Autonomous mobile robot and control system

Abstract

To provide an autonomous mobile robot capable of determining a riding method that does not interfere with boarding and disembarking when a ride is shared between the autonomous mobile robot and a person.SOLUTION: An autonomous mobile robot capable of moving between multiple floors using an elevator is provided. The autonomous mobile robot comprises: an acquisition unit for acquiring floor information indicative of a destination floor or boarding floor of the autonomous mobile robot; and a determination unit for determining a riding method regarding how the autonomous mobile robot should share a ride in an elevator car with a person on the basis of the floor information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile robot and a control system. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, autonomous mobile robots have been developed that autonomously move along a predetermined patrol route in a building or the like, automatically avoiding pedestrians and obstacles on the patrol route.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses determining the order in which multiple elevator-utilizing robots should board based on occupancy information of the multiple elevator-utilizing robots to be boarded, space information of the car, and information on the multiple floors at which the multiple elevator-utilizing robots should disembark. Patent Document 2 discloses determining the disembarkation order of autonomous moving bodies based on the destination floors of the autonomous moving bodies. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5924672 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6308341 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An autonomous mobile robot that travels by elevator is required to ride in an elevator car appropriately when sharing a ride with a person.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous mobile robot and a control system that can appropriately determine a riding method for sharing an elevator car with another person. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides an autonomous mobile robot that can move between multiple floors using an elevator, and has an acquisition unit that acquires floor information indicating the destination floor or boarding floor of the autonomous mobile robot, and a decision unit that determines a boarding method for sharing a ride with a person in the elevator car based on the floor information.

[0008] In this autonomous mobile robot, it is preferable that a second acquisition unit is provided that acquires personal information regarding a person riding in the elevator or a person waiting to ride in the elevator, and the determination unit determines the riding method based on the personal information.

[0009] In this autonomous mobile robot, it is preferable that the determination unit determines, as the boarding method, at least one of the timing at which the autonomous mobile robot boards the car, the boarding position of the autonomous mobile robot within the car, and the waiting position at which the autonomous mobile robot waits to board the car.

[0010] In this autonomous mobile robot, if the number of floors to be traveled to the destination floor is equal to or less than a predetermined number of floors, the determination unit preferably determines the boarding timing to be after a waiting person has boarded the elevator car.

[0011] In this autonomous mobile robot, it is preferable that the determination unit, when the destination floor is a predetermined high floor or a predetermined low floor, determines the boarding timing to be before a waiting person boards the elevator.

[0012] In this autonomous mobile robot, it is preferable that the determination unit determines the boarding timing to be after a waiting person has boarded the car when the boarding floor is a predetermined high floor and the car is moving in an upward direction, or when the boarding floor is a predetermined low floor and the car is moving in a downward direction.

[0013] In this autonomous mobile robot, it is preferable that the determination unit determines the vicinity of the car door as the boarding position of the autonomous mobile robot when the number of floors to be traveled to the destination floor is a predetermined number of floors or less.

[0014] In this autonomous mobile robot, it is preferable that the determination unit determines the boarding position of the autonomous mobile robot to be far away from the car door when the destination floor is a predetermined high floor or a predetermined low floor.

[0015] In this autonomous mobile robot, it is preferable that the determination unit determines the vicinity of the car door as the boarding position of the autonomous mobile robot when the boarding floor is a predetermined high floor and the car is moving in an upward direction, or when the boarding floor is a predetermined low floor and the car is moving in a downward direction.

[0016] In this autonomous mobile robot, when the determination unit determines that the boarding timing is before the waiting person boards the elevator car, it is preferable that the determination unit determines that the waiting position is within a predetermined range from the elevator door.

[0017] In this autonomous mobile robot, when the determination unit determines that the boarding timing is after a waiting person has boarded the elevator car, it is preferable that the determination unit determines that the waiting position is outside a predetermined range from the elevator door.

[0018] In this autonomous mobile robot, it is preferable that the robot has an output unit that notifies those in the surrounding area of ​​a predetermined message, and that the output unit notifies a person riding in the elevator or a person waiting to ride in the elevator of a message regarding the determined riding method.

[0019] In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a control system for controlling an autonomous mobile robot that can move between multiple floors using an elevator, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires floor information indicating the destination floor or boarding floor of the autonomous mobile robot, and a control unit that determines a boarding method for sharing a ride with a person in the elevator car based on the floor information, and instructs the autonomous mobile robot to board the elevator car based on the boarding method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] The autonomous mobile robot and control system according to the present invention can appropriately determine a riding method for sharing an elevator car with another person. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a control system. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an autonomous mobile robot. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a boarding position in a car corresponding to boarding position information. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a waiting position of the robot at the platform. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of determining a riding method for a robot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Hereinafter, a control system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a control system 1 for an autonomous mobile robot 40 and an elevator 20 in the first embodiment. The control system 1 has an elevator control device 10, one or more elevators 20, a robot management device 30, and one or more autonomous mobile robots (hereinafter simply referred to as "robots") 40.

[0023] In the control system 1, an elevator control device 10 and a robot management device 30 are connected to each other via a network N such as a local network or the Internet. The elevator control device 10 is connected to an elevator 20 via contacts, a serial communication line, or a network (not shown) such as a local network or the Internet. The robot management device 30 is connected to a robot 40 via a wireless communication network (not shown) such as a wireless LAN or a mobile phone network.

[0024] The elevator control device 10 controls the movement of the elevator 20 in accordance with button operations on the elevator 20 or signals from the robot 40. The elevator 20 moves in accordance with control signals from the elevator control device 10. The elevator 20 is equipped with a camera above or on one side of the car. The elevator 20 periodically captures images of the interior of the car using the camera and transmits the captured images to the elevator control device 10. The elevator control device 10 detects the presence and number of people in the car using publicly known object detection technology, pattern matching technology, or the like for the images received from the elevator 20. In addition, cameras are installed in waiting areas for the elevators 20 on multiple floors, for example, on the ceiling or on the wall next to the doors. The elevator control device 10 captures images of the waiting areas using the cameras and detects the presence and number of people waiting in the waiting areas using publicly known object detection technology, pattern matching technology, or the like for the captured images of the waiting areas.

[0025] The robot management device 30 controls the robot 40 according to a predetermined schedule or instructions from an administrator. The robot management device 30 transmits instruction signals to the robot 40 to instruct it to perform a specified task. The instruction signals include the content of the task to be performed and the location where the task will be performed. The robot 40 moves to a location specified by the instruction signal received from the robot management device 30 and performs the specified task. Note that the robot 40 may move between floors using the elevator 20.

[0026] The elevator control device 10 and the robot management device 30 work together to move the robot 40 across multiple floors via the elevator 20. The robot 40 moves by driving tires Tr attached to its bottom surface.

[0027] 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an autonomous mobile robot 40 in the first embodiment. The robot 40 can move between multiple floors using an elevator 20. The robot 40 has a communication unit 41, a sensor 42, a drive unit 43, an output unit 44, a memory unit 45, and a processing unit 46.

[0028] The communication unit 41 communicates between the robot 40 and the robot management device 30. For example, the communication unit 41 has an interface circuit for transmitting and receiving signals according to a wireless communication method such as a mobile phone network or a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). The communication unit 41 transmits data supplied from the processing unit 46 to the robot management device 30, and supplies data received from the robot management device 30 to the processing unit 46.

[0029] The sensor 42 generates information about the environment of the space surrounding the robot 40. For example, the sensor 42 includes an imaging sensor such as a visible camera or an infrared camera, or a thermal imaging camera, which captures images of the surrounding space and generates an image. The sensor 42 may be a distance sensor that generates information indicating the presence, position, distance, etc. of moving objects in the surrounding space. In this case, the sensor 42 includes a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor that measures the distance to an object in the surrounding space and outputs the distance as point cloud information. The sensor 42 may also include other sensors that detect temperature, humidity, noise, vibration, illuminance, etc. of the surrounding space and generate information indicating them. The sensor 42 supplies the generated information about the environment of the surrounding space to the processing unit 46.

[0030] The drive unit 43 includes a motor and a control circuit, and drives the tire Tr of the robot 40 to rotate via the motor. The control circuit of the drive unit 43 controls the motor in accordance with instructions from the processing unit 46 to drive the tire Tr to rotate, thereby causing the robot 40 to travel.

[0031] The output unit 44 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display, an organic electroluminescent display, or the like, and an interface circuit that outputs image data to the display, and displays various information such as images and text according to instructions from the processing unit 46. The output unit 44 includes a speaker and an interface circuit that outputs audio data to the speaker, and may output audio according to instructions from the processing unit 46. The output unit 44 can notify nearby people of a predetermined message.

[0032] The storage unit 45 stores data and various programs. The storage unit 45 includes semiconductor memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and SSD (Solid State Drive), as well as a magnetic disk, an optical disk drive such as CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, and a storage medium thereof. The storage unit 45 stores an operating system program, driver programs, application programs, data, and the like used in processing by the processing unit 46. Programs are installed into the storage unit 45 from a computer-readable, non-transitory, portable storage medium such as a CD-ROM using a known setup program or the like. The programs may be stored in a storage medium owned by a predetermined server and installed via a network.

[0033] The storage unit 45 stores boarding position information 451 indicating the boarding position when the robot 40 gets into the car of the elevator 20, and waiting position information 452 indicating the waiting position when the robot 40 waits at a landing to get into the car of the elevator 20. The storage unit 45 may also store in advance a travel route for the robot 40 to travel.

[0034] 3 is a schematic diagram showing the riding position of robot 40 in a car. Riding position information 451 indicates each riding position in a riding area G, which is a riding range in the car, divided into nine areas G1 to G9 of the same size.

[0035] The boarding area G has nearby regions G1 to G3 near the car door D1, distant regions G7 to G9 far from the car door D1, and central regions G4 to G6 sandwiched between the nearby regions G1 to G3 and the distant regions G7 to G9.

[0036] The near areas G1 to G3 are set in a first range (for example, a range that is 1 / 3 of the size of the boarding area G) from the door D1 in the front-to-rear direction. The far areas G7 to G9 are set in a second range (for example, a range that is 1 / 3 of the size of the boarding area G) that is the farthest from the door D1 in the front-to-rear direction. The areas G1, G4, and G7 are set in a third range (for example, a range that is 1 / 3 of the size of the boarding area G) from the left end of the boarding area G in the left-to-right direction. The areas G3, G6, and G9 are set in a fourth range (for example, a range that is 1 / 3 of the size of the boarding area G) from the right end of the boarding area G in the left-to-right direction. However, the boarding area G is not limited to this, and for example, the boarding area G may be formed by four areas divided into four, each area may be of a different size, or it may be divided into areas of various shapes and numbers.

[0037] 4 is a schematic diagram showing the waiting positions of the robot 40 at the landing of each floor. The waiting position information 452 indicates the waiting positions of a waiting area W of a predetermined range where the elevator car is waiting, which is divided into nine areas W1 to W9 of the same size. The waiting area W is set to the same size as the boarding area G, for example. The waiting area W may be set to any size.

[0038] The waiting area W has near areas W1 to W3 near the elevator door D2, far areas W7 to W9 far from the elevator door D2, and a central area W4 to W6 sandwiched between the near areas W1 to W3 and the far areas W7 to W9. The near areas W1 to W3 are set to a fifth range (e.g., a range of 1 / 3 of the size of the waiting area W) from the door D2 in the front-to-back direction. The far areas W7 to W9 are set to a sixth range (e.g., a range of 1 / 3 of the size of the waiting area W) from the position farthest from the door D2 in the front-to-back direction. The areas W1, W4, and W7 are set to a seventh range (e.g., a range of 1 / 3 of the size of the boarding area G) from the left end of the waiting area W in the left-to-right direction. The areas W3, W6, and W9 are set to an eighth range (e.g., a range of 1 / 3 of the size of the waiting area W) from the right end of the boarding area G in the left-to-right direction. However, the waiting area W is not limited to this, and for example, the waiting area W may be formed by four areas divided into four quarters, each area may be a different size, or it may be divided into areas of various shapes and numbers.

[0039] The processing unit 46 comprehensively controls the operation of the robot 40. For example, the processing unit 46 has at least one processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), memories such as a ROM and a RAM, and peripheral circuits thereof. The processing unit 46 may be an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or the like. The processing unit 46 executes processing based on a program stored in the storage unit 45.

[0040] The processing unit 46 has an acquisition unit 461, a second acquisition unit 462, a determination unit 463, and a control unit 464. Each of these units is a functional module that is realized when the CPU of the processing unit 46 executes a program in the storage unit 45. Each of these units may be implemented in the robot 40 as a dedicated processing circuit.

[0041] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of determining a car boarding method by the robot 40. The operation in this flowchart is executed mainly by the processing unit 46 in cooperation with each element of the robot 40, based on a program stored in advance in the storage unit 454.

[0042] 5 is executed, the robot 40 receives an instruction signal from the robot management device 30 via the communication unit 41. The instruction signal includes the content of the task to be performed by the robot 40 and a travel route to the position where the task will be performed. If the floor where the robot 40 currently exists is different from the floor where the task will be performed, the travel route includes the elevator 20 boarding floor (the floor where the robot 40 currently exists) and the destination floor (the floor where the task will be performed).

[0043] When the robot 40 receives an instruction signal from the robot management device 30, it stores floor information indicating the boarding floor and the destination floor contained in the received instruction signal in the storage unit 45. The robot 40 also transmits a car call signal for calling the car of the elevator 20 to the elevator control device 10 via the robot management device 30. The car call signal contains a robot ID, which is identification information for the robot 40, and floor information.

[0044] When the elevator control device 10 receives the car call signal, it identifies the robot 40 based on the robot ID, selects the optimal elevator car 20 based on the destination floor or the boarding floor, and directs the selected car to the boarding floor of the robot 40. The elevator control device 10 may obtain information on the floor where the robot 40 is currently located from the robot management device 30 that manages the movement of the robot 40, and identify the boarding floor of the robot 40 based on the obtained information.

[0045] The elevator control device 10 transmits an expected arrival signal, indicating that the elevator car of the elevator 20 is scheduled to arrive at the boarding floor of the robot 40, to the robot 40 via the robot management device 30. The expected arrival signal includes the robot ID, identification information (car ID) of the car that the robot 40 should board, etc. The robot 40 moves to the boarding position of the car corresponding to the car ID included in the received expected arrival signal.

[0046] First, the acquisition unit 461 acquires floor information of the destination floor and / or the boarding floor of the robot 40 (step S11). The robot 40 acquires the floor information of the destination floor and / or the boarding floor included in the instruction signal received from the robot management device 30 by reading it from the storage unit 45. The acquisition unit 461 may acquire the floor information by transmitting a request signal requesting transmission of floor information to the robot management device 30 via the communication unit 41 and receiving the floor information from the robot management device 30. Note that the acquisition unit 461 may acquire the floor information by reading it from the travel route stored in advance in the storage unit 45, regardless of an instruction from the robot management device 30.

[0047] Next, the second acquisition unit 462 acquires person information about people riding in the car of the elevator 20 or people waiting to board the car (step S12). The person information includes whether or not there are people riding in the car or whether or not there are people waiting to board the car. In addition to the presence or absence of people, the person information may also include the number of people, the size of the people, and their riding positions in the car. The second acquisition unit 462 transmits a request signal requesting the transmission of person information to the elevator control device 10 via the communication unit 41 and the robot management device 30. The request signal includes the car ID of the car specified in the expected arrival signal and the boarding floor of the robot 40.

[0048] Upon receiving the request signal, the elevator control device 10 detects the presence and number of people in the car specified by the request signal based on images captured by a camera installed in the car. The elevator control device 10 also detects the presence and number of people waiting to board the car at the waiting area based on images captured by a camera installed on the ceiling, door wall, or other location of the waiting area at the boarding floor specified by the request signal. The elevator control device 10 generates person information based on the detection results and transmits it to the robot 40 via the robot management device 30. The second acquisition unit 462 acquires the person information by receiving it from the elevator control device 10 via the communication unit 41 and the robot management device 30.

[0049] The second acquisition unit 462 may cause a camera included in the sensor 42 to capture an image of the waiting area for the elevator 20, and detect the presence or absence and number of people waiting to board the car at the waiting area from the captured image. The second acquisition unit 462 may also cause a camera included in the sensor 42 to capture an image of the inside of the car when the doors of the elevator 20 open, and detect the presence or absence and number of people in the car based on the captured image and sensor information such as LiDAR. The second acquisition unit 462 detects people from each image using object detection technology, pattern matching technology, or the like, and generates person information.

[0050] Next, the determination unit 463 determines whether there is a possibility of a person sharing the car with the person (step S13). When the person information indicates that there is no person currently riding in the car or no person waiting to board the car, the determination unit 463 determines that there is no possibility of a person sharing the car with the person (carpooling situation). On the other hand, when the person information indicates that there is a person currently riding in the car or a person waiting to board the car, the determination unit 463 determines that there is a possibility of a person sharing the car with the person.

[0051] When it is determined that there is no possibility of the robot 40 sharing a car with a person (step S13: NO), the determination unit 463 determines the method of boarding the car to be the normal boarding method (step S27). In the normal boarding method, the timing at which the robot 40 boards the car, the boarding position of the robot 40 in the car, and the waiting position at which the robot 40 waits to board the car are not restricted.

[0052] Next, when the car of the elevator 20 arrives and the door D2 opens, the control unit 464 moves the robot 40 in accordance with the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463 to get the robot 40 into the car (step S28), and ends the series of steps. The control unit 464 drives the drive unit 43 to rotate the tire Tr to move the robot 40 so that the robot 40 gets into the car of the elevator 20 in accordance with the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463.

[0053] When the robot 40 gets into the car of the elevator 20, the control unit 464 transmits a boarding completion notification to the elevator control device 10 via the communication unit 41 and the robot management device 30. As a result, the elevator control device 10 closes the door D2 of the elevator 20 and the door D1 of the car, and moves the car to the destination floor.

[0054] On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a possibility of sharing a ride with a person in the elevator car (step S13: YES), the determination unit 463 determines whether the number of floors to travel to the destination floor is equal to or less than a predetermined number of floors (step S14). The determination unit 463 specifies the difference between the boarding floor and the destination floor indicated in the floor information acquired by the acquisition unit 461 as the number of floors to travel by the robot 40. Note that, if passing floors are set between the boarding floor and the destination floor, it is preferable to specify the number of floors to travel excluding the passing floors. The predetermined number of floors is set in advance to the number of floors equivalent to one floor or any number of floors equivalent to two or more floors.

[0055] If the number of floors to be traveled is equal to or less than the predetermined number of floors (step S14: YES), the determination unit 463 determines, as a boarding method for carpooling, that the timing for the robot 40 to board is after the waiting person has boarded the car (step S15). If the number of floors to be traveled is small, there is a low possibility that a person will board or alight from the time the robot 40 boards until the time it alights. By boarding the car after the waiting person has boarded, the robot 40 can quickly alight from the car when it reaches the destination floor, and can also prevent obstruction to people getting on and off the car.

[0056] Next, as a boarding method for ride-sharing, the determination unit 463 determines a waiting position outside a predetermined range from the door D2 of the elevator 20 in the waiting area W of the car of the robot 40 (step S16). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the far area W7 or W9 is determined as the waiting position. Alternatively, the far area W8 may be determined as the waiting position. In this way, when the determination unit 463 determines that the boarding timing will be after the waiting person has boarded the car, it determines a waiting position outside a predetermined range from the door D2 of the elevator 20. By waiting at a position away from the door D2, the robot 40 can board the car after the waiting person has boarded, and as a result, the robot 40 can quickly disembark from the car when the car reaches the destination floor.

[0057] Next, as a boarding method for shared riding, the determination unit 463 determines the vicinity of the door D1 of the car as the boarding position of the robot 40 in the car (step S17). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the nearby area G2 is determined as the boarding position. Alternatively, the nearby area G1 or G3 may be determined as the boarding position. This allows the robot 40 to quickly get off the car when the car reaches the destination floor.

[0058] In this way, the determination unit 463 determines, as a riding method for a shared ride, the timing at which the robot 40 gets into the car, the riding position of the robot 40 in the car, and the waiting position at which the robot 40 waits to get into the car. Note that the determination unit 463 determines at least one of the riding timing, the riding position, and the waiting position, and does not have to determine the other items.

[0059] Next, when the car of the elevator 20 arrives at the waiting location and the door D2 of the elevator 20 opens, the control unit 464 causes the robot 40 to board the car by moving it according to the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463 (step S28), and ends the series of steps. The control unit 464 drives the drive unit 43 to rotate the tire Tr, thereby moving the robot 40 so that the robot 40 boards the car of the elevator 20 according to the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463.

[0060] When the control unit 464 makes the robot 40 wait in the waiting area W, the control unit 464 may output a voice message from the output unit 44 indicating the destination floor. For example, when the robot 40 waits in the waiting area W7 on the fourth floor and moves to the fifth floor, one floor above, the control unit 464 outputs a voice message from the output unit 44 indicating the destination floor of the robot 40 and the timing of boarding, such as "We will be moving to the fifth floor. We will be boarding the elevator last, so please board first." In this case, the control unit 464 may also output a voice message from the output unit 44, such as "We will be boarding near the elevator doors." The control unit 464 may also display text having the same content as these voice messages on the output unit 44.

[0061] Furthermore, when the control unit 464 causes the robot 40 to board the car, it may output a voice message from the output unit 44 informing the person in the car or the person waiting to board the car of the destination floor and the boarding position, and may notify a message regarding the determined boarding method to a person in the car or a person waiting to board the car. The control unit 464 may output such a voice message from the output unit 44 not only once, but multiple times in succession. Note that the control unit 464 may display text having the same content as these voice messages on the output unit 44 for a predetermined period of time, or may display the text multiple times in succession at regular time intervals.

[0062] On the other hand, if the number of floors to be traveled is greater than the predetermined number of floors in step S14 (step S14: NO), the determination unit 463 determines whether the floor on which the robot 40 boards is a predetermined high floor and whether the direction of travel of the car is upward (step S18). A high floor is set to, for example, a floor that is above the central floor among all floors of the building or floors where the elevator 20 stops. A high floor may also be set to a floor within a predetermined range below the top floor. The determination unit 463 determines whether the direction of travel of the car is upward depending on whether the destination floor is above the boarding floor.

[0063] If the boarding floor is a high floor and the moving direction of the car is an upward direction (step S18: YES), the decision unit 463 decides that the timing for the robot 40 to board will be after the waiting person gets on the car (step S15). If the boarding floor is a high floor and the moving direction of the car is an upward direction, the number of floors the car will move to while the robot 40 is on board is small, and the possibility of people getting on or off between the time the robot 40 gets on and the time it gets off is low. By boarding the car after the waiting person gets on, the robot 40 can quickly get off the car when it reaches the destination floor and can prevent people from getting on or off the car.

[0064] Next, the determination unit 463 determines, as a riding method for carpooling, that the waiting position of the robot 40 is outside a predetermined range from the door D2 of the elevator 20 in the waiting area W of the car (step S16). By waiting at a position away from the door D2, the robot 40 can board the car after the waiting person has boarded, and as a result, when the car reaches the destination floor, the robot 40 can quickly disembark from the car.

[0065] Next, the determination unit 463 determines the vicinity of the door D1 of the car as the riding position of the robot 40 in the car as a riding method for carpooling (step S17). This allows the robot 40 to quickly get off the car when the car reaches the destination floor.

[0066] Next, when the elevator car of the elevator 20 arrives and the door D2 opens, the control unit 464 moves the robot 40 in accordance with the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463 to board the car (step S28), thereby completing the series of steps.

[0067] On the other hand, if the boarding floor is not a high floor in step S18, or if the moving direction of the car is not an upward direction (step S18: NO), the determination unit 463 determines whether the boarding floor is a predetermined low floor or not, and whether the moving direction of the car is a downward direction or not (step S19). A low floor is set, for example, to a floor that is lower than the central floor among all floors of the building or the floors where the elevator 20 stops. A low floor may also be set to a floor within a predetermined range upward from the lowest floor. The determination unit 463 determines whether the moving direction of the car is a downward direction or not depending on whether the destination floor is lower than the boarding floor or not.

[0068] If the boarding floor is a low floor and the moving direction of the car is a downward direction (step S19: YES), the decision unit 463 decides that the timing for the robot 40 to board will be after the waiting person gets on the car (step S15). If the boarding floor is a low floor and the moving direction of the car is a downward direction, the distance that the car moves while the robot 40 is on board is short, and there is a low possibility that a person will get on or off between the time the robot 40 gets on and the time it gets off. By boarding the car after the waiting person gets on, the robot 40 can quickly get off the car when it reaches the destination floor and can prevent obstruction to people getting on and off the car.

[0069] Next, the determination unit 463 determines, as a riding method for carpooling, that the waiting position of the robot 40 is outside a predetermined range from the door D2 of the elevator 20 in the waiting area W of the car (step S16). By waiting at a position away from the door D2, the robot 40 can board the car after the waiting person has boarded, and as a result, when the car reaches the destination floor, the robot 40 can quickly disembark from the car.

[0070] Next, the determination unit 463 determines the vicinity of the door D1 of the car as the riding position of the robot 40 in the car as a riding method for carpooling (step S17). This allows the robot 40 to quickly get off the car when the car reaches the destination floor.

[0071] Next, when the elevator car of the elevator 20 arrives and the door D2 opens, the control unit 464 moves the robot 40 in accordance with the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463 to board the car (step S28), thereby completing the series of steps.

[0072] On the other hand, if the floor on which the robot 40 is boarding is not a low floor in step S19, or if the direction of movement of the elevator car is not downward (step S19: NO), the decision unit 463 determines whether the destination floor of the robot 40 is the top floor or the bottom floor (step S20).

[0073] If the destination floor is the top floor or the bottom floor (step S20: YES), the determination unit 463 determines the timing for the robot 40 to board before the waiting person boards the car as a boarding method for carpooling (step S21). The top floor is the highest floor that the car of the elevator 20 can reach, including the rooftop floor. The bottom floor is the lowest floor that the car of the elevator 20 can reach, including the basement floor. If the destination floor is the top floor or the bottom floor, the robot 40 will not get off before the person in the car. By boarding the car before the waiting person boards, the robot 40 can enter the back of the car and can avoid obstructing people getting on and off the car.

[0074] Next, as a boarding method for ride-sharing, the determination unit 463 determines a waiting position within a predetermined range from the door D2 of the elevator 20 in the waiting area W of the car of the robot 40 (step S22). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the nearby area W2 is determined as the waiting position. Alternatively, the nearby area W1 or the nearby area W3 may be determined as the waiting position. In this way, when the determination unit 463 determines that the boarding timing is before the waiting person boards the car, it determines a waiting position within a predetermined range from the door D2 of the elevator 20. By waiting near the door D2, the robot 40 can board the car before the waiting person boards, and as a result, it can enter the back of the car and prevent obstruction of people getting on and off the car.

[0075] Next, the determination unit 463 determines the boarding position to be far away from the car door D1 as a boarding method for shared riding (step S23). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the far region G7 or G9 is determined as the boarding position. Alternatively, the far region G8 may be determined as the boarding position. This allows the robot 40 to avoid obstructing people getting on and off the car.

[0076] In this way, the determination unit 463 determines, as a riding method for a shared ride, the timing at which the robot 40 gets into the car, the riding position of the robot 40 in the car, and the waiting position at which the robot 40 waits to get into the car. Note that the determination unit 463 determines at least one of the riding timing, the riding position, and the waiting position, and does not have to determine the other items.

[0077] Next, when the car of the elevator 20 arrives and the door D2 opens, the control unit 464 moves the robot 40 in accordance with the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463 to get the robot 40 into the car (step S28), and ends the series of steps. The control unit 464 drives the drive unit 43 to rotate the tire Tr to move the robot 40 so that the robot 40 gets into the car of the elevator 20 in accordance with the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463.

[0078] For example, when the robot 40 moves to the top floor (the 20th floor), the control unit 464 may output a voice message indicating the destination floor and boarding timing of the robot 40, such as "We will be moving to the 20th floor. We will be boarding the elevator first. Thank you for your cooperation," from the output unit 44, and may also notify a person riding in the elevator or a person waiting to board the elevator of a message regarding the determined boarding method. This allows the robot 40 to smoothly board the elevator at an appropriate boarding timing. In this case, the control unit 464 may also output a voice message regarding the boarding position in the elevator, such as "We will be boarding at the back of the elevator," from the output unit 44. Note that when the robot 40 moves to the top floor, the control unit 464 causes the camera of the sensor 42 to capture images of the far regions G7 to G9 of the boarding area G. If the control unit 464 determines based on the captured image that a person is present in any of the far regions G7 to G9, the control unit 464 may output a voice message such as "We will be moving to the top floor, so please give way to the far region," from the output unit 44.

[0079] On the other hand, if the destination floor of the robot 40 is neither the top floor nor the bottom floor in step S20 (step S20: NO), the determination unit 463 determines that the timing for the robot 40 to board is after the person currently waiting has boarded the car, as a boarding method for carpooling (step S24).

[0080] Next, as a riding method for carpooling, the determination unit 463 determines a currently vacant space in the waiting area W of the car of the robot 40 as the waiting position (step S25).

[0081] Next, the determination unit 463 determines a currently vacant space in the car as the boarding position as a boarding method for carpooling (step S26).

[0082] Next, when the car of the elevator 20 arrives and the door D2 opens, the control unit 464 moves the robot 40 in accordance with the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463 to get the robot 40 into the car (step S28), and ends the series of steps. The control unit 464 drives the drive unit 43 to rotate the tire Tr to move the robot 40 so that the robot 40 gets into the car of the elevator 20 in accordance with the boarding method determined by the determination unit 463.

[0083] When the robot 40 gets into the car of the elevator 20, the decision unit 463 transmits a boarding completion notification to the elevator control device 10 via the communication unit 41 and the robot management device 30. As a result, the elevator control device 10 closes the door D2 of the elevator 20 and the door D1 of the car, and moves the car to the destination floor.

[0084] The process of step S12 may be executed before the process of step S11. Also, any one of the processes of step S13, step S14, step S18, step S19, and step S20 may be omitted. Also, the processes of steps S15 to S17, steps S21 to S23, and steps S24 to S26 may be executed in any order.

[0085] In this way, the determination unit 463 determines, based on the floor information, the boarding method for the robot 40 to share a ride with a person in the car of the elevator 20. By using the destination floor or boarding floor of the robot 40, the robot 40 can appropriately determine the boarding method for the share ride.

[0086] Furthermore, the determination unit 463 determines a riding method for carpooling based on the person information. By using information on the people riding in the car or the people waiting to ride in the car, the robot 40 can more appropriately determine a riding method for carpooling.

[0087] As described above, the robot 40 determines the boarding method for carpooling based on the floor information. This enables the robot 40 to appropriately determine the boarding method for carpooling with a person in the elevator car.

[0088] Although preferred embodiments have been described above, the embodiments are not limited to the above examples. For example, the locations of the robot 40 and the robot management device 30 in the control system 1 can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, in order to provide services in the form of cloud computing, multiple servers may be distributed and placed on a network, with each server working together to share each process.

[0089] In the control system 1, the robot management device 30 may execute some or all of the processing performed by the processing unit 46 of the robot 40, notify the robot 40 of the determined boarding method, and instruct the robot 40 to board the elevator car 20 based on that boarding method, or the robot 40 and the robot management device 30 may share the responsibilities of each process.

[0090] It should be understood that those skilled in the art can make various changes, substitutions, and alterations to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The above-described embodiments and modifications may be implemented in any suitable combination within the scope of the present invention.

[0091] The autonomous mobile robot according to one embodiment of the present invention can contribute to solving social issues such as a declining labor force, long working hours, etc. Furthermore, the autonomous mobile robot according to one embodiment of the present invention can contribute to achieving Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations, "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and promote industrial and technological innovation." [Explanation of symbols]

[0092] 1. Control System 20 Elevator 30 Robot Management Device 40 Robot 45 Storage section 461 Acquisition Department 462 Second Acquisition Department 463 Decision Section

Claims

1. An autonomous mobile robot that can move between multiple floors using elevators, an acquisition unit that acquires floor information indicating a destination floor or a boarding floor of the autonomous mobile robot; a determination unit that determines a boarding method for sharing a ride with a person in the elevator car based on the floor information; An autonomous mobile robot comprising:

2. a second acquisition unit that acquires personal information about a person riding in the elevator or a person waiting to ride in the elevator; The determination unit determines the boarding method based on the person information.

2. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1.

3. the determination unit determines, as the boarding method, at least one of a boarding timing at which the autonomous mobile robot boards the car, a boarding position of the autonomous mobile robot in the car, and a waiting position at which the autonomous mobile robot waits to board the car; 3. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 1 or 2.

4. When the number of floors to be traveled to the destination floor is equal to or less than a predetermined number of floors, the determination unit determines the boarding timing to be after a waiting person has boarded the elevator car.

4. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3.

5. When the destination floor is a predetermined high floor or a predetermined low floor, the determination unit determines the boarding timing to be before a waiting person boards the elevator car.

4. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3.

6. the determination unit determines the boarding timing to be after a waiting person has boarded the car when the boarding floor is a predetermined high floor and the moving direction of the car is an upward direction, or when the boarding floor is a predetermined low floor and the moving direction of the car is a downward direction; 4. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3.

7. the determination unit determines the vicinity of a door of the elevator car as the boarding position of the autonomous mobile robot when the number of floors to be traveled to the destination floor is equal to or less than a predetermined number of floors; 4. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3.

8. the determination unit determines, when the destination floor is a predetermined high floor or a predetermined low floor, that the boarding position of the autonomous mobile robot is far away from a door of the elevator car.

4. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3.

9. the determination unit determines the vicinity of a door of the car as the boarding position of the autonomous mobile robot when the boarding floor is a predetermined high floor and the moving direction of the car is an upward direction, or when the boarding floor is a predetermined low floor and the moving direction of the car is a downward direction; 4. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3.

10. When the determination unit determines the boarding timing to be before a waiting person boards the elevator car, the determination unit determines the waiting position to be within a predetermined range from a door of the elevator.

4. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3.

11. When the determination unit determines that the boarding timing is after a waiting person boards the elevator car, the determination unit determines that the waiting position is outside a predetermined range from a door of the elevator.

4. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 3.

12. an output unit that notifies a predetermined message to those around; The output unit notifies a person riding in the elevator or a person waiting to ride in the elevator of a message regarding the determined riding method.

3. The autonomous mobile robot according to claim 2.

13. A control system for controlling an autonomous mobile robot that can move between multiple floors using an elevator, an acquisition unit that acquires floor information indicating a destination floor or a boarding floor of the autonomous mobile robot; a control unit that determines a boarding method for sharing a ride with a person in the elevator car based on the floor information, and instructs the autonomous mobile robot to board the elevator car based on the boarding method; A control system comprising:

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