Guide system

Abstract

To complete a service to be provided to a visitor while suppressing the cost of the entire system.SOLUTION: Guide robots 13a to 13c guide visitors coming close to exhibits 82a to 82c exhibited in a facility 80 while moving together with the visitors visiting the facility 80. Explanation robots 14a to 14c are installed near the exhibits 82a to 82c and provide the visitors guided close to the exhibits 82a to 82c by the guide robots 13a to 13c with explanation about the exhibits 82a to 82c.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a guidance system for guiding visitors to a facility. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a guidance system that guides a user to a destination. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-215840 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the guidance system of Patent Document 1, multiple guide robots are basically fixedly installed in various locations, so that users must move independently from the location where a guide robot is installed to the next location where another guide robot is installed, and there is a possibility that the users may get lost. If a guide robot moves with the user to guide them, it would be possible to prevent the user from getting lost. However, in this case, it would be necessary to prepare a large number of guide robots. In particular, guide robots that have the function of identifying destinations through dialogue with users are expensive, so if a large number of guide robots with an additional mobility function were to be prepared, the cost of the entire system would increase. The present invention aims to solve such problems, for example. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The guidance system includes a guide robot that moves with a visitor who has come to a facility and guides the visitor to the vicinity of an exhibit displayed in the facility, and an explanation robot that is installed near the exhibit and provides an explanation about the exhibit to the visitor who has been guided to the vicinity of the exhibit by the guide robot. Effect of the Invention

[0006] The guide robot moves with the visitor and guides the visitor close to the exhibit, so the visitor can reach the exhibit without getting lost. An explanatory robot installed near the exhibits provides explanations about the exhibits, allowing visitors to receive appropriate explanations. Furthermore, by having a guide robot that specializes in guidance that involves movement and an explanation robot that specializes in explanations that do not involve movement work together, it is possible to improve the services provided to visitors while keeping the costs of the entire system down. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a guidance system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a welcoming robot. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a guide robot. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an explanation robot. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing an example of a guidance process 50. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] A guidance system 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The guidance system 10 is installed in a facility 80 and provides guidance to visitors who come to the facility 80. Facility 80 is provided with, for example, an entrance / exit 81 for visitors to enter and exit facility 80, and within facility 80, exhibits 82a to 82c are displayed.

[0009] The guidance system 10 includes, for example, a welcome robot 12, guide robots 13a to 13c, explanation robots 14a to 14c, and a server device 15. The welcome robot 12 is installed near the entrance 81 and greets visitors entering the facility 80. The guide robots 13a to 13c move within the facility 80 and guide the visitors to the exhibits 82a to 82c. The explanation robot 14a is installed near the exhibit 82a and provides visitors with an explanation about the exhibit 82a. The explanation robot 14b is installed near the exhibit 82b and provides visitors with an explanation about the exhibit 82b. The explanation robot 14c is installed near the exhibit 82c and provides visitors with an explanation about the exhibit 82c. The server device 15 communicates with these robots and instructs them to operate in a coordinated manner. Note that the server device 15 does not have to be a physical device, and may be, for example, a cloud server constructed on a network.

[0010] The welcome robot 12 will be described with reference to FIG. The welcome robot 12 has, for example, an input device 21, an output device 22, a processing device 23, a storage device 24, and a communication device 25. The input device 21 is a device for inputting information, such as a microphone, a camera, or a touch panel. The output device 22 is a device that outputs information, such as a liquid crystal display or a speaker. The processing device 23 executes various processes, such as interacting with visitors, by executing programs. The storage device 24 stores the programs executed by the processing device 23, data representing information input by the input device 21, and the like. The communication device 25 communicates with other robots, the server device 15, and the like.

[0011] The guide robot 13a will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The guide robots 13b and 13c are similar, so their descriptions will be omitted. The guide robot 13a includes, for example, an input device 31, an output device 32, a processing device 33, a storage device , a communication device 35, and a moving device . The input device 31 is a device for inputting information, such as a microphone, a camera, or a touch panel. The output device 32 is a device that outputs information, such as a liquid crystal display or a speaker. The processing device 33 executes various processes such as guiding visitors by executing programs. The storage device 34 stores the programs executed by the processing device 33, data representing information input by the input device 31, and the like. The communication device 35 communicates with other robots, the server device 15, and the like. The moving device 36 is, for example, drive wheels or walking legs, which enable the guide robot 13a to move within the facility 80. In contrast, the welcome robot 12 and the explanation robots 14a to 14c do not have moving devices and cannot move.

[0012] The explanation robot 14a will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The explanation robots 14b and 14c are similar, so their descriptions will be omitted. The explanation robot 14a has, for example, an input device 41, an output device 42, a processing device 43, a storage device 44, and a communication device 45. The input device 41 is a device for inputting information, such as a microphone, a camera, or a touch panel. The output device 42 is a device that outputs information, such as a liquid crystal display, a speaker, or the like. The processing device 43 executes various processes, such as providing visitors with an explanation about the exhibit 82a, by executing a program. The storage device 44 stores the programs executed by the processing device 43, data representing information input by the input device 41, and the like. The communication device 45 communicates with other robots, the server device 15, and the like.

[0013] The guidance process 50 will be described with reference to FIG. In the guidance process 50, the guidance system 10 guides the visitor who has come to the facility 80 to the exhibits 82a to 82c in accordance with the visitor's wishes, and provides an explanation about the exhibits 82a to 82c.

[0014] When a visitor arrives at facility 80 and arrives near entrance / exit 81, welcoming robot 12 executing visit detection step 521 detects the visitor's arrival by input device 21 such as a camera. Then, it notifies server device 15 that the visitor has arrived.

[0015] When the server device 15 receives the notification from the welcome robot 12, the server device 15 executes a search step 551 to search for a guide robot that is waiting without guiding a visitor among the guide robots 13a to 13c. Then, the server device 15 commands the waiting guide robot (for example, the guide robot 13a) to move to the entrance 81.

[0016] When the guide robot 13a receives the command from the server device 15, the guide robot 13a executes the movement step 531 and moves to the vicinity of the entrance / exit 81.

[0017] Meanwhile, the welcome robot 12 executes a request listening step 522 and listens to the requests of the visitor by talking to the visitor detected in the visit detection step 521. For example, it listens to what the visitor is interested in. Also, if the visitor has come to see a specific exhibit, it may listen to which exhibit the visitor is interested in. Then, the server device 15 is notified of the visitor's requests that have been listened to.

[0018] When the server device 15 receives the notification from the welcome robot 12, it executes a route determination step 552 and determines a tour route in accordance with the visitor's wishes heard by the welcome robot 12 in the wish hearing step 522. For example, it determines which exhibits to visit in accordance with the visitor's interests. In addition, when multiple exhibits are to be visited, it determines the order in which the exhibits will be visited, taking into consideration the efficiency of the route and the congestion situation. Then, in accordance with the determined tour route, it notifies the guide robot 13a, which was commanded to move to the entrance 81 in the search step 551, of the exhibit to be visited first (for example, exhibit 82a).

[0019] When the guide robot 13a receives the notification from the server device 15, it executes the guiding step 532 and guides the visitor whose wishes were heard by the welcome robot 12 in the wish-hearing step 522 to the vicinity of the first exhibit 82a determined by the server device 15. For example, it instructs the visitor to follow the guide robot 13a and moves close to the exhibit 82a. By the guide robot leading the visitor in this way, the visitor can reach the desired exhibit without getting lost. When the guide robot 13a arrives near the exhibit 82a, it notifies the server device 15 of that fact.

[0020] When the server device 15 receives the notification from the guide robot 13a, it executes an explanation command process 553 and commands the explanation robot 14a, which is located near the exhibit 82a that the guide robot 13a guided to in the guidance process 532, to begin providing an explanation about the exhibit 82a.

[0021] When the explanation robot 14a receives a command from the server device 15, it executes an explanation step 541 and provides an explanation about the exhibit 82a to the visitor brought by the guide robot 13a in the guidance step 532. For example, an explanation image may be displayed and an explanation voice may be played according to a scenario prepared in advance. If the visitor has a question during the tour, the question may be answered. Also, questions may be asked of the visitor to check the visitor's knowledge. Based on the questions and answers from the visitor, the scenario may be changed to explain a certain part in more detail or, conversely, the explanation of a certain part may be omitted.

[0022] On the other hand, the guide robot 13a that has finished guiding the visitor waits there to guide the visitor to the next exhibit after the explanation is finished. However, if the welcome robot 12 detects another visitor and is called, it may leave the location according to a command from the server device 15. When the guide robot 13a leaves the place, the server device 15 executes the search step 551 again to search for a waiting guide robot, and then commands the waiting guide robot (for example, the guide robot 13c) to move to the vicinity of the exhibit 82a.

[0023] When the guide robot 13c receives the command from the server device 15, it executes the movement step 531 and moves to the vicinity of the exhibit 82a.

[0024] On the other hand, when the explanation to the visitor is finished, the explanation robot 14a executes a desire listening step 542 and listens to the visitor's desires by interacting with the visitor. This is because there is a possibility that the visitor's interests may change as a result of listening to the explanation by the explanation robot 14a. Then, the server device 15 is notified of the desired contents of the visitor that have been listened to. Furthermore, the contents of the questions and answers from the visitor in the explanation step 541 may be notified to the server device 15. This is because there are cases in which what the visitor is interested in can be determined from the contents of the questions and answers from the visitor.

[0025] When the server device 15 receives the notification from the explanation robot 14a, it executes the route determination step 552 again, and judges whether or not the initially determined tour route needs to be changed according to the visitor's wishes heard by the welcome robot 12 in the wish hearing step 542 and the contents of the questions and answers from the visitor in the explanation step 541, and if a change is necessary, determines a new tour route. For example, it adds to the tour route the new exhibit that the visitor wants to see. Then, according to the determined tour route, it notifies the guide robot 13c, which was commanded to move close to the exhibit 82a in the search step 551, of the next exhibit to be toured (for example, the exhibit 82b).

[0026] When the guide robot 13c receives the notification from the server device 15, it executes the guidance step 532 and guides the visitor whose preferences were heard by the guide robot 14a in the preference hearing step 542 to the vicinity of the next exhibit 82b determined by the server device 15. When the guide robot 13c arrives near the exhibit 82b, it notifies the server device 15 of that fact.

[0027] When the server device 15 receives the notification from the guide robot 13c, it executes an explanation command process 553 and commands the explanation robot 14b, which is located near the exhibit 82b that the guide robot 13c guided to in the guidance process 532, to begin providing an explanation about the exhibit 82b.

[0028] When the explanation robot 14b receives the command from the server device 15, it executes an explanation step 541 and provides an explanation on the exhibit 82b to the visitor brought by the guide robot 13c in the guidance step 532.

[0029] When the explanation to the visitor is finished, the explanation robot 14b executes a request-listening step 542 and listens to the visitor's request by talking to the visitor. If it turns out that there are no more exhibits that the visitor wants to see, the explanation robot 14b notifies the server device 15 of this fact.

[0030] When the server device 15 receives the notification from the guide robot 14b, it executes a guidance end step 554 and instructs the guide robot 13c waiting near the exhibit 82b to guide the visitor to the entrance / exit 81.

[0031] When the guide robot 13c receives the command from the server device 15, it executes the exit guidance step 533 and guides the visitor whose preference was heard by the guide robot 14b in the preference hearing step 542 to the vicinity of the entrance / exit 81.

[0032] If the visitor does not wish to be guided by the guide robot, for example, if the visitor wishes to look around freely in the request hearing step 522 or 542, the guide processing 50 may be ended at that point. When there are visitors freely touring the exhibits in this manner, the explanation robots 14a to 14c may detect that the visitors have approached the exhibits using an input device 41 such as a camera, and execute an explanation step 541 to provide an explanation to the detected visitors.

[0033] As described above, by placing an explanation robot that has advanced interactive capabilities but cannot move near the exhibits and having it provide explanations to visitors, it is possible to provide sufficient explanations to visitors. In addition, a mobile guide robot can move around with visitors to guide them, allowing the visitors to view the exhibits they want to see without getting lost. Guide robots only need to guide visitors, and do not need to have advanced conversational functions like welcome robots or explanation robots. Therefore, even if a large number of guide robots are introduced, costs can be kept down. In other words, by having robots with different functions work together in this way, it is possible to reduce the cost of the entire guidance system and to improve the services provided to visitors.

[0034] The steps that are executed by the server device 15 in the embodiment described above may be executed by an appropriate robot. Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the robots do not communicate directly with each other, but the robots may be configured to communicate directly with each other without going through the server device 15.

[0035] The above-described embodiment is an example for facilitating understanding of the present invention. The present invention is not limited thereto, and includes various modifications, changes, additions, or deletions without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims. This can be easily understood by those skilled in the art from the above description.

[0036] Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are an increasing number of cases where museums and art galleries are introducing robots to guide and explain things. However, most of these robots only guide and explain things, and the methods of guidance and explanation tend to be monotonous. Although these cases reduce human contact and improve the work efficiency of museum staff, they do not broaden the range of guidance and explanations, and are not thought to lead to improved services for visitors. And if we try to introduce multi-functional robots to solve this problem, it will increase costs, making it impossible to increase the number of robots introduced, and will result in an increase in visitors who cannot receive guidance and explanation services from robots. Therefore, we will link multiple types of robots with relatively simple tasks through a cloud system, enabling the robots to cooperate in providing museum guidance services and explanations of exhibits to visitors at museums, art galleries, etc. This will reduce the overall implementation costs, while adding variety to the guidance and explanations provided by the robots, and enrich the services provided to visitors. This allows services to be provided based on the visitor's wishes. In other words, the function of listening to the visitor's wishes allows guidance to be provided according to the visitor's wishes, so that the visitor can receive guidance and explanations according to their wishes, improving convenience. In addition, visitors do not need to search for the robot, which saves them the trouble and time of searching for the robot, improving the convenience of guidance and explanations. In this system, robots with different roles and functions communicate bidirectionally via a cloud system to guide visitors, etc. For example, a robot 1 that can move and a robot 2 that does not have the ability to move but has excellent conversational capabilities can work together to guide visitors. The robot 1 autonomously navigates and guides the visitor to his / her destination according to the visitor's wishes. When Robot 1 arrives at the destination, it issues an instruction via the cloud system to Robot 2 installed at the destination to explain the exhibits. Robot 2 then receives the instruction and begins explaining the exhibits. After completing its explanation of the exhibits, Robot 2 asks the visitor what exhibit they would like to see next. Robot 2 communicates the visitor's wishes to Robot 1 via the cloud system, and has Robot 1 guide the visitor to the next exhibit. Not only can two types of robots work together, but three or more types of robots can work together as well. For example, by linking delivery robots together, it is possible to add services such as serving drinks to visitors. By linking multiple types of robots together, it is possible to simultaneously provide services that would be difficult to provide with a single robot. By linking multiple types of robots with relatively simple tasks through a cloud system, costs can be reduced compared to introducing multi-function robots. Rather than receiving instructions from a cloud system, the robot will be able to provide services tailored to visitor needs by providing guided tours and explanations via an interface with the visitor. By having a mobile robot like Robot 1 beside the visitor, the visitor does not need to search for the guide / explanatory robot, improving convenience. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 10 Guidance system, 12 Welcome robot, 13a-13c Guide robot, 14a-14c Explanation robot, 15 Server device, 21, 31, 41 input device, 22, 32, 42 output device, 23, 33, 43 processing device, 24, 34, 44 storage device, 25, 35, 45 communication device, 36 mobile device, 50 Guidance processing, 521 visitor detection process, 522, 542 preference listening process, 531 movement process, 532 guidance process, 533 exit guidance process, 541 explanation process, 551 search process, 552 route determination process, 553 explanation command process, 554 guidance end process, 80 Facility, 81 Entrance / Exit, 82a-82c Exhibits.

Claims

1. a guide robot that moves with a visitor who has come to a facility and guides the visitor to a location close to an exhibit displayed in the facility; an explanation robot that is installed near the exhibit and provides an explanation about the exhibit to the visitor who is guided to the vicinity of the exhibit by the guide robot; A guidance system comprising:

2. The facility contains a number of exhibits, A plurality of the commentary robots are provided, The commentary robots are installed near the exhibits corresponding to each of them. The guidance system of claim 1.

3. The guide robot guides the visitor to a location close to an exhibit desired by the visitor among the plurality of exhibits. The guidance system of claim 2.

4. The guide robot provides the visitor with an explanation about the exhibit to which the visitor has been guided, and then guides the visitor to a location near another exhibit desired by the visitor. The guidance system of claim 3.

5. The guide robot communicates with the visitor, thereby identifying other exhibits that the visitor desires to see, The guide robot guides the visitor to a location close to another exhibit that the commentary robot has grasped through a dialogue with the visitor. The guidance system of claim 4.

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