Cooperative robot and robot cluster cooperative system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a collaborative robot and a robot cluster collaborative system. The collaborative robot comprises an advancing module; the advancing module comprises a first shell, an advancing mechanism arranged at the bottom of the first shell and an electromagnet arranged on the side wall of the first shell; wherein the advancing mechanism is used for walking on the ground. A plurality of cooperative robots can form a reconfigurable, extensible and high-reliability virtual-real fusion robot cluster cooperative system for verifying and optimizing the performance and feasibility of an intelligent decision algorithm, a cooperative control strategy and the like of intelligent cluster cooperation.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to a kind of robot technology, more specifically, a kind of collaborative robot and robot cluster collaborative system. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the industrial manufacturing, warehousing logistics, emergency rescue, service and other fields are involved in the application of robot cluster collaboration. Cluster collaborative robot system is essentially a complex system composed of a certain scale of robots, and the system complexity increases exponentially with the expansion of the number of individuals. Cluster collaborative robot system application has the characteristics of multiple tasks, multiple constraints, dynamic changes and uncertainty. Robot cluster collaboration requires complex system integration and debugging, and the equipment of cluster collaborative robot system often needs a large running space. The robot cluster collaboration scheme is verified by running with physical equipment, which has high running cost, low verification efficiency and poor safety.

[0003] Robot cluster collaboration needs to consider communication stability, path planning, algorithm scalability, energy efficiency, fault tolerance and system complexity. System complexity limits the implementation of robot cluster collaboration application, and the scale of equipment and space environment also limits the implementation of related teaching experiments. The existing cluster robot collaboration application verification often relies on software simulation. Due to the differences between simulation system model and real application system, there is a big difference between simulation results and actual application. The collaborative scheme obtained by simulation often cannot be implemented. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide a collaborative robot and robot cluster collaborative system that verifies and optimizes the feasibility and implementation efficiency of robot cluster collaborative scheme implementation through a variety of simulation running modes such as entity simulation and virtual simulation.

[0005] The collaborative robot comprises a traveling module.

[0006] The traveling module comprises a first shell, a traveling mechanism arranged at the bottom of the first shell, and an electromagnet arranged on the side wall of the first shell.

[0007] The traveling mechanism is used for walking on the ground.

[0008] In an illustrative embodiment, a plurality of electromagnets are provided, and the plurality of electromagnets are arranged on a plurality of side walls of the first shell, respectively.

[0009] In an illustrative embodiment, the traveling module further comprises a battery and a wireless charging module.

[0010] The wireless charging module is used for wirelessly charging the battery.

[0011] In an illustrative embodiment, the first shell has a hexahedron shape, the length of the first shell is 50-70mm, and the width of the first shell is 50-70mm.

[0012] In an illustrative embodiment, the control module further comprises a main control module;

[0013] The main control module comprises a second shell arranged on the top of the first shell, a main control board arranged in the second shell, and a display screen arranged on the second shell.

[0014] The circuit of the main control board is connected to the electromagnet, the traveling mechanism, and the display screen.

[0015] In an illustrative embodiment, the main control module further comprises a visual sensor and an ultrasonic radar.

[0016] The visual sensor is arranged on the side wall of the first shell or the second shell, and the ultrasonic radar is arranged on the side wall of the first shell or the second shell. The visual sensor is used to collect image information of the surrounding environment in real time, and the ultrasonic radar is used to identify obstacles in the traveling direction.

[0017] In an illustrative embodiment, the main control module further comprises three positioning lights, and the three positioning lights are respectively located on three corners of the display screen.

[0018] In an illustrative embodiment, the main control module further comprises a voice interaction module, and the voice interaction module is used for voice interaction with a person.

[0019] In an illustrative embodiment, the control module further comprises a lifting module.

[0020] The lifting module comprises a third shell arranged on the top of the second shell, and a lifting mechanism arranged on the third shell.

[0021] The lifting mechanism is used to lift and lower the height of the object, and the third shell is detachably connected to the second shell.

[0022] The application further provides a robot cluster comprising a plurality of collaborative robots as described above.

[0023] The collaborative robots can operate independently, and multiple collaborative robots can be combined into a larger robot as needed. When combined, the robots can be connected into a whole through magnetic attraction generated by electromagnets, and the magnetic attraction can tightly connect two adjacent collaborative robots together, so that the robot can withstand a large enough load without falling apart. The magnetic attraction between multiple collaborative robots is controllable, and multiple collaborative robots can be separated and combined as needed.

[0024] Multiple collaborative robots can form a reconfigurable, scalable, and highly reliable virtual-real fusion robot cluster collaborative system, which can be used to verify and optimize the performance and feasibility of intelligent cluster collaborative intelligent decision-making algorithms and collaborative control strategies.

[0025] Other features and advantages of the present application will be described in the following description, and some of them will become apparent from the description, or will be understood by practicing the present application. The purpose and other advantages of the present application can be achieved and obtained by the structure specifically pointed out in the description and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, and constitute a part of the specification, and are used to explain the technical solutions of the present application together with the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions of the present application.

[0027] Figure 1 A disassembly schematic view of a collaborative robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 2 A combination schematic view of multiple collaborative robots in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 3 Another combination schematic view of multiple collaborative robots in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4 A schematic view of a collaborative robot in an embodiment of the present application charging in a charging area;

[0031] Figure 5 An architecture diagram of a robot cluster collaborative system in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments and features in the embodiments in the present application can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1 the drawings,Figure 1 A collaborative robot 100 is shown in this embodiment. The collaborative robot 100 comprises a traveling module 1. The traveling module 1 comprises a first housing 11, a traveling mechanism 13 and an electromagnet 12. The first housing 11 can be a sheet metal structure or a plastic housing. The first housing 11 can be provided in a box-like structure. The traveling mechanism 13 and the electromagnet 12 are both arranged on the first housing 11.

[0034] The traveling mechanism 13 is used for walking on the ground. The traveling mechanism 13 is arranged on the bottom of the first housing 11. The traveling mechanism 13 comprises a chassis 131, two driving wheels 132, a universal wheel 133 and two driving motors. The chassis 131 covers the bottom end of the first housing 11. The chassis 131 is fixedly connected with the first housing 11, and the connection between the chassis 131 and the first housing 11 can be screw connection. The two driving wheels 132 are arranged on the chassis 131. The two driving wheels 132 can be coaxially arranged and separated from each other. The two driving motors are both arranged on the chassis 131. The two driving motors are respectively drivingly connected with the two driving wheels 132. The two driving motors can respectively drive the two driving wheels 132 to rotate. The universal wheel 133 is arranged on the chassis 131 and can freely rotate around a vertical axis. The two driving wheels 132 and the universal wheel 133 support the collaborative robot 100 on the ground. The two driving motors respectively driving the two driving wheels 132 can realize the forward movement, turning, backward movement, lateral movement, oblique movement and other movement modes of the collaborative robot 100. The type of the traveling mechanism 13 is not limited, and the traveling mechanism 13 can also be a track traveling mechanism 13, for example.

[0035] The electromagnet 12 is arranged on the side wall of the first housing 11. The side wall of the first housing 11 can be provided with a mounting hole, and the electromagnet 12 is embedded in the mounting hole. As shown in Figure 2 3 As shown in the drawings, after the electromagnets 12 of the two collaborative robots 100 are connected to the power supply, the magnetic attraction force can be generated between the electromagnets 12 of the two collaborative robots 100 to make the two collaborative robots 100 attracted together by the electromagnets 12, so as to realize the magnetic attraction connection between the two collaborative robots 100. After the electromagnets 12 of the two collaborative robots 100 are disconnected from the power supply, the magnetic attraction connection between the two collaborative robots 100 can be released.

[0036] In this way, the collaborative robot 100 can be operated alone, and multiple collaborative robots 100 can be combined into a larger robot as needed. When combined, the magnetic attraction force generated by the electromagnets 12 can be used to connect the multiple collaborative robots 100 into a whole. The magnetic attraction force can tightly connect the adjacent two collaborative robots 100 together, so that the robot can withstand a large enough load without being scattered. The magnetic attraction force between the multiple collaborative robots 100 is controllable, and the multiple collaborative robots 100 can be separated and combined as needed. ​

[0037] The plurality of collaborative robots 100 can form a reconfigurable, scalable, and highly reliable virtual-real fusion robot swarm collaborative system for verifying and optimizing the performance and feasibility of intelligent swarm collaborative intelligent decision-making algorithms and collaborative control strategies. The robot swarm collaborative system application involves challenges faced in robot swarm collaboration, such as path planning optimization, real-time task adjustment, collision prevention, energy management, and obstacle avoidance. The application scenarios are rich, and can build production and manufacturing, warehouse logistics, and other application scenarios. Combined with actual industry needs, it can be applied to the design and verification of industry swarm robot collaboration solutions, and can also be applied to university teaching, enabling students to experience complex, interdisciplinary practical application scenarios, improving students' understanding and application of professional theoretical knowledge, and improving students' practical application and innovation ability. The present application has important theoretical and practical value for promoting the development and application of intelligent swarm collaborative intelligent decision optimization technology.

[0038] In an illustrative embodiment, as shown in Figure 1 The first shell 11 is provided with a plurality of electromagnets 12. The plurality of electromagnets 12 are respectively arranged on the plurality of side walls of the first shell 11. The electromagnets 12 can be arranged at the middle positions of the side walls of the first shell 11. In this embodiment, the first shell 11 is provided with four electromagnets 12, and the four electromagnets 12 are respectively arranged on the four side walls of the first shell 11.

[0039] In this way, as shown in Figure 2 , 3 One collaborative robot 100 can be simultaneously magnetically connected with other collaborative robots 100, and the maximum number of other collaborative robots 100 that can be magnetically connected by the collaborative robot 100 is equal to the number of electromagnets 12 on the first shell 11.

[0040] In an illustrative embodiment, the traveling module 1 further includes a battery and a wireless charging module. The battery is used to power all other electrical components of the collaborative robot 100. The wireless charging module is connected to the battery through a circuit, and is used to wirelessly charge the battery. The wireless charging module includes a receiving coil and a rectifier circuit. The rectifier circuit is electrically connected to the receiving coil and the battery. The receiving coil is used to receive a changing magnetic field or electromagnetic wave and convert it into an alternating current delivered to the rectifier circuit. The rectifier circuit converts the alternating current into direct current and delivers the direct current to the battery to charge the battery.

[0041] In this way, as shown in Figure 4As shown, one or more charging areas are arranged in the working area of the collaborative robot 100, the charging area can be arranged on the edge or corner of the working area, a wireless charging transmitter is arranged in the charging area, the wireless charging transmitter can generate a changing magnetic field or electromagnetic wave to cover the charging area, when the battery of any one of the collaborative robots 100 is below a preset threshold, the collaborative robot 100 can move to the nearest charging area and then stop in the charging area for wireless charging, and when the battery of the collaborative robot 100 is fully charged, the collaborative robot 100 leaves the charging area to continue working. Thus, the collaborative robot 100 can realize charging without docking the charging interface, which reduces the control difficulty of the collaborative robot 100, and a single charging area can also charge multiple collaborative robots 100 at the same time.

[0042] In an illustrative embodiment, the first shell 11 has a hexahedral shape. The top surface of the first shell 11 can be square. The length of the first shell 11 is 50-70 mm, and the width of the first shell 11 is 50-70 mm. The length of the first shell 11 is preferably 64 mm, and the width of the first shell 11 is preferably 64 mm.

[0043] In this way, the collaborative robot 100 occupies less ground space and can be arranged in a smaller working area, for example, 30-40 collaborative robots 100 can be operated in a 4 square meter working area.

[0044] In an illustrative embodiment, as shown, Figure 1 The collaborative robot 100 further comprises a main control module 2. The main control module 2 comprises a second shell 21, a main control board, a display screen 22, and an ultrasonic radar 14. The second shell 21 can be a sheet metal structure or a plastic shell. The second shell 21 can be arranged in a box-shaped structure. The second shell 21 is arranged on the top of the first shell 11 and is fixedly connected with the first shell 11. The second shell 21 and the first shell 11 can be screw-connected or snap-connected. The first shell 11 and the second shell 21 have the same shape. The length of the second shell 21 is 50-70 mm, and the width of the second shell 21 is 50-70 mm. The length of the second shell 21 is preferably 64 mm, and the width of the second shell 21 is preferably 64 mm. The total height of the first shell 11 and the second shell 21 can be 100 mm.

[0045] The main control board is the logical control unit of the collaborative robot 100. The main control board can be a microcomputer or a single-chip microcomputer. The circuit of the main control board is connected with the traveling mechanism 13, the electromagnet 12, the ultrasonic radar 14, the battery and the display screen 22. The main control board can control various executing components of the collaborative robot 100 to realize the control of the actions of the collaborative robot 100. The main control board can control the traveling mechanism 13 of the collaborative robot 100 to perform actions such as advancing, retreating, turning, transverse moving, oblique moving and the like. The main control board can also identify the power of the battery, and control the collaborative robot 100 to move to the charging area for charging when the power of the battery is lower than a preset threshold. The main control board can also control the power-on and power-off of the electromagnet 12 to realize the connection and separation between multiple collaborative robots 100. The main control board is provided with a wireless communication module, which is used to realize the wireless communication between the collaborative robot 100 and the cloud server and the wireless communication between multiple collaborative robots 100. The ultrasonic radar 14 is used to identify the obstacles in the traveling direction, determine the size of the obstacles and the distance between the obstacles and the collaborative robot 100. The ultrasonic radar 14 is arranged on the side wall of the first shell 11, and can also be arranged on the side wall of the second shell 21, and the visual sensor 24 can be arranged on the same side wall of the second shell 21. The ultrasonic radar 14 can be arranged in one, and is arranged on one side of the advancing direction of the collaborative robot 100. The ultrasonic radar 14 can also be arranged in multiple, and multiple ultrasonic radars 14 are arranged at different positions of the collaborative robot 100. The display screen 22 can be arranged on the top surface of the second shell 21, and is located at the central position of the top of the second shell 21. The display surface of the display screen 22 faces upward. The main control board can control the display screen 22 to display patterns and characters. The display screen 22 can display, for example, a two-dimensional code, a number, a preset image and the like, and can be used for robot positioning, emotional expression in human-computer interaction and the like.

[0046] In an illustrative embodiment, the main control module 2 further comprises a visual sensor 24. The visual sensor 24 is connected to the main control board through a circuit. The visual sensor 24 can be arranged on the side wall of the second shell 21, or can be arranged on the side wall of the first shell 11. The visual sensor 24 can be arranged in one, and is arranged on one side of the advancing direction of the collaborative robot 100. The visual sensor 24 can also be arranged in multiple, and multiple visual sensors 24 are arranged at different positions of the collaborative robot 100. The visual sensor 24 is a device for converting optical images into electronic signals. The visual sensor 24 is used to collect image information of the surrounding environment in real time. The visual sensor 24 can be a depth camera.

[0047] The visual sensor 24 collects image information of the surrounding environment, and the main control board can identify the type, shape and size of the surrounding objects according to the image information collected by the visual sensor 24. The ultrasonic radar 14 can identify the obstacles in the travel direction, determine the size of the obstacles and the distance between the obstacles and the collaborative robot 100. The information collected by the visual sensor 24 and the ultrasonic radar 14 can be fused to realize the complementation and cooperation of multi-modal information. By fusing the advantages of different sensors, the environment and target objects can be more comprehensively and accurately perceived, and the perception ability and decision accuracy of the collaborative robot 100 can be improved.

[0048] In an illustrative embodiment, the main control module 2 further comprises three positioning lights 23. The three positioning lights 23 are respectively located on the three corners of the display screen 22.

[0049] The video monitoring device arranged above the working area of the collaborative robot 100 can determine the posture of the collaborative robot 100 according to the positions of the three positioning lights 23, i.e., determine the front direction of the collaborative robot 100, which is also the travel direction of the collaborative robot 100, so that real-time monitoring of the travel direction of the collaborative robot 100 can be realized.

[0050] In an illustrative embodiment, the main control module 2 further comprises a voice interaction module. The voice interaction module is connected to the main control board through a circuit. The voice interaction module is a technical component for realizing voice communication and interaction between man and machine, and is used for voice interaction with people. The voice interaction module comprises an audio acquisition device, a voice recognition module, a voice synthesis module and an audio output device. The audio acquisition device is used for collecting voice information in the environment and converting mechanical vibration of sound into an electrical signal. The voice recognition module is used for converting the voice information collected by the audio acquisition device into text information or specific instructions, and performing semantic analysis and understanding on the recognized text information. The voice synthesis module is used for converting the reply content generated by the main control board into a voice signal. The audio output device is used for broadcasting the voice signal output by the voice synthesis module.

[0051] In an illustrative embodiment, the main control module 2 further comprises an interface. The interface is connected to the main control board through a circuit. The interface can perform data transmission to the outside. For example, the system software of the collaborative robot 100 can be upgraded by connecting the interface, and the data generated by the collaborative robot 100, such as image data and running state data, can be downloaded.

[0052] In an illustrative embodiment, the collaborative robot 100 further comprises a lifting module 31. The lifting module 31 comprises a third housing 31 and a lifting mechanism 32. The third housing 31 can be a sheet metal structure or a plastic housing. The third housing 31 can be provided in a box-like structure. The third housing 31 is arranged on the top of the second housing 21 and detachably connected with the second housing 21. The third housing 31 and the second housing 21 can be screw-connected. The third housing 31 has the same shape as the second housing 21. The length of the third housing 31 is 50-70 mm, and the width of the third housing 31 is 50-70 mm. The length of the third housing 31 is preferably 64 mm, and the width of the third housing 31 is preferably 64 mm. The total height of the collaborative robot 100 can be 140 mm.

[0053] The lifting mechanism 32 is arranged in the third housing 31. The lifting mechanism 32 can be extended out of the third housing 31 upwardly or retracted into the third housing 31 downwardly. The lifting mechanism 32 can be a scissor lifting mechanism 32. The lifting mechanism 32 can be used to lift and lower the height of an object. The lifting mechanism 32 can realize the transportation of an object, such as a shelf, a table, etc., by the collaborative robot 100, which can realize the simulation of actual warehouse logistics robot tasks. Taking the transportation of a shelf as an example, when the lifting mechanism 32 is in the lowered state, the collaborative robot 100 enters under the shelf, and after the lifting mechanism 32 of the collaborative robot 100 is changed to the raised state, the lifting mechanism 32 of the collaborative robot 100 lifts the shelf, and the collaborative robot 100 can drive the shelf to travel together and transport the shelf to the target location, and after the collaborative robot 100 reaches the destination, the lifting mechanism 32 thereof is switched to the lowered state to lower the shelf. The third housing 31 and the second housing 21 are detachably connected.

[0054] The embodiment also proposes a robot cluster collaboration system comprising a plurality of collaborative robots 100 as described above.

[0055] A robot cluster collaboration physical real scene simulation system and a virtual simulation system are built, a collaborative scheme is simulated and verified in a virtual-real fusion manner, and a practical cluster robot collaboration scheme is obtained. The architecture of the robot cluster collaboration system is shown in Figure 5

[0056] ​According to the actual application scene (such as industrial manufacturing, warehouse materials, emergency rescue, service, etc.), the intelligent collaborative decision and optimization goals of the robot cluster are analyzed, the scale of the cluster, the decision algorithm, the task allocation mechanism, the collaborative planning, the path planning and other factors are considered, the intelligent collaborative decision scheme of the robot cluster is formulated, and relevant data is published to the robot cluster collaborative cloud platform. The robot cluster collaborative cloud platform collects data of sensors of the cluster collaborative robot, combines position information of a positioning system, publishes the collaborative task to the entity collaborative robot and the virtual collaborative robot in virtual simulation in real time, and drives the entity to run or the simulation to run. The running data of the entity collaborative robot and the virtual collaborative robot is fed back to the robot cluster collaborative cloud platform, and the robot cluster collaborative scheme is verified. Based on the robot cluster collaborative cloud platform, the virtual collaborative robot can be driven to run in a virtual scene, the feasibility of the robot cluster collaborative running scheme is verified, and the robot cluster collaborative running scheme is improved and modified. After the robot cluster collaborative running scheme is determined, the entity collaborative robot can be driven to run in a real scene, and the virtual collaborative robot in the virtual simulation scene is simultaneously run on the robot cluster collaborative cloud platform, so that visual robot cluster management is realized. Through the digital twinning technology, the running of the entity collaborative robot and the running of the virtual collaborative robot can be synchronously bidirectionally mapped, and real-time synchronous running is realized. The robot collaborative running data of the entity collaborative robot and the virtual collaborative robot is input into the collaborative running evaluation module, the robot cluster collaborative running scheme is continuously iteratively optimized according to the robot cluster collaborative running evaluation result, and finally an implementable robot cluster collaborative implementation scheme is output.

[0057] In the description in the utility model, it needs to explain, the term "upper", "lower", "one side", "the other side", "one end", "the other end", "edge", "opposite", "four corners", "periphery", "mouth" structure" and so on indicate the orientation or position relation based on the orientation or position relation shown in the drawing, only for the convenience of describing "the" utility model and simplifying the description, and not indicate or imply that the structure indicated has a particular orientation, a particular orientation structure and operation, therefore, it cannot be understood as the limitation of the utility model.

[0058] In the description of the utility model embodiment, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "connection", "direct connection", "indirect connection", "fixed connection", "installation", "assembly" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integrally connected; the terms "installation", "connection", "fixed connection" can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or the communication between two elements. For ordinary skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the utility model can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0059] Although the disclosed embodiments of the present application are as above, the content described is only the adopted embodiments for facilitating the understanding of the present application, and is not used to limit the present application. Any person skilled in the art of the present application, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application disclosed, can make any modification and change in the implementation form and details, but the patent protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the definition of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A collaborative robot, characterized in that, Comprising: a traveling module; the traveling module comprises a first shell, a traveling mechanism arranged at the bottom of the first shell, and electromagnets arranged on the side walls of the first shell; wherein the traveling mechanism is used for walking on the ground.

2. The collaborative robot of claim 1, wherein, The electromagnets are arranged in multiple, and the multiple electromagnets are arranged on multiple side walls of the first shell respectively.

3. The collaborative robot of claim 1, wherein, The traveling module further comprises a battery and a wireless charging module; the wireless charging module is used for wirelessly charging the battery.

4. The collaborative robot of claim 1, wherein, The outer contour of the first shell is a regular hexahedron, the length of the first shell is 50-70mm, and the width of the first shell is 50-70mm.

5. The collaborative robot of claim 1, wherein, Further comprising a master control module; the master control module comprises a second shell arranged at the top of the first shell, a master control board arranged in the second shell, and a display screen arranged on the second shell; wherein the circuit of the master control board is connected to the electromagnets, the traveling mechanism and the display screen.

6. The collaborative robot of claim 5, wherein, The master control module further comprises a visual sensor and an ultrasonic radar; the visual sensor is arranged on the side wall of the first shell or the second shell, the ultrasonic radar is arranged on the side wall of the first shell or the second shell, the visual sensor is used for real-time acquisition of image information of the surrounding environment, and the ultrasonic radar is used for identifying obstacles in the direction of travel.

7. The collaborative robot of claim 5, wherein, The master control module further comprises three positioning lights, and the three positioning lights are respectively located on three corners of the display screen.

8. The collaborative robot of claim 5, wherein, The master control module further comprises a voice interaction module, and the voice interaction module is used for voice interaction with people.

9. The collaborative robot of claim 5, wherein, Further comprising a lifting module; the lifting module comprises a third shell arranged at the top of the second shell and a lifting mechanism arranged on the third shell; the lifting mechanism is used for lifting and lowering the height of the article, and the third shell is detachably connected with the second shell.

10. A robot swarm coordination system, characterized by, Comprise multiple collaborative robots as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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