Autonomous mobile body

Abstract

To provide an autonomous mobile body capable of performing a motion close to a human being when changing a traveling direction.SOLUTION: An autonomous mobile body includes: a first unit that has a drive wheel and a chassis and can move straight and turn and move left and right; a second unit that is disposed at an upper portion of the first unit and has a top plate and an oscillating mechanism for performing an oscillating motion of moving around a vertical axis with reference to the first unit; and an obstacle detection portion that detects a surrounding obstacle. The autonomous mobile body includes a controller that executes, in a case of controlling the first unit to change a traveling direction of the autonomous mobile body in order to avoid the obstacle when the obstacle detection portion detects the obstacle in the traveling direction of the autonomous mobile body during movement of the autonomous mobile body, control to cause the second unit to perform the oscillating motion before changing the traveling direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an autonomous moving body. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been research and development of autonomous robots capable of carrying objects such as food, drink, luggage, etc. When an autonomous robot encounters a person who is an obstacle in its traveling direction, it, for example, decelerates or stops, predicts the direction of travel of the person, changes its own traveling direction to a direction different from the predicted traveling direction of the person, and passes by the person while maintaining a distance that will not cause a collision. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5768273 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the movement of the autonomous robot described above has the problem that it is difficult for humans to respond because they cannot recognize the direction in which the autonomous robot is changing direction until the autonomous robot begins to change direction.

[0005] On the other hand, when humans see a person in their path, they may change the direction of their face (eyes) before they start to change their direction to avoid the person. This allows the other person to see the person who has changed the direction of their face (eyes) and recognize that the person is trying to change direction and the direction they are changing.

[0006] As such, conventional autonomous robots have room for improvement in that they are unable to move like humans when changing direction.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous moving body that can move in a manner similar to that of a human being when changing its direction of travel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The autonomous moving body of the present invention comprises a first unit having drive wheels and a chassis and capable of moving in a straight line and turning left and right, a second unit arranged on top of the first unit and having a top plate and a swivel mechanism for performing a swivel motion that moves around a vertical axis based on the first unit, and an obstacle detection unit that detects obstacles in the vicinity, and when an obstacle is detected in the direction of travel of the autonomous moving body by the obstacle detection unit while the autonomous moving body is moving, the autonomous moving body is further equipped with a control unit that controls the first unit to change the direction of travel of the autonomous moving body to avoid the obstacle, and controls the second unit to perform a swivel motion before changing the direction of travel. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an autonomous moving body that can move in a manner similar to that of a human being when changing its direction of travel. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure of an autonomous mobile robot according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the autonomous mobile robot according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first operation example of the autonomous mobile robot according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a first process performed by the autonomous mobile robot according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a second operation example of the autonomous mobile robot according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a third operation example of the autonomous mobile robot according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a second process performed by the autonomous mobile robot according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The autonomous running robot (autonomous mobile body) of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, "forward / backward (direction)" refers to a direction parallel to the traveling direction of the autonomous running robot. Also, "left / right (direction)" refers to a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the autonomous running robot and parallel to the ground.

[0012] First, the structure and functional configuration of the autonomous running robot R will be described with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of the autonomous running robot R of the embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the autonomous running robot R of the embodiment.

[0013] 1(a) is an external view of an autonomous mobile robot R. The autonomous mobile robot R can carry objects such as food, drink, and luggage, and moves autonomously within mobile environments such as restaurants, homes, facilities, warehouses, factories, and outdoors.

[0014] The autonomous traveling robot R includes a transport unit 1 (second unit) and a traveling unit 2. The traveling unit 2 is substantially rectangular in shape with rounded corners, has four drive wheels 21, and a chassis, and is capable of moving straight ahead and turning left and right.

[0015] The transport unit 1 is barrel-shaped and disposed on the upper part of the traveling unit 2. It comprises an upper body 11 and a lower body 12. The housing of the upper body 11 is fixed to a pendulum mechanism 14 (FIG. 1(b)) and moves in accordance with the movement of the pendulum mechanism 14. The housing of the lower body 12 is fixed to a rotation mechanism 13 (FIG. 1(b)) and rotates in accordance with the rotation movement of the rotation mechanism 13.

[0016] 1(b) is a diagram showing the internal structure of the carrying unit 1 of the autonomous mobile robot R. In other words, the housing part of the upper body 11 and the housing part of the lower body 12 in FIG. 1(a) are not shown in FIG. 1(b). The carrying unit 1 includes a rotation mechanism 13 and a pendulum mechanism 14.

[0017] The rotation mechanism 13 is a swivel mechanism for performing a swivel operation around a vertical axis with the traveling unit 2 as a reference.

[0018] The pendulum mechanism 14 is a transport mechanism for transporting luggage, and includes a front-to-back pendulum mechanism 141 and a left-to-right pendulum mechanism 142. The front-to-back pendulum mechanism 141 is a pendulum mechanism for tilting the top surface (top plate) of the upper body 11 in the front-to-back direction. The left-to-right pendulum mechanism 142 is a pendulum mechanism for tilting the top surface (top plate) of the upper body 11 in the left-to-right direction. An object to be transported by the autonomous traveling robot R is placed on the top surface (top plate) of the upper body 11. A mark 111 is attached to the top surface (top plate) of the upper body 11.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the traveling unit 2 includes a traveling drive unit 22, a position sensor 23, an object detection sensor 24 (obstacle detection sensor), and a traveling ECU 25.

[0020] The travel drive unit 22 includes an electric motor that drives the drive wheels 21 to rotate.

[0021] The position sensor 23 is a sensor that acquires data for the travel ECU 25 to estimate the position of the autonomous traveling robot R. The position sensor 23 is composed of, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, a rotational angular velocity sensor of the drive wheels 21, etc., and transmits a detection signal to the travel ECU 25.

[0022] The object detection sensor 24 is a sensor that detects objects (hereinafter, also referred to as "obstacles") around the autonomous traveling robot R. The object detection sensor 24 is composed of, for example, a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) or a millimeter wave sensor, and transmits a detection signal to the traveling ECU 25. The object detection sensor 24 may also be composed of a camera, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, or the like, or may be a combination of a plurality of means.

[0023] The travel ECU 25 is an information processing device configured using predetermined hardware and software, and is configured using, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and the like.

[0024] The travel ECU 25 executes various controls. For example, the travel ECU 25 estimates the current position of the autonomous traveling robot R based on a detection signal obtained from the position sensor 223. The travel ECU 25 also recognizes obstacles around the autonomous traveling robot R based on a detection signal obtained from the object detection sensor 24. The travel ECU 25 also generates a travel route from the current position to the destination based on the current position, the destination, and the positions of the obstacles. The travel ECU 25 also controls the travel drive unit 22 to make the travel unit 2 (and thus the autonomous traveling robot R) travel along the travel route.

[0025] The rotation mechanism 13 further includes a swing drive unit 131, a rotation angle sensor 132, and a swing ECU 133 (control unit).

[0026] The swing drive unit 131 includes an actuator that rotates the rotation mechanism 13 .

[0027] The rotation angle sensor 132 is a sensor that detects the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism 13 , and transmits a detection signal to the swing ECU 133 .

[0028] The swing ECU 133 executes various controls. In the following, a person is mainly assumed as an obstacle. Also, the correspondence with FIG. 3 (details will be described later) is shown.

[0029] When the traveling ECU 25 controls the traveling unit 2 to change the direction of travel of the autonomous traveling robot R to avoid an obstacle (person), the swivel ECU 133 controls the transport unit 1 to swivel (Figure 3(d)) before changing the direction of travel (between (d) and (e) in Figure 3).

[0030] In addition, when the object detection sensor 24 detects an obstacle (person) in the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling robot R while the autonomous traveling robot R is moving, the swivel ECU 133 calculates a driving route to avoid the obstacle (person) based on the predicted traveling direction of the obstacle (person) and the distance to the obstacle (person), and causes the transport unit 1 to swivel in the same direction as the direction of change of traveling direction before changing the traveling direction, and in this case, the angle of the swivel operation of the transport unit 1 may be controlled so that the angle is greater (e.g., 40 degrees) than the maximum angle change amount (e.g., 30 degrees) at which the traveling direction of the traveling unit 2 changes the most along the traveling route.

[0031] Furthermore, when causing the transport unit 1 to perform a recognition operation for an obstacle (person) (an operation for notifying that an obstacle (person) has been detected), the swing ECU 133 can control the swing drive unit 131 to cause the transport unit 1 to perform a swing operation as the recognition operation. Specifically, when the object detection sensor 24 detects an obstacle (person) in the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling robot R while the autonomous traveling robot R is moving, the swing ECU 133 controls the swing drive unit 131 to cause the transport unit 1 to perform a swing operation as a predetermined recognition operation.

[0032] In this case, the swing ECU 133 may perform different recognition operations depending on the size of the obstacle (person), etc. For example, if the obstacle (person) is an adult, the transport unit 1 may perform a small swing operation, and if the obstacle (person) is a child, the transport unit 1 may perform a large swing operation.

[0033] Furthermore, when causing the transport unit 1 to perform a recognition operation, the swing ECU 133 may cause the transport unit 1 to perform a different recognition operation depending on the distance between the autonomous traveling robot R and an obstacle (person) or the relative speed between the autonomous traveling robot R and the obstacle (person). For example, when the distance is equal to or greater than a threshold distance, the swing ECU 133 causes the transport unit 1 to perform a small swing operation, and when the distance is less than the threshold distance, the swing ECU 133 causes the transport unit 1 to perform a large swing operation.

[0034] Furthermore, when the object detection sensor 24 detects an obstacle (person) in the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling robot R while the autonomous traveling robot R is moving, the swing ECU 133 may determine whether or not the obstacle (person) recognizes the presence of the autonomous traveling robot R, and when it determines that the obstacle (person) recognizes the presence of the autonomous traveling robot R, cause the transport unit 1 to perform a recognition operation. Whether or not the obstacle (person) recognizes the presence of the autonomous traveling robot R can be determined from, for example, changes in the walking speed, walking direction, facial expression, etc. of the obstacle (person).

[0035] In addition, when the traveling unit 2 is controlled to change the direction of travel of the autonomous traveling robot R to avoid an obstacle (person), the swivel ECU 133 may control the angle of the swivel motion of the transport unit 1 so that the transport unit 1 faces the direction of the destination until the autonomous traveling robot R reaches the destination when controlling the traveling unit 2 to swivel before changing the direction of travel (details will be described later using Figures 6 and 7).

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, the pendulum mechanism 14 includes a left-right pendulum drive unit 143 , a front-rear pendulum drive unit 144 , a position sensor 145 , an acceleration sensor 146 , and a pendulum ECU 147 .

[0037] When the autonomous mobile robot R turns left and right, acceleration occurs in the autonomous mobile robot R, and the left and right pendulum drive unit 143 is a mechanism for making the upper body 11 perform a left and right pendulum motion to offset the effect of the acceleration so that an object placed on the top surface (top plate) of the upper body 11 does not fall left and right due to the effect of the acceleration. The left and right pendulum drive unit 143 corresponds to the left and right pendulum mechanism 142 in Fig. 1. In addition to offsetting the effect of the acceleration, the left and right pendulum drive unit 143 can also make the upper body 11 perform a left and right pendulum motion as a cognitive action.

[0038] When the autonomous traveling robot R accelerates or decelerates in the forward / backward direction, acceleration occurs in the autonomous traveling robot R in the forward / backward direction, and the forward / backward pendulum drive unit 144 is a mechanism for making the upper body 11 perform a pendulum movement in the forward / backward direction to offset the effect of the acceleration so that an object placed on the top surface (top plate) of the upper body 11 does not fall in the forward / backward direction due to the effect of the acceleration. The forward / backward pendulum drive unit 144 corresponds to the forward / backward pendulum mechanism 141 in Fig. 1. In addition to offsetting the effect of the acceleration, the forward / backward pendulum drive unit 144 can also make the upper body 11 perform a pendulum movement in the forward / backward direction as a cognitive action.

[0039] The left-right pendulum drive unit 143 and the front-back pendulum drive unit 144 can be controlled in parallel. Therefore, even if acceleration occurs in any direction around 360 degrees on the autonomous traveling robot R, by controlling the left-right pendulum drive unit 143 and the front-back pendulum drive unit 144 in parallel to cancel the effect of the acceleration, it is possible to prevent an object placed on the top surface (top plate) of the upper body 11 from falling. Also, as a cognitive operation, the left-right pendulum drive unit 143 and the front-back pendulum drive unit 144 can be controlled in parallel to operate the upper body 11.

[0040] The position sensor 145 is a sensor that acquires data for estimating the position of the pendulum mechanism 14. The position sensor 23 is constituted by, for example, a rotational angular velocity sensor, and transmits a detection signal to the pendulum ECU 147. Note that the position sensor 145 may be provided for each of the front-rear pendulum mechanism 141 and the left-right pendulum mechanism 142.

[0041] The acceleration sensor 146 detects the acceleration generated in the pendulum mechanism 14 and transmits a detection signal to the pendulum ECU 147 .

[0042] The pendulum ECU 147 executes various controls. Based on detection signals acquired from the position sensor 145 and the acceleration sensor 146, the pendulum ECU 147 controls the left-right pendulum drive unit 143 and the front-rear pendulum drive unit 144 to make the upper body 11 perform a pendulum motion so that an object placed on the top surface (top plate) of the upper body 11 does not fall due to acceleration generated in the autonomous traveling robot R.

[0043] In addition, as a recognition operation, the pendulum ECU 147 controls the left-right pendulum drive unit 143 and the front-rear pendulum drive unit 144 to cause the upper body 11 to perform a pendulum operation.

[0044] For example, when the object detection sensor 24 detects an obstacle (person) in the traveling direction of the autonomous mobile robot R while the autonomous mobile robot R is moving, the pendulum ECU 147 controls the front-rear pendulum drive unit 144 to cause the upper body 11 to perform a pendulum movement as a predetermined recognition action (FIG. 3(b)). In addition, the pendulum ECU 147 may cause the upper body 11 to perform a pendulum movement in the front-rear direction when the obstacle (person) is an adult, and may cause the upper body 11 to perform a pendulum movement in the left-right direction when the obstacle (person) is a child.

[0045] By having the autonomous robot R perform actions that it normally does not perform as recognition actions, it is possible to inform an obstacle (person) that sees the autonomous robot R that the autonomous robot R has recognized the obstacle (person). In other words, recognition actions are equivalent to a means of communication between people, such as eye contact or nodding.

[0046] Next, a first operation example of the autonomous traveling robot R will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 3. The traveling ECU 25, the swing ECU 133, and the pendulum ECU 147 can communicate with each other via a controller area network (CAN) or the like, and transmit and receive necessary information.

[0047] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a first operation example of the autonomous mobile robot R of the embodiment. Here, the premise of Fig. 3 will be described. As described above, generally, when an autonomous mobile robot encounters a person who is an obstacle in its traveling direction, it, for example, decelerates or stops, predicts the traveling direction of the person, changes its own traveling direction to a direction different from the predicted traveling direction of the person, and passes by the person while maintaining a distance that will not cause a collision.

[0048] However, the movement of this autonomous robot has the problem that it is difficult for humans to respond because they cannot recognize the direction in which the autonomous robot is changing direction until the autonomous robot begins to change direction.

[0049] On the other hand, when humans see a person in their path, they may change the direction of their face (eyes) before they start to change their direction to avoid the person. This allows the other person to see the person who has changed the direction of their face (eyes) and recognize that the person is trying to change direction and the direction they are changing.

[0050] Thus, conventional autonomous robots have room for improvement in that they are not able to move like humans. Therefore, in Fig. 3, a case will be described in which, when there is a person who is an obstacle in the direction of the autonomous robot R's movement, the person is made to recognize at an early stage the direction in which the autonomous robot R will change its movement direction.

[0051] In the example of Fig. 3, it is assumed that the autonomous traveling robot R first moves straight ahead. The recognition operation can be performed by either the swing ECU 133 or the pendulum ECU 147, but the following will take as an example a case where it is realized by the pendulum ECU 147. In Figs. 3(a) to (g), the direction V1 indicates the direction in which the (front of) the traveling unit 2 faces. The direction V2 indicates the direction in which the (front of) the transport unit 1 faces.

[0052] In FIG. 3(a), the autonomous mobile robot R is moving straight ahead, and the object detection sensor 24 detects an obstacle (person) ahead.

[0053] 3(b), the pendulum ECU 147 controls the front-rear pendulum drive unit 144 to perform a recognition operation so that the obstacle (person) recognizes that the autonomous traveling robot R has detected the obstacle (person). Specifically, the upper body 11 performs a pendulum operation in the front-rear direction so that the front side goes down and the rear side goes up. Note that the recognition operation is not limited to this, and the transport unit 1 may perform a swing operation in a predetermined direction.

[0054] 3(c), the pendulum ECU 147 controls the front-rear pendulum drive unit 144 to perform a pendulum motion so as to return the upper body 11 to its original position. At this time, the traveling ECU 25 determines that the traveling direction should be changed to the right (left side in FIG. 3) based on the traveling direction in order to avoid a collision with an obstacle (person).

[0055] Then, before the traveling unit 2 (autonomous traveling robot R) changes its direction of travel (between (d) and (e) in Figure 3), in Figure 3 (d), the swivel ECU 133 controls the transport unit 1 to swivel in the same direction as the direction in which the direction of travel is changed.

[0056] Thereafter, between (d) and (e) of Figure 3, the travel ECU 25 controls the travel drive unit 22 to cause the travel unit 2 (autonomous travel robot R) to change its direction of travel, and at the point in time of Figure 3(e), the direction V1 and the direction V2 become aligned.

[0057] After that, it is assumed that the autonomous traveling robot R and an obstacle (person) pass each other between (e) and (f) in Fig. 3. Then, immediately after that, the traveling unit 2 (autonomous traveling robot R) changes its traveling direction under the control of the traveling drive unit 22 by the traveling ECU 25, and at the time of Fig. 3(f), the traveling direction (direction V2) of the autonomous traveling robot R becomes the same as the original direction (at the time of Fig. 3(a)).

[0058] Thereafter, the swing ECU 133 controls the swing drive unit 131 to swing the transport unit 1 so as to align the direction of the transport unit 1 (direction V1) with the traveling direction (direction V2) of the autonomous traveling robot R. As a result, the directions V1 and V2 are aligned at the point in time of Fig. 3(g). Note that the straight-ahead travel path from Fig. 3(g) onwards may or may not match the straight-ahead travel path at the point in time of Fig. 3(a).

[0059] Next, the first process by the autonomous traveling robot R will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 corresponds to Fig. 3 and Fig. 5, and is a flowchart showing the first process by the autonomous traveling robot R of the embodiment. Note that, prior to this process, the travel ECU 25 is assumed to have generated a straight travel route from the current position to the destination based on the current position of the autonomous traveling robot R and the destination.

[0060] In step S1, the travel ECU 25 controls the travel drive unit 22 to cause the autonomous traveling robot R to travel (straight) along a travel route.

[0061] Next, in step S2, the travel ECU 25 determines whether or not an obstacle (person) has been detected ahead by the object detection sensor 24, and if Yes, the process proceeds to step S3, and if No, the process returns to step S1.

[0062] In step S3, the pendulum ECU 147 controls the front-rear pendulum drive unit 144 to perform a recognition action (FIG. 3(b)).

[0063] Next, in step S4, the driving ECU 25 determines whether it is necessary to change the direction of travel of the autonomous driving robot R to avoid a collision with an obstacle (person), and if Yes, proceeds to step S5, and if No, ends the processing (continues driving).

[0064] In step S5, the travel ECU 25 determines whether or not there is a possibility of a collision with an obstacle (person), and if Yes, the process proceeds to step S6, and if No, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0065] In step S6, the traveling ECU 25 controls the traveling drive unit 22 to stop traveling.

[0066] In step S7, the swing ECU 133 controls the swing drive unit 131 to cause the transport unit 1 to swing in the same direction as the direction in which the travel direction is changed (FIG. 3(d)).

[0067] Next, in step S8, the traveling ECU 25 controls the traveling drive unit 22 to change the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling robot R (between (d) and (e) in FIG. 3).

[0068] Next, a second operation example of the autonomous traveling robot R will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a second operation example of the autonomous traveling robot R of the embodiment. In the example of Fig. 5, it is assumed that the autonomous traveling robot R first moves straight ahead and then avoids two obstacles in order. Note that duplicated explanations of matters similar to those in Fig. 3 will be omitted as appropriate.

[0069] In Fig. 5(a), the autonomous traveling robot R is moving straight ahead, and the object detection sensor 24 detects an obstacle B1 (person) ahead. The recognition operation is the same as in Fig. 3, so illustration and explanation in Fig. 5 are omitted. Also, at this time, the traveling ECU 25 decides to change the traveling direction to the right (left side in Fig. 5) based on the traveling direction in order to avoid a collision with the obstacle B1 (person).

[0070] Then, before the traveling unit 2 (autonomous traveling robot R) changes its direction of travel (between (b) and (c) in Figure 5), in Figure 5 (b), the swivel ECU 133 controls the transport unit 1 to swivel in the same direction as the direction in which the direction of travel is changed.

[0071] Thereafter, between (b) and (c) of Figure 5, the travel ECU 25 controls the travel drive unit 22 to cause the travel unit 2 (autonomous travel robot R) to change its direction of travel, and at the point in time of Figure 5(c), the direction V1 and the direction V2 become aligned.

[0072] After that, the autonomous traveling robot R and an obstacle (person) pass each other between (c) and (d) in Fig. 5. Then, it is assumed that the object detection sensor 24 detects an obstacle B2 (person) ahead. Also, it is assumed that at this time, the traveling ECU 25 decides to change the traveling direction to the left (the right in Fig. 5) based on the traveling direction in order to avoid a collision with the obstacle B2 (person).

[0073] Then, before the traveling unit 2 (autonomous traveling robot R) changes its direction of travel (between (d) and (e) in Figure 5), in Figure 5 (d), the swivel ECU 133 controls the transport unit 1 to swivel in the same direction as the direction in which the traveling direction will be changed.

[0074] Thereafter, between (d) and (e) of Figure 5, the travel ECU 25 controls the travel drive unit 22 to cause the travel unit 2 (autonomous travel robot R) to change its direction of travel, and at the point in time of Figure 5(e), the direction V1 and the direction V2 become aligned.

[0075] After that, the autonomous traveling robot R and the obstacle B2 (person) pass each other between (e) and (f) in Fig. 5. Here, it is assumed that the traveling ECU 25 decides to change the traveling direction to the right (left side in Fig. 5) based on the traveling direction.

[0076] Then, before the traveling unit 2 (autonomous traveling robot R) changes its direction of travel (between (f) and (g) in Figure 5), in Figure 5 (f), the swivel ECU 133 controls the transport unit 1 to swivel in the same direction as the direction in which the direction of travel is to be changed.

[0077] Thereafter, between (f) and (g) of Figure 5, the travel unit 2 (autonomous traveling robot R) changes its direction of travel under the control of the travel drive unit 22 by the travel ECU 25, and at the point in time of Figure 5(g), the direction V1 and the direction V2 become aligned.

[0078] Next, a third operation example of the autonomous mobile robot R will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a third operation example of the autonomous mobile robot R of the embodiment. In general, for example, when an employee of a restaurant delivers food and drink, at a certain moment, even if the employee's moving direction is different from the direction toward the target customer, the employee may turn his / her face (gaze) toward the target customer. This allows the target customer to see the employee turning his / her face (gaze) toward him / her and recognize that the employee is heading toward him / her.

[0079] However, since conventional autonomous robots only proceed along a calculated route, they do not perform the same action as turning their faces (eyes) toward customers at the destination, such as the above-mentioned employees. Therefore, even if the autonomous robot is heading toward the customer, the customer cannot recognize that the autonomous robot is heading toward the customer until the direction of the autonomous robot's movement matches the direction toward the customer.

[0080] 6, a case will be described in which, when the autonomous robot R is moving toward a target person C, the person C is made to recognize that the autonomous robot R is moving toward him / her even before the traveling direction of the autonomous robot coincides with the direction toward the person C. Note that, for matters similar to those in FIG. 3, duplicated explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0081] 6(a), the autonomous traveling robot R is moving straight ahead, and the object detection sensor 24 detects an obstacle B3 ahead. At this time, the traveling ECU 25 decides to change the traveling direction to the right (left side in FIG. 6) based on the traveling direction in order to avoid a collision with the obstacle B3.

[0082] Then, the traveling unit 2 (autonomous traveling robot R) advances while changing its traveling direction to avoid colliding with the obstacle B3 ((b) to (g)). During (b) to (g), the swing ECU 133 controls the angle of the swing operation of the transport unit 1 so that the transport unit 1 faces the destination (person C) from before the autonomous traveling robot R changes its traveling direction until the autonomous traveling robot R arrives at the destination (person C).

[0083] Next, the second process by the autonomous mobile robot R will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 corresponds to Fig. 6, and is a flowchart showing the second process by the autonomous mobile robot R of the embodiment.

[0084] 4, except that step S7 is replaced by step S71, so only step S71 will be described. If the answer is No in step S5, in step S71, the swing ECU 133 controls the angle of the swing operation of the transport unit 1 so that the transport unit 1 faces the destination (person C in FIG. 6) ((b) to (g) in FIG. 6).

[0085] In this way, according to the autonomous mobile robot R of this embodiment, if an obstacle (person) is detected in the direction of travel while moving, and the direction of travel is changed to avoid the obstacle (person), the transport unit 1 is caused to swivel before changing the direction of travel.

[0086] In this case, for example, before the autonomous traveling robot R changes its direction of travel, the transport unit 1 is caused to swing in the same direction as the direction of change of direction of travel. This makes it possible for an obstacle (person) in the direction of travel of the autonomous traveling robot R to recognize at an early stage the direction in which the autonomous traveling robot R will change its direction of travel. This ensures the safety of the obstacle (person) passing by the autonomous traveling robot R, and gives the obstacle (person) a sense of security.

[0087] In addition, when the transport unit 1 is caused to swivel in the same direction as the direction in which the autonomous traveling robot R changes its traveling direction before changing its traveling direction, the angle of the swivel of the transport unit 1 may be controlled so that the angle is greater than the maximum angle change amount at which the traveling direction of the traveling unit 2 changes most greatly on the traveling route. This can increase the possibility that an obstacle (person) will notice the swivel of the autonomous traveling robot R.

[0088] In addition, when the transport unit 1 is made to perform a recognition operation, it may be configured to perform different recognition operations depending on the size of the obstacle (person), etc. This allows, for example, a recognition operation that makes it easier to notice each obstacle (person).

[0089] Furthermore, when the transport unit 1 is made to perform a recognition operation, it may be configured to perform different recognition operations according to the distance between the autonomous robot R and an obstacle (person) or the relative speed between the autonomous robot R and the obstacle (person). This makes it possible to realize a recognition operation for each distance according to the importance of the recognition operation that may change according to the distance or relative speed, for example.

[0090] In addition, when an obstacle (person) is detected in the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling robot R, it may be determined whether or not the obstacle (person) recognizes the presence of the autonomous traveling robot R, and when it is determined that the obstacle (person) recognizes the presence of the autonomous traveling robot R, the transport unit 1 may be made to perform a recognition operation. This allows for an effective recognition operation to be realized.

[0091] Also, even when the autonomous mobile robot R makes an S-shaped movement to avoid multiple obstacles in order as shown in Fig. 5, the transport unit 1 is made to swing in the same direction as the direction of change of the traveling direction before changing the traveling direction for each obstacle (person). This allows the autonomous mobile robot R to recognize the direction of change of the traveling direction for each obstacle (person) at an early stage.

[0092] 6, when the traveling unit 2 is controlled to change the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling robot R to avoid an obstacle B3, the angle of the swivel motion of the transport unit 1 may be controlled so that the transport unit 1 faces the destination (person C) until the autonomous traveling robot R arrives at the destination when the traveling unit 2 is controlled to swivel before changing the traveling direction. This allows the person C to recognize that the autonomous traveling robot R is heading toward him / her even before the traveling direction of the autonomous traveling robot R matches the direction toward the person C ((b) to (e) of FIG. 6).

[0093] The program executed by the autonomous robot R of this embodiment can be provided by recording it in an installable or executable file format on a recording medium readable by a computer device, such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory), a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R (Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). The program may also be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0094] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This new embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

[0095] For example, the acceleration sensor 146 may be provided in the traveling unit 2, instead of in the pendulum mechanism 14. In that case, however, the acceleration sensor 146 does not detect the acceleration due to the pendulum motion of the pendulum mechanism 14 or the rotational motion of the rotation mechanism 13. However, the pendulum ECU 147 can determine the control contents for the left / right pendulum drive unit 143 and the front / rear pendulum drive unit 144 by using not only the detection signal from the acceleration sensor 146, but also previous control signals from the pendulum ECU 147 to the left / right pendulum drive unit 143 and the front / rear pendulum drive unit 144, and previous control signals from the swing ECU 133 to the swing drive unit 131.

[0096] On the other hand, if the acceleration sensor 146 is provided in the pendulum mechanism 14 as in the above embodiment, such complicated processing is not required because the acceleration sensor 146 detects the acceleration due to the pendulum motion of the pendulum mechanism 14 and the rotational motion of the rotation mechanism 13. In other words, the control contents for the left-right pendulum drive unit 143 and the front-rear pendulum drive unit 144 can be determined by simple processing based only on the detection signal from the acceleration sensor 146.

[0097] Furthermore, the present invention can be widely applied to autonomous mobile bodies in general, in addition to autonomous running robots.

[0098] Also, in step S6 of FIG. 4, the autonomous robot R may be first decelerated, and then stopped if there is still a possibility of collision with an obstacle (person). [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 1...transport unit (second unit), 2...travel unit (first unit), 11...upper body (transport mechanism), 12...lower body (swivel mechanism), 13...rotation mechanism (swivel mechanism), 21...drive wheel, 131...swivel drive unit (swivel mechanism), 132...rotation angle sensor (swivel mechanism), 133...swivel ECU (control unit), R...autonomous traveling robot (autonomous moving body)

Claims

1. a first unit having drive wheels and a chassis and capable of moving straight ahead and turning left and right; a second unit disposed on top of the first unit and having a top plate and a swing mechanism for swinging about a vertical axis based on the first unit; An autonomous moving body including an obstacle detection unit that detects surrounding obstacles, An autonomous moving body comprising: a control unit that, when an obstacle is detected in the traveling direction of the autonomous moving body by the obstacle detection unit while the autonomous moving body is moving, controls the first unit to change the traveling direction of the autonomous moving body to avoid the obstacle, and controls the second unit to perform a swiveling motion before changing the traveling direction.

2. 2. The autonomous moving body according to claim 1, wherein, when an obstacle is detected in the traveling direction of the autonomous moving body by the obstacle detection unit while the autonomous moving body is moving, the control unit calculates a driving path to avoid the obstacle based on a predicted traveling direction of the obstacle and a distance to the obstacle, and before changing the traveling direction, causes the second unit to swivel in the same direction as the direction in which the traveling direction is to be changed, and in that case, controls an angle of the swivel operation of the second unit so that the angle is greater than a maximum angle change amount at which the traveling direction of the first unit changes the most on the traveling path.

3. The autonomous mobile body according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit, when causing the second unit to perform a predetermined cognitive action, causes the second unit to perform a different cognitive action depending on the obstacle.

4. The autonomous moving body according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit, when causing the second unit to perform a predetermined cognitive action, causes the second unit to perform a different cognitive action depending on a distance between the autonomous moving body and the obstacle or a relative speed between the autonomous moving body and the obstacle.

5. 2. The autonomous moving body according to claim 1, wherein when the obstacle detection unit detects an obstacle in a traveling direction of the autonomous moving body while the autonomous moving body is moving, the control unit determines whether the obstacle has recognized the presence of the autonomous moving body, and when it determines that the obstacle has recognized the presence of the autonomous moving body, causes the second unit to perform a predetermined cognitive operation.

6. 2. The autonomous moving body according to claim 1, wherein when the control unit controls the first unit to change the direction of travel of the autonomous moving body to avoid the obstacle, and when the control unit controls the second unit to perform a swivel motion before changing the direction of travel, the control unit controls an angle of the swivel motion of the second unit so that the second unit faces toward the destination until the autonomous moving body arrives at the destination.

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