Mobile body, transport system, control device, transport method for transport object and program

Abstract

To provide a mobile body, a transport system, a control device, a transport method for a transport object, and a program, which are capable of determining the presence or absence of a transport object.SOLUTION: A mobile body according to one embodiment transports transport objects arranged in multiple designated areas. The mobile body has a moving mechanism, a detection unit, and a determination unit. The moving mechanism is capable of moving the mobile body along a transport path for the transport objects. The detection unit is capable of detecting information about the surrounding area. The determination unit is capable of acquiring the detection result of the detection unit. When the mobile body is moving near the designated area on the transport path, the determination unit determines whether the transport objects are present in the designated area based on the detection result of the detection unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a moving body, a conveyance system, a control device, a conveyance method for an object, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] To address the labor shortage in logistics and distribution sites, there is a need to automate tasks currently performed by humans by introducing robots. Autonomous mobile robots have been proposed as a robot for automating tasks currently performed by humans. For example, a mobile robot introduced into a logistics or distribution site transports items placed in a designated area. In this case, a detection device such as a camera must be installed near the designated area to determine whether or not there are items in the designated area. Therefore, when changing the layout of the designated area where the items are placed, the position of the detection device that detects the items must also be changed, which can be time-consuming. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-131392 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a moving body, a conveying system, a control device, a method for conveying an object, and a program that can determine the presence or absence of the object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In one embodiment, a moving body transports objects arranged in a plurality of designated areas. The moving body has a moving mechanism, a detection unit, and a determination unit. The moving mechanism is capable of moving the moving body along a transport path for the objects. The detection unit is capable of detecting information about the surrounding area. The determination unit is capable of acquiring the detection result of the detection unit. When the moving body is moving near the designated area on the transport path, the determination unit determines whether the objects are present in the designated area based on the detection result of the detection unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing an operation of detecting a transported object by a moving body included in the transport system. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of transported item information held by the transport system. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a method for transporting an object by the transport system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Hereinafter, a moving body, a conveying system, a control device, a method for conveying an object, and a program according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having the same or similar functions will be assigned the same reference numerals. Duplicate descriptions of these components may be omitted. In addition, "based on XX" in this application means "based on at least XX" and includes cases where the component is based on other elements in addition to XX. Furthermore, "based on XX" is not limited to cases where XX is directly used, but also includes cases where the component is based on XX after calculation or processing. "XX" is any element (for example, any information).

[0008] An embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 4. Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of a conveyance system 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an operation of detecting a conveyed object by a moving body 100 according to this embodiment.

[0009] The transport system 1 includes a moving body 100 and a transported object storage unit 200.

[0010] The mobile body 100 includes a mobile mechanism 10, a detection unit 20, and a control unit 30. As shown in Fig. 2, the mobile body 100 is an autonomous mobile robot that can move along a transport path TR in a traveling direction FD. The mobile body 100 is, for example, an unmanned transport vehicle such as an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle) or an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) used in a logistics warehouse.

[0011] The moving mechanism 10 is a drive mechanism capable of moving the moving body 100 along the transport path TR. In this embodiment, the moving mechanism 10 is a four-wheel drive mechanism having four wheels that are in contact with the floor surface of the transport path TR and rotated by an electric motor or the like to move the moving body 100 in the traveling direction FD. The moving mechanism 10 may have three or less wheels or five or more wheels, or may be a drive mechanism such as a caterpillar.

[0012] The moving body 100 may be any type of vehicle capable of moving along the transport path TR, such as a multi-legged robot or a flying object such as a drone. The moving mechanism 10 may be a multi-legged mechanism capable of moving the moving body 100, or may be a propeller that generates propulsion force by rotating using an electric motor or the like.

[0013] Designated areas for placing the transported objects to be transported by the mobile body 100 are arranged around the transport route TR along which the mobile body 100 moves. The mobile body 100 is a transport robot that transports the transported objects placed in the designated areas.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, six designated areas are provided around the transport path TR and aligned along the transport path TR.

[0015] The six designated areas are referred to as the first designated area R1, the second designated area R2, the third designated area R3, the fourth designated area R4, the fifth designated area R5, and the sixth designated area R6, in order of proximity to the moving body 100 moving in the direction of travel FD.

[0016] The number of designated areas provided around the transport path TR may be five or less, or may be seven or more. Also, the designated areas may be provided on both sides of the transport path TR.

[0017] In the example shown in Figure 2, objects are placed in a first designated area R1, a third designated area R3, and a sixth designated area R6. The object placed in the first designated area R1 is referred to as a first object T1. The object placed in the third designated area R3 is referred to as a third object T3. The object placed in the sixth designated area R6 is referred to as a sixth object T6.

[0018] For example, when transporting a first object T1, the moving body 100 moves along the transport path TR and moves to the vicinity of a first designated region R1. When the moving body 100 arrives near the first designated region R1, it holds the first object T1.

[0019] The movable body 100 moves along the transfer route TR while holding the first object T1, and transfers the first object T1.

[0020] The transported goods transported by the moving body 100 are, for example, pallets containing or packaging mail, parcels, etc. to be shipped from a logistics warehouse where the transport system 1 is installed.

[0021] The transported object is, for example, a wheeled pallet having a plurality of wheels. A coupling mechanism for coupling the transported object to the movable body 100 is provided on the movable body 100 or the transported object.

[0022] The transported object connected to the moving body 100 by the connecting mechanism is pulled by the moving body 100, moves together with the moving body 100 while rotating the wheels, and is transported by the moving body 100.

[0023] The moving body 100 may include, for example, a table on which the transported object is placed and a robot device that holds the transported object and places it on the table. In this case, the moving body 100 moves the transported object from a designated area to the table using the robot device, and transports the transported object by moving with the transported object placed on the table.

[0024] The detection unit 20 is a sensor capable of detecting surrounding information. In this embodiment, the detection unit 20 is a one-dimensional horizontal scanning LRF (Laser Range Finder). The detection unit 20 is provided on the traveling direction FD side (forward) of the moving body 100.

[0025] The detection unit 20 may be a two-dimensional scanning LRF, or may be other optical sensors, ultrasonic sensors, etc. The location of the detection unit 20 is not limited to the front of the moving body 100, but may be located at the rear or on the left or right side. The vertical height at which the detection unit 20 is located is not limited.

[0026] The control unit 30 is a control device that can control a part or the whole of the transport system 1. In this embodiment, the control unit 30 is provided in the moving body 100, and controls the operation of the moving body 100.

[0027] The control unit 30 is, for example, a programmable device (computer) equipped with a processor, a memory, a storage unit, etc. Each function of the control unit 30 is realized by one or more processors, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), executing a program stored in a program memory. However, all or part of these functions may be realized by hardware (e.g., circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a PLD (Programmable Logic Device). Furthermore, all or part of the above functions may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The storage unit is realized by a flash memory, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a ROM (Read-Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

[0028] The control unit 30 includes a movement control unit 31, a sensor control unit 32, a sensor processing unit 33, a determination unit 34, and a movement processing unit 35.

[0029] The movement control unit 31 uses the travel route and obstacle information to control the movement of the moving body 100. The movement control unit 31 controls the movement mechanism 10, and controls the movement operation of the moving body 100.

[0030] The movement control unit 31 calculates the movement control value by, for example, a method such as the Dynamic Window Approach or the Elastic band method, etc. The movement control unit 31 may calculate the movement control value by other methods.

[0031] The movement control unit 31 may update the current self-position of the moving object 100. The movement control unit 31 may also perform other controls.

[0032] The sensor control unit 32 controls the detection unit 20 and instructs the detection unit 20 to start or end measurement of the surrounding environment. The sensor control unit 32 also acquires the detection result of the detection unit 20 from the detection unit 20.

[0033] The sensor processing unit 33 acquires the detection result of the detection unit 20 from the sensor control unit 32, and processes the detection result of the detection unit 20. The sensor processing unit 33 removes noise from the detection result of the detection unit 20, for example.

[0034] The sensor processing unit 33 applies, for example, a median filter to remove noise from the detection result of the detection unit 20. The sensor processing unit 33 may also perform processing other than noise removal on the detection result of the detection unit 20.

[0035] Here, the detection operation by the detection unit 20 will be described.

[0036] The moving body 100 shown in FIG. 2 is moving along the transfer path TR in the traveling direction FD to transfer, for example, a sixth object T6 placed in a sixth designated region R6.

[0037] At this time, the detection unit 20 detects the transported object placed in a designated area near the moving body 100. For example, the detection unit 20 has a semicircular detection range RD that is convex toward the traveling direction FD, as shown in Fig. 2. The detection range RD does not have to be semicircular.

[0038] The detection range RD is, for example, an area having a predetermined area and extending in a predetermined direction from the detection unit 20. The detection unit 20 detects a conveyed object present in the detection range RD.

[0039] In the example shown in Fig. 2, the first conveyed object T1 is present in the detection range RD, so the detection unit 20 shown in Fig. 2 detects the first conveyed object T1 placed in the first designated region R1.

[0040] The detection unit 20 may be capable of detecting the transported object when at least a part of the transported object is present within the detection range RD.

[0041] After detecting the first object T1, the movable body 100 shown in FIG. 2 moves in the traveling direction FD and detects the third object T3 placed in the third designated region R3.

[0042] That is, the moving body 100 detects the first object T1 and the third object T3 before arriving at the sixth designated region R6 where the sixth object T6 to be transported is placed.

[0043] The determination unit 34 acquires the detection result of the detection unit 20 from the sensor processing unit 33. The information acquired by the determination unit 34 from the sensor processing unit 33 is information that has been subjected to processing such as noise removal by the sensor processing unit 33.

[0044] The determination unit 34 also acquires information (designated area information) such as the coordinates of the designated area where the transported object is to be placed. The determination unit 34 may acquire the designated area information from a storage unit or the like included in the control unit 30, or may acquire the designated area information from outside the control unit 30.

[0045] The determination unit 34 determines whether or not there is an object in the designated area based on the detection result of the detection unit 20. The determination unit 34 converts the detection result of the detection unit 20 obtained from the sensor processing unit 33, for example, into information on coordinates similar to the designated area information.

[0046] The determination unit 34 determines whether or not there is an article in the designated area based on the detection result of the detection unit 20 converted into the coordinates of the designated area information.

[0047] For example, the detection unit 20 detects the transported object as a point cloud. The determination unit 34 converts the detection result of the detection unit 20 into information in the sensor (detection unit 20) coordinate system based on the distances of the points detected by the detection unit 20 and the angular resolution of the detection unit 20.

[0048] The determination unit 34 converts the detection result of the detection unit 20, which has been converted into information in the sensor coordinate system, from the sensor coordinate system to information in the coordinate system of the designated area using coordinate conversion values ​​of the coordinate system of the designated area.

[0049] The determination unit 34 may convert the detection result of the detection unit 20 into the coordinates of the designated area information by another method. The determination unit 34 may acquire the self-position of the moving object 100 from the movement control unit 31, and convert the detection result of the detection unit 20 into the coordinates of the designated area using the self-position of the moving object 100.

[0050] The determination unit 34 determines whether or not an article is present in the designated area based on the detection result of the detection unit 20 converted into the coordinates of the designated area information and the coordinates of the designated area.

[0051] For example, the determination unit 34 determines that a transported object is present in the designated area when a predetermined number or more of point data exist at the coordinates of the designated area in the detection result of the detection unit 20. Furthermore, the determination unit 34 determines that a transported object is not present in the designated area when less than a predetermined number of point data exist at the coordinates of the designated area.

[0052] At this time, the judgment unit 34 may match the point cloud acquired from the sensor processing unit 33 with the expected shape of the transported object, and when the matching result has a score equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it may determine that the transported object is present in the specified area.

[0053] The determination unit 34 may determine that no object is present in the designated area if the score of the matching result is less than a predetermined value, even if a predetermined number of point data or more exists in the coordinates of the designated area. The determination unit 34 may also determine the presence or absence of an object in the designated area by other methods.

[0054] The movement processing unit 35 will be described later.

[0055] The transported goods storage unit 200 is provided outside the moving body 100, and is provided in, for example, a computer or the like equipped with a processor such as a CPU, a memory, a recording medium such as a hard disk, a communication device, an input / output device, etc. The transported goods storage unit 200 is, for example, a recording medium of a computer.

[0056] The transported goods storage unit 200 may be provided in a server computer located in a logistics warehouse or a data center, etc., or may be provided in a cloud server, etc. The transported goods storage unit 200 is connected to the mobile object 100 via wired or wireless communication so as to be able to communicate with the mobile object 100.

[0057] The transported goods storage unit 200 has transported goods information 40. FIG.

[0058] 3, the transported item information 40 is a table in which a designated area, the presence or absence of a transported item in the designated area, and the detection time of the transported item in the designated area are associated with each other. The transported item information 40 may also include information other than these.

[0059] After determining the presence or absence of a transported object in the specified area, the determination unit 34 updates the transported object information 40. For example, when the presence or absence of a transported object determined based on the detection result of the detection unit 20 differs from the presence or absence of a transported object contained in the transported object information 40, the determination unit 34 updates the information in the transported object information 40 to information on the determination result determined based on the detection result of the detection unit 20.

[0060] Even if the presence or absence of a transported item determined based on the detection result of the detection unit 20 is the same as the presence or absence of a transported item contained in the transported item information 40, the judgment unit 34 may update the detection time contained in the transported item information 40 to the detection time contained in the detection unit 20 when the detection time at which the detection unit 20 detected the transported item is different from the detection time contained in the transported item information 40.

[0061] The movement processing unit 35 acquires the transported object information 40 and determines the movement operation of the moving body 100 based on the transported object information 40. The movement processing unit 35, for example, determines the object to be transported based on the transported object information 40 and outputs an instruction to the movement control unit 31 to transport the determined object to be transported.

[0062] The movement processing unit 35 outputs, for example, the coordinates of the designated area where the object to be transported is placed and the movement route (transport route) to the designated area where the object to be transported is placed to the movement control unit 31. The movement processing unit 35 may output information other than the coordinates and the movement route to the movement control unit 31.

[0063] The movement processing unit 35 determines the priority of the goods to be transported based on the goods information 40, for example, and determines the goods to be transported based on the determined priority.

[0064] For example, the movement processing unit 35 determines the article with the oldest detection time included in the article information 40 as the next article scheduled to be transported.

[0065] The movement processing unit 35 may determine the object to be transported based on the weight, shape, or location of the designated area of ​​the object. For example, the movement processing unit 35 may determine the object to be transported next in the designated area close to the current location of the moving body 100, or may exclude the object to be transported in the designated area far from the current location of the moving body 100 from the candidates for the object to be transported.

[0066] After determining the goods to be transported, the movement processing unit 35 may update the goods information 40. For example, the movement processing unit 35 may add information indicating that the goods are to be transported to the goods information 40.

[0067] The conveyance system 1 preferably includes a plurality of moving bodies 100. The plurality of moving bodies 100 are connected to the conveyance object storage unit 200 by wire or wirelessly, and move independently of each other to convey the conveyance object.

[0068] For example, when a specific moving body 100 among a plurality of moving bodies 100 is designated as a first moving body and a moving body 100 different from the first moving body is designated as a second moving body, the first moving body and the second moving body efficiently transport the transported objects by transporting different transported objects from each other.

[0069] For example, the movement processing unit 35 of the first moving body selects the first transport object T1 as the transport object to be transported. The movement processing unit 35 of the first moving body updates the transport object information 40 and adds information indicating that the first transport object T1 is the transport object to be transported by the first moving body to the transport object information 40.

[0070] The movement processing unit 35 of the second moving body determines the object to be transported by the second moving body from among the objects excluding the first object T1 to be transported by the first moving body. This prevents multiple moving bodies 100 from determining the same object as the object to be transported.

[0071] Next, a description will be given of a method for transporting an object by the transport system 1. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the method for transporting an object by the transport system 1.

[0072] (Step S1) The conveyance system 1 first performs step S1 (transported object determination step). In step S1, the movement processing unit 35 determines an object to be transported. For example, based on the transported object information 40 illustrated in FIG. 3, the movement processing unit 35 determines the sixth transported object T6, which has the oldest detection time, as the transported object to be transported.

[0073] At this time, the movement processing unit 35 may update the goods information 40 and add to the goods information 40 information indicating that the goods to be transported is the sixth goods T6.

[0074] In the following description, a method for transporting an object when the object to be transported determined in step S1 is the sixth object T6 will be described.

[0075] (Step S2) Next, the conveyance system 1 performs step S2 (movement process). In step S2, the movement processing unit 35 outputs an instruction to convey the sixth conveyed object T6 to the movement control unit 31. The movement processing unit 35 outputs, for example, to the movement control unit 31, a conveyance route along which the movable body 100 moves to the sixth designated region R6.

[0076] The movement control unit 31 controls the movement mechanism 10 based on the transport path acquired from the movement processing unit 35. The moving body 100 is moved along the transport path TR shown in FIG. 2 by the movement mechanism 10, and moves in the traveling direction FD toward the sixth transported object T6.

[0077] The movement control unit 31 may obtain from the movement processing unit 35 the transport route from the current position of the moving body 100 to the sixth designated area R6 and the transport route from the sixth designated area R6 to the destination to which the sixth transported item T6 is to be transported.

[0078] (Step S3) Next, the conveyance system 1 performs step S3 (self-position determination step). In step S3, the conveyance system 1 determines whether or not the moving object 100 is moving near a designated area.

[0079] Here, the movement control unit 31 estimates its own position based on pre-created map information of the surrounding environment and the sensor measurement results. The movement control unit 31 also compares the map information with the sensor measurement results, and determines that any measurement results that differ from the map information are obstacles. Therefore, the movement control unit 31 controls the movement mechanism 10 so that the moving body 100 avoids the obstacle.

[0080] The movement control unit 31 may estimate its own position based on the detection result of the detection unit 20, or may estimate its own position based on the detection result of other sensors.

[0081] The transportation system 1 determines whether the moving object 100 is moving near the designated area based on the map information and the result of the self-location estimation.

[0082] When the conveyance system 1 determines that the moving body 100 is not moving near the designated area, the process returns to step S2, and the moving body 100 continues to move.

[0083] When the conveyance system 1 determines that the moving body 100 is moving near the designated area, the process proceeds to step S4.

[0084] (Step S4) When it is determined in step S3 that the moving body 100 is moving near the designated area, the conveying system 1 performs step S4 (transported object determination step). In step S4, the conveying system 1 determines whether or not a transported object is placed in the designated area near the moving body 100.

[0085] The moving object 100 moving toward the sixth designated area R6 travels near the first designated area R1, for example, as shown in FIG.

[0086] In step S4 , the sensor control unit 32 acquires the detection result of the detection unit 20 and outputs the detection result of the detection unit 20 to the sensor processing unit 33 .

[0087] At this time, the sensor control unit 32 may output an instruction to start measuring the surrounding environment to the detection unit 20. In this case, the detection unit 20 starts measuring the surrounding environment based on the instruction acquired from the sensor control unit 32, and outputs the detection result to the sensor control unit 32.

[0088] The sensor processing unit 33 performs processing such as noise removal on the detection result of the detection unit 20 obtained from the sensor control unit 32, and outputs the detection result of the detection unit 20 after the processing to the determination unit .

[0089] The determination unit 34 determines whether or not a transported object is placed in a designated area near the moving body 100, based on the detection result of the detection unit 20 after processing obtained from the sensor processing unit 33. In the example shown in Fig. 2, the determination unit 34 determines whether or not a first transported object T1 is placed in a first designated area R1.

[0090] At this time, the determination unit 34 may determine the presence or absence of the transported object based on the information acquired from the sensor processing unit 33 and the self-position information of the moving object 100 acquired from the movement control unit 31.

[0091] (Step S5) Next, the conveyance system 1 performs step S5 (transported item registration step). In step S5, the determination unit 34 updates the conveyed item information 40 based on the determination result obtained in step S4.

[0092] In this embodiment, the transported item information 40 is stored in a transported item storage unit 200 provided outside the moving body 100 .

[0093] If the judgment unit 34 determines in step S4 that the first transported item T1 is placed in the first designated area R1, it communicates with the transported item memory unit 200 and updates the presence / absence of a transported item in the designated area ``R1'' in the transported item information 40 shown in Figure 3 to ``present.''

[0094] In addition, the determination unit 34 updates the detection time at which the first transported object T1 in the first specified region R1 was detected in the transported object information 40. Here, the detection time of the transported object included in the transported object information 40 may be the time at which the detection unit 20 detected the corresponding transported object, or the time at which the determination unit 34 determined whether or not the transported object is present.

[0095] The determining unit 34 may update the conveyed article information 40 only when the information contained in the conveyed article information 40 and the determination result of the determining unit 34 differ from each other.

[0096] For example, by updating the transported item information 40 only when the information regarding the presence or absence of a transported item held by the transported item information 40 and the judgment result of the judgment unit 34 differ from each other, it is possible to determine whether the transported item has been placed in a specified designated area for a long period of time.

[0097] (Step S6) Next, the conveyance system 1 performs step S6 (determining whether to end traveling). In step S6, the conveyance system 1 determines whether or not the traveling of the moving body 100 is to be ended.

[0098] 2, the moving body 100 is currently traveling near the first designated area R1 and has not yet completed holding and transporting the sixth object T6. In this case, the transport system 1 determines that the moving body 100 should not end its travel, returns to step S2, and continues the moving body 100.

[0099] The conveyance system 1 may make the determination in step S6 based on the result of self-position estimation, or may make the determination in step S6 based on the detection result of a sensor capable of detecting the conveyance status of the conveyed object.

[0100] If the article to be transported is the sixth article T6, the transport system 1 repeatedly performs the processes from step S2 to step S6 until the transport of the sixth article T6 is completed.

[0101] For example, when the moving body 100 moves from the vicinity of the first designated area R1 in the direction of travel FD and travels near the second designated area R2, it determines whether or not a transported item (second transported item) is located in the second designated area R2 based on the detection result of the detection unit 20, and updates the transported item information 40 based on the determination result.

[0102] In the example shown in Figure 2, since no transported items are located in the second designated area R2, the determination unit 34 updates the presence / absence of transported items in the second designated area R2 in the transported item information 40 to "absent" and updates the detection time.

[0103] Similarly, when the moving body 100 moves from the vicinity of the second designated area R2 in the direction of travel FD and travels near the third designated area R3, it determines whether or not a third transported object T3 is located in the third designated area R3 based on the detection result of the detection unit 20, and updates the transported object information 40 based on the determination result.

[0104] In the example shown in Figure 2, since a third transported object T3 is placed in the third designated area R3, the judgment unit 34 updates the presence / absence of a transported object in the third designated area R3 in the transported object information 40 to "present" and updates the detection time.

[0105] Similarly, the conveyance system 1 determines whether or not there is an object in the fourth designated area R4 and the fifth designated area R5 based on the detection result of the detection unit 20, and updates the conveyance object information 40 based on the determination result.

[0106] Similarly, the conveying system 1 may determine the presence or absence of the sixth conveyed object T6, which is an object to be conveyed, based on the detection result of the detection unit 20, and update the conveyed object information 40 based on the determination result.

[0107] For example, if the sixth object T6 is moved from the sixth designated area R6 to another location by a worker, the sixth object T6 may not be located in the sixth designated area R6. Also, if the transport system 1 includes multiple moving bodies 100, the sixth object T6 may have already been transported by another moving body 100.

[0108] In this case, the moving body 100 determines, based on the detection result of the detection unit 20, that the sixth object T6 to be conveyed is not located in the sixth designated region R6.

[0109] When it is determined that the sixth object T6 to be transported is not located in the sixth designated region R6, the transport system 1 updates the object information 40 and again determines the object to be transported based on the object information 40. That is, the transport system 1 performs the object determination step of step S1.

[0110] Even if the article to be transported is not located in the designated area, the article to be transported can be determined again, thereby quickly moving on to the next transport operation.

[0111] When the sixth transport item T6 to be transported is placed in the sixth designated area R6, the transport system 1 performs the operations of steps S4 and S5 on the sixth transport item T6 to be transported, then holds and transports the sixth transport item T6, and transports the sixth transport item T6 to its destination.

[0112] The conveyance system 1 completes the conveyance of the sixth object T6 to be conveyed, and determines in step S6 that the moving body 100 should end its travel, thereby ending the conveyance of the objects by the moving body 100.

[0113] When multiple objects are to be transported in succession, the transport system 1 may return to step S1 to determine the next object to be transported and perform operations from step S2 onward. For example, the transport system 1 repeatedly transports the objects, measures the surrounding environment with the detection unit 20, and determines whether or not an object is present with the determination unit 34 until a preset operation end time is reached.

[0114] According to the conveying system 1 of this embodiment, the mobile body 100 is a mobile body that conveys objects arranged in multiple designated areas, and is equipped with a moving mechanism 10 that can move the mobile body 100 along the conveying path TR of the objects, a detection unit 20 that can detect information about the surrounding area, and a judgment unit 34 that can acquire the detection results of the detection unit 20.

[0115] When the moving object 100 is moving near a designated area on the transport route TR, the determining unit 34 determines whether or not there is an object in the designated area based on the detection result of the detecting unit 20.

[0116] As a result, it is possible to provide a mobile body 100 capable of determining the presence or absence of a transported object, a transport system 1, a control device (e.g., a control unit 30) that controls the mobile body 100, a method for transporting an object using the mobile body 100, and a program that controls the mobile body 100.

[0117] By determining whether or not there is an item being transported in the designated area based on the results detected by the detection unit 20 of the mobile body 100 transporting the item, there is no need to install a detection device such as a camera near the designated area to detect the item being transported in the designated area.

[0118] Therefore, when changing the layout of the designated area where the transported object is placed, there is no need to move the installation position of the detection device or adjust the detection range, so the layout of the designated area can be easily changed.

[0119] In the above embodiment, the control unit 30 that controls the moving body 100 is provided in the moving body 100, but it may also be provided outside the moving body 100. For example, a part or all of the configuration of the control unit that controls the moving body may be provided in a computer or the like that has the transported object storage unit 200, and may be configured to be able to communicate with the moving body.

[0120] In the above embodiment, the transported item storage unit 200 having the transported item information 40 is provided outside the moving object 100, but it may also be provided in a control unit of the moving object. For example, each of the multiple moving objects may have a transported item storage unit, and the transported item information held by each of the multiple moving objects may be configured to be synchronized with each other.

[0121] According to at least one of the embodiments described above, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of an object in a designated area based on the result of detection by the detection unit 20 of the moving body 100.

[0122] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0123] 1...transport system, 100...moving body, 10...moving mechanism, 20...detection unit, 30...control unit, 31...movement control unit, 32...sensor control unit, 33...sensor processing unit, 34...determination unit, 35...movement processing unit, 200...transported object memory unit, 40...transported object information, TR...transport route, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6...designated area, T1, T3, T6...transported object, S1...transported object determination process, S4...transported object determination process, S5...transported object registration process

Claims

1. A moving body that transports objects arranged in a plurality of designated areas, a moving mechanism that can move the moving body along a transport path of the transported object; a detection unit capable of detecting surrounding information; a determination unit capable of acquiring the detection result of the detection unit; Equipped with the determination unit determines the presence or absence of the transported object in the designated area based on a detection result of the detection unit when the moving object is moving near the designated area on the transport path. Mobile object.

2. the determination unit updates the transported object information including the presence or absence of the transported object in the designated area based on the determination result of the determination unit. The moving body according to claim 1 .

3. the determining unit updates the transported item information when the determination result differs from the information included in the transported item information. The moving body according to claim 2 .

4. a movement processing unit that acquires the transported item information and determines the transported item to be transported based on the transported item information; The moving body according to claim 2 .

5. the movement processing unit updates the transported object information based on the transported object when starting transport of the transported object to be transported. The moving body according to claim 4.

6. When the object to be transported is not located in the designated area, The determination unit updates the transported item information, The movement processing unit determines the object to be transported again based on the object information.

6. The moving body according to claim 4 or claim 5.

7. a moving body having a detection unit capable of detecting information about the surroundings, and transporting objects arranged in a plurality of designated areas along a transport path; a control device for controlling the moving body; a transported object storage unit provided outside the moving body and having transported object information including the presence or absence of the transported object in the specified area; Equipped with The control device When the moving body is moving near the designated area on the conveying path, it is determined whether or not the conveyed object is present in the designated area based on the detection result of the detection unit; updating the transported item information based on the determination result; Conveying system.

8. the control device determines the goods to be transported based on the goods information; The transport system according to claim 7 .

9. A plurality of the moving bodies are provided. The transport system according to claim 7 or 8.

10. A control device that has a detection unit that can detect surrounding information and controls a moving body that transports transported objects arranged in a plurality of designated areas along a transport path, When the moving body is moving near the designated area on the conveying path, it is determined whether or not the conveyed object is in the designated area based on the detection result of the detection unit. Control device.

11. updating the transported article information including the presence or absence of the transported article based on the determination result of the presence or absence of the transported article in the specified area; The control device according to claim 10.

12. determining the goods to be transported based on the goods information; The control device according to claim 11.

13. A method for transporting an object by a moving body having a detection unit capable of detecting surrounding information, the moving body transporting objects arranged in a plurality of designated areas along a transport path, the method comprising: a transported object determination step of determining whether or not the transported object is present in the designated area based on the detection result of the detection unit when the moving object is moving near the designated area on the transport path; a delivery item registration step of updating delivery item information including the presence or absence of the delivery item based on a determination result of the delivery item determination step; Equipped with Method of transporting the goods.

14. a transport item determination step of determining the transport item to be transported based on the transport item information; The method for transporting an object according to claim 13.

15. A program for controlling a moving body that has a detection unit capable of detecting surrounding information and that transports objects arranged in a plurality of designated areas along a transport path, When the moving body is moving near the designated area on the conveying path, the presence or absence of the conveyed object in the designated area is determined based on the detection result of the detection unit; updating the transported goods information including the presence or absence of the transported goods based on the determination result; program.

16. determining the goods to be transported based on the goods information; The program according to claim 15.

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