the first processor. This disclosure's solution achieves synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices (such as multiple cameras) by having the first processor synchronously send control commands to multiple second processors within the same cycle, and the second processors synchronously send image acquisition commands to the image acquisition devices. This aligns the robot arm with the image data, and merges the received multiple images to be processed to obtain a target image, improving the accuracy of applying the target image.

[0164] Figure 9 A flowchart of a robot control method proposed in this disclosure is further shown. Figure 9 This may include the following steps:

[0165] Step 501: The first processing unit receives the control command and generates a pulse command and a data transmission interrupt command; wherein the second processor includes the first processing unit and the second processing unit.

[0166] In response to the control command, the first processing unit (taking the Ethercat slave chip as an example) generates two signals. One signal is a pulse command (or a pulse signal SYNC signal), and the pulse commands of all Ethercat slave chips are triggered synchronously. The other signal is a data transmission interruption command (Interrupt Request, IRQ), which is an interrupt signal sent by the first processing unit to the second processing unit for data packet transmission and reception processing. The data transmission interruption command includes interruptions to image data and joint motion control data.

[0167] When controlling the robot, the first processing unit (taking the Ethercat slave chip as an example) needs to be initialized. Initialization includes, but is not limited to: Ethercat protocol stack parameters, initializing the image acquisition device (camera), setting the camera exposure mode to manual, creating an image buffer, etc.

[0168] Step 502: Simultaneously send an image acquisition command to the image acquisition device.

[0169] The first processing unit sends the generated pulse command to the second processing unit, and the second processing unit synchronously sends the image acquisition command to the image acquisition device based on the pulse command.

[0170] Step 503: Receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, and send the image to be processed to the first processor.

[0171] The second processing unit processes the received image, including but not limited to image processing, segmentation, compression, etc., and sends the processed image to the first processor.

[0172] Figure 10 A flowchart of a robot control method proposed in this disclosure is further shown. Based on Figure 10 The illustrated embodiment further explains step 502. Figure 10 This may include the following steps:

[0173] Step 601: The pulse command is sent from the first processing unit to the second processing unit; the pulse command is synchronized with the exposure command, and the image acquisition command includes the exposure command.

[0174] In some embodiments, the first processing unit may be an Ethercat slave chip, and the first processor 11 may be an Ethercat master chip. After the Ethercat master chip and the Ethercat slave chip establish synchronization, in response to the control command sent by the first processor (Ethercat master chip), the first processing unit 121 (Ethercat slave chip) generates two signals. One signal is a pulse command (or a pulse signal SYNC signal), and the pulse commands of all Ethercat slave chips (first processing unit 121) are triggered synchronously. The other signal is a data transmission interruption command (Interrupt Request, IRQ), which is an interrupt signal sent by the first processing unit to the second processing unit for data packet transmission and reception processing.

[0175] Step 602: In response to the received pulse command, the second processing unit synchronously sends the exposure command to the image acquisition device.

[0176] The image acquisition command includes an exposure signal. After the second processing unit receives the pulse command SYNC signal, it synchronously triggers the sending of the exposure signal to the image acquisition device. This exposure signal is used to control the exposure of the image acquisition device (camera). This exposure signal will be synchronized with the SYNC signal. Since the SYNC signal of the first processing unit (Ethercat slave chip) is synchronized, all image acquisition devices (cameras) are exposed synchronously.

[0177] Figure 11 A flowchart of a robot control method proposed in this disclosure is further shown. Figure 11 This may include the following steps:

[0178] Step 701: In response to the control command received from the first processor, an image acquisition command is synchronously sent to the image acquisition device;

[0179] Step 702: Receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device.

[0180] For a description of steps 501 to 502, please refer to the relevant description of the above embodiments.

[0181] Step 703: Divide the image to be processed into multiple image segments according to the second identification information corresponding to the image to be processed, and each image segment contains the first identification information.

[0182] To achieve the segmentation of the image to be processed, this embodiment of the present disclosure creates a buffer in the second processing unit. The buffer is configured as follows:

[0183] Define an M-bit group NUM to identify the number of slices in a frame of image;

[0184] Define an N-bit group ID to identify a slice of the image, and define the highest (N-1) bits as the last frame marker, with the remaining (N-1) bits used for slice numbering, starting from 0. This allows for the identification of up to 2 slices. (N-1) One fragment;

[0185] Several P-bit groups of pixels are defined for transmitting image data, and their number needs to be determined according to the specific situation; among them, the specific number of M and N is related to the resolution and frame rate, and P is related to the number of pixels. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0186] When dividing the image into multiple image segments, the SYNC pulse signal is counted. When the count reaches Q (related to the camera frame rate), the exposure command is triggered, and the image data enters the buffer area.

[0187] Step 704: In response to receiving the data transmission interruption command sent by the first processing unit, the second processing unit acquires and sends the image slice to the first processing unit based on the data transmission interruption command.

[0188] In response to a data transmission interruption command sent by the first processing unit, the second processing unit retrieves image slices from the buffer.

[0189] Each SYNC signal is received, which means one image fragment is retrieved from the buffer, until there are no more image fragments in the buffer.

[0190] Step 705: The first processing unit sends the received image slices to the first processor.

[0191] The first processing unit sends the received image fragments obtained from the buffer to the first processor.

[0192] In some embodiments, when sending the image to be processed to the first processor, the image to be processed is transmitted to the first processor via a first transmission channel created by the first processor. For a description of the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel, please refer to the detailed description of the above embodiments.

[0193] Corresponding to the robot control method described above, this invention also proposes a robot control device. Since the device embodiments of this invention correspond to the method embodiments described above, details not disclosed in the device embodiments can be referred to in the method embodiments described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0194] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a robot control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The robot control device includes:

[0195] The first sending unit 71 is used to send control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle. The control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices.

[0196] The first receiving unit 72 is used to receive multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command;

[0197] The processing unit 73 is used to merge the multiple images to be processed to obtain the target image.

[0198] Furthermore, in one possible implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure, such as Figure 13 As shown, the device includes:

[0199] The creation unit 74 is used to create a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel before the first receiving unit 72 receives the multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command; wherein, the first transmission channel is used to transmit image data, the second transmission channel is used to transmit joint data, and the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel have different frequencies;

[0200] The first receiving unit 72 is further configured to receive the plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command based on the first transmission channel.

[0201] Furthermore, in one possible implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure, such as Figure 13 As shown, the first receiving unit 72 includes:

[0202] The processing module 721 merges the image segments into a single frame of image to be processed within the first transmission channel, based on the first identification information of the image segments and the second identification information of the image to be processed.

[0203] Furthermore, in one possible implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure, such as Figure 13 As shown, the first transmitting unit 71 includes:

[0204] The switching module 711 is used to control the first processing unit among the plurality of second processors to switch to the operating mode respectively;

[0205] The sending module 712 is used to send the control command to all second processing units within the same control cycle.

[0206] This disclosure also provides a robot control device, such as... Figure 14 As shown, the device includes:

[0207] The second sending unit 81 is used to synchronously send an image acquisition command to the image acquisition device in response to the control command sent by the first processor.

[0208] The second receiving unit 82 is used to receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device;

[0209] The third sending unit 83 is used to send the image to be processed to the first processor.

[0210] Furthermore, in one possible implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure, such as Figure 15 As shown, the second processor includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit, and the device further includes a third receiving unit 84 and a generating unit 85;

[0211] The third receiving unit 84 is further configured to receive the control command based on the first processing unit;

[0212] The generation unit 85 is used to generate pulse commands and data transmission interrupt commands.

[0213] Furthermore, in one possible implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure, such as Figure 15 As shown, the second transmitting unit 81 includes:

[0214] The first sending module 811 is used to send the pulse command to the second processing unit based on the first processing unit; the pulse command is synchronized with the exposure command, and the image acquisition command includes the exposure command.

[0215] The second transmitting module 812 is used to transmit the exposure command to the image acquisition device synchronously by the second processing unit in response to the received pulse command.

[0216] Furthermore, in one possible implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure, such as Figure 15 As shown, the device further includes:

[0217] The segmentation unit 86 is used to divide the image to be processed into multiple image segments according to the second identification information corresponding to the image to be processed after the second receiving unit 82 receives the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device. Each image segment contains the first identification information.

[0218] Furthermore, in one possible implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure, such as Figure 15 As shown, the third transmitting unit 83 includes:

[0219] Processing module 831 is configured to, in response to receiving the data transmission interruption command sent by the first processing unit, acquire and send the image slice to the first processing unit based on the data transmission interruption command sent by the second processing unit;

[0220] The third sending module 832 is used to send the received image slices to the first processor by the first processing unit.

[0221] Furthermore, in one possible implementation of the embodiments of this disclosure, such as Figure 15 As shown, the third transmitting unit 83 includes:

[0222] The fourth sending module 833 is used to transmit the image to be processed to the first processor via the first transmission channel created by the first processor.

[0223] Since the apparatus provided in this embodiment corresponds to the methods provided in the above embodiments, the implementation of the methods is also applicable to the apparatus provided in this embodiment, and will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0224] This disclosure also provides a robot, such as Figure 16 As shown, it includes: a master station processor 91 and a slave station processor 92;

[0225] The main station processor 91 includes, for example: Figure 12 Or the control device of the robot shown in Figure 13;

[0226] The slave processor 92 includes, for example: Figure 14 or Figure 15 The control device of the robot shown.

[0227] The methods and apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application have been described above. To implement the functions of the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the electronic device may include a hardware structure and software modules, and may implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, software modules, or a hardware structure plus software modules. One of the above functions may be executed in the form of a hardware structure, software modules, or a hardware structure plus software modules.

[0228] Figure 17 This is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 1000 for implementing the control method of the robot described above, according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, the electronic device 1000 may be a mobile phone, computer, digital broadcasting terminal, messaging device, game console, tablet device, medical device, fitness equipment, personal digital assistant, etc.

[0229] Reference Figure 17The electronic device 1000 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 1002, a memory 1004, a power supply component 1006, a multimedia component 1008, an audio component 1010, an input / output (I / O) interface 1012, a sensor component 1014, and a communication component 1016.

[0230] Processing component 1002 typically controls the overall operation of electronic device 1000, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communication, camera operation, and recording operations. Processing component 1002 may include one or more processors 1020 to execute instructions to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described above. Furthermore, processing component 1002 may include one or more modules to facilitate interaction between processing component 1002 and other components. For example, processing component 1002 may include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between multimedia component 1008 and processing component 1002.

[0231] Memory 1004 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of electronic device 1000. Examples of this data include instructions for any application or method operating on electronic device 1000, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, etc. Memory 1004 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic storage, flash memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0232] Power supply component 1006 provides power to various components of electronic device 1000. Power supply component 1006 may include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power to electronic device 1000.

[0233] Multimedia component 1008 includes a screen that provides an output interface between electronic device 1000 and user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touchscreen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may sense not only the boundaries of touch or swipe actions but also the duration and pressure associated with the touch or swipe operation. In some embodiments, multimedia component 1008 includes a front-facing camera and / or a rear-facing camera. When electronic device 1000 is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or video mode, the front-facing camera and / or rear-facing camera may receive external multimedia data. Each front-facing camera and rear-facing camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have focal length and optical zoom capabilities.

[0234] Audio component 1010 is configured to output and / or input audio signals. For example, audio component 1010 includes a microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when electronic device 1000 is in an operating mode, such as call mode, recording mode, and voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in memory 1004 or transmitted via communication component 1016. In some embodiments, audio component 1010 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[0235] I / O interface 1012 provides an interface between processing component 1002 and peripheral interface modules, such as keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to, home buttons, volume buttons, power buttons, and lock buttons.

[0236] Sensor assembly 1014 includes one or more sensors for providing state assessments of various aspects of electronic device 1000. For example, sensor assembly 1014 may detect the on / off state of electronic device 1000, the relative positioning of components such as the display and keypad of electronic device 1000, changes in position of electronic device 1000 or a component of electronic device 1000, the presence or absence of user contact with electronic device 1000, the orientation or acceleration / deceleration of electronic device 1000, and temperature changes of electronic device 1000. Sensor assembly 1014 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. Sensor assembly 1014 may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, sensor assembly 1014 may also include an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, pressure sensor, or temperature sensor.

[0237] Communication component 1016 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between electronic device 1000 and other devices. Electronic device 1000 can access wireless networks based on communication standards, such as WiFi, 2G or 3G, 4G LTE, 5G NR (NewRadio), or combinations thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, communication component 1016 receives broadcast signals or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, communication component 1016 also includes a near-field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

[0238] In an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 1000 may be implemented by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components to perform the methods described above.

[0239] In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions is also provided, such as a memory 1004 including instructions, which can be executed by a processor 1020 of an electronic device 1000 to perform the above-described method for image processing. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, and optical data storage device, etc.

[0240] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are used to cause a computer to perform the methods described in the above embodiments of this disclosure.

[0241] Those skilled in the art will also understand that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps listed in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. Whether such functionality is implemented through hardware or software depends on the specific application and the overall system design requirements. Those skilled in the art can implement the functionality using various methods for each specific application, but such implementation should not be construed as exceeding the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application.

[0242] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this disclosure are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this disclosure described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

[0243] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0244] Any process or method description in the flowchart or otherwise herein can be understood as representing a module, segment, or portion of code comprising one or more executable instructions for implementing a particular logical function or process, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of the invention includes additional implementations in which functions may be performed not in the order shown or discussed, including substantially simultaneously or in reverse order depending on the functions involved, as will be understood by those skilled in the art to which embodiments of the invention pertain.

[0245] The logic and / or steps represented in the flowchart or otherwise described herein, for example, can be considered as a sequenced list of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, and can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device (such as a computer-based system, a system including a processing module, or other system that can fetch and execute instructions from, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device). For the purposes of this specification, "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transmit programs for use by, or in conjunction with, an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of computer-readable media include: an electrical connection having one or more wires (control method), a portable computer disk drive (magnetic device), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable and editable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), fiber optic device, and portable optical disc read-only memory (CDROM). Furthermore, computer-readable media can even be paper or other suitable media on which programs can be printed, because programs can be obtained electronically, for example, by optically scanning the paper or other media, followed by editing, interpreting, or otherwise processing as necessary, and then stored in computer memory.

[0246] It should be understood that various parts of the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, multiple steps or methods can be implemented in software or firmware stored in memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, it can be implemented using any one or a combination of the following techniques known in the art: discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing logical functions on data signals, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having suitable combinational logic gates, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[0247] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the methods in the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, the program includes one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiments.

[0248] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention can be integrated into a processing module, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into a module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. If the integrated module is implemented as a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium mentioned above can be a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk, etc.

[0249] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A robot control system, characterized in that, The system includes: a first processor and multiple second processors; The first processor issues control commands to the plurality of second processors respectively; In response to the received control command, the plurality of second processors synchronously send image acquisition commands to the image acquisition device, receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, and send the image to be processed to the first processor; The first processor receives and processes the image to be transmitted sent by the second processor.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second processor includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit; In response to the control command, the first processing unit generates a pulse command and a data transmission interrupt command based on the control command, and sends the pulse command to the second processing unit; In response to the received pulse command, the second processing unit synchronously sends the image acquisition command to the image acquisition device based on the pulse command.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that, In response to the image acquisition command sent by the first processor, the first processing unit sends the data transmission interrupt command to the second processing unit; In response to the received data transmission interruption command, the second processing unit retrieves image slices of the image to be processed from the buffer and sends the image slices to the first processing unit; wherein the image to be processed is divided into multiple image slices, and each image slice contains identification information belonging to the same image to be processed; The first processing unit receives and sends the image fragments of the image to be processed sent by the second processing unit to the first processor.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that, In response to the received image segments of the image to be processed, the first processor merges the image segments according to the identification information of the same image to be processed to obtain the target image.

5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first processor is also used to merge multiple images to be processed sent by multiple image acquisition devices within the same control cycle to obtain a target image.

6. A method for controlling a robot, characterized in that, The method includes: Control instructions are sent to multiple second processors in the same control cycle, and the control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices. Receive multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command; The multiple images to be processed are merged to obtain the target image.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Before receiving the multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command, the method includes: A first transmission channel and a second transmission channel are created; wherein the first transmission channel is used to transmit image data, and the second transmission channel is used to transmit joint motion control data, and the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel have different frequencies; The plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command received include: The first transmission channel receives the multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Receiving the plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command based on the first transmission channel includes: Within the first transmission channel, the image segments are merged into a target image based on the first identification information of the image segments and the second identification information of the image to be processed.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Sending control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle includes: Each of the plurality of second processors is controlled to switch its first processing unit to an operating mode; The control command is sent to all first processing units within the same control cycle.

10. A method for controlling a robot, characterized in that, The method includes: In response to the control command received from the first processor, an image acquisition command is synchronously sent to the image acquisition device; The image to be processed is received from the image acquisition device and then sent to the first processor.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The second processor includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit, and receives control instructions sent by the first processor, including: The first processing unit receives the control command and generates a pulse command and a data transmission interrupt command.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The synchronous sending of image acquisition commands to the image acquisition device includes: The pulse command is sent from the first processing unit to the second processing unit; the pulse command is synchronized with the exposure command, and the image acquisition command includes the exposure command. In response to the received pulse command, the second processing unit synchronously sends the exposure command to the image acquisition device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, After receiving the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device, the method further includes: The image to be processed is divided into multiple image segments according to the second identification information corresponding to the image to be processed, and each image segment contains the first identification information.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, Sending the image to be processed to the first processor includes: In response to receiving the data transmission interruption command sent by the first processing unit, the second processing unit acquires and sends the image slice to the first processing unit based on the data transmission interruption command. The first processing unit sends the received image slices to the first processor.

15. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, Sending the image to be processed to the first processor includes: The image to be processed is transmitted to the first processor via a first transmission channel created by the first processor.

16. A control device for a robot, characterized in that, The device includes: The first sending unit is used to send control instructions to multiple second processors according to the same control cycle. The control instructions are used to control the synchronous exposure of multiple image acquisition devices. The first receiving unit is used to receive multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command; The processing unit is used to merge the multiple images to be processed to obtain the target image.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that, The device includes: A creation unit is configured to create a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel before the receiving unit receives multiple images to be processed corresponding to the control command; wherein the first transmission channel is used to transmit image data, the second transmission channel is used to transmit joint motion control data, and the first transmission channel and the second transmission channel have different frequencies; The first receiving unit is further configured to receive the plurality of images to be processed corresponding to the control command based on the first transmission channel.

18. A control device for a robot, characterized in that, The device includes: The second sending unit is used to synchronously send an image acquisition command to the image acquisition device in response to the control command sent by the first processor. The second receiving unit is used to receive the image to be processed sent by the image acquisition device; The third sending unit is used to send the image to be processed to the first processor.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that, The device further includes: a third receiving unit and a generating unit; The third receiving unit is further configured to receive the control command based on the first processing unit; The generation unit is used to generate pulse commands and data transmission interrupt commands.

20. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that, The second transmitting unit includes: A first transmitting module is configured to send the pulse command to a second processing unit based on the first processing unit; the pulse command is synchronized with the exposure command, and the image acquisition command includes the exposure command. The second transmitting module is used to transmit the exposure command to the image acquisition device synchronously by the second processing unit in response to the received pulse command.

21. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that, The third transmitting unit includes: The fourth sending module is used to transmit the image to be processed to the first processor via the first transmission channel created by the first processor.

22. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor; as well as A memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein, The memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, which, when executed by the at least one processor, enables the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 6-9 and 10-15.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, characterized in that, The computer instructions are used to cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-7.

24. A robot, characterized in that, include: Master station processor and slave station processor; The main station processor includes the robot control device as described in any one of claims 16-17; The slave processor includes the control device for the robot as described in any one of claims 18-21.

Images