Robot control system, robot control device, control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a technique for generating a path operation of a manipulator for connecting a plurality of tasks.SOLUTION: Interface means 101 arbitrarily combines a plurality of predefined skills. The interface means 101 adjusts parameters held by the plurality of skills. The interface means 101 defines a task to be performed by a robot. Storage means 102 holds information on an object on which the robot performs the task. The storage means 102 provides initial values of the parameters of the plurality of skills. Skill decomposition and robot control means 103 decomposes a combination of the plurality of skills input from the interface means 101. The skill decomposition and robot control means 103 generates an optimal command sequence for controlling the robot. The skill decomposition and robot control means 103 controls the robot by using the command sequence.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a robot control system, a robot control device, a control method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] A handler robot includes a robot hand as a hand for performing work and a robot arm as an arm connected by a plurality of axes supporting the robot hand. An operator inputs individual control commands from a panel such as an iPad (registered trademark) connected to the robot in order to teach the robot. The individual control commands include moving the robot hand up 10 cm, then moving it 20 cm to the right, and gripping an object. Here, the objects of the work performed by the robot are different in the manufacturing and logistics fields. Therefore, teaching of the work corresponding to the object is individually required. For example, even in the same manufacturing, the work to be performed by the robot for objects such as cars and semiconductors is very different.

[0003] Here, one of the tasks that takes time in teaching is the fine adjustment of the detailed movements of the robot. In order to make the robot perform the desired work, trial and error in teaching is required. The trial and error in teaching includes fine-tuning the up, down, left, right, and depth positions of the robot hand. The trial and error in teaching includes adjusting so that the robot arm that supports the robot hand does not interfere with the object when the robot hand moves. The trial and error in teaching includes adjusting the angular relationship between the axes of the robot arms that support the robot hand even when the robot hand is in the same position, because multiple angular relationships are conceivable. The operator performs the trial and error in teaching while using the actual robot until the desired operation is obtained. Furthermore, there are often multiple tasks that the robot performs on one object. The operator makes a trade-off between multiple tasks or changes the order between multiple tasks. At this time, the operator readjusts the movements of the robot hand and arm in order to realize the intended movement. Therefore, a large time cost and high technical ability are required for teaching the robot.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a robot teaching device for simplifying the labor of teaching.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide control of a robot arm that connects between multiple tasks.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, Interface means for defining the work to be performed by the robot by arbitrarily combining a plurality of predefined skills and adjusting the parameters held by the plurality of skills; Storage means for providing initial values of the parameters of the plurality of skills by holding information on the object on which the robot performs work; Skill decomposition and robot control means for decomposing the combination of the plurality of skills input from the interface unit, generating an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot, and controlling the robot using the instruction sequence; including A robot control system is provided.

[0008] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, Interface means for defining the work to be performed by the robot by arbitrarily combining a plurality of predefined skills and adjusting the parameters held by the plurality of skills; Storage means for providing initial values of the parameters of the plurality of skills by holding information on the object on which the robot performs work; Skill decomposition and robot control means for decomposing the combination of the plurality of skills input from the interface unit, generating an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot, and controlling the robot using the instruction sequence; including A robot control device is provided.

[0009] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, Define the work to be performed by the robot by arbitrarily combining a plurality of predefined skills and adjusting the parameters held by the plurality of skills, Provide initial values of the parameters of the plurality of skills by holding information on the object on which the robot performs work, Decompose the combination of the plurality of skills input from the interface unit, generate an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot, and control the robot using the instruction sequence, A control method is provided.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] The present disclosure provides control of a robotic arm that connects between multiple tasks.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] (Summary of the Present Disclosure) FIG. 1 shows a robot control system 100. The robot control system 100 includes an interface means 101, a storage means 102, and a skill decomposition and robot control means 103.

[0013] The interface means 101 arbitrarily combines a plurality of predefined skills. The interface means 101 adjusts the parameters held by the plurality of skills. The interface means 101 defines the work to be performed by the robot.

[0014] The storage means 102 holds information on the object on which the robot performs work. The storage means 102 provides initial values of parameters of a plurality of skills.

[0015] The skill decomposition and robot control means 103 decomposes the combination of a plurality of skills input from the interface means 101. The skill decomposition and robot control means 103 generates an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot. The skill decomposition and robot control means 103 controls the robot using the instruction sequence.

[0016] Robot control system 100 provides control of a robot arm that connects between multiple tasks.

[0017] (First Embodiment) Figure 2 shows the robot control system 1.

[0018] Robot control system 1 includes one or more robot hardwares 2.

[0019] Robot control system 1 includes a resource management unit 3 that configures a grouping of one or more robot hardwares 2.

[0020] Robot control system 1 includes a skill repository 4 that stores a plurality of skills that define movements to be executed by the robot.

[0021] Robot control system 1 includes a virtual robot control program 5 that defines work to be executed on the grouped robot hardware 2. The virtual robot control program 5 is composed of one or more skills.

[0022] Robot control system 1 includes a skill decomposition and execution program 6 that decomposes the virtual robot control program 5. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 is a specific example of skill decomposition and robot control means. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 generates an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot and controls the robot.

[0023] Robot control system 1 includes a CPU resource 7 for a virtual robot that operates the robot hardware 2 according to an instruction sequence for controlling the robot.

[0024] Robot control system 1 includes a control program configuration interface 8 for setting skills and their parameters that make up the virtual robot control program 5. The control program configuration interface 8 is a specific example of interface means.

[0025] The robot control system 1 includes an object information storage 9 in which the skill decomposition and execution program 6 holds information on objects necessary for planning and executing the control of the robot. The object information storage 9 is a specific example of storage means.

[0026] Skills define the movements of robots typically used in manufacturing and logistics. For example, in manufacturing, skills correspond to welding, blowing, assembly, etc. These skills hold one or more parameters for the robot user to finely adjust its operations. A skill is, for example, a welding skill. The parameters of the welding skill are the welding position, welding angle, welding temperature, etc. The skill may also be a blowing skill. A skill developer may newly define a skill. The skill developer may add the newly defined skill to the skill repository 4. The robot user will be able to incorporate and utilize the new skills developed by the skill developer into the virtual robot control program 5.

[0027] The initial parameters of each skill are set to the values stored in the object information storage 9. The welding position and welding angle, which are parameters of the welding skill, are obtained from the CAD information and design information of the workpiece as the object on which the robot works. The welding temperature, which is a parameter of the welding skill, may be a value conventionally used in that process.

[0028] The virtual robot control program 5 includes one or more skills. The virtual robot control program 5 is composed of a combination of one or more skills. Typically, the virtual robot control program 5 is composed of a combination of multiple skills. The robot user generates the virtual robot control program 5 by selecting multiple skills from the skill repository 4 via the control program configuration interface 8. The control program configuration interface 8 generates the virtual robot control program 5 based on the input of the robot user. The robot user specifies, via the control program configuration interface 8, where to execute the process on the workpiece as the object. The robot user may specify the execution order constraints between skills. When the robot user specifies the location where the skill is to be executed on the workpiece in each skill, the coordinates of the execution target location stored in the object information storage 9 are stored as the initial values in the initial parameters of that skill. The initial parameters are typically the coordinates for performing welding or blowing. The object information storage 9 provides the initial parameters for each skill. The control program configuration interface 8 initializes the parameters of the multiple skills that make up the virtual robot control program 5 based on the initial parameters (welding position, welding angle, welding temperature, etc.) of each skill provided from the object information storage 9.

[0029] The robot user selects the skills for configuring the virtual robot control program 5 via the control program configuration interface 8. The robot user sets the position of the workpiece where the skills selected by the robot user are to be executed via the control program configuration interface 8. The position of the workpiece is, for example, the welding position of the workpiece. The robot user may set restrictions on the execution order of a plurality of skills selected by the robot user via the control program configuration interface 8. For example, assume that a plurality of skills selected by the robot user include Skill A, Skill B, and Skill C. In this case, the robot user may set restrictions on the execution order via the control program configuration interface 8 so that Skill C is executed before Skill B. The robot user may add or delete skills, adjust the restrictions on the execution order of a plurality of skills, and adjust the parameters of each skill during the development of the virtual robot control program 5 or during the verification of robot operation via the control program configuration interface 8. The robot user adds or deletes skills and adjusts parameters via the control program configuration interface 8 until the desired robot operation is obtained.

[0030] The robot user adjusts the parameters by inputting a difference value into the robot control system 1 via the control program configuration interface 8. For example, regarding the parameters related to the welding position, the robot user inputs the difference value in the X-axis direction and the difference value in the Y-axis direction into the robot control system 1 via the control program configuration interface 8. The control program configuration interface 8 corrects the parameters of the skill based on the difference value input by the robot user. The object information storage 9 may store in advance the combination of skills to be performed on the workpiece. The robot user may add or delete skills with respect to the combination of skills stored in the object information storage 9. This enables the robot user to realize the desired combination of skills in a short time.

[0031] The skill decomposition and execution program 6 decomposes and interprets the list of multiple skills that the virtual robot control program 5 has. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 generates an instruction sequence for controlling the robot. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 controls the robot according to the instruction sequence. The instruction sequence defines the path along which the robot is controlled. The instruction sequence defines the movement path of the manipulator between the Nth skill and the (N + 1)th skill. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 generates the movement path so that the multiple skills included in the virtual robot control program 5 are executed in the shortest time. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 generates the movement path of the manipulator so that the manipulator does not interfere with the workpiece. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 generates the movement path of the manipulator so that the manipulator does not interfere with the workpiece based on the three-dimensional CAD data of the workpiece and the three-dimensional data of the external environment. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 may voxelize the three-dimensional CAD data of the workpiece, the three-dimensional data of the external environment, and the manipulator. Voxelization can suppress the calculation cost when the skill decomposition and execution program 6 generates the movement path. When there are multiple robots to perform the work, the skill decomposition and execution program 6 allocates multiple skills to multiple robots. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 can change the execution order of the multiple skills that the virtual robot control program 5 has. Typically, the skill decomposition and execution program 6 can change the execution order of the multiple skills that the virtual robot control program 5 has so that the multiple skills included in the virtual robot control program 5 are executed in the shortest time.

[0032] The robot control system 1 shown in FIG. 2 is typically implemented by a computer 10. The computer 10 includes a processor 10a, a memory 10b, and an input interface 10c. The processor 10a executes a program stored in the memory 10b. Thereby, the processor 10a causes hardware such as the processor 10a, the memory 10b, and the input interface 10c to function as the robot control system 1. For example, the processor 10a causes hardware such as the processor 10a, the memory 10b, and the input interface 10c to function as a control program configuration interface 8, an object information storage 9, and a skill decomposition and execution program 6.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of skills included in the skill repository 4 and the initial parameters of each skill included in the object information storage 9 are control programs and set values based on the design information of the workpiece. The robot user combines a plurality of skills via the control program configuration interface 8. The robot user defines the work to be executed by the robot as a virtual robot control program 5. At this time, the initial parameters stored in the object information storage 9 are set for the parameters of the plurality of skills included in the virtual robot control program 5. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 generates an instruction sequence for controlling the robot based on the virtual robot control program 5. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 controls the robot according to the instruction sequence generated by the skill decomposition and execution program 6.

[0034] Here, there may be a deviation between the instruction sequence with the initial parameters set and the actual workpiece. Therefore, while checking the movement of the robot, the robot user inputs the difference value of the parameters into the robot control system 1 via the control program configuration interface 8. The skill decomposition and execution program 6 regenerates an instruction sequence for controlling the robot based on the difference value (adjustment value). The robot user repeats this parameter adjustment until the desired operation of the robot is obtained.

[0035] According to such a configuration, the robot user does not have to finely perform the teaching of the robot. The robot user combines the skills defined at the operation level of manufacturing or logistics to be executed. The skill decomposition and execution program 6, on behalf of the robot user, based on the information of the workpiece represented by the CAD information of the workpiece stored in the object information storage 9, performs the optimal control planning and execution of the robot based on the specified combination of skills. When the CAD information of the workpiece is slightly deviated from the actual workpiece, the robot user finely adjusts the parameters of each skill during teaching or while actually verifying the operation of the robot. The above configuration can bring the movement of the robot closer to the desired operation in a short time and with simple operations.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, the robot control system 1 operates as follows.

[0037] Step S100: The control program configuration interface 8 (interface means) defines the work to be performed by the robot by arbitrarily combining a plurality of predefined skills and adjusting the parameters held by the plurality of skills.

[0038] Step S110: The object information storage 9 (storage means) provides the initial values of the parameters of a plurality of skills by holding the information of the object on which the robot performs work.

[0039] Step S120: The skill decomposition and execution program 6 (skill decomposition and robot control means) decomposes the combination of a plurality of skills input from the control program configuration interface 8, generates an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot, and controls the robot using the instruction sequence.

[0040] Step S130: The robot user corrects the parameters of the skills via the control program configuration interface 8.

[0041] The present disclosure typically relates to a task of performing the same skill multiple times on one workpiece. The task typically involves performing a blow process on each of 15 threaded holes machined on one workpiece. In other words, a total of 15 blow processes are performed. The present disclosure relates to the control of a robot arm that connects during the 15 blow processes. Generally, in order to perform 15 blow processes using a teaching pendant, the robot arm is controlled by the teaching pendant to move 1 cm upward, 5 cm to the right, etc., and programmed individually line by line. In the present disclosure, it relates to the fact that the blow process can be performed on 15 points from CAD information, the coordinates of those points can be automatically obtained from the CAD information, and the path control of the robot arm connecting those 15 points is automatically performed by the skill decomposition and execution program 6. The present disclosure greatly simplifies the teaching work of the robot user. The robot user corrects the deviation between the CAD information and the actual workpiece resulting from the deviation of the mold, etc.

[0042] In the above example, the program (instructions) can be stored using various types of non-transitory computer readable media and supplied to a computer. Non-transitory computer readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic recording media (such as flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (such as magneto-optical disks). Examples of non-transitory computer readable media further include CD-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R, CD-R / W, semiconductor memories (such as including mask ROM). Examples of non-transitory computer readable media further include PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory). Also, the program may be supplied to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of transitory computer readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. Transitory computer readable media can supply the program to the computer via wired communication paths such as electric wires and optical fibers, or wireless communication paths.

Explanation of Signs

[0043] 1 Robot control system 2 Robot hardware 3 Resource management unit 4 Skill repository 5 Virtual robot control program 6 Skill decomposition and execution program 7 CPU resources for virtual robot 8 Control program configuration interface 9 Object information storage 10 Computer

Claims

1. Interface means for defining the work to be performed by the robot by arbitrarily combining a plurality of pre-defined skills and adjusting the parameters held by the plurality of skills; Storage means for providing initial values of the parameters of the plurality of skills by holding information on the object on which the robot performs work; Skill decomposition and robot control means for decomposing the combination of the plurality of skills input from the interface means, generating an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot, and controlling the robot using the instruction sequence; comprising a robot control system.

2. The adjustment of the parameters of the plurality of skills is performed by an operator inputting a relative correction value for the parameters of the plurality of skills while checking the operation of the instruction sequence generated by the skill decomposition and robot control means. The robot control system according to claim 1.

3. The plurality of skills include a welding skill. The robot control system according to claim 1.

4. The parameters of the welding skill indicate at least one physical quantity among a welding position, a welding angle, and a welding temperature. The robot control system according to claim 3.

5. The plurality of skills include a blowing skill. The robot control system according to claim 1.

6. Interface means for defining the work to be performed by the robot by arbitrarily combining a plurality of pre-defined skills and adjusting the parameters held by the plurality of skills; Storage means for providing initial values of the parameters of the plurality of skills by holding information on the object on which the robot performs work; Skill decomposition and robot control means for decomposing the combination of the plurality of skills input from the interface section, generating an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot, and controlling the robot using the instruction sequence; comprising a robot control device.

7. Defining the work to be performed by the robot by arbitrarily combining a plurality of pre-defined skills and adjusting the parameters held by the plurality of skills, providing initial values of the parameters of the plurality of skills by holding information on the object on which the robot performs work, Decompose the combination of the plurality of skills input from the interface unit, generate an optimal instruction sequence for controlling the robot, and control the robot using the instruction sequence. Control method. **Claim 8** A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to Claim 7.

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