Toy system, mobile body, card set, control method and program

Abstract

To allow a user to experience programming more intuitively.SOLUTION: A toy system controls travel of a mobile body having scan means and travel means. There are placed, by a user respectively at arbitrary locations, multiple cards printed with encoded images each indicating any one of multiple action instructions. When the mobile body travels over any one of the multiple cards thereby scanning the image, the toy system controls the travel means in accordance with the action instruction indicated by the image. When a record instruction is obtained, each time the encoded image is scanned by the mobile body travelling over a new one of the action instruction cards, the toy system stores, in a storage, the action instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating a current time. When a reproduction instruction is obtained, the toy system controls the travel means in accordance with the stored time information and action instruction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a toy system, a moving object, a card set, a control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] To learn programming, educational materials are available for sale that involve arranging physical cards with commands written on them, and programming them. A self-propelled device reads the commands on the arranged cards, and then the self-propelled device executes the actions according to the commands read.

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses that a self-propelled device travels over a set of cards and reads the images printed on the cards to read a program, and then the self-propelled device travels through a maze according to the program. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2020 / 036146 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the method of reading the program in advance, reading the program and executing it are separated. Therefore, depending on the person, it may be difficult to intuitively grasp the relationship between the program and its operation, which may be an obstacle when experiencing programming.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a technique that enables a more intuitive programming experience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a toy system according to the present invention includes a plurality of action instruction cards, each of which has an encoded image indicating one of a plurality of action instructions printed thereon and which is placed at a location of your choice by a user, and a moving body, the moving body including a traveling means that enables the moving body to move, a reading means that reads the image when the moving body moves over any of the plurality of action instruction cards, and an action control means that controls the moving means in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the read image, the action control means controls the moving means in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the image when the encoded image is read by the moving body moving over any of the plurality of action instruction cards, and when a record instruction is obtained, the action control means stores in a storage the action instructions indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by the moving body running over a new action instruction card, and when a playback instruction is obtained, the action control means controls the moving means in accordance with the stored time information and the action instructions.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the mobile body of the present invention includes a traveling means that enables the mobile body to travel, a reading means that reads an encoded image indicating one of a plurality of action instruction cards printed on each of the encoded images indicating one of a plurality of action instructions and placed at any location by a user when the mobile body travels over any of the plurality of action instruction cards, and an action control means that controls the mobile body in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the read image, wherein when the encoded image is read by the mobile body traveling over any of the plurality of action instruction cards, the action control means controls the mobile body in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the image, and when a record instruction is obtained, the action control means stores in storage the action instructions indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by traveling over a new action instruction card, and when a playback instruction is obtained, the action control means controls the mobile body in accordance with the stored time information and action instructions.

[0009] In addition, the control method of the present invention is a control method for controlling the traveling of a mobile body having a reading means and a traveling means, and includes a step of reading the image by the reading means when the mobile body travels over any of a plurality of action instruction cards, each of which has an encoded image indicating any of a plurality of action instructions printed on it and which are each placed at any location by a user, and a step of controlling the traveling means in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the read image, and the step of controlling the traveling means further includes a step of controlling the traveling means in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the image when the encoded image is read by the mobile body traveling over any of the plurality of action instruction cards, and when a recording instruction is obtained, storing in storage the action instructions indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by the mobile body traveling over a new action instruction card, and a step of controlling the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and action instructions when a playback instruction is obtained.

[0010] In addition, the program of the present invention causes a computer including a traveling means to function as a reading means for reading an encoded image indicating one of a plurality of action instruction cards printed on each of the encoded images indicating one of a plurality of action instructions and when the traveling means travels over one of a plurality of action instruction cards placed at any location by a user, and as an action control means for controlling the traveling means in accordance with the action state indicated by the read image, wherein when the encoded image is read by the mobile body traveling over one of the plurality of action instruction cards, the action control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the image, and when a record instruction is obtained, the action control means stores in storage the action instructions indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by the mobile body traveling over a new action instruction card, and when a playback instruction is obtained, the action control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and action instructions.

[0011] Furthermore, the card set of the present invention includes a plurality of operation instruction cards, each of which is printed with an encoded image indicating one of a plurality of operation instructions, which is an image that is read when a mobile body equipped with a traveling means and storage that enables traveling travels, and which are placed in a location of the user's choice, a recording instruction card printed with an encoded image indicating a recording instruction, and a playback instruction card printed with an encoded image indicating a playback instruction, wherein when the image indicating the operation instruction is read by the mobile body, the traveling means is controlled in accordance with the operation instruction, and when the image indicating the recording instruction is read by the mobile body, each time an encoded image is read as the mobile body travels over a new operation instruction card, the operation instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time are stored in the storage, and when the image indicating the playback instruction is read by the mobile body, the traveling means is controlled in accordance with the stored time information and operation instruction.

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible for a user to have a more intuitive programming experience.

[0013] In one form of the present invention, when the recording instruction is obtained, the operation control means stores in a storage the operating state of the moving body at the time the recording instruction was obtained, and when the playback instruction is obtained, the operation control means controls the traveling means to attain the stored operating state, and then controls the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and operating instruction.

[0014] In one form of the present invention, the toy system further includes a recording instruction card on which an encoded image indicating the recording instruction is printed, and a playback instruction card on which an encoded image indicating the playback instruction is printed, and when the moving body runs over the recording instruction card and the playback instruction card, the reading means reads the images printed on the recording instruction card and the playback instruction card, respectively, and when the image indicating the recording instruction is read, the operation control means stores in storage the operation instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by the moving body running over a new operation instruction card, and when the image indicating the playback instruction is read, the operation control means controls the running means in accordance with the stored time information and operation instruction.

[0015] In one form of the present invention, the reading means repeats reading the image when the moving body runs over any of the multiple action instruction cards after the image indicating the recording instruction has been read, and the action control means does not need to store in storage the action instruction indicated by the image read this time and time information indicating the current time when the action instruction indicated by the image read this time is the same as the action instruction indicated by the image read last time.

[0016] In one form of the present invention, the toy system further includes a recording end card having an encoded image printed thereon indicating an instruction to end recording, wherein the reading means reads the image printed on the recording end card when the moving body runs over the recording end card, and when the image indicating the recording instruction is read, the operation control means may store in storage the operation instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by the moving body running over a new operation instruction card until the image indicating the recording end instruction is read.

[0017] In one form of the present invention, if the encoded image is not read, the driving means is controlled to continue operating in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the previously read image until a new encoded image is read by causing the mobile body to run over a new action instruction card among the plurality of action instruction cards, and if the new encoded image is read, the driving means is controlled in accordance with the action instructions indicated by the new image. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a toy system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a toy system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a moving object as viewed from below. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between information printed on a card and a moving object. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the toy system. [Figure 6] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating an example of control of a moving object by an action instruction card. [Figure 7] 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of control of a moving object by an action instruction card. FIG. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of control of a moving object by an action instruction card. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a record of an operation instruction. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of playback of recorded operation instructions. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of a moving body. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of a moving body. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of a moving body. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of stored operation instructions, etc.; [Figure 15]10 is a flowchart showing an example of driving processing by a driving processing unit. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of action processing by an action processing unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Among the components appearing, those having the same functions are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0020] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a toy system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The toy system according to the present invention includes at least a moving body 20 and a plurality of cards 30. The moving body 20 has a cube-like outer shape, and its corners are chamfered. In addition, a plurality of protrusions are provided on the upper surface to enable attachment of other toys.

[0021] The multiple cards 30 include multiple operation instruction cards, a recording start card, a recording end card, and a playback card. Each of the multiple operation instruction cards is printed with an image indicating an instruction (operation instruction) for an operation of the moving body 20. At least some of the multiple operation instruction cards are printed with an encoded image indicating one of the multiple operation instructions for the moving body 20. The recording start card, recording end card, and playback card are printed with an encoded image indicating an instruction to start or end recording, and playback, respectively.

[0022] At least some of the multiple cards 30 are placed by the user at any location on a flat surface (e.g., on a desk or floor). When the moving object 20 travels over any of the cards 30, it reads the image and performs an operation according to the instruction shown in the image.

[0023] The operation instructions by the multiple operation instruction cards are classified into multiple types (groups). The multiple types include a state change type, an action type, and a forced type. The state change type is a group consisting of instructions that change the operation (e.g., the running state) of the moving body 20. The action type is a group mainly consisting of instructions that make the moving body 20 execute a predetermined operation. An action type instruction may resume the previous operation after the operation is executed. Note that even an action type instruction may cause the running state to change as a result of the operation. The forced type is a group consisting of instructions that immediately stop the moving body 20. Details of the record start card, record end card, and playback card will be described later.

[0024] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the toy system. The moving object 20 includes a processor 21, a storage 22, a communication unit 23, a camera 24, two motors 25, and a speaker .

[0025] The processor 21 operates according to a program stored in the storage 22, and controls the communication unit 23, the camera 24, the motor 25, the speaker 26, etc. The above program may be provided from another computer by communication via the communication unit 23, or may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flash memory or an optical disk and provided to the other computer.

[0026] The storage 22 is configured with a DRAM, a non-volatile memory, etc. The storage 22 stores the above-mentioned programs. The storage 22 also stores information input from the processor 21, the communication unit 23, etc., and calculation results.

[0027] The communication unit 23 is composed of an integrated circuit, an antenna, and the like for communicating with other devices. The communication unit 23 has a function of communicating with other devices (e.g., computers) according to, for example, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) protocol or a wireless LAN protocol. Under the control of the processor 21, the communication unit 23 inputs information received from other devices to the processor 21 or the storage 22, and transmits information to other devices. The communication unit 23 may communicate with other devices via a wired network.

[0028] Camera 24 is positioned to capture an image of the area below moving object 20, and captures an image of pattern 71 (see FIG. 4) printed on card 30 on which moving object 20 is placed. In this embodiment, pattern 71 that can be recognized in the infrared frequency domain is printed on card 30, and camera 24 captures an infrared image of the pattern 71.

[0029] The motor 25 is a so-called servo motor, the direction, amount and speed of rotation of which are controlled by the processor 21 .

[0030] The speaker 26 outputs sound based on the control of the processor 21 and the like.

[0031] 3 is a bottom view of an example of the moving body 20. The moving body 20 further includes a switch 222, a power switch 223, and two wheels 254. One motor 25 is assigned to each of the two wheels 254, and the motor 25 drives the assigned wheel 254. The drive mechanism including the motor 25 and the wheels 254 constitute a traveling device that causes the moving body 20 to travel.

[0032] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between information printed on card 30 and moving object 20. On card 30, a plurality of patterns 71, which are images that can be read by camera 24, are printed together with an image that can be visually recognized by the user. Patterns 71 of a predetermined size (e.g., 0.2 mm square) are arranged in a matrix on card 30. The size of each pattern 71 is smaller than the size of card 30 and moving object 20. The information printed on the plurality of patterns 71 on a certain card 30 may be the same. A pattern 71 indicating a position within card 30 may be printed on a certain card 30. When moving object 20 passes over card 30, patterns 71 printed at different positions as time progresses are usually read.

[0033] In the toy system according to this embodiment, the camera 24 of the moving body 20 captures an image of the pattern 71 printed on the card 30, and the moving body 20 decodes the pattern 71 to obtain information. The information obtained from the pattern 71 printed on the action instruction card is an action instruction. This allows the moving body 20 to recognize the type of action instruction card. The information obtained from the pattern 71 printed on the card 30 indicating the start or end of recording and playback is a recording start instruction, a recording end instruction, and a playback instruction, respectively. In addition, the moving body 20 detects the inclination of the pattern 71 in the image captured by the camera 24 to detect the direction of the moving body 20 (e.g., angle A from a reference direction).

[0034] 5 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the toy system. The toy system functionally has a card information acquisition unit 51 and an operation control unit 52. The operation control unit 52 functionally includes a card judgment unit 53, a parameter update unit 54, a running processing unit 55, an action processing unit 56, a recording control unit 57, and a playback control unit 58. These functions are mainly realized by the processor 21 included in the moving object 20 executing a program stored in the storage 22 and controlling the camera 24, the motor 25, and the speaker 26. Note that some of these functions may be realized by the processor 21 transmitting a processing request to another computer included in the toy system via the communication unit 23 and receiving the result.

[0035] The card information acquisition unit 51 reads the pattern 71 (image) printed on the card 30 and acquires information indicated by the pattern 71. More specifically, when the moving object 20 runs on any one of the multiple cards 30, the card information acquisition unit 51 reads the pattern 71 printed on the card 30 and decodes information (operation instruction, recording start instruction, recording end instruction, or playback instruction) from the pattern 71. The card information acquisition unit 51 also acquires the orientation of the moving object 20 with respect to the card 30 based on the inclination of the pattern 71 photographed by the camera 24.

[0036] When an operation instruction is acquired as information, the operation control unit 52 controls the running device, the speaker 26, etc., according to the acquired operation instruction. When the operation instruction is information indicating a change in the running state, the operation control unit 52 controls the running device (motor 25) according to the information after acquiring the acquired pattern 71. When the encoded pattern 71 is not read, the operation control unit 52 controls the running device to continue the operation according to the operation instruction indicated by the previously read pattern 71 until a new encoded pattern 71 is read by the moving body 20 running on a new card 30 among the multiple cards 30. When a new encoded pattern 71 is read, the operation control unit 52 controls the running device according to the new operation instruction indicated by the new pattern 71.

[0037] When a recording start instruction is obtained, the operation control unit 52 additionally stores in the storage 22 the operation instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by the moving body 20 running over a new operation instruction card until the condition for ending recording is met.

[0038] When a playback instruction is acquired, the operation control unit 52 controls the traveling device in accordance with the time information and the operation instruction stored in the storage 22. Furthermore, when a playback instruction is acquired, the operation control unit 52 may control the traveling device to be in the initial state stored in the storage 22, and then control the traveling device in accordance with the time information and the operation instruction stored in the storage 22.

[0039] The card determination unit 53 determines the group to which the action instruction of the card 30 acquired by the processing of the card information acquisition unit 51 belongs. If the action instruction belongs to a state change type, the card determination unit 53 causes the parameter update unit 54 to execute processing. On the other hand, if the action instruction belongs to an action type, the card determination unit 53 causes the action processing unit 56 to execute processing.

[0040] The parameter update unit 54 updates the travel parameters based on the operation instructions belonging to the state change system. Here, the operation instructions belonging to the state change system are further classified into a plurality of subgroups. The plurality of subgroups include a steering wheel subgroup, a speed subgroup, and a brake subgroup. The steering wheel subgroup includes an instruction to change the state of the steering wheel to the right or left, and an instruction to change the state of the steering wheel to go straight. Changing the state of the steering wheel to the right or left means continuously changing the traveling direction of the moving body 20 to the right or left. The speed subgroup includes an instruction to set the speed to a specified value. The specified value may be any one of a plurality of predetermined candidate values ​​(e.g., slow, fast, very fast), and each of the plurality of instructions included in the speed subgroup may indicate a candidate value different from each other. The brake subgroup includes a brake instruction to continuously reduce the speed. In response to the brake instruction, the moving body 20 performs a brake operation to continuously reduce the speed. Here, each of the plurality of operation instructions belonging to the state change system may be classified (labeled) into one or more subgroups. For example, a certain motion instruction may be labeled in both a speed subgroup and a handling subgroup.

[0041] The parameter update unit 54 updates the driving parameters of the subgroup to which the operation instruction indicated by the read pattern 71 is classified, among the multiple subgroups, to information (e.g., a value) indicated by the operation instruction. By setting driving parameters for each subgroup and controlling the driving by the multiple driving parameters, the operation of the mobile object 20 can be made more diverse. When the operation instruction indicated by the read pattern 71 is classified into multiple subgroups of state change systems, the parameter update unit 54 may update each of the driving parameters of the multiple subgroups to which the operation instruction belongs to information of the driving parameters of the respective subgroups according to the operation instruction.

[0042] The driving processing unit 55 controls the driving device (e.g., the motor 25) based on the operation instructions (e.g., driving parameters) set for each of the multiple subgroups. The driving processing unit 55 controls the driving device so that the moving body 20 drives according to the driving parameters. The driving processing unit 55 continuously changes the traveling direction of the moving body 20 to the right or left, or drives the moving body 20 straight, according to the driving parameters of the steering wheel state. The driving processing unit 55 drives the moving body 20 at a speed according to the parameters of the speed subgroup. Furthermore, the driving processing unit 55 continuously reduces the speed of the moving body 20 when the parameters of the brake state are set.

[0043] When a recording start instruction is acquired, the recording control unit 57 additionally stores in the storage 22 the operation instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by the moving object 20 running on a new operation instruction card until a recording end condition is met. The recording start instruction may be acquired by reading an image indicating the recording start instruction from the pattern 71 printed on the recording start card. The recording end condition may be that the recording end instruction is acquired from the pattern 71 printed on the recording end card. The recording end condition may be that the moving object 20 stops, or that a predetermined time has passed. When a recording start instruction is acquired from the pattern 71 printed on the recording start card, the operation control unit 52 may store the operating state (e.g., running parameters) of the moving object 20 at that time as an initial state in the storage 22.

[0044] When a playback instruction is acquired, the playback control unit 58 controls the traveling device according to the time information and operation instructions stored in the storage 22. The playback instruction may be acquired by reading an image indicating the playback instruction from a playback card. When a playback instruction is acquired, the playback control unit 58 may control the traveling device to be in the initial state stored in the storage 22, and then control the traveling device according to the time information and operation instructions stored in the storage 22.

[0045] Here, a specific example of the running of the moving body 20 by changing the running parameters will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of the control of the moving body 20 by the action instruction cards. In the example of FIG. 6, the action instruction cards are a "Slow" card 30a, a "Fast" card 30b, a right-facing card 30d, and a goal card 30j. In the example of FIG. 6, the moving body 20 first reads the pattern 71 on the card 30a, sets the parameters of the speed subgroup to a first speed, and moves straight at that speed. Next, the moving body 20 reads the pattern 71 on the card 30b, updates the parameters of the speed subgroup to a second speed faster than the first speed, and moves straight at that speed. Next, the moving body 20 reads the pattern 71 on the card 30d, updates the parameters of the handle subgroup to "right", and moves forward so as to turn right while maintaining the speed. Then, when the moving body 20 reaches the card 30j, the moving body 20 that reads the pattern 71 on the card 30j makes a sound and stops.

[0046] Here, for example, a pattern 71 indicating an action instruction of a combination of "Fast" and rightward facing may be printed on one card 30. In this case, a card 30 in which cards 30b and 30d are integrated exists, and when the moving object 20 reads the pattern 71 on the card 30, the moving object 20 updates the parameters of the speed subgroup to a second speed, and further updates the running parameters of the steering wheel subgroup to "right". Thereafter, the moving object 20 may proceed to turn right at the second speed. Also, a card 30 may exist on which a pattern 71 indicating an action instruction of a combination of another speed and steering wheel state is printed.

[0047] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the control of the moving body 20 by the action instruction cards. In the example of FIG. 7, a card 30b of "Fast" and a card 30g of "Brake" are arranged as action instruction cards. In the example of FIG. 7, the moving body 20 first reads the pattern 71 on the card 30b, updates the parameters of the speed subgroup to a second speed, and moves straight at that speed. Then, the moving body 20 reads the pattern 71 on the card 30g, and updates the parameters of the brake subgroup to the brake state. Then, the moving body 20 continuously decelerates the speed of the moving body 20 according to the parameters of the brake state. Finally, the speed of the moving body 20 becomes 0 and the moving body 20 stops.

[0048] The action processing unit 56 controls the moving body 20 to perform an action indicated by an action instruction based on the action instruction. When the action processing unit 56 receives an instruction to turn in a direction indicated by the card 30, in other words, an instruction to make the moving body 20 travel in a specified direction, the action processing unit 56 controls the traveling device to make the moving body 20 turn in the specified direction.

[0049] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining another example of the control of the moving body 20 by the action instruction card. In the example of FIG. 8, a "Fast" card 30b and an arrow card 30h indicating the moving direction are arranged as the action instruction cards. In the example of FIG. 8, the moving body 20 first reads the pattern 71 on the card 30b, updates the parameters of the speed subgroup to a second speed, and moves straight at that speed. Then, the moving body 20 reads the pattern 71 on the card 30g, and executes an action of turning (changing direction) so that the direction indicated by the pattern 71 and the moving direction of the moving body 20 form a predetermined angle (actually the direction of the arrow). After the change of direction is completed, the moving body 20 moves straight at the second speed toward the moving direction.

[0050] In this way, the driving state, such as driving parameters or direction of travel, is changed by the action instruction of the card 30, and the moving object 20 continues to move according to the action instruction until it reaches the next card 30, and the driving state is changed by the action instruction again. This makes the reading of the card 30 and the action resulting from it interactive, allowing the user to experience programming more intuitively and easily. In addition, since there is no restriction on arranging the cards 30 without separating them, the user can place the cards 30 in any position, which increases the degree of freedom of the movement of the moving object 20 in the programming experience.

[0051] Next, a case where a recording start card, a recording end card, and a playback card are used will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of recording of an operation instruction. In the example of FIG. 9, a card 30b with "Fast" and a card 30h with two arrows indicating a change of direction are arranged as operation instruction cards. Also, a card 30r is arranged as a recording start card, and a card 30q is arranged as a recording end card. In the example of FIG. 9, the moving body 20 passes the card 30b with "Fast" and changes its speed to a second speed, then reads the card 30r indicating the start of recording, and starts recording the subsequent operation instruction cards. The running parameters including the second speed are recorded as the initial state. After recording is started, the moving body 20 reads the card 30h indicating a change of direction to the lower left in the figure and changes direction, and further reads the card 30h indicating a change of direction to the right in the figure and changes direction. After that, the moving body 20 moves straight ahead and reads the card 30q indicating the end of recording, and ends recording. The recording control unit 57 may stop the moving body 20 when recording ends.

[0052] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of reproducing a recorded action instruction. In the example of FIG. 10, a card 30p as a reproduction card and an arrow card 30h as an action instruction card indicating a change of direction are arranged. In the example of FIG. 10, when the moving body 20 reads the card 30p indicating a reproduction instruction, the moving body 20 becomes the second speed as an initial state and moves as recorded in FIG. 9. When the movement ends, the moving body 20 stops. Note that, in addition to the card 30p indicating a reproduction instruction, a card 30 indicating a repeat reproduction instruction may be present. When the moving body 20 reads the card 30 indicating a repeat reproduction instruction, the moving body 20 does not stop at the end of the action described in FIG. 10, but repeats the recorded action.

[0053] Next, the process for realizing the operations described above will be described in more detail. Figures 11 to 13 are flowcharts showing an example of the process of the moving body 20. Figures 11 to 13 mainly show the processes of the card information acquisition unit 51, the card judgment unit 53, the parameter update unit 54, the recording control unit 57, and the playback control unit 58. The processes shown in Figures 11 to 13 are repeatedly executed periodically (for example, every 0.1 seconds). In the example of Figures 11 to 13, in addition to a normal driving mode, there are a recording mode in which an operation instruction is recorded while driving, and a playback mode in which the recorded operation instruction is played back.

[0054] First, the playback control unit 58 determines whether the playback mode is ON or not (S101). If the playback mode is ON (Y in S101), the playback control unit 58 executes the processes from S109 onwards, the details of which will be described later.

[0055] When the playback mode is OFF (N in S101), the card information acquisition unit 51 acquires an image read by the camera 24 of the moving object 20 (S102). The card information acquisition unit 51 determines whether it is possible to acquire an instruction (operation instruction, recording start instruction, recording end instruction, or playback instruction) from the acquired image (S103). More specifically, the card information acquisition unit 51 determines whether the pattern 71 exists in the acquired image. When it is impossible to acquire an instruction (N in S103), the process shown in Figs. 11 to 13 ends. When it is possible to acquire an instruction (Y in S103), the card information acquisition unit 51 acquires an instruction of the card 30 from the image and an angle A of the moving object 20 with respect to the card 30 (S104). The process using the angle A will be described later.

[0056] When an instruction for the card 30 is acquired, the card information acquisition unit 51 judges whether the instruction has been acquired from the same card 30 as the previous time (S105). If the instruction has been acquired from the same card 30 (Y in S105), the processing of Figs. 11 to 13 is terminated. Whether the instruction has been acquired from the same card 30 may be judged based on whether the same instruction has been read during the above-mentioned reading. Here, if no information was read during the previous reading, or the read information does not indicate any instruction, and an operation instruction is read this time, it is judged that the instruction has not been read from the same card 30 as the previous time. This processing prevents problems caused by repeating the same processing and waste of processing resources.

[0057] If the acquired operation instruction is different from the previously acquired operation instruction (N in S105), the card determination unit 53 determines whether the acquired instruction is an operation instruction (S106). The process when the acquired instruction is not an operation instruction will be described later.

[0058] If the acquired instruction is an operation instruction (Y in S106), the recording control unit 57 judges whether the recording mode is ON (S107). If the recording mode is ON (Y in S107), the recording control unit 57 adds the operation instruction and angle A acquired by the card information acquisition unit 51, and time information indicating the current time, to the storage 22 (S108). If the recording mode is OFF (N in S107), the process of S108 is skipped.

[0059] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an operation instruction etc. stored in the storage 22. This diagram shows an example of information stored in the storage 22 when the operation described in FIG. 9 is performed in a table format. The "Time" column shows time information, and in the example of FIG. 14, the time information is the difference between the time when the operation instruction is read and the time when recording is started. The time information may be the current time. In this case, the time when the recording start instruction is acquired may be recorded separately as the initial state. The operation instruction is shown in a command format, but may actually be a binary code corresponding to the command, or may be the information itself obtained by decrypting the pattern 71. In the example of FIG. 14, the angle is shown in a format of -180 degrees to +180 degrees, but may be shown in a format of 0 to 360 degrees, or may be shown as an angle with n stages per revolution (for example, n is an integer of 8 or more). In addition, when a recording end instruction is acquired, the recording control unit 57 may store the time information etc. in the storage 22. In the example of FIG. 14, a line in which "recording end" is written in the operation instruction is shown as an example. The storage 22 in which the operation instructions and the like are stored may be, for example, a memory possessed by the mobile object 20.

[0060] If the playback mode is ON in S101 (Y in S101), the processes from S102 to S108 are not performed. The playback control unit 58 also acquires from the storage 22 the earliest action instruction (next action instruction) among the unread action instructions, and the time information and angle stored in association with the action instruction (S109). In the processes from S111 to S1108, this action instruction and angle are treated in the same manner as those acquired in S104. The playback control unit 58 waits until the time indicated by the time information (S110). Although not shown, if information indicating the end of recording is read from the storage 22 in S109, the playback control unit 58 controls the travel means so that the moving body 20 stops. If the playback mode is ON because an image indicating the instruction is read from the repeat playback card 30, when information indicating the end of recording is read from the storage 22, the process of S127 may be executed instead of stopping.

[0061] When the processes of S107 N, S108, and S110 are completed, the card determination unit 53 determines whether the acquired operation instruction belongs to the state change group (S111). If the acquired operation instruction belongs to the state change group (Y of S111), the parameter update unit 54 updates the driving parameters according to the operation instruction (S112).

[0062] More specifically, the parameter update unit 54 updates the driving parameters of the subgroup into which the operation instruction is classified to values ​​indicated by the operation instruction. When the operation instruction belongs to the speed subgroup, the parameter update unit 54 sets the speed parameter to a value according to the operation instruction. When the operation instruction belongs to the steering subgroup, the parameter update unit 54 updates the steering state parameter to a value indicated by the operation instruction (e.g., right, left, or straight). When the operation instruction belongs to the braking subgroup, the parameter update unit 54 updates the brake parameter to a braking state (or a no-brake state).

[0063] When an action instruction belongs to a plurality of subgroups, the parameter update unit 54 updates the driving parameters of each of the plurality of subgroups to a value indicated by the action instruction. For example, when an action instruction belongs to a speed subgroup and a steering wheel subgroup, the parameter update unit 54 sets the speed parameter to a value according to the action instruction, and updates the steering wheel state parameter to a value indicated by the action instruction. In this case, there may be a plurality of action instructions that correspond one-to-one to each combination of a candidate value of the speed parameter (e.g., slow, fast, very fast) and a candidate value of the steering wheel state parameter (e.g., right, left, straight). There may be a card 30 that corresponds one-to-one to each of the plurality of action instructions.

[0064] On the other hand, if the acquired operation instruction does not belong to the state change system (N in S111), the card determination unit 53 determines whether the acquired operation instruction indicates an instruction to stop the moving object 20 (S113). If the operation instruction indicates an instruction to stop the moving object 20 (Y in S113), the travel processing unit 55 ends the travel processing and stops the moving object 20 (S114).

[0065] On the other hand, if the action instruction does not indicate an instruction to stop the moving object 20 (N in S113), the card judgment unit 53 judges that the acquired action instruction belongs to the action group (S115). If the action instruction does not belong to the action group (N in S115), the processing of Figs. 11 to 13 is terminated. If the action instruction belongs to the action group (Y in S115), the card judgment unit 53 judges whether the running process of the running processing unit 55 or the action process of the action processing unit 56 is currently being executed (S116). If the running process or the action process is being executed (Y in S116), the running process or the action process being executed is stopped (S117). If the running process and the action process are not being executed (N in S116), the processing of S117 is skipped. Then, the action processing unit 56 starts the action process in response to the action instruction (S118). An example of the action process will be described later.

[0066] In S106, if the instruction acquired by the card information acquisition unit 51 is not an operation instruction (N in S106), the card determination unit 53 determines whether the acquired instruction is an instruction to start recording (S121). If the acquired instruction is an instruction to start recording (Y in S121), the recording control unit 57 sets the recording mode to ON (S122) and stores the current driving parameters as initial states in the storage 22 (S123). Then, the processing of Figs. 11 to 13 ends.

[0067] If the acquired instruction is not a recording start instruction (N in S121), the card determination unit 53 determines whether the acquired instruction is a recording end instruction (S124). If the acquired instruction is a recording end instruction (Y in S124), the recording control unit 57 sets the recording mode to OFF and stops the motor 25 (S125). Then, the processing of Figures 11 to 13 is terminated.

[0068] If the acquired instruction is not a recording end instruction (N in S124), the card determination unit 53 determines whether the acquired instruction is a playback instruction (S126). If the acquired instruction is a playback instruction (Y in S126), the playback control unit 58 acquires information on the initial state from the storage 22 and controls the motor 25 according to the acquired initial state (e.g., running parameters) (S127). More specifically, the playback control unit 58 updates the running parameters according to the acquired initial state, and further controls the rotation of the motor 25 so that the running state of the moving body 20 becomes the initial state, in other words, the rotation state of the wheels 254 corresponds to the speed and steering direction indicated by the running parameters. Then, the playback control unit 58 sets the playback mode to ON (S128).

[0069] 11 to 13, the processes of S106, S121, S124, and S126 may be executed in a different order, and the processes of S111, S113, and S115 may also be executed in a different order.

[0070] In the embodiment described so far, instead of recording the positions of the arranged cards 30, the operation instructions and time information read during the actual running of the moving body 20 are recorded and then played back, making it possible to reproduce the operation easily and faithfully. It is also possible to treat the playback of what has been recorded as a subroutine, making it possible to make the programming experience by arranging the cards 30 more diverse and advanced.

[0071] 11 to 13, whether the recording mode is on or off, if a new operation instruction is the same as the previous operation instruction, it is ignored (see the sequence of S105 and S107). Through these processes, it is possible to more simply reduce the capacity of the storage 22 involved in recording, while suppressing the occurrence of differences between operations during recording or non-recording and operations during playback.

[0072] Next, a description will be given of details of the driving process by the driving processing unit 55. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the driving process by the driving processing unit 55. The process shown in Fig. 15 is executed periodically except during a stopped state or while an action process is being executed.

[0073] First, the driving processing unit 55 determines whether the brake state is set among the driving parameters (S201). If the brake state is set (Y in S201), a predetermined value is subtracted from the speed value stored as the driving parameter (S202). On the other hand, if the brake state is not set (N in S201), S202 is skipped.

[0074] If the speed value is 0 (Y in S203), the travel processing unit 55 stops the travel of the moving body 20 and transitions the state of the moving body 20 to a stopped state (S204). Note that if the recording mode is ON, the same process as when a recording end instruction is acquired (see S125) may be performed.

[0075] On the other hand, if the speed value is not 0 (N in S203), the driving processing unit 55 determines the rotation speed of the left and right wheels 254 based on the current speed value and the steering wheel state parameters (S205). The driving processing unit 55 controls the rotation of the left and right motors 25 based on the determined rotation speed (S206).

[0076] In this embodiment, the two wheels 254 are driven by different motors 25, and therefore, by controlling the rotation speed of the wheels 254 (motors 25), the moving body 20 can be made to go straight, turn continuously to the right, or turn continuously to the left. When going straight, the difference in the rotation speed between the left and right is almost zero. When the moving body 20 includes a steering mechanism, the travel processing unit 55 may control the moving body 20 to go straight, turn right, or turn left by setting the orientation of some of the wheels 254.

[0077] In this way, by running according to the running parameters set by the card 30, it is possible to control the running device so that even if it moves away from the card 30, it continues to operate according to the operating instructions indicated by the previously read pattern 71 until a new pattern 71 is read as the mobile object 20 runs over a new card 30.

[0078] Fig. 16 is a flow chart showing an example of action processing by the action processing unit 56. Fig. 16 shows processing executed by an action instruction to turn the direction of travel in a specified direction, such as the card 30h, among a plurality of action-based operation instructions. The processing shown in Fig. 16 starts at S118 in Fig. 12.

[0079] First, the action processing unit 56 reduces the rotation speed of the two motors 25 and temporarily stops the rotation of the wheels 254 (S301). Next, based on the angle read from the card 30 (or acquired in S109), the action processing unit 56 determines the direction and amount of rotation of the left and right motors 25 (S302). The direction and amount of rotation are determined so that the orientation of the moving body 20 after rotation is a predetermined direction with respect to the card 30 (for example, the direction of the arrow on the card 30h). The action processing unit 56 also determines the direction and amount of rotation so that the directions of rotation of the left and right wheels 254 are opposite to each other and the moving body 20 faces the predetermined direction with the minimum rotation.

[0080] Here, if the value of the speed of the running parameter is 0 (Y of S304), the action processing unit 56 stops the moving object 20 and transitions the state of the moving object 20 to a stopped state (S305). If the value of the speed of the running parameter is not 0 (N of S304), the action processing unit 56 resumes the running processing of the running processing unit 55 (S306), and ends the processing of FIG.

[0081] In this process, the direction of travel is physically changed by the action set by the card 30. After the action, the traveling process is resumed, and the moving object 20 travels according to the traveling parameters set before. As a result, the traveling device can be controlled to continue the operation according to the previous operation instructions until a new pattern 71 is read by the moving object 20 traveling over a new card 30.

[0082] The processing executed by the action processing unit 56 is not limited to the above. For example, in other operation instructions belonging to the action subgroup, instead of the processing shown in S301 to S303, typical operations such as snaking or spinning may be executed by reproducing the time-series motor control information stored in the storage 22. In addition, in other operation instructions, instead of the processing shown in S301 to S303, a process of reproducing audio previously stored in the storage 22 from the speaker 26 may be executed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 20 moving body, 21 processor, 22 storage, 23 communication unit, 24 camera, 25 motor, 26 speaker, 222 switch, 223 power switch, 254 wheels, 30, 30a, 30b, 30d, 30g, 30h, 30j, 30p, 30q, 30r card, 51 card information acquisition unit, 52 operation control unit, 53 card determination unit, 54 parameter update unit, 55 driving processing unit, 56 action processing unit, 57 recording control unit, 58 playback control unit, 71 pattern.

Claims

1. A plurality of action instruction cards, each of which has a coded image showing one of a plurality of action instructions printed thereon, each of which is placed in a location of the user's choice; A moving object, The moving body is A means for moving that enables the vehicle to move; a reading means for reading the image when the moving object travels over any one of the plurality of action instruction cards; and an operation control means for controlling the traveling means in response to an operation instruction indicated by the read image, when the encoded image is read by the moving object traveling on any one of the plurality of action instruction cards, the action control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the action instruction indicated by the image; when a recording instruction is obtained, the operation control means stores in a storage device the operation instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time the encoded image is read by the moving object running over a new operation instruction card; when a playback instruction is acquired, the operation control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and the operation instruction. Toy system.

2. 2. The toy system according to claim 1, When the recording instruction is acquired, the operation control means stores in a storage an operation state of the moving object at the time when the recording instruction is acquired; when the reproduction instruction is acquired, the operation control means controls the traveling means to be in the stored operation state, and then controls the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and the operation instruction. Toy system.

3. 3. The toy system according to claim 1, Further comprising a recording instruction card on which an encoded image showing the recording instruction is printed, and a reproduction instruction card on which an encoded image showing the reproduction instruction is printed, the reading means reads images printed on the recording instruction card and the reproducing instruction card when the moving object travels over the recording instruction card and the reproducing instruction card, respectively; when the image indicating the recording instruction is read, each time an encoded image is read by the moving body running over a new action instruction card, the action control means stores the action instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time in a storage; the operation control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and the operation instruction when the image indicating the playback instruction is read. Toy system.

4. 4. The toy system according to claim 3, the reading means repeats reading the image when the moving object travels over any one of the plurality of action instruction cards after the image indicating the recording instruction is read; when an action instruction indicated by the image read this time is the same as an action instruction indicated by the image read last time, the action control means does not store in the storage the action instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time; Toy system.

5. 4. The toy system according to claim 3, Further comprising a recording end card having a coded image printed thereon indicating a recording end instruction; the reading means reads an image printed on the recording end card when the moving object travels over the recording end card, when the image indicating the recording instruction is read, the operation control means stores in a storage the operation instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time an encoded image is read by the moving body running over a new operation instruction card until the image indicating the recording end instruction is read; Toy system.

6. 2. The toy system according to claim 1, if the encoded image is not read, controlling the driving means to continue the operation according to the operation instruction indicated by the previously read image until a new encoded image is read by the moving body running over a new action instruction card among the plurality of action instruction cards, and if the new encoded image is read, controlling the driving means according to the operation instruction indicated by the new image. Toy system.

7. A means for moving that enables the vehicle to move; a reading means for reading the image when the robot runs over one of a plurality of operation instruction cards, each of which has a coded image showing one of a plurality of operation instructions printed thereon and which is placed at a desired location by a user; and an operation control means for controlling the traveling means in response to an operation instruction indicated by the read image, when the encoded image is read by the moving object traveling on any one of the plurality of action instruction cards, the action control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the action instruction indicated by the image; When a recording instruction is obtained, the operation control means stores in a storage device the operation instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time each time the encoded image is read by running over a new operation instruction card; when a playback instruction is acquired, the operation control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and the operation instruction. Mobile body.

8. A control method for controlling travel of a moving body having a reading means and a travel means, comprising the steps of: A step in which a coded image showing one of a plurality of operation instructions is printed on each of the plurality of operation instruction cards, and when the moving object travels over one of the plurality of operation instruction cards placed at any location by a user, the reading means reads the image; and controlling the traveling means in response to an operation instruction indicated by the read image, In the step of controlling the traveling means, when the encoded image is read by the moving body traveling on any one of the plurality of operation instruction cards, the traveling means is controlled in accordance with the operation instruction indicated by the image; when a recording instruction is obtained, each time the encoded image is read by the moving object running over a new action instruction card, storing in a storage the action instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time; and when a playback instruction is acquired, controlling the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and an operation instruction. Control methods.

9. A computer including a vehicle, a reading means for reading the image when the device runs over one of a plurality of action instruction cards, each of which has a coded image showing one of a plurality of action instructions printed thereon and which is placed at a desired location by a user; and an operation control means for controlling the traveling means in accordance with an operation state indicated by the read image; Function as a when the encoded image is read by the moving object traveling on any one of the plurality of action instruction cards, the action control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the action instruction indicated by the image; when a recording instruction is obtained, each time the encoded image is read by the moving body running over a new action instruction card, the action control means stores in a storage the action instruction indicated by the image and time information indicating the current time; when a playback instruction is acquired, the operation control means controls the traveling means in accordance with the stored time information and the operation instruction. program.

10. A plurality of operation instruction cards, each of which is printed with an encoded image indicating one of a plurality of operation instructions, the encoded image being an image to be read when a mobile body having a travel means and a storage device that enables travel is travelling, and each of which is placed in a location of the user's choice; a recording instruction card having a coded image showing recording instructions printed thereon; a playback instruction card having a coded image printed thereon showing playback instructions; When the image showing the operation instruction is read by the moving body, the traveling means is controlled in accordance with the operation instruction, When the image showing the recording instruction is read by the moving body, each time the encoded image is read by the moving body running over a new action instruction card, the action instruction shown by the image and time information showing the current time are stored in the storage; When the image indicating the playback instruction is read by the moving body, the traveling means is controlled in accordance with the stored time information and the operation instruction. Card set.

Images