Bionic neck structure of simulated humanoid robot and implementation method of bionic neck structure

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of bionic robots, and provides a hollow bionic neck structure of a simulation humanoid robot and an implementation method thereof.The structure comprises a bionic neck assembly, and the bionic neck assembly is formed by sequentially connecting a plurality of vertebra bionic units in series through flexible connecting pieces; wherein the vertebra bionic unit imitates a human cervical vertebra structure, and the interior of the vertebra bionic unit is of a hollow structure; the outer side of the bionic neck assembly is sleeved with an epidermis bionic layer which is used for providing temperature and pressure touch feedback. A human cervical vertebra is simulated through the segmented vertebra bionic units and the flexible connecting pieces, multi-degree-of-freedom flexible movement is achieved, the rigidity feeling of driving of a traditional robot is overcome, the vertebra bionic units are integrally formed through light-weight materials, the internal hollow structural design is adopted, and the purpose of light-weight design of the bionic neck is achieved; and meanwhile, through temperature feedback and pressure feedback of the bionic neck, the naturalness and the sense of security of man-machine interaction are greatly improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of bionic robots, in particular to a bionic neck structure of a simulated humanoid robot and an implementation method thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of robot technology, simulated humanoid robots are increasingly widely used in the fields of service, medical treatment, education and entertainment. In order to improve the naturalness and affinity of human-computer interaction, higher requirements are put forward for the bionic reality of the appearance and touch of robots. As a key part connecting the head and the torso, the morphology and function of the neck directly affect the overall expressiveness and interactive experience of the robot.

[0003] In the prior art, the neck structure of the simulated robot mostly focuses on realizing basic movement functions, such as simple pitching and rotating, and the structure adopts rigid joints and simple link structures, which has problems such as stiff movement and poor freedom of movement, and it is difficult to simulate the smooth and soft movement posture of the human neck. On the other hand, in the prior art, the robot neck shell is usually made of hard plastic or silicone, only has a static shape, lacks real temperature and interactive feedback, so that the user has an ice-cold and stiff robot feeling when touching, and the interactive experience is poor. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a bionic neck structure of a simulated humanoid robot to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present application is as follows: A hollow bionic neck structure of a simulated humanoid robot, comprising a bionic neck assembly, the bionic neck assembly is sequentially connected by a plurality of vertebral bionic units through flexible connecting pieces; wherein the vertebral bionic unit imitates the structure of human cervical vertebrae, and the inside is a hollow structure; the outside of the bionic neck assembly is sleeved with a skin bionic layer for providing temperature and pressure touch feedback.

[0006] Preferably, the vertebral bionic unit is made of lightweight material and is integrally formed, and a through hole is arranged in the middle for the flexible connecting piece to pass through.

[0007] Preferably, the outer surface of the vertebral bionic unit is formed with a bionic curved surface imitating the surface arc of human cervical vertebrae.

[0008] Preferably, the flexible connecting piece is made of an elastomer.

[0009] Preferably, a heating assembly is arranged between the skin bionic layer and the bionic neck assembly, the heating assembly is uniformly distributed on the outer periphery of the bionic neck assembly, and is electrically connected with the central controller of the simulated humanoid robot.

[0010] Preferably, a flexible pressure sensor is embedded in the skin biomimetic layer, and the flexible pressure sensor communicates with the central controller of the humanoid robot.

[0011] The application also provides an implementation method of the biomimetic neck structure of the humanoid robot, including a temperature feedback method of the biomimetic neck, and the steps are as follows: (a) obtaining environmental temperature data and a contact signal (obtained based on a flexible pressure sensor) of an object interacting with the biomimetic neck structure; (b) based on the environmental temperature signal, generating a target heating temperature by the central controller, wherein the target heating temperature is set to be higher than the environmental temperature by a preset temperature difference, and the calculation formula of the target heating temperature T is as follows: T = T0 + ΔT, wherein T0 represents the environmental temperature data obtained by the temperature sensor, and ΔT is a preset biomimetic temperature constant (with a value range of 2℃ ~ 5℃, and the function is to simulate the physiological characteristics that the body surface temperature of human body is higher than the environmental temperature); (c) controlling the heating assembly to heat at the target heating temperature, so that the surface temperature of the skin biomimetic layer is dynamically maintained at the target heating temperature.

[0012] Preferably, the method further includes a pressure feedback method of the biomimetic neck, and the steps are as follows: (I) detecting, by a flexible pressure sensor embedded in the skin biomimetic layer, a pressure signal applied to different positions of the biomimetic neck assembly in real time; (II) comparing the pressure signal with a plurality of pressure thresholds pre-stored in the central controller, and the plurality of pressure thresholds are divided based on the biomechanical response of the human neck to different contact types; (III) identifying the current contact type according to the comparison result, wherein the contact type includes a plurality of contact types; (IV) triggering a biomimetic feedback action corresponding to the identified contact type, wherein the biomimetic feedback action includes a plurality of biomimetic feedback actions. Preferably, the contact type includes light touch, light touch, tight grip and strong tight grip.

[0013] Preferably, the biomimetic feedback action includes voice feedback, vibration feedback, warning feedback and avoidance movement.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the application has the following beneficial effects: (1) The application simulates human cervical vertebrae through segmented vertebral bionic units and flexible connecting pieces, realizes flexible motion of multiple degrees of freedom, overcomes the stiffness of traditional robots driven, and adopts lightweight material to integrally form the vertebral bionic unit and designs the internal hollow structure, so as to realize the lightweight design purpose of the bionic neck.

[0015] (2) In the application, the outer surface of the bionic neck assembly is sleeved with a skin bionic layer, the skin bionic layer is made of medical-grade silicone rubber material, the surface texture of the skin bionic layer is copied from the texture structure of human neck skin, and a heating assembly and a flexible pressure sensor are integrally arranged, so as to provide a realistic visual appearance and tactile feedback.

[0016] (3) The temperature feedback method of the bionic neck of the application introduces adaptive temperature control based on the environment temperature, obtains the target heating temperature by calculating the environment temperature and the bionic temperature sensing constant, so that the neck touch can intelligently adapt to different environments (such as cold air-conditioned room and warm indoor), and always provides a warm but not hot or cold touch that is more in line with biological intuition.

[0017] (4) The pressure feedback method of the bionic neck of the application introduces touch type recognition based on the pressure threshold and corresponding bionic feedback action, and makes intelligent feedback different from friendly touch and dangerous grip, greatly improving the naturalness and safety of human-computer interaction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Fig. 1 It is an external structure schematic diagram of the application.

[0019] Fig. 2 It is an internal structure schematic diagram of the application.

[0020] Fig. 3 It is an inside schematic diagram of the skin bionic layer in the application.

[0021] Fig. 4 It is a side section schematic diagram of the skin bionic layer in the application.

[0022] Fig. 5 It is a flowchart of the temperature feedback method of the bionic neck in the application.

[0023] Fig. 6 It is a flowchart of the pressure feedback method of the bionic neck in the application.

[0024] Wherein, the names of the parts corresponding to the reference signs are as follows: 1-vertebral bionic unit, 2-flexible connecting piece, 3-skin bionic layer, 4-heating assembly, 5-flexible pressure sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] To enable those skilled in the art to have a clearer understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described below are merely for illustrative purposes and to facilitate understanding. The technical solutions provided by the present invention are not limited to those provided in the following embodiments, nor should they limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] Example 1 like Figs. 1~4 As shown, this embodiment provides a bionic neck structure for a humanoid robot, which includes a bionic neck component composed of bionic vertebrae connected sequentially from top to bottom.

[0027] In this embodiment, the bionic neck component mimics the seven-segment structure of the human cervical spine, i.e., there are seven vertebral bionic units. The seven vertebral bionic units are connected in series by flexible connectors. The vertebral bionic units are preferably made of lightweight and high-strength carbon fiber or glass fiber through one-piece molding. Their outer surface is processed with a bionic curved surface that mimics the curvature of the surface of the cervical vertebrae, so that the cervical bionic segment can improve the load-bearing stability and fatigue resistance of the neck structure when bearing the weight of the head.

[0028] In a further optimized solution, the biomimetic surface is designed through surface optimization. The biomimetic surface optimization methods include the following: 1. Obtain CT or MRI scan data of a real human cervical vertebra, and establish an initial bionic curved surface model of a vertebra bionic unit according to the data; 2. Perform finite element analysis on the initial model to simulate its stress state under the target working conditions of the simulation humanoid robot, including standing still, bending and loading, and lateral torsion; 3. Set the optimization goal as: minimizing the mass of the cervical vertebra bionic segment under the premise of meeting the structural strength and stiffness requirements; set the constraint condition as: the maximum equivalent stress of the cervical vertebra bionic segment under the rated load does not exceed 50% of the yield strength of the lightweight material used, and the maximum deformation does not exceed the permitted value; and according to the results of the finite element analysis, the optimization goal and the constraint condition, optimize the initial curved surface model, remove the material in the low stress area, and form a topological optimization model with a bionic ribbed structure inside; wherein the optimization of the initial curved surface model adopts topology optimization, which is an existing method based on continuum mechanics and finite element analysis, and its core algorithms include variable density method, level set method, progressive structure optimization method, etc. In this embodiment, the topology optimization can adopt the variable density method, and the relative density is taken as the design variable, the minimum structural flexibility is taken as the objective function, and the software AltairOptiStruc (structure optimization solver) is used; 4. Perform surface fairing processing on the optimized initial curved surface model to ensure the continuous change of the surface curvature, and obtain a three-dimensional digital model, and the curved surface defined by the three-dimensional digital model is the optimized bionic curved surface; wherein the surface fairing processing adopts a non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surface reconstruction method to ensure that the geometric precision of the curved surface matches the manufacturing process requirements; 5. Perform finite element analysis on the three-dimensional digital model to verify the stress distribution uniformity, bearing performance and estimated fatigue resistance performance; if the verification result does not reach the predetermined index, return to step 3, adjust the parameters of the optimization goal or the constraint condition, and perform iterative optimization until the bionic curved surface structure that meets all performance requirements is obtained; wherein the verification of the estimated fatigue resistance performance is performed by obtaining the fatigue life cloud map of the model through finite element analysis, and the fatigue life cloud map is calculated and generated based on the S-N curve of the lightweight material and the stress distribution result of the model.

[0029] In this embodiment, the flexible connecting member adopts an elastic body, for example, a torsional spring, which allows a small relative rotation and bending between adjacent vertebra bionic units, thereby giving the cervical vertebra bionic segment the ability to realize the typical pitch and lateral flexion movements of the human neck, and the movement process is smooth, flexible and free of mechanical noise.

[0030] In order to further realize the lightweight design purpose, the interior of the vertebra bionic unit is in a hollow structure in this embodiment, that is, the vertebra bionic unit adopts a hollow structure design, and a through hole is arranged in the middle of the vertebra bionic unit to pass through the flexible connecting member, thereby realizing the connection between adjacent vertebra bionic units.

[0031] The upper end and the lower end of the flexible connecting piece pass through the upper end and the lower end of the bionic neck assembly respectively (i.e. the vertebral bionic unit at the upper end and the vertebral bionic unit at the lower end); the upper end of the flexible connecting piece is used to connect the head of the robot, and the lower end is used to connect the chest structure of the robot (e.g. the bionic spine at the chest of the robot).

[0032] In this embodiment, the outer surface of the bionic neck assembly is further sleeved with a skin bionic layer made of medical-grade silicone rubber material, which is soft in texture, has similar friction coefficient and elastic modulus to human skin, and provides an initial soft touch; further, the surface texture of the skin bionic layer imitates the texture structure of the human neck skin.

[0033] In order to provide active touch feedback, this embodiment is embedded with a grid-shaped heating assembly uniformly distributed between the skin bionic layer and the bionic neck assembly, preferably, the heating assembly is made of a heating film, which is arranged close to the inner side of the skin bionic layer and electrically connected with the central controller of the robot to accept its control; at the same time, a plurality of distributed flexible pressure sensors are embedded in the inside of the skin bionic layer, which are in communication connection with the central controller for real-time sensing of touch position and force.

[0034] Embodiment 2 As shown in Figs. 5~6 Based on the bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot provided in embodiment 1, this embodiment provides a temperature feedback method for the bionic neck, and the implementation process is as follows: First, the current environmental temperature is obtained by the temperature sensor arranged on the robot's torso or neck, and whether there is a touch interaction occurs is confirmed by the flexible pressure sensor; Then, the central controller calls the preset bionic temperature sensing constant, calculates the target heating temperature according to the formula, and the calculation formula is as follows: T = T0 + ΔT, wherein T0 represents the environmental temperature data obtained by the temperature sensor, and ΔT is the preset bionic temperature sensing constant (the value range is 2℃ ~ 5℃, and the role is to simulate the physiological characteristics that the body surface temperature of human body is higher than the environmental temperature), which makes the surface temperature of the robot's neck maintain at a certain temperature in a cold room, giving a warm feeling; while in room temperature, the surface temperature is close to the body surface temperature of human body, avoiding the feeling of overheating; Finally, the central controller issues an instruction to the heating assembly to work until the surface temperature of the skin bionic layer reaches and dynamically maintains at the target temperature.

[0035] Based on the above method, instead of simply heating the skin to a fixed temperature, the ambient temperature is introduced as a key input parameter, and the target heating temperature is obtained by calculating the ambient temperature and the bionic temperature sensing constant, so that the neck touch can intelligently adapt to different environments (such as cold air-conditioned rooms and warm indoor environments), and always provide a warm rather than "hot" or "cool" touch that is more in line with biological intuition.

[0036] The embodiment also provides a pressure feedback method for the bionic neck, which is implemented as follows: First, the flexible pressure sensor continuously detects pressure signals from different positions and transmits them to the central controller; Second, the central controller compares the characteristics of the received pressure signals with the pre-stored pressure threshold; the threshold can be an empirically set value, and preferably, the threshold is set based on biomechanical research, for example, the pressure threshold is divided into multiple levels: threshold A: pressure value < 10 kPa (corresponding to no contact or very light contact, ignored or considered as environmental noise); threshold B: 10 kPa≤pressure value<50 kPa (corresponding to light touch contact); threshold C: 50 kPa≤pressure value< 100 kPa (corresponding to light touch contact); threshold D: 100 kPa≤pressure value<200 kPa (corresponding to tight grip contact); threshold E: pressure value≥200 kPa (corresponding to strong tight grip or squeezing contact).

[0037] Third, according to the comparison result, the current contact type is identified, and the contact type includes various contact types, such as light touch contact, light touch contact, tight grip contact and strong tight grip contact, which are determined based on the amplitude, duration and distribution pattern of the pressure signal, as follows: light touch contact: short, low pressure contact, usually indicating friendly or exploratory touch; light touch contact: medium pressure, smooth movement contact, indicating soothing or intimate behavior; tight grip contact: higher pressure, locally concentrated contact, indicating control or warning behavior; strong tight grip: high pressure, continuous or rapidly increasing contact, indicating attack or emergency; the above-mentioned low pressure, medium pressure, higher pressure and high pressure are determined based on the pressure threshold.

[0038] Finally, trigger a bionic feedback action corresponding to the recognized contact type, the bionic feedback action including voice feedback, vibration feedback, warning feedback, and avoidance movement, etc.; for example: light touch contact: trigger a slight voice feedback, such as a low voice greeting (e.g. "hello"); light touch contact: trigger a friendly voice feedback, such as a relaxed sentence (e.g. "feeling very comfortable"), preferably, it can be accompanied by a slight relaxation movement of the robot's neck; tight grip contact: trigger a warning voice feedback (e.g. "please release"), and start an avoidance movement, such as the robot's head slowly turning to the opposite direction or the contraction of the robot's neck muscle simulation mechanism; strong grip: trigger an emergency avoidance movement, such as the robot's head quickly dodging, while issuing an alarm voice or sending an alarm to the background. In a further preferred embodiment, the feedback actions can be used in combination, for example, when the tight grip contact, first voice warning, and then avoidance movement; a delayed response or gradual reaction can also be introduced to enhance the authenticity.

[0039] Based on the above method, simple pressure sensing is avoided, the detected pressure signal is compared with a plurality of pressure thresholds, so as to identify the current contact type, and the robot's neck is endowed with the ability of tactile semantic understanding, distinguishing between friendly touch and threatening grip, and then triggering corresponding bionic feedback actions according to different contact types.

[0040] The above embodiments only exemplarily illustrate the principles and effects of the present application, and are not used to limit the present application. Any person skilled in the art can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes completed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical thought disclosed by the present application should be covered by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A hollowed bionic neck structure of an anthropomorphic robot, characterized in that: The bionic neck assembly is composed of a plurality of vertebral bionic units (1) connected in series by flexible connecting pieces (2); wherein the vertebral bionic unit (1) imitates the structure of human cervical vertebra, and has a hollow structure inside; the outside of the bionic neck assembly is sleeved with a skin bionic layer (3) for providing temperature and pressure touch feedback.

2. The hollowed bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vertebral bionic unit is made of lightweight material and integrally formed, and has a through hole in the middle for the flexible connecting piece to pass through.

3. The hollowed bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The outer surface of the vertebral bionic unit is formed with a bionic curved surface imitating the surface curvature of human cervical vertebra.

4. The bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The flexible connecting piece is made of an elastomer.

5. The hollowed bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that: A heating assembly (4) is arranged between the skin bionic layer (3) and the bionic neck assembly, and is uniformly distributed on the periphery of the bionic neck assembly and electrically connected with the central controller of the humanoid robot.

6. The bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: A flexible pressure sensor (5) is embedded in the skin bionic layer (3), and the flexible pressure sensor (5) communicates with the central controller of the humanoid robot.

7. A method for implementing a bionic neck structure of an anthropomorphic robot, characterized in that, The temperature feedback method of the bionic neck includes the following steps: (a) obtaining environmental temperature data and contact signals of an object interacting with the bionic neck structure; (b) based on the environmental temperature signal, the target heating temperature is calculated by the central controller, wherein the target heating temperature is set to be higher than the environmental temperature by a preset temperature difference, and the calculation formula of the target heating temperature T is as follows: T=T0+ΔT, wherein T0 represents the environmental temperature data obtained by the temperature sensor, and ΔT is a preset bionic temperature constant; (c) controlling the heating assembly to heat at the target heating temperature, so that the surface temperature of the skin bionic layer is dynamically maintained at the target heating temperature.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot is implemented by, The pressure feedback method of the bionic neck also includes the following steps: (I) the flexible pressure sensor embedded in the skin bionic layer is used to detect the pressure signals applied to different positions of the bionic neck assembly in real time; (II) compare the pressure signals with a plurality of pressure thresholds pre-stored in the central controller, and the plurality of pressure thresholds are divided based on the biomechanical response of human neck to different contact types; (III) according to the comparison result, the current contact type is identified, wherein the contact type includes a plurality of contact types; (IV) trigger the bionic feedback action corresponding to the identified contact type, wherein the bionic feedback action includes a plurality of bionic feedback actions.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot is implemented by, The contact types include light touch, light touch, tight grip and strong tight grip.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the bionic neck structure of the humanoid robot is implemented by, The bionic feedback action includes voice feedback, vibration feedback, warning feedback and avoidance movement.

Images