Control system for manipulator, control method for manipulator, and program

Abstract

To provide a control system for a manipulator, a control method for the manipulator, and a program capable of controlling a motion of the manipulator so as to enable contact by appropriate contact force in physical contact of an object gripped by the manipulator with a surrounding object.SOLUTION: A control system 10 for a manipulator is a control system for a manipulator 20 provided with an arm 21 and a hand 22 attached to the arm 21 to grip an object to be gripped. The control system 10 comprises: an environment recognition unit 11 that recognizes a surrounding object in an environment around the manipulator 20; an arm control unit 12 that controls the motion of the arm 21; and a hand control unit 13 that predicts a contact state of the object to be gripped with the surrounding object and adjusts adjusting force of the hand 22 in accordance with the prediction of the contact state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manipulator control system, a manipulator control method, and a program. Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a control system for a manipulator. In this system, when an impact is detected in the manipulator, the control is disclosed that switches between position control and impedance control, and returns the manipulator to its original position after avoiding the impact. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7131323 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technique according to Patent Document 1 has a problem that the movement of the manipulator cannot be controlled so that the object to be grasped by the manipulator comes into physical contact with the surrounding objects (e.g., when placing or lifting the object) with an appropriate contact force. Specifically, when placing the object to be grasped (e.g., an egg) on ​​the surrounding objects (e.g., a table top) using the manipulator, if the object to be grasped is pressed against the surrounding objects while being tightly gripped, an excessive contact force from the surrounding objects may be transmitted to the object to be grasped, which may damage the object to be grasped or, conversely, may damage the surrounding objects. On the other hand, when placing the object to be grasped (e.g., a book) on the surrounding objects (e.g., a bookshelf) using the manipulator, if the object to be grasped is not tightly gripped, the contact force transmitted from the surrounding objects to the object to be grasped may not be sufficient, and the object to be grasped may not be successfully placed on the surrounding objects.

[0005] In consideration of such problems, the present disclosure aims to provide a manipulator control system, a manipulator control method, and a program that can control the movement of a manipulator so that an appropriate contact force is applied when a grasped object held by the manipulator comes into physical contact with a surrounding object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The manipulator control system disclosed herein is a manipulator control system having an arm and a hand attached to the arm for grasping an object to be grasped, and includes an environmental recognition unit that recognizes surrounding objects in the environment around the manipulator, an arm control unit that controls the movement of the arm, and a hand control unit that predicts the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects and adjusts the gripping force of the hand in accordance with the predicted contact state.

[0007] With the above-mentioned configuration, the control system of the manipulator disclosed herein recognizes a peripheral object by an object recognition engine, predicts a contact state between the object to be grasped and the peripheral object, and adjusts the gripping force of the hand according to the predicted contact state. In this way, the control system of the manipulator can control the movement of the manipulator so that the object to be grasped by the manipulator comes into physical contact with the peripheral object with an appropriate contact force.

[0008] In addition, in the manipulator control system disclosed herein, the arm control unit controls the arm to place the graspable object on the peripheral object, and the hand control unit determines whether the difference between the position coordinates of the peripheral object and the position coordinates of the hand grasping the graspable object is below a predetermined threshold, and if it is determined that the difference is below the predetermined threshold, adjusts the gripping force of the hand to be weaker than the current gripping force.

[0009] For example, when a manipulator is used to place a grasped object (e.g., an egg) on ​​a surrounding object (e.g., a table top), if the grasped object is pressed against the surrounding object while being tightly gripped, the contact force from the surrounding object is transmitted to the grasped object, which may cause the grasped object to be damaged or, conversely, damage the surrounding object. On the other hand, if the grasped object is gripped loosely, there is a risk that the grasped state (e.g., the position and posture in the hand) of the manipulator may change or the grasped object may fall while manipulating the grasped object. However, the control system of the manipulator of the present disclosure, with the above-mentioned configuration, can weaken the gripping force of the hand just before the grasped object comes into contact with the surrounding object, and when a contact force is applied, the grasped object moves in the hand to absorb the contact force, thereby reducing the contact force applied to the grasped object and the surrounding object. Thus, the control system can reduce the possibility of the grasped object being damaged or, conversely, damaging the surrounding object. At the same time, the control system can reduce the risk of the manipulator changing its gripping state or of the object being dropped while manipulating the object.

[0010] In addition, in the manipulator control system disclosed herein, the arm control unit determines the relationship between the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding object, and adjusts the gripping force of the hand based on the relationship.

[0011] For example, when a graspable object held by a manipulator comes into physical contact with a surrounding object, the appropriate contact force varies depending on the type of the object. With the above-described configuration, the manipulator control system of the present disclosure can control the movement of the manipulator so that the graspable object held by the manipulator comes into physical contact with a surrounding object with an appropriate contact force depending on the type of object.

[0012] In the manipulator control system disclosed herein, the hand control unit uses the manipulator movement information to predict the contact state between the object to be grasped and surrounding objects, and adjusts the gripping force of the hand according to the predicted contact state.

[0013] For example, the influence of the movement information (e.g., speed, momentum) of the main body of the manipulator on the prediction of the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding object is very large. With the above-mentioned configuration, the control system of the manipulator of the present disclosure can predict the contact state with high accuracy.

[0014] The manipulator control method disclosed herein is a method for controlling a manipulator having an arm and a hand attached to the arm for grasping an object to be grasped, which method recognizes surrounding objects in the environment around the manipulator, controls the movement of the arm, predicts a contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects, and adjusts the grasping force of the hand in accordance with the predicted contact state.

[0015] With the above-mentioned configuration, the method for controlling a manipulator disclosed herein recognizes a peripheral object by an object recognition engine, predicts a contact state between the object to be grasped and the peripheral object, and adjusts the gripping force of the hand according to the predicted contact state. In this way, the method for controlling a manipulator disclosed herein can control the movement of the manipulator so that the object to be grasped by the manipulator can come into physical contact with the peripheral object with an appropriate contact force.

[0016] The program disclosed herein is a program that causes a computer to execute control of a manipulator having an arm and a hand attached to the arm for grasping an object to be grasped, and causes the computer to execute processing to recognize surrounding objects in the environment around the manipulator, control the movement of the arm, predict the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects, and adjust the grasping force of the hand in accordance with the predicted contact state.

[0017] With the above-mentioned configuration, the program disclosed herein recognizes surrounding objects using an object recognition engine, predicts the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects, and adjusts the gripping force of the hand according to the predicted contact state. In this way, the program disclosed herein can control the movement of the manipulator so that the object to be grasped held by the manipulator can come into physical contact with the surrounding objects with an appropriate contact force. Effect of the Invention

[0018] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide a manipulator control system, a manipulator control method, and a program that can control the movement of a manipulator so that an appropriate contact force is applied when a grasped object held by the manipulator comes into physical contact with a surrounding object. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a robot according to a first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of the control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation of the control device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 6 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the control device according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted as necessary for clarity of explanation.

[0021] (First embodiment) First, the configuration of a robot 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a robot 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 1 includes a control device 10, a manipulator 20, an environmental sensor 30, and a tactile sensor 40.

[0022] The control device 10 is a calculator (computer). The control device 10 controls the manipulator 20, the environmental sensor 30, and the tactile sensor 40. The control device 10 is mounted on the body of the robot 1. The control device 10 may be installed outside the body of the robot 1 and control the robot 1 by communicating with the robot 1. The control device 10 may be a control system 10 realized by multiple computers, rather than a single computer.

[0023] The manipulator 20 is rotatably attached to the body of the robot 1. The manipulator 20 is a mobile manipulator that is attached to the body of the robot 1 equipped with a traveling mechanism and can travel freely within the environment. The manipulator 20 may be a stationary arm robot in a factory or the like. The manipulator 20 includes an arm 21 and a hand 22. The arm 21 is a robot arm. The arm 21 includes one or more links and joints that rotatably connect the links. One end of the link is connected to the body of the robot 1 via a joint. The other end of the link is connected to the hand 22 via a joint. The hand 22 is a robot hand for grasping an object. For example, the hand 22 is a multi-fingered hand having multiple fingers.

[0024] The environmental sensor 30 is installed in the head or the like of the robot 1. The environmental sensor 30 is a sensor that measures environmental information, which is information about the environment around the manipulator 20. Specifically, the environmental sensor 30 is a 3D depth sensor that measures an image including a peripheral object and a distance between the peripheral object as the environmental information.

[0025] The tactile sensor 40 is installed in the gripping area of ​​the hand 22. The tactile sensor 40 is a sensor that measures the current gripping force of the hand 22 on the object to be gripped. For example, the tactile sensor 40 is a film-type tactile sensor that measures the gripping force of the hand 22 by measuring the frictional force and pressure applied to the measurement area. The tactile sensor 40 may also be a multi-array type tactile sensor that simultaneously measures the frictional force and pressure applied to the measurement area at multiple points. By using the gripping force information obtained from the tactile sensor 40, it is possible to estimate the contact force acting between the object to be gripped and the surrounding object when they come into contact with each other. By collecting and analyzing contact force data, it is possible to predict whether the contact force is appropriate before contact.

[0026] Next, the configuration of the control device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control device 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 10 includes an environment recognition unit 11, an arm control unit 12, and a hand control unit 13.

[0027] The environment recognition unit 11 recognizes the environment around the manipulator 20. Specifically, the environment recognition unit 11 acquires environmental information from the environmental sensor 30. The environment recognition unit 11 recognizes an object to be grasped by the manipulator 20 and surrounding objects from the environmental information using an object recognition engine such as a deep learning model. At this time, the environment recognition unit 11 recognizes the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding objects. In addition, the environment recognition unit 11 recognizes the position coordinates of the surrounding objects based on the robot coordinate system from the environmental information.

[0028] The arm control unit 12 controls the operation of the arm 21 of the manipulator 20. Specifically, the arm control unit 12 determines a peripheral object on which the object to be grasped is placed from among the recognized peripheral objects. The arm control unit 12 calculates a trajectory plan for the arm 21 so as to place the object to be grasped on the peripheral object. Then, the arm control unit 12 controls the operation of the arm 21 so as to move the arm 21 along the trajectory plan. Also, the arm control unit 12 determines a peripheral object to be lifted as the object to be grasped from among the recognized peripheral objects. The arm control unit 12 calculates a trajectory plan for the arm 21 so as to lift the object to be grasped. Then, the arm control unit 12 controls the operation of the arm 21 so as to move the arm 21 along the trajectory plan. During the operation of the arm 21, the arm control unit 12 calculates the position coordinates of the tip of the hand 22 based on the robot seat system from the joint angle and link length of the arm 21.

[0029] The hand control unit 13 controls the operation of the hand 22 of the manipulator 20. Specifically, the hand control unit 13 predicts the contact state between the object to be grasped and the peripheral object. The prediction of the contact state is a prediction of the possibility that the object to be grasped and the peripheral object will come into contact with each other, and a prediction of whether the object to be grasped and the peripheral object are about to come into contact with each other. The prediction of the contact state is a prediction of the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the peripheral object, and whether the contact force transmitted to each object when each object comes into contact with each other is appropriate. Then, the hand control unit 13 performs control to adjust the gripping force of the hand 22 according to the prediction of the contact state. Specifically, the hand control unit 13 acquires the current gripping force of the hand 22 from the tactile sensor 40. The hand control unit 13 adjusts the current gripping force of the hand 22 to be weaker to a predetermined value according to the prediction of the contact state. The hand control unit 13 also adjusts the current gripping force of the hand 22 to be stronger to a predetermined value according to the prediction of the contact state. Here, the predetermined value is a gripping force value calculated from the pressure or frictional force applied to the measurement area of ​​the tactile sensor 40. In addition, in the case of simultaneous multi-point measurement, the predetermined value may be a gripping force value calculated from the number of measurement points measured in the measurement area of ​​the tactile sensor 40.

[0030] For example, when the arm control unit 12 controls the operation of the arm 21 so as to place the object to be grasped on a peripheral object, the hand control unit 13 performs the following process. During the operation of the arm 21, the hand control unit 13 judges whether or not the difference between the position coordinates of the peripheral object based on the robot coordinate system and the position coordinates of the tip of the hand 22 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. That is, the hand control unit 13 predicts whether or not the object to be grasped and the peripheral object will come into contact with each other, and whether or not the object to be grasped and the peripheral object are about to come into contact with each other. When it is judged that the difference between the position coordinates of the contacted object and the position coordinates of the tip of the hand 22 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the hand control unit 13 adjusts the current gripping force of the hand 22, that is, the gripping force during the operation of the arm 21, to be weakened to a predetermined value. By doing so, the hand control unit 13 can reduce the possibility of damage to each object by reducing the contact force, even if the contact force transmitted to each object when the objects come into contact with each other is excessive. At the same time, the hand control unit 13 can reduce the risk that the gripping state of the manipulator changes or the object to be grasped falls while the object to be grasped is being manipulated by weakening the gripping force immediately beforehand. Note that, without being limited to the above configuration, the hand control unit 13 may adjust the current gripping force of the hand 22 to be stronger to a predetermined value when it is determined that the difference between the position coordinates of the contacted object and the position coordinates of the tip of the hand 22 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold value.

[0031] Furthermore, when the arm control unit 12 controls the operation of the arm 21 so as to place the object to be grasped on the surrounding object, the hand control unit 13 performs the following process. The hand control unit 13 judges the relationship between the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding object. That is, the hand control unit 13 predicts what the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding object are, and whether the contact force transmitted to each object when the objects come into contact is appropriate. The hand control unit 13 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 based on the relationship between the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding object. For example, when the object to be grasped is an egg and the surrounding object is a table, it is predicted that the contact force transmitted to each object is excessive and may damage each object, so the hand control unit 13 weakens the current gripping force of the hand 22, that is, the gripping force during the operation of the arm 21, to a predetermined value. On the other hand, when the object to be grasped is a book and the surrounding object is a bookshelf, it is predicted that the contact force transmitted to the object is insufficient and the object cannot be placed properly, so the hand control unit 13 strengthens the current gripping force of the hand 22 to a predetermined value.

[0032] Furthermore, when the arm control unit 12 controls the operation of the arm 21 so as to lift another peripheral object placed on the peripheral object as a grasped object, the hand control unit 13 performs the following process. The hand control unit 13 determines the relationship between the type of the grasped object and the type of the peripheral object. The hand control unit 13 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 based on the relationship between the type of the grasped object and the type of the peripheral object. If the grasped object or the peripheral object on which it is placed is a viscous object, the contact force (e.g. tension) transmitted to the object is excessive, and it is predicted that the grasped object will not be lifted successfully, so the hand control unit 13 strengthens the current gripping force of the hand 22 to a predetermined value.

[0033] Furthermore, especially in the case where the manipulator 20 is a mobile manipulator that can move freely within the environment, the movement information (e.g., speed, momentum of movement) of the mobile manipulator 20 has a significant effect on the prediction of the contact state by the hand control unit 13. Therefore, the hand control unit 13 predicts the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects by using the movement information of the manipulator 20. For example, the hand control unit 13 acquires the movement information of the manipulator 20 from the arm control unit 12. Also, in the case where a speed sensor (not shown) is attached to the manipulator 20, the hand control unit 13 may acquire the movement information of the manipulator 20 from the speed sensor. The hand control unit 13 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 according to the prediction of the contact state. Therefore, the control device 10 can accurately predict the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects.

[0034] In addition, if the hand control unit 13 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 too early, the gripping force of the object to be grasped may become excessive (or insufficient) before contact. Therefore, it is desirable that the adjustment timing of the gripping force of the hand 22 is adjusted after predicting the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects, and at the latest, at the timing when the object to be grasped is actually grasped. Therefore, the hand control unit 13 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 after a predetermined period from the timing when the contact state is predicted. For example, the hand control unit 13 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 when it determines that the possibility of a collision between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects has increased after a preset period has elapsed from the timing when the contact state is predicted. In addition, the hand control unit 13 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 when it determines that the relative distance between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects has become closer after a preset period has elapsed from the timing when the contact state is predicted. Therefore, with regard to the timing of adjusting the gripping force of the hand 22, the control device 10 can reduce the possibility that the gripping force of the object to be grasped will become excessive (or insufficient) before contact if the adjustment timing is too early.

[0035] Next, an example of the operation of the control device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control device 10 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation of the control device 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0036] As a prerequisite for the following operations, the arm control unit 12 of the control device 10 calculates a trajectory plan for the arm 21 so as to bring the object to be grasped into contact with a surrounding object, which is a table, and begins controlling the operation of the arm 21 so as to move the arm 21 in accordance with the trajectory plan.

[0037] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, first, in step S101, the environment recognition unit 11 of the control device 10 calculates the position coordinates of the table top based on the robot seat system from the environment information acquired from the environment sensor 30. Next, in step S102, the arm control unit 12 calculates the position coordinates of the tip of the hand 22 based on the robot base system from the joint angles and link lengths of the arm 21.

[0038] Next, in step S103, the hand control unit 13 judges whether or not the difference between the position coordinates of the table top based on the robot seat system and the position coordinates of the tip of the hand 22 based on the robot seat system is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. If it is judged that the difference between the position coordinates of the table top and the position coordinates of the tip of the hand 22 is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold (YES in step S103), the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if it is judged that the difference between the position coordinates of the table top and the position coordinates of the tip of the hand 22 is not equal to or less than the predetermined threshold (NO in step S103), the process returns to step S101.

[0039] In step S104, the hand control unit 13 weakens the current gripping force of the hand 22, that is, the gripping force during operation of the arm 21, to a predetermined value. The predetermined value indicates a gripping force that prevents the object to be grasped from slipping off the hand 22.

[0040] Next, another example of the operation of the control device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the control device 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0041] As a prerequisite for the following operations, the arm control unit 12 of the control device 10 calculates a trajectory plan for the arm 21 so as to bring the object to be grasped into contact with a surrounding object, and begins controlling the operation of the arm 21 so as to move the arm 21 along the trajectory plan. Similar to the operations shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the control device 10 performs the processes of steps S101 to S103 described above.

[0042] In step S201, after the process of step S103 (YES), the hand control unit 13 calculates the relationship between the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding object. In step S202, the hand control unit 13 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 based on the relationship between the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding object. For example, when the object to be grasped is an egg and the surrounding object is a table, it is predicted that the contact force transmitted to each object is excessive and may damage each object, so the hand control unit 13 weakens the current gripping force of the hand 22, that is, the gripping force during operation of the arm 21, to a predetermined value. On the other hand, when the object to be grasped is a book and the surrounding object is a bookshelf, it is predicted that the contact force transmitted to the object is insufficient and the object cannot be placed properly, so the hand control unit 13 strengthens the current gripping force of the hand 22 to a predetermined value.

[0043] As described above, the control device 10 according to the first embodiment adjusts the gripping force of the hand in accordance with the prediction of the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding objects. By doing so, the control device 10 can control the movement of the manipulator 20 so that the object to be grasped, grasped by the manipulator 20, and the surrounding objects can come into physical contact with each other with an appropriate contact force.

[0044] Moreover, the control device 10 according to the first embodiment weakens the current gripping force of the hand 22 to a predetermined value immediately before the object to be grasped comes into contact with a surrounding object. By doing so, the control device 10 can absorb the contact force by moving the object to be grasped within the hand 22 when a contact force is generated, thereby reducing the contact force applied to the object to be grasped and the surrounding object. Thus, the control device 10 can reduce the possibility that the object to be grasped will be damaged or, conversely, that the surrounding object will be damaged. At the same time, the control device 10 can reduce the risk that the gripping state of the manipulator will change or the object to be grasped will fall while the object to be grasped is being manipulated.

[0045] Furthermore, the control device 10 adjusts the gripping force of the hand 22 based on the relationship between the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding object. By doing so, the control device 10 can control the movement of the manipulator so that the object to be grasped held by the manipulator can come into physical contact with the surrounding object with an appropriate contact force depending on the type of object.

[0046] Furthermore, in the comparative example, when the manipulator is used to place the object to be grasped on the surrounding object, the contact force can be reduced by placing the object at a low speed, but this has the disadvantage of increasing the operation time. However, the control device 10 does not place the object at a low speed, so there is no disadvantage of increasing the operation time.

[0047] In addition, in the comparative example, after the object to be grasped receives a contact force from a surrounding object, there is a method of softening the arm by feedback control, but at least one loop of feedback control is required, and there is a possibility that the contact force cannot be sufficiently reduced. However, the control device 10 can adjust the contact force by predicting the contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding object, and appropriately adjusting the gripping force of the hand 22 of the manipulator 20 according to the predicted contact state.

[0048] The control device 10 in the above-described embodiment is configured by hardware or software, or both, and may be configured by one piece of hardware or software, or may be configured by a plurality of pieces of hardware or software.

[0049] Specifically, the control device 10 in the above-described embodiment is configured by a computer including a processor and a memory. The processor may be, for example, a microprocessor, a micro processing unit (MPU), or a central processing unit (CPU). The processor may include multiple processors. The memory is configured by a combination of a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The memory may include a storage located away from the processor. In this case, the processor may access the memory via an I / O interface not shown. The processor executes one or more programs including a group of instructions for causing the computer to execute the algorithm described with reference to the drawings.

[0050] The program includes a set of instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, causes the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, the computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray® disk or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, the transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0051] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by a person skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be appropriately combined with other embodiments.

[0052] Each drawing is merely an example for describing one or more embodiments. Each drawing may relate not only to one particular embodiment, but to one or more other embodiments. As can be understood by those skilled in the art, various features or steps described with reference to any one drawing may be combined with features or steps shown in one or more other drawings to create an embodiment not explicitly shown or described, for example. Not all features or steps shown in any one drawing are necessary to describe an exemplary embodiment, and some features or steps may be omitted. The order of steps described in any drawing may be changed as appropriate.

[0053] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1. Robot 10 Control device (control system) 11 Environmental recognition department 12 Arm control section 13 Hand control unit 20 Manipulator 21 Arm 22 Hands 30 Environmental Sensors 40 Tactile Sensor

Claims

1. A control system for a manipulator including an arm and a hand attached to the arm for grasping an object to be grasped, an environment recognition unit that recognizes surrounding objects in an environment around the manipulator; An arm control unit that controls the operation of the arm; a hand control unit that predicts a contact state between the object to be grasped and the peripheral object and adjusts the gripping force of the hand in accordance with the predicted contact state. Manipulator control system.

2. The arm control unit includes: controlling the arm to place the object to be grasped on the peripheral object; The hand control unit includes: It is determined whether or not a difference between the position coordinates of the peripheral object and the position coordinates of the hand gripping the object to be gripped has become equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, and when it is determined that the difference has become equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, the gripping force of the hand is adjusted to be weaker than the current gripping force.

2. A control system for a manipulator according to claim 1.

3. The hand control unit includes: A relationship between the type of the object to be grasped and the type of the surrounding object is determined, and the gripping force of the hand is adjusted based on the relationship.

2. A control system for a manipulator according to claim 1.

4. The hand control unit includes: Using the movement information of the manipulator, a contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding object is predicted, and the gripping force of the hand is adjusted according to the predicted contact state. A control system for a manipulator according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A method for controlling a manipulator including an arm and a hand attached to the arm for gripping an object to be gripped, comprising the steps of: Recognizing surrounding objects in an environment around the manipulator; Controlling the movement of the arm; A contact state between the object to be grasped and the surrounding object is predicted, and a gripping force of the hand is adjusted in accordance with the predicted contact state. How to control the manipulator.

6. A program for causing a computer to execute control of a manipulator having an arm and a hand attached to the arm for grasping an object to be grasped, Recognizing surrounding objects in an environment around the manipulator; Controlling the movement of the arm; A computer is caused to execute a process of predicting a contact state between the object to be grasped and the peripheral object, and adjusting a gripping force of the hand in accordance with the predicted contact state. program.

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