Robot control system and humanoid robot

Abstract

The application relates to a robot control system and a humanoid robot, and relates to the technical field of robots, and comprises a central controller and a plurality of domain controllers, a first domain controller arranged in a first region and / or a second domain controller arranged in a second region, each domain controller being connected with an end device arranged in a corresponding region; the first region is a neck region or a region above the neck of the robot, and the second region is a waist region or a region below the waist of the robot; the central controller is arranged between the first region and the second region, the central controller is connected with each domain controller, is used for sending a first control instruction to the domain controller, and receives summary data from the domain controller; the domain controller is used for receiving sensing data collected by the end device connected with the domain controller, uploading the processed sensing data to the central controller as the summary data, generating a second control instruction and issuing the second control instruction to the end device connected with the domain controller. The system can reduce the occupied volume in the narrow body space of the robot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of robotics technology, and in particular to a robot control system and a humanoid robot. Background Technology

[0002] In robots using related technologies, the controller typically includes boards such as a central control unit, a power management unit, and a communication unit. To shorten the communication wiring, the integrated controller is usually placed in the robot's chest and abdominal cavity. Sensors and controllers deployed throughout the robot's body all need to be connected to the controller, resulting in a large number of communication wirings in the robot's chest and abdominal cavity. However, this deployment method results in too many wirings passing through the robot's narrow torso space, leading to excessive volume occupied by the communication wirings in the robot's narrow torso space. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a robot control system and humanoid robot that can reduce the volume occupied in the robot's narrow body space.

[0004] In a first aspect, this application provides a robot control system, including a central controller and multiple domain controllers;

[0005] The plurality of domain controllers include: a first domain controller disposed in a first region and / or a second domain controller disposed in a second region, each of the domain controllers being connected to an end device disposed in the corresponding region; the first region is the neck or above region of the robot, and the second region is the waist or below region of the robot;

[0006] The central controller is located between the first region and the second region, and the central controller is connected to each of the domain controllers respectively.

[0007] The central controller is used to send first control commands to at least one of the domain controllers and to receive aggregated data from at least one of the domain controllers;

[0008] At least one of the domain controllers is configured to receive sensor data collected by the end devices connected thereto, and upload the processed sensor data as aggregated data to the central controller; and to receive a first control command from the central controller, generate a second control command, and send it to the end devices connected thereto.

[0009] The aforementioned robot control system includes a central controller and multiple domain controllers. The domain controllers include a first domain controller located in a first region and / or a second domain controller located in a second region. Each domain controller is connected to an end-effector located in its corresponding region. The first region is the robot's neck or above, and the second region is the robot's waist or below. The system acquires sensor data from the end-effector and sends second control commands to control it. The central controller is positioned between the first and second regions and is connected to each domain controller to directly acquire the preliminary processing data from each domain controller. The processed and aggregated data, along with the issuance of initial control commands to each domain controller, allows the central controller to directly connect to the end devices in the corresponding areas of the robot's body without having to pass through numerous communication cables through the narrow areas of the robot's neck and waist. This enables control of the robot's end devices, thereby reducing the number of cables passing through the narrow areas of the robot's neck and waist and improving the problem of excessive volume occupied by communication cables in the robot's confined space. Furthermore, delegating the control functions of the central controller to each domain controller, which are located in other areas of the robot's body, further reduces the burden on the central controller and the volume occupied by the area where the central controller is located.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the first domain controller is disposed in the head cavity of the robot and connected to an end device disposed in the head region of the robot; the second domain controller is disposed in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot and connected to an end device disposed in the lower limb region of the robot.

[0011] In this embodiment, the first domain controller is located in the head cavity, enabling direct information interaction with the end-effector located in the head. The second domain controller is located in the hip or leg cavity of the robot, enabling direct information interaction with the end-effector in the lower limb area of ​​the robot. This improves the coupling between the domain controller and the functional areas of the robot. Furthermore, the first and second domain controllers are connected to the end-effectors nearby, reducing the signal transmission distance and thus improving the response speed of the robot control system, reducing control lag, and further freeing up space in the area where the central controller is located.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the central controller is connected to the first domain controller and the second domain controller via a first signal line, the first domain controller is connected to an end device located in the robot's head region via a second signal line, and the second domain controller is connected to an end device located in the robot's lower limb region via a third signal line; the communication rate of the first signal line is greater than that of either the second signal line or the third signal line.

[0013] In this embodiment, the signal lines between the central controller and the first domain controller and the second domain controller are respectively set as the first signal lines, the signal lines between the first domain controller and the connected end devices are set as the second signal lines, and the signal lines between the second domain controller and the connected end devices are set as the third signal lines. The communication rates of the three types of signal lines are configured differently, thereby realizing the gradient and scenario-based allocation of communication resources.

[0014] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the plurality of domain controllers further includes a third domain controller; the third domain controller is connected to the second domain controller and also to an end-effector located in the lower limb region of the robot; the third domain controller is used to receive sensor data collected by the end-effector connected to it and upload the processed sensor data to the second domain controller.

[0015] In this embodiment, a third domain controller is introduced and cascaded below the second domain controller. The third domain controller is responsible for processing the sensor data collected by the various end devices densely distributed in the robot's lower limb area. This allows the third domain controller to be indirectly connected to the central controller through the second domain controller, further reducing the communication harness that runs through the robot's narrow torso to the area where the central controller is located, thereby further reducing the space occupied by the robot's narrow torso.

[0016] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the third domain controller is disposed in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot.

[0017] In this embodiment, the deployment location of the third domain controller is limited to the cavity of the robot's hip or leg, and it is deployed in the same cavity as the second domain controller. This realizes the spatial reuse of hardware resources. By integrating two domain controllers with similar functions, both facing the robot's lower limb area, into the same cavity, the functional integration within the unit cavity space is improved without increasing the robot's external volume.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the second domain controller is connected to the third domain controller via a first signal line; the third domain controller is connected to the end device disposed in the lower limb region of the robot via the first signal line.

[0019] In this embodiment, the third domain controller communicates with the second domain controller and the end effector in the lower limb region of the robot through a first signal line with a higher communication rate. This can meet the real-time requirements of sensor data, improve the transmission efficiency of sensor data, and further improve the response rate of subsequent control based on sensor data.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the end device includes a sensing device and a controlled device; at least one of the domain controllers is configured to receive sensing data collected by the sensing device connected thereto, and upload the processed sensing data as aggregated data to the central controller; and to receive a first control command from the central controller, generate a second control command for the controlled device connected thereto and issue it; and to monitor and control the power parameters of the end device connected thereto.

[0021] In this embodiment, the end devices include sensing devices and controlled devices. The domain controller can perform preliminary processing on the raw sensing data collected by the bed sensing devices and only upload the processed summary data to the central controller. This not only reduces the data transmission burden between the domain controller and the central controller but also reduces the processing burden of the central controller. At the same time, the second control command generated for the controlled devices enables the central controller to indirectly control the controlled devices. Furthermore, at least one domain controller has the function of monitoring and controlling the power parameters of the end devices. The power management function, which is centralized in the central controller, is pushed down to the domain level, constructing a distributed power management system. The domain controller can monitor the power consumption curves and power ripple of the end devices under its jurisdiction in real time. In case of abnormality, it can autonomously disconnect the faulty branch and report to the central controller, which can prevent the whole machine from being powered down due to a partial short circuit, thereby improving safety.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the central controller is also connected to a sensing device and a controlled device disposed in the upper limb region of the robot; the central controller is also configured to receive sensing data collected by the sensing device disposed in the upper limb region of the robot, and to issue a second control command to the controlled device disposed in the upper limb region.

[0023] In this embodiment, the sensing devices and controlled devices in the upper limb area are directly mounted to the central controller, which can shorten the communication path and improve the response rate of the end devices in the upper limb area. In addition, there is no need to set up an additional domain controller to control and manage the sensing devices and controlled devices in the upper limb area, which also improves the functional utilization of the central controller.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one embodiment, the central controller is connected to a sensing device disposed in the upper limb region of the robot via a first signal line, and the central controller is connected to a controlled device disposed in the upper limb region via a second signal line.

[0025] In this embodiment, a first signal line is used to connect the sensing device in the upper limb area to the central controller, and a second signal line is used to connect the controlled device in the upper limb area to the central controller, thus achieving physical isolation of signal types. In addition, using the first signal line with a higher communication rate to connect to the sensing device can meet the real-time requirements of sensing data, while using the second signal line with a slightly lower communication rate reduces costs while meeting the transmission requirements of the second control command.

[0026] Secondly, this application provides a humanoid robot, including the robot control system described in any of the above embodiments.

[0027] The aforementioned humanoid robot includes a robot control system. This system reduces the number of wires that pass through the narrow areas of the robot's neck and waist, thus improving the problem of excessive volume occupied by communication wires in the robot's confined space. Furthermore, by decentralizing the control functions of the central controller to various domain controllers located in other areas of the robot's body, the robot control system also reduces the burden on the central controller and the volume occupied by the area where the central controller is located. Attached Figure Description

[0028] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or related technologies, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of this application or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the robot system framework in related technologies;

[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure of the robot control system in the first embodiment;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure of the robot control system in the second embodiment;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure of the robot control system in the third embodiment;

[0033] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure of the robot control system framework in one embodiment;

[0034] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure of the robot control system in the fourth embodiment;

[0035] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of an optional communication principle for the robot control system in the fifth embodiment;

[0036] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of an optional structure of the robot control system in one embodiment;

[0037] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an optional internal structure of a computer device in one embodiment.

[0038] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0039] 100 - Central Controller, 200 - Domain Controller, 210 - First Domain Controller, 220 - Second Domain Controller, 230 - Third Domain Controller, 300 - End Device, 310 - Sensor Device, 320 - Controlled Device, 400 - First Signal Line, 500 - Second Signal Line, 600 - Third Signal Line. Detailed Implementation

[0040] To facilitate understanding of this application, a more complete description will be provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure of this application will be thorough and complete.

[0041] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

[0042] The terms "first," "second," etc., used herein may be used to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, a first resistor may be referred to as a second resistor, and similarly, a second resistor may be referred to as a first resistor. Both the first resistor and the second resistor are resistors, but they are not the same resistor.

[0043] It is understood that the term "connection" in the following embodiments should be understood as "electrical connection," "communication connection," etc., if the connected circuits, modules, units, etc., have electrical signal or data transmission with each other.

[0044] It is understandable that "at least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "At least a part of an element" refers to part or all of an element.

[0045] When used herein, the singular forms of “a,” “an,” and “the” may also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms “comprising / including” or “having,” etc., specify the presence of the stated features, wholes, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. Meanwhile, the term “and / or” as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of the associated listed items.

[0046] As described in the background section, robots in related technologies suffer from the problem of excessively large robot torsos. The inventors have discovered that this problem arises because of certain aspects of the robot's architecture, such as... Figure 1 The diagram illustrates a robot system framework in related technologies. This system architecture includes a central controller, multiple sensors (sensor 1, sensor 2, and sensor 3) deployed throughout the robot's body, and multiple controllers (controller 1, controller 2, and controller 3). The central controller integrates a central control unit, power management unit, communication unit, and other boards. To minimize communication wiring, the central controller is typically located in the robot's thoracic and abdominal cavities. All the sensors and controllers throughout the robot are connected to the central controller, resulting in a large amount of wiring occupying significant independent space in the robot's torso. This leads to humanoid robots designed with a robust, cuboid-like torso. Considering the flexibility of the robot's torso and the space it occupies, humanoid robots need to have an aesthetically pleasing and highly anthropomorphic appearance. As a result, the robot's torso cavity needs to be divided into multiple smaller cavities. At the same time, with the development of anthropomorphism in humanoid robots, the number of sensors used for human-like interaction will gradually increase. This will result in a wide variety of communication cables between different boards and between sensors and controllers being lengthened and running between different cavities. This will pose challenges to the reliability of the wiring harness, signal integrity, as well as the overall lightweight design and thermal management of the robot.

[0047] Based on the above reasons, this application provides a robot control system, including a central controller and multiple domain controllers. Each domain controller is positioned in a first region (neck or above) or a second region (waist or below) of the robot. Each domain controller is connected to the end-effector in its corresponding region to acquire sensor data from the end-effector and send second control commands to control it, thereby shortening the length of the communication cabling. The central controller is positioned between the first and second regions and is connected to each domain controller to directly acquire the pre-processed sensor data and send first control commands to each domain controller. This allows the central controller to control the end-effectors without directly connecting to them throughout the robot's body, reducing the cabling that runs through the robot's torso, especially in the region where the central controller is deployed, thus improving the problem of excessive robot torso size. Furthermore, delegating the control functions of the central controller to the domain controllers, which are located in other regions of the robot's torso, further reduces the burden on the central controller and the size of the region where it is located.

[0048] In one exemplary embodiment, such as Figure 2 As shown, a robot control system is provided, including a central controller 100 and multiple domain controllers 200;

[0049] Multiple domain controllers 200 include a first domain controller 210 located in a first region and / or a second domain controller 220 located in a second region, each domain controller 200 being connected to an end device 300 located in the corresponding region; a central controller 100 is located between the first region and the second region, and the central controller 100 is connected to each domain controller 200 respectively.

[0050] The central controller 100 is used to send a first control command to at least one domain controller 200 and receive summary data from at least one domain controller 200; the at least one domain controller 200 is used to receive sensor data collected by the end device 300 connected thereto, and upload the processed sensor data as summary data to the central controller 100; and to receive the first control command from the central controller 100, generate a second control command and send it to the end device 300 connected thereto.

[0051] The first region is the robot's neck or above, such as the neck cavity or head cavity of the robot's torso; the second region is the robot's waist or below, such as the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot.

[0052] For example, the central controller 100, as the main controller of the entire system, realizes overall control of the sensing, wireless communication, and actuator systems, including sensor data processing, artificial intelligence (AI) calculations, and task scheduling. In terms of hardware implementation, the central controller 100 and domain controller 200 can adopt industrial control computers, embedded industrial control motherboards, system-on-a-chip modules, or customized control boards based on high-performance microcontroller units (MCUs), integrating multiple communication interfaces to achieve communication connections with other modules, such as Ethernet interfaces, Controller Area Network (CAN) interfaces, Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART) interfaces, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) interfaces, and General-Purpose Input / Output (GPIO) interfaces. Furthermore, the central controller 100 can possess strong computing power, and its computing performance requirements are greater than those of the domain controller 200.

[0053] For example, in the robot control system, the domain controller 200 acts as a subordinate domain controller 200 of the central controller 100. It processes the status data and fault diagnosis of sensors located at the robot's end effectors and transmits the data to the central controller 100 via a communication bus. Conversely, the central controller 100 can also issue power management and operation control commands to the domain controller 200 via the communication bus to further control the robot's end effectors. The processing functions of the domain controller 200 may include, but are not limited to: protocol conversion, such as converting RS485 protocol to CAN protocol; data fusion, such as integrating data from multiple sensors, feature extraction, filtering and noise reduction, and fault diagnosis. Simultaneously, the domain controller 200 is also used to receive a first control command from the central controller 100, generate a second control command for a specific end device 300 based on the command, and issue it to the connected end device 300. The second control command can be in the same format as the original first control command, or it can be a converted command adapted to the interface protocol of the specific end device 300. At least one domain controller 200 may include only the first domain controller 210, so that the central controller 100 directly connects to and manages the end devices 300 located in the second area. Similarly, when at least one domain controller 200 includes only the second domain controller 220, the central controller 100 directly connects to and manages the end devices 300 located in the first area. When at least one domain controller 200 includes the first domain controller 210 and the second domain controller 220, the first domain controller 210 and the second domain controller 220 are respectively connected to the end devices 300 in their respective areas, and both the first domain controller 210 and the second domain controller 220 are connected to the central domain controller 200.

[0054] For example, the end device 300 includes at least a sensing device 310 with sensing data acquisition function, and the sensing data is used as the data basis for realizing the robot's actions and tasks.

[0055] The aforementioned robot control system includes a central controller 100 and multiple domain controllers 200. The domain controllers 200 include a first domain controller 210 located in a first region and / or a second domain controller 220 located in a second region. Each domain controller 200 is connected to an end-device 300 located in its corresponding region. The first region is the robot's neck or above, and the second region is the robot's waist or below. The system acquires sensor data from the end-device 300 and sends second control commands to control it. The central controller 100 is located between the first and second regions and is connected to each domain controller 200 to directly acquire data from each domain controller. The summary data after preliminary processing of the 200 pairs of sensor data and the issuance of the first control commands to each domain controller 200 enable the central controller 100 to control the robot's end devices 300 without directly connecting to them throughout the robot's body. This reduces the number of wires running through the robot's torso, especially in the area where the central controller 100 is deployed, thus improving the problem of excessive robot torso size. Furthermore, delegating the control functions of the central controller 100 to each domain controller 200, which are located in other areas of the robot torso, further reduces the burden on the central controller 100 and the size of the area where the central controller 100 is located.

[0056] In one exemplary embodiment, see further... Figure 2 The first domain controller 210 is located in the head cavity of the robot and is connected to the end device 300 located in the head region of the robot; the second domain controller 220 is located in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot and is connected to the end device 300 located in the lower limb region of the robot.

[0057] For example, the end-effector 300 in the head cavity of the robot, i.e., the head region, may include a light sensor (such as an ambient light sensor using the RS485 protocol), a light panel (such as a light panel using pulse width modulation control), a microphone array, a camera module, a speaker, etc. For example, the end-effector 300 in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot, i.e., the lower limb region, may include a proximity sensor, a pressure sensor (such as a plantar pressure sensor), a cooling fan, and a joint module (including a servo motor, a frameless torque motor, a harmonic reducer, an encoder, etc.).

[0058] For example, the device type, function, and other attributes of the first domain controller 210 and the second domain controller 220 may be the same. The first domain controller 210 is mainly responsible for the integration and preprocessing of the sensor data of the end device 300 in the robot's head area, and for controlling the end device 300 in response to the first control command of the controller. The second domain controller 200 is mainly responsible for the integration and preprocessing of the sensor data of the end device 300 in the robot's crotch cavity or leg cavity, and for controlling the end device 300 in response to the first control command of the controller. In addition, the connection interface between the first domain controller 210 and the second domain controller 220 and the central controller 100 may use a connector with expandable functions to facilitate maintenance and expansion of functional modules.

[0059] In this embodiment, the first domain controller 210 is disposed in the head cavity, and the first domain controller 210 can directly interact with the end device 300 disposed in the head. The second domain controller 220 is disposed in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot, and the second domain controller 220 can directly interact with the end device 300 in the lower limb area of ​​the robot. This improves the coupling between the domain controller 200 and the functional area of ​​the robot. The first domain controller 210 and the second domain controller are connected to the end device 300 nearby, which reduces the signal transmission distance, thereby improving the response speed of the robot control system, reducing the control lag, and further freeing up space in the area where the central controller 100 is located.

[0060] In one exemplary embodiment, such as Figure 3 As shown, the central controller 100 is connected to the first domain controller 210 and the second domain controller 220 via the first signal line 400.

[0061] The first domain controller 210 is connected to the end device 300 located in the head region of the robot via the second signal line 500, and the second domain controller 220 is connected to the end device 300 located in the lower limb region of the robot via the third signal line 600.

[0062] The communication rate of the first signal line 400 is greater than that of either the second signal line 500 or the third signal line 600.

[0063] For example, the first signal line 400 can use a high-speed communication bus, such as Gigabit Ethernet, using twisted-pair cable or optical fiber as the transmission medium, suitable for transmitting large amounts of data (such as video streams, point cloud data); CAN bus, suitable for control scenarios requiring the transmission of large data packets, high-speed serial interfaces, gigabit multimedia serial links, etc., suitable for high-bandwidth sensor data transmission such as cameras. The second signal line 500 and the third signal line 600 can use relatively low-speed communication protocols or signal types, such as RS485 bus: suitable for long-distance, multi-node differential signal transmission, commonly used in industrial sensor networks; UART: used to realize point-to-point asynchronous serial communication; multi-master-slave synchronous serial bus, commonly used for connecting onboard sensors and memory; SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface): full-duplex synchronous serial bus; PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal, commonly used for motor speed control, LED (Light Emitting Diode) brightness control, etc.

[0064] In this embodiment, the signal lines between the central controller 100 and the first domain controller 210 and the second domain controller 220 are respectively set as the first signal line 400, the signal lines between the first domain controller 210 and the connected end devices 300 are set as the second signal line 500, and the signal lines between the second domain controller 220 and the connected end devices 300 are set as the third signal line 600. The communication rates of the three types of signal lines are configured differently, realizing the gradient and scenario-based allocation of communication resources.

[0065] In one exemplary embodiment, such as Figure 4 As shown, the multiple domain controllers 200 also include a third domain controller 230; the third domain controller 230 is connected to the second domain controller 220 and also to the end device 300 located in the lower limb area of ​​the robot; the third domain controller 230 is used to receive the sensing data collected by the end device 300 connected to it and upload the processed sensing data to the second domain controller 220.

[0066] For example, both the third domain controller 230 and the second domain controller 220 are located in the robot's lower limb area. The third domain controller 230 is connected to the central controller 100 through the second domain controller 220, which reduces the number of communication cables directly connecting the third domain controller 230 and the central controller, thereby reducing the number of communication cables passing through the robot's waist. The second domain controller 220 and the third domain controller 230 undertake different functional divisions. For example, the second domain controller 220 can serve as the main domain controller 200 for the robot's lower limb area, responsible for communicating with the central controller 100 and managing the various components of the robot's lower limb area. The third domain controller 230 can serve as a sub-domain controller 200 for the robot's lower limb area, specifically responsible for the access and control of a certain part of the end devices 300.

[0067] For example, in terms of hardware implementation, the third domain controller 230 can adopt electronic devices similar to but with simplified functions as the second domain controller 220, such as a low-power, small-package MCU focused on specific task processing; a dedicated sensor hub chip specifically responsible for the acquisition and fusion of multi-channel sensor data; or simple logic circuits or complex programmable logic devices used to implement simple protocol conversion or IO (Input Output) expansion, etc.

[0068] In this embodiment, a third domain controller 230 is introduced and cascaded below the second domain controller 220. The third domain controller 230 is responsible for processing the sensor data collected by the various end devices 300 densely distributed in the lower limb area of ​​the robot. This allows the third domain controller 230 to be indirectly connected to the central controller 100 through the second domain controller 220, further reducing the communication harness that passes through the robot's narrow torso to the area where the central controller 100 is located, thereby further reducing the space occupied by the robot's narrow torso.

[0069] In one exemplary embodiment, see further... Figure 4 The third domain controller 230 is located in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot.

[0070] For example, the third domain controller 230 is disposed in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot. It can be arranged in the same cavity area as the second domain controller 220, or one can be deployed in the hip cavity and the other in the leg cavity, but both are deployed in the lower limb area of ​​the robot, so as to shorten the communication path and line length between the second domain controller 220 and the third domain controller 230, and also reduce the robot cavity space occupied by the communication harness.

[0071] In this embodiment, the deployment location of the third domain controller 230 is limited to the hip or leg cavity of the robot, and it is deployed in the same cavity as the second domain controller 220. This realizes the spatial reuse of hardware resources. By integrating two domain controllers 200 with similar functions, both facing the lower limb area of ​​the robot, into the same cavity, the functional integration within the unit cavity space is improved without increasing the external volume of the robot.

[0072] In one exemplary embodiment, see further... Figure 4 The second domain controller 220 is connected to the third domain controller 230 via the first signal line 400; the third domain controller 230 is connected to the end device 300 located in the lower limb area of ​​the robot via the first signal line 400.

[0073] For example, the second domain controller 220 is connected to the third domain controller 230 via the first signal line 400; the third domain controller 230 is connected to the end effector 300 located in the robot's lower limb area via the first signal line 400. The central controller 100 and the second domain controller 220, the second domain controller 220 and the third domain controller 230, and the third domain controller 230 and the end effector 300 can all use the same type of communication bus, namely the first signal line 400, such as a CAN bus.

[0074] For example, the third domain controller 230 serves as a downstream node of the second domain controller 220, and the two communicate via a CAN bus. The third domain controller 230 also communicates with the end devices 300 via a CAN bus, which can meet the timeliness and data volume requirements of sensor data feedback to the second domain controller 220. The third domain controller 230 packages the sensor data of multiple end devices 300 connected to it, such as multiple pressure sensors, temperature sensors, etc., and uploads them to the second domain controller 220 via a CAN bus according to the agreed communication protocol. Similarly, the third domain controller 230 can also receive the second control command forwarded from the second domain controller 220 via the same CAN bus, parse it, and send it to the corresponding end device 300.

[0075] For example, in the bus physical layer implementation of the first signal line 400, the CAN bus can use shielded twisted pair or unshielded twisted pair, and the terminal usually needs to be configured with a terminating resistor to match the impedance and suppress signal reflection.

[0076] In this embodiment, the third domain controller 230 communicates with the second domain controller 220 and the robot's lower limb end effector 300 via the first signal line 400, which has a higher communication rate. This can meet the real-time requirements of sensor data, improve the transmission efficiency of sensor data, and further improve the response rate of subsequent control based on sensor data.

[0077] In one exemplary embodiment, such as Figure 5 As shown, the terminal device 300 includes a sensing device 310 and a controlled device 320;

[0078] At least one domain controller 200 (corresponding) Figure 5 The domain controllers (1-n, where n is a positive integer) are used to receive sensor data collected by the connected sensor device 310 and upload the processed sensor data as summary data to the central controller 100; and to receive a first control command from the central controller 100, generate a second control command for the controlled device 320 connected to it and issue it; and are also used to monitor and control the power parameters of the end device 300 connected to it.

[0079] For example, the end device 300 includes a sensing device 310 and a controlled device 320. The sensing device 310 is used to collect information about the robot's own state or the external environment. It can convert the physical environment parameters around the robot into a communication protocol that the robot can understand. Different sensors typically use different communication protocols, such as RS485 and UART. Sensor types include, but are not limited to, pressure sensors, light sensors, proximity sensors, temperature sensors, Hall effect sensors, encoders, gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, microphones, cameras, lidar, and ultrasonic sensors. The controlled device 320 is used to receive the communication protocol from the domain controller 200 to control and execute specific actions or functions. Different controlled devices typically use different communication protocols, such as PWM and SPI. Controlled devices include, but are not limited to, joint modules (including motors, reducers, encoders, brakes, etc.), cooling fans, light panels, speakers, heaters, solenoid valves, and haptic feedback devices.

[0080] For example, at least one domain controller 200 is used to receive sensor data collected by the connected sensor device 310, process the data (such as filtering, fusion, protocol conversion, feature extraction, and anomaly detection), and then upload the processed sensor data as summary data to the central controller 100. Simultaneously, the domain controller 200 is also used to receive a first control command from the central controller 100, generate a second control command for the connected controlled device 320 based on the command, and issue it. For example, the second control command may include digital switch commands: such as turning on / off a cooling fan, turning on / off an LED; analog commands: such as setting the PWM duty cycle to adjust the motor speed or LED brightness; parameter configuration commands: such as setting the PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) control parameters of the joint module, setting the sensor sampling frequency; and motion control commands: such as joint position, speed, and torque control commands.

[0081] In addition, in some embodiments, the domain controller 200 is also used to monitor and control the power parameters of the end devices 300 connected to it; power management functions may include power enabling and disabling: controlling the power supply to a specific end device 300 by controlling the MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor) switch or the enable pin of the power management integrated circuit; monitoring of power parameters such as voltage and current: acquiring the voltage and current values ​​of the power supply line through an ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) to monitor the power consumption of the device in real time; overcurrent protection and overvoltage protection: automatically cutting off the power supply when the current or voltage exceeds the safety threshold to protect the safety of the device and the system; power fault diagnosis: diagnosing whether the end device 300 has a short circuit, open circuit, or aging fault based on abnormal changes in voltage and current.

[0082] For example, in a specific implementation, the domain controller 200 can implement the above power management functions through built-in functional modules such as ADC, comparator, and PWM generator, or it can be connected to an external dedicated power management chip or intelligent power switch.

[0083] In this embodiment, the end device 300 includes a sensing device 310 and a controlled device 320. The domain controller 200 can perform preliminary processing on the raw sensing data collected by the bed sensing device 310 and only upload the processed summary data to the central controller 100. This not only reduces the data transmission burden between the domain controller 200 and the central controller 100, but also reduces the processing burden of the central controller 100. At the same time, the second control command generated for the controlled device 320 also enables the central controller 100 to indirectly control the controlled device 320. Furthermore, at least one domain controller 200 has the function of monitoring and controlling the power parameters of the end device 300. The power management function, which is centralized in the central controller 100, is pushed down to the domain level, thus constructing a distributed power management system. The domain controller 200 can monitor the power consumption curve and power ripple of its subordinate end devices 300 in real time. In case of abnormality, it can autonomously disconnect the faulty branch and report to the central controller 100, which can prevent partial short circuits from causing the whole machine to lose power, thereby improving safety.

[0084] In one exemplary embodiment, such as Figure 6 As shown, the central controller 100 is also connected to the sensing device 310 and the controlled device 320 located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot; the central controller 100 is also used to receive the sensing data collected by the sensing device 310 located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot, and to issue a second control command to the controlled device 320 located in the upper limb area.

[0085] For example, the central controller 100 is also connected to the sensing device 310 and the controlled device 320 located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot. The upper limb area of ​​the robot includes parts such as the arm cavity and the hand cavity. The cavity space in the above parts is relatively small. Allowing the sensing device 310 and the controlled device 320 located in the above areas to be directly connected to the central sensor can reduce the space occupied in the upper limb area. The upper limb area of ​​the robot is usually located above the torso and is close to the thoracic and abdominal cavities where the central controller 100 is located. The wiring harness does not need to pass through excessively narrow cavities (such as the waist). Therefore, using a direct connection can simplify the system architecture and avoid the cost and complexity brought about by introducing an additional domain controller 200.

[0086] For example, the central controller 100 directly receives sensing data collected by sensing devices 310 located in the upper limb region, such as hand pressure sensors, proximity sensors, fingertip tactile sensors, and arm position sensors (e.g., encoders). Simultaneously, the central controller 100 also directly issues second control commands to the controlled devices 320 located in the upper limb region, such as commands to control hand joint module movements, wrist rotation, and end effectors (e.g., grippers, suction cups). In some embodiments, an additional domain controller 200 can be extended in the robot's upper limb region to connect to the end effectors 300 deployed in the upper limb region, serving as a subordinate device for central control.

[0087] In this embodiment, the sensing device 310 and the controlled device 320 in the upper limb area are directly mounted on the central controller 100, which can shorten the communication path and improve the response rate of the terminal device 300 in the upper limb area. In addition, there is no need to set up an additional domain controller 200 to control and manage the sensing device 310 and the controlled device 320 in the upper limb area, which also improves the functional utilization of the central controller 100.

[0088] In one exemplary embodiment, see further... Figure 6 The central controller 100 is connected to the sensing device 310 located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot via the first signal line 400, and the central controller 100 is connected to the controlled device 320 located in the upper limb area via the second signal line 500.

[0089] For example, the central controller 100 is connected to the sensing device 310 located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot via a first signal line 400, and to the controlled device 320 located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot via a second signal line 500. The first signal line 400 and the second signal line 500 are different types of communication lines. The communication rate of the first signal line 400 is greater than that of the second signal line 500 to meet the timeliness and data volume requirements of the sensing data. Using the second signal line 500 to connect the controlled device 320 reduces costs while still meeting the control requirements of the controlled device 320.

[0090] In this embodiment, a first signal line 400 is used to connect the sensing device 310 in the upper limb area to the central controller 100, and a second signal line 500 is used to connect the controlled device 320 in the upper limb area to the central controller 100, thus achieving physical isolation of signal types. In addition, using the first signal line 400 with a higher communication rate to connect to the sensing device 310 can meet the real-time requirements of sensing data, while using the second signal line 500 with a slightly lower communication rate reduces costs while meeting the transmission requirements of the second control command.

[0091] In one exemplary embodiment, a robot control method is provided, applied to, for example... Figure 7 The robot control system shown includes:

[0092] For example, Figure 7 The robot control system includes a central controller, a head domain controller, a lower limb domain controller, a contact domain controller, a head joint module, a lower limb joint module, at least two cooling fans, at least two lower limb proximity sensors, at least two lower limb pressure sensors, a light sensor, and a light panel. The central controller is located in the robot's main body cavity. The head domain controller is connected to the central controller and is located in the robot's head cavity. The lower limb domain controller is connected to the central controller and is located in the robot's lower limb cavity. The contact domain controller is connected to the central controller via the lower limb domain controller and is located in the robot's lower limb cavity. The head joint module is connected to the head domain controller. The controller is connected and installed in the robot's head cavity; the lower limb joint module is connected to the lower limb domain controller and installed in the robot's lower limb cavity; cooling fans 1 and 2 are connected to the lower limb domain controller and installed in the robot's lower limb cavity; lower limb proximity sensors 1 and 2 are respectively connected to the contact domain controller and installed in the robot's lower limb cavity; at least pressure sensors 1 and 2 are respectively connected to the contact domain controller and installed in the robot's lower limb cavity; a light sensor is connected to the head domain controller and installed in the robot's head cavity; and a light panel is connected to the head domain controller and installed in the robot's head cavity. Among these, such as... Figure 7 The system communication schematic diagram between the modules in the robot control system shown is as follows: Figure 8As shown, taking communication between controllers via CAN bus as an example, the head's light sensor (RS485 protocol) and lamp board (PWM control) integrate signals into the CAN protocol through the head domain controller; the lower limb's proximity sensor, pressure sensor (CAN protocol), and cooling fan (PWM control) integrate signals into the CAN protocol through the contact domain controller; the lower limb domain controller can integrate the power supply control lines of each lower limb joint module and the cooling fan (PWM control) into the CAN protocol; finally, the information from the three domain controllers communicates with the central controller through the same CAN bus; thus, only two CAN communication cables are needed for the head, torso, and lower limbs respectively; otherwise, without this distributed intelligent node architecture, dozens of sensors and controllers at the end would all be directly connected to the central controller. In this case, the number of wiring in narrow areas such as the neck and waist would be far more than two CAN cables, and because all interfaces of the entire device converge at the central controller, it would greatly increase the connector organization and the size of the PCB board. The specific requirements for the number of wiring harnesses are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1 provides the number of wiring harnesses required for the robot control system (taking wiring harnesses passing through the waist space as an example):

[0093] Table 1

[0094]

[0095] Table 2

[0096]

[0097] When the robot is in a navigation-free walking scenario, upon powering on, the central controller sends power enable signals to the domain controllers, sensors, and actuators via the communication bus and continuously monitors diagnostic messages. When the central controller receives a blind walking command from the cloud server or remote controller, and no fault codes are received from the sensors and actuators on the communication bus, the central controller's motion control algorithm module directly sends control commands to the joint modules via the communication bus to drive all motors in the lower limbs to perform walking movements. During walking, when the robot's feet touch the ground, the pressure sensors at the foot end report the pressure values ​​and other parameters to the lower limb domain controller via the communication bus. The domain controller then reports the sensor information from the left and right feet to the central controller via the communication bus for subsequent motion control, such as correction and adjustment. As walking continues, the joint modules generate heat, requiring the cooling fans to adjust their speed. When the lower limb domain controller receives a temperature threshold from each joint in the lower limbs, it controls the cooling fans to reach the appropriate speed for cooling. If the temperature rises further and reaches an alarm value, the lower limb domain controller sends an alarm to the central controller via the communication bus, and the central controller takes appropriate action.

[0098] In a proximity-sensing scenario: when an object approaches the robot's thigh or calf, it triggers a change in the state parameters of the proximity sensor, which then reports these parameters to the contact domain controller. The contact domain controller then packages the information from the foot pressure sensor and the proximity sensor parameters together and reports them to the central controller. The central controller receives the sensor information and processes it accordingly.

[0099] In this embodiment, an electrical architecture scheme that reduces the number of wire harnesses in the neck and waist of the humanoid robot is adopted, thereby reducing the number of wire harnesses and achieving overall lightweighting; reducing the number of wire harnesses optimizes the heat dissipation space of the whole machine; reducing the number of wire harnesses improves the overall reliability of the wire harnesses; adopting a domain controller scheme reduces the wire harness length of remote components and ensures signal integrity; and realizes the decomposition of the controller into parts, which facilitates the arrangement of irregular small cavities.

[0100] In one exemplary embodiment, this application provides a humanoid robot including the robot control system described in any of the above embodiments.

[0101] The aforementioned humanoid robot includes a robot control system. This system reduces the number of wires that pass through the narrow areas of the robot's neck and waist, thus improving the problem of excessive volume occupied by communication wires in the robot's confined space. Furthermore, by decentralizing the control functions of the central controller to various domain controllers located in other areas of the robot's body, the robot control system also reduces the burden on the central controller and the volume occupied by the area where the central controller is located.

[0102] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "some embodiments," "other embodiments," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative descriptions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples.

[0103] In one exemplary embodiment, a computer device is provided, which may be a central controller or a domain controller, and its internal structure diagram may be as follows: Figure 9As shown, this computer device includes a processor, memory, input / output (I / O) interfaces, and a communication interface. The processor, memory, and I / O interfaces are connected via a system bus, and the communication interface is also connected to the system bus via the I / O interfaces. The processor provides computational and control capabilities. The memory includes non-volatile storage media and internal memory. The non-volatile storage media stores the operating system, computer programs, and a database. The internal memory provides the environment for the operation of the operating system and computer programs stored in the non-volatile storage media. The database stores sensor data and control commands from the robot. The I / O interfaces are used for exchanging information between the processor and external devices. The communication interface is used for communication with external terminals via a network connection. When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements a robot control method.

[0104] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 9 The structure shown is merely a block diagram of a portion of the structure related to the present application and does not constitute a limitation on the computer device to which the present application is applied. Specific computer devices may include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements.

[0105] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes in the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. The computer program mentioned can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the computer program can include the processes of the embodiments of the above methods. Any references to memory, databases, or other media used in the embodiments provided in this application can include at least one of non-volatile memory and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetic random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), phase change memory (PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory, etc. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM can take many forms, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) or Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). The databases involved in the embodiments provided in this application may include at least one type of relational database and non-relational database. Non-relational databases may include, but are not limited to, blockchain-based distributed databases. The processors involved in the embodiments provided in this application may be general-purpose processors, central processing units, graphics processing units, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, quantum computing-based data processing logic devices, artificial intelligence (AI) processors, etc., and are not limited to these.

[0106] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this application.

[0107] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementation methods of this application, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of this patent application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A robot control system, characterized in that, Includes a central controller and multiple domain controllers; The plurality of domain controllers include: a first domain controller disposed in a first region and / or a second domain controller disposed in a second region, each of the domain controllers being connected to an end device disposed in the corresponding region; the first region is the neck or above region of the robot, and the second region is the waist or below region of the robot; The central controller is located between the first region and the second region, and the central controller is connected to each of the domain controllers respectively. The central controller is used to send first control commands to at least one of the domain controllers and to receive aggregated data from at least one of the domain controllers; At least one of the domain controllers is configured to receive sensor data collected by the end devices connected thereto, and upload the processed sensor data as aggregated data to the central controller; and to receive a first control command from the central controller, generate a second control command, and send it to the end devices connected thereto.

2. The robot control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first domain controller is disposed in the head cavity of the robot and connected to the end device disposed in the head region of the robot; The second domain controller is located in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot and is connected to the end device located in the lower limb area of ​​the robot.

3. The robot control system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The central controller is connected to the first domain controller and the second domain controller respectively via a first signal line. The first domain controller is connected to the end device located in the robot's head region via a second signal line, and the second domain controller is connected to the end device located in the robot's lower limb region via a third signal line. The communication rate of the first signal line is greater than that of either the second signal line or the third signal line.

4. The robot control system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The plurality of domain controllers also includes a third domain controller; The third domain controller is connected to the second domain controller and also to the end effector located in the lower limb region of the robot; The third domain controller is used to receive sensor data collected by the end devices connected to it, and upload the processed sensor data to the second domain controller.

5. The robot control system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The third domain controller is located in the hip cavity or leg cavity of the robot.

6. The robot control system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second domain controller is connected to the third domain controller via a first signal line; The third domain controller is connected to the end device located in the lower limb region of the robot via the first signal line.

7. The robot control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The terminal device includes sensing devices and controlled devices; At least one of the domain controllers is configured to receive sensing data collected by the sensing devices connected thereto, and upload the processed sensing data as aggregated data to the central controller; and to receive a first control command from the central controller, generate a second control command for the controlled devices connected thereto, and issue it. It is also used to monitor and control the power parameters of the end devices connected to it.

8. The robot control system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The central controller is also connected to sensing and controlled devices located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot. The central controller is also used to receive sensing data collected by the sensing device located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot, and to issue a second control command to the controlled device located in the upper limb area.

9. The robot control system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The central controller is connected to a sensing device located in the upper limb area of ​​the robot via a first signal line, and the central controller is connected to a controlled device located in the upper limb area via a second signal line.

10. A humanoid robot, characterized in that, The robot control system includes any one of claims 1 to 9.

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