Obstacle avoidance module, robot, control method, obstacle avoidance method and related device

Abstract

The present application discloses an obstacle avoidance module, a robot, a control method, an obstacle avoidance method, and related devices, which relate to the technical field of obstacle avoidance. The obstacle avoidance module includes an emission assembly used to emit at least two lasers, the at least two lasers being vertically oriented, and a receiving assembly used to collect image information of the lasers on an object. The obstacle avoidance module provided by the present application can be applied to a mobile device, and the two vertically oriented lasers can be cross-shaped. In the cross-shaped laser combination, one laser is vertically oriented and the other laser is horizontally oriented, and the receiving assembly collects image information formed by the lasers, thereby accurately identifying obstacles on the ground and identifying obstacles on a vertical surface erected in front of the avoidance module, thereby efficiently identifying obstacles.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (Related Applications) This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 2, 2022, with application number 202211536565.2 and title "Obstacle avoidance module, robot, control method, obstacle avoidance method and related device," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of obstacle avoidance, and in particular to an obstacle avoidance module, an obstacle avoidance method, a computer-readable storage medium, a control device, a robot, and a method for controlling a robot. [Background technology]

[0003] With the development of technology, service robots, such as cleaning robots, food delivery robots, and commercial robots, are becoming increasingly common in all aspects of our lives. All types of robots include functional requirements for active obstacle avoidance. The applicant has realized that in all of these functions, robots must be able to accurately avoid obstacles, such as shoes, chairs, and scales, in complex environments. Currently, robots generally employ one or a combination of binocular distance avoidance, 3D ToF avoidance, and structured light obstacle avoidance. However, the binocular distance avoidance and 3D ToF avoidance methods have low distance measurement accuracy, and the structured light obstacle avoidance method is expensive. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art or related art.

[0005] To that end, a first aspect of the present application provides an obstacle avoidance module.

[0006] A second aspect of the present application provides an obstacle avoidance method.

[0007] A third aspect of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium.

[0008] A fourth aspect of the present application provides a control device.

[0009] A fifth aspect of the present application provides a robot.

[0010] A sixth aspect of the present application provides a method for controlling a robot.

[0011] In view of this, according to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, an obstacle avoidance module is proposed, the obstacle avoidance module comprising: an injection assembly used to inject at least two lasers, the at least two lasers being oriented perpendicular to one another; a receiving assembly used to collect image information of the laser on an object.

[0012] According to a second aspect of the embodiment of the present application, an obstacle avoidance method is proposed, which is applied to the obstacle avoidance module described in any of the above technical solutions, and the obstacle avoidance method comprises: controlling the delivery assembly to deliver at least two perpendicular laser beams; and determining obstacle location information based on image information of the laser on the object.

[0013] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is proposed, in which a computer program is stored, for realizing the obstacle avoidance method according to any of the above technical solutions.

[0014] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, there is provided a control device, the control device comprising: a memory in which a computer program is stored; a processor for executing the computer program; Here, when the processor executes the computer program, the obstacle avoidance method described in any of the above technical solutions is realized.

[0015] According to a fifth aspect of the present application, there is provided a robot, the robot comprising: The robot body, an obstacle avoidance module according to any of the above technical solutions, which is provided on the robot body; Here, at least one of the lasers emitted from the obstacle avoidance module is arranged parallel to the base of the robot body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present application has at least the following beneficial effects. The obstacle avoidance module provided by the embodiments of the present application includes a transmission assembly and a receiving assembly. The transmission assembly is used to emit at least two lasers, and the at least two lasers are vertically oriented. Therefore, during use, the obstacle avoidance module provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a mobile device, and the two vertically oriented lasers can form a cross shape. In the cross-shaped laser combination, one laser is vertically oriented and the other laser is horizontally oriented. The horizontally oriented laser is projected horizontally onto a traveling surface ahead of the traveling direction of the mobile device. As the mobile device moves, the horizontally oriented laser can cross the traveling surface, and the vertically oriented laser is projected vertically onto a vertical surface ahead of the traveling direction of the moving object. The receiving device can collect image information of the lasers on the object, identify the location of the obstacle through image comparison, and further control the mobile device to avoid the obstacle. The obstacle avoidance module provided by the embodiments of the present application emits at least two lasers arranged vertically via an emission assembly, and the emitted lasers can cover both horizontal and vertical directions, so that obstacles on the ground can be accurately identified, and at the same time, obstacles on a vertical surface erected in front of the avoidance module can be identified efficiently.

[0017] Various other benefits and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are used only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. The same reference numerals are used throughout the accompanying drawings to denote the same elements. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic structural block diagram of an obstacle avoidance module according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic structural block diagram of an injection assembly of an obstacle avoidance module according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram showing the working principle of the wavelength mirror unit of the obstacle avoidance module according to the embodiment of the present application; [Figure 4] Grid diagram of the filter state of the filtering unit of the obstacle avoidance module of the embodiment provided by the present application. [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart of the general steps of an example obstacle avoidance method provided by the present application. [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic diagram of the obstacle avoidance principle of the embodiment obstacle avoidance method provided by the present application; [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram illustrating the working principle of alternately emitting the first laser and the second laser in the obstacle avoidance method according to the embodiment of the present application; [Figure 8] A structural block diagram of a computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 9] The structural block diagram of the control device of the embodiment provided by the present application [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic structural block diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 11] 1 is a flowchart showing the general steps of a robot control method according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 12] 1 is a flowchart showing the general steps of a robot control method according to another embodiment of the present application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0019] 100 Obstacle Avoidance Module 110 Injection Assembly 120 Receiving Assembly 111 Drive circuit unit 112 VCSEL units 113 Substrate 114 Positive Access Port 115 Negative access port 116 Focusing mirror unit 117 wavelength mirror unit 121 Lens unit 122 sensors 123 Filtering Unit 124 Signal Processing Unit 1161 First focusing mirror 1162 Second focusing mirror 1171 1st Wavelength Mirror 1172 Second Wavelength Mirror 210 Robot body DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] In order to better understand the above technical solutions, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific examples. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application and the specific features in the embodiments are intended to explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application in detail, and do not limit the technical solutions of the present application. It should be understood that the technical features in the embodiments of the present application and the embodiments can be combined with each other as long as there is no contradiction.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides an obstacle avoidance module 100, which includes an emission assembly 110 used to emit at least two lasers, the at least two lasers being set perpendicular to each other, and a reception assembly 120 used to collect image information of the lasers on an object.

[0022] The obstacle avoidance module 100 provided by the embodiment of the present application includes a transmission assembly 110 and a receiving assembly 120. The transmission assembly 110 is used to emit at least two lasers, which are arranged vertically. Therefore, during use, the obstacle avoidance module 100 provided by the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a mobile device, and the two vertically arranged lasers can form a cross shape. In the cross-shaped laser combination, one laser is arranged vertically and the other laser is arranged horizontally. The horizontally emitted laser is projected horizontally onto a traveling surface ahead of the traveling direction of the mobile device. As the mobile device moves, the horizontally projected laser can cross the traveling surface, and the vertically emitted laser is projected vertically onto a vertical surface ahead of the traveling direction of the moving object. The receiving device can collect image information of the lasers on the object, compare the images to identify the location of the obstacle, and then control the mobile device to avoid the obstacle. The obstacle avoidance module 100 provided by the embodiments of the present application emits at least two lasers arranged vertically via an emission assembly 110, and the emitted lasers can cover both horizontal and vertical directions, allowing for accurate identification of obstacles on the ground, and at the same time, for identifying obstacles on a vertical surface erected in front of the avoidance module, thereby enabling efficient identification of obstacles.

[0023] The present application takes into consideration that obstacle avoidance methods in the prior art generally adopt one or a combination of a binocular ranging obstacle avoidance method, a 3D Tof obstacle avoidance method, and a structured light obstacle avoidance method.

[0024] The basic principle of binocular ranging obstacle avoidance is similar to that of the human eye. Two parallel cameras are used to capture images. Based on the difference (parallax) between the two images, a series of complex algorithms are used to calculate the distance to a specific point. With sufficient data, a depth map is generated, and the distance to the obstacle's machine position is calculated, achieving intelligent obstacle avoidance. However, binocular obstacle avoidance places high demands on the relative position of the two cameras, and binocular position calibration must achieve pixel-level accuracy, making production difficult. Furthermore, the binocular principle requires finding and matching feature points between the images captured by the two cameras for triangulation. However, matching is not possible for obstacles without feature points, such as white walls, resulting in failed ranging and failing to meet the requirements for accurate obstacle avoidance. The obstacle avoidance module 100 provided in the embodiments of the present application emits at least two lasers, which are arranged vertically, so that the lasers can be emitted in two directions: horizontal and vertical. The receiving assembly 120 then collects image information as the lasers travel and determines the location of the obstacle through image comparison. Because the obstacle location identification in the embodiments of the present application does not require binocular position calibration, the installation accuracy of the obstacle avoidance module 100 on the mobile device can be reduced, and high-precision obstacle avoidance can be achieved with only general installation accuracy. The receiving assembly 120 of the obstacle avoidance module 100 provided in the embodiments of the present application only needs to collect image information of the lasers on the object, thereby reducing the requirements for the receiving assembly 120 and reducing costs.

[0025] The 3D ToF obstacle avoidance method uses an infrared light source to emit high-frequency light pulses toward an object, then receives the light pulses reflected from the object and returns. The distance between the object and the camera is calculated by detecting the time of flight (round-trip) and speed of light of the light pulses. However, the TOF sensor 122 is expensive, and the resolution required for robot obstacle avoidance is typically over 100 yuan. It is limited by the timer's TDC accuracy (nanosecond level), resulting in poor accuracy in short-distance ranging (typically around 10 mm). It is prone to mistaking reflected light for actual light in a reflective environment, resulting in inconsistent light range, inaccurate calculation time, and large ranging errors. The obstacle avoidance module 100 provided in the embodiments of the present application emits at least two lasers, which are aligned perpendicularly to each other, emitting lasers in two directions: horizontal and vertical. The receiving assembly 120 then collects image information along the laser path and compares the images to determine the location of the obstacle. The obstacle avoidance module 100 provided in the embodiments of the present application does not rely on the time of flight of light rays and has high ranging accuracy.

[0026] Structured light obstacle avoidance methods differ from conventional binocular ranging in that the light source is an unencoded light source, such as ambient light or white light, and image identification relies entirely on the feature points of the captured object itself, making matching difficult with both eyes. Structured light ranging differs from binocular ranging in that the projected light source is encoded or characterized. In this way, an encoded light source is projected onto the object to capture an image modulated by the depth of the object's surface. Because the structured light source has many feature points or codes, it provides many matching corner points or direct code words, making feature point matching easier. However, such structured light is susceptible to sunlight interference and has limited power to ensure safety for the human eye. Therefore, when the ambient sunlight is very strong, scattering spots are likely to overflow, making ranging ineffective. Structured light is equivalent to adding a scattering spot projector to a binocular system, which increases costs. In the embodiment of the present application, two vertically arranged lasers are used to form a cross-shaped laser assembly, and power can be concentrated in the two lasers while maintaining the safety power limit for the human eye. This improves the laser power density, signal-to-noise ratio, and resistance to bright light, resulting in high detection accuracy.

[0027] The obstacle avoidance module 100 provided by the embodiment of the present application achieves both high ranging accuracy and low cost compared to the binocular ranging obstacle avoidance method, the 3D Tof obstacle avoidance method, and the structured light obstacle avoidance method in the prior art.

[0028] It should be understood that the obstacle avoidance module 100 provided by the embodiments of the present application is suitable for being assembled into a robot, and in particular, into a service robot.

[0029] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, in a possible embodiment, the emission assembly 110 includes a driving circuit unit 111 and at least two VCSEL units 112, where the driving circuit unit 111 is connected to the VCSEL units 112, and the VCSEL units 112 are used to emit laser light.

[0030] The technical solution further provides a structural configuration of the emission assembly 110, which includes a driving circuit unit 111 and at least two VCSEL units 112 (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers), each of which can emit one laser beam, and one driving circuit unit 111 drives the at least two VCSEL units 112, thereby emitting line laser beams from multiple lines in a time-division manner, simultaneously considering the horizontal and vertical fields of view, and reducing the obstacle avoidance dead zone range.

[0031] The driving circuit unit 111 is used to supply an appropriate driving voltage and current to the VCSEL unit 112 so that the VCSEL unit 112 can perform photoelectric conversion. Since the light emission intensity of the emission assembly 110 and the driving current are linearly related, the response distance between the emission assembly 110 and the receiving assembly 120 can be effectively controlled by controlling the driving current of the driving circuit unit 111, thereby realizing the long-distance obstacle detection function of the robot.

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , in a feasible embodiment, the injection assembly 110 further includes: a substrate 113 on which at least two VCSEL units 112 are provided; a positive access port 114 provided on the substrate 113, with at least one positive access port 114 connected to each VCSEL unit 112; and a negative access port 115 provided on the substrate 113 and connected to all the VCSEL units 112, wherein a driving circuit unit 111 is used to connect to the positive access port 114 and the negative access port 115.

[0033] In this technical solution, the injection assembly 110 may further include a substrate 113, which can serve to integrate multiple VCSEL units 112, so that one obstacle avoidance module 100 can emit at least two lasers, and each robot only needs to be equipped with one obstacle avoidance module 100 to achieve obstacle avoidance, which can further reduce the obstacle avoidance cost of the robot.

[0034] Multiple VCSEL units 112 share one negative access port 115, and at least one positive access port 114 is provided for each VCSEL unit 112, which makes it more convenient to power on the VCSEL units 112 and also makes it easier to control the on / off of each VCSEL unit 112.

[0035] In some examples, the emitter includes two VCSEL units 112. The VCSEL units 112 may be in the infrared band, such as 940 nm, 850 nm, or 808 nm. Important characteristics of the VCSEL units 112 include the emission intensity at rated current, the dispersion angle FOV, and the external dimensions. The emission intensity affects the detection distance, while the dispersion angle affects the linewidth of the laser line. If the linewidth is too narrow, it will not occupy more than one pixel of the image, making it difficult to accurately calculate the center of gravity. If the linewidth is too wide, the energy density will be low, resulting in low levels of reflected energy when detecting dark obstacles, making them ineffective. Therefore, to improve detection accuracy, the linewidth of the VCSEL units 112 is 1-5 mm at the focal point. The external dimensions of the VCSEL units 112 primarily affect the structural design. A smaller structure facilitates miniaturization of the device, which indirectly improves the distance between the transmitter and receiver and improves the accuracy of triangulation. In this embodiment, a circular ceramic substrate arrangement is adopted, with a wavelength of 850 nm, an FOV of 18°, and a VCSEL chip size φ of 5 mm, which allows for consideration of response distance, energy density, and miniaturization of the obstacle avoidance module 100.

[0036] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, in a possible embodiment, the injection assembly 110 further includes a focusing mirror unit 116 used to focus the laser emitted through the VCSEL unit 112, and a wavelength mirror unit 117 provided on the side of the focusing mirror unit 116 away from the VCSEL unit 112.

[0037] In this technical solution, the emission assembly 110 may further include a focusing mirror unit 116, which can focus the laser emitted through the VCSEL unit 112, and the focal length of the focusing mirror unit 116 can adjust the linewidth of the laser emitted by the VCSEL unit 112, so as to expand the application range of the obstacle avoidance module 100.

[0038] In this technical solution, the focusing mirror unit 116 can further focus the circular light spot size emitted by the VCSEL unit 112, and the line width of the line laser can be flexibly controlled through setting the focal length of the focusing mirror unit 116 and adjusting the object distance of the VCSEL. The focusing mirror unit 116 can be spherical or aspherical. Furthermore, since the divergence angle of the VCSEL unit 112 is small, the focusing mirror unit 116 is preferably a spherical mirror, which can expand the application range of the obstacle avoidance module 100 and improve cost performance.

[0039] In this technical solution, the injection assembly 110 may further include a wavelength mirror unit 117, and the focused laser is irradiated through the wavelength mirror unit 117, which linearizes the point laser so that the laser is irradiated linearly. Specifically, assuming that there are at least two lasers arranged vertically, the two vertically arranged lasers are irradiated on a plane perpendicular to the traveling surface in the traveling direction of the robot, which makes it easier to detect obstacles.

[0040] As shown in Figure 3, in some examples, the focused circular laser light spot passes through the wavelength mirror, and multiple light beams passing through the peaks and valleys are irradiated perpendicular to the center of the line. The light beam passing through the 0.5 peak and valley depth has the largest exit angle and is emitted at the edge of the line. The light beams passing through the peaks (valleys) and 0.5 peak and valley depths are superimposed on multiple waves and are emitted at the center and edge of the line depending on their position, forming a line. If the wavelength mirror is designed to have a vertical 90° wavefront type, a vertical and horizontal cross-shaped double line laser can be achieved.

[0041] In this technical solution, the installation of the lens unit 121 can image the line laser reflected by the obstacle, making it easy to obtain a clear image.

[0042] In some examples, each VCSEL unit corresponds to at least one focusing mirror and at least one wavelength mirror, and as shown in FIG. 2, the focusing mirror unit 116 includes a first focusing mirror 1161 and a second focusing mirror 1162, and the wavelength mirror unit 117 includes a first wavelength mirror 1171 and a second wavelength mirror 1172, which can better focus the emitted laser and linearize the point laser.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 1, in a possible embodiment, the receiving assembly 120 includes a lens unit 121, a sensor 122 used to collect image information through the lens unit 121, and a filtering unit 123 provided on the side of the lens unit 121 away from the sensor 122.

[0044] In this technical solution, a structural configuration of the receiving assembly 120 is further provided, and the receiving assembly 120 may include a lens unit 121, a sensor 122 and a filtering unit 123. When collecting image information through the receiving assembly 120, the light beam first passes through the filtering unit 123, which only allows light of the corresponding wavelength to pass through and cuts off light of other wavelengths, thereby preventing ambient light from being received and causing serious stray light in the image, and improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the system.

[0045] In some examples, as shown in FIG. 4, the abscissa in FIG. 4 is wavelength and the ordinate is signal reception strength, and the filtering unit 123 may be a narrow-band filter capable of filtering, preferably a narrow-band filter of 850 nm±10 nm, which is more suitable for the laser emitted by the VCSEL unit 112.

[0046] In some examples, the sensor 122 may be a sensor chip, and the lens unit 121 is used to image the line laser reflected by the obstacle on the sensor chip. Important indicators of the lens unit 121 include the field of view, F#, focal length, distortion, etc. The lens unit 121 in this embodiment includes a lens with a field of view of 120° or more, which can further expand the obstacle range. The focal length of the lens unit 121 may be 1mm to 2mm, preferably 1.6mm. According to the triangular ranging method, the larger the focal length, the higher the ranging accuracy. The F# is between 1.5 and 3, preferably 2.2. This is because, for a given focal length, the smaller the F#, the larger the lens opening and the greater the amount of light that penetrates. An F# between 1.5 and 3 ensures sufficient light penetration and improves the accuracy of image information collection. The distortion should be less than 2.5%, and as long as the distortion is small, too much distortion will affect the edge ranging accuracy of the system. If the original distortion is too large, it can be corrected by internal reference calibration, but this will sacrifice the effective FOV.

[0047] In this technical solution, the sensor 122 may be a sensor photosensitive chip, whose main characteristics include resolution, exposure method, pixel size, and photosensitive efficiency. According to the triangulation method, higher resolution increases ranging accuracy but also increases costs. Exposure methods are divided into rolling line-by-line exposure and global exposure. Global exposure is suitable for high-speed movement scenarios, and this application is applied to mobile robots. Since strict timing synchronization with the line laser is required, this embodiment uses a sensor with a VGA resolution and global exposure mode. The larger the pixel size, the better the photosensitive performance. In this embodiment, the sensor photosensitive chip uses a pixel size of 3 to 5 μm, preferably a sensor photosensitive chip with a pixel size of 3.75 μm. Higher photosensitive efficiency increases the photoelectric conversion efficiency for the same output power, resulting in a brighter line laser displayed in the image, which is beneficial for long-distance ranging on dark materials. Therefore, this embodiment uses a sensor with a photosensitive efficiency of 40% or more.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 1, in a possible embodiment, the receiving assembly 120 further includes a signal processing unit 124 connected to the sensor 122 and used to convert the photoelectric signal into a digital signal.

[0049] In the present technical solution, the receiving assembly 120 may further include a signal processing unit 124, and the installation of the signal processing unit 124 can convert the photoelectric signal into a digital signal, facilitating the processor to perform distance measurement based on the information received by the receiving assembly 120.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 5, according to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, an obstacle avoidance method is provided that is applied to the obstacle avoidance module of any of the above technical solutions, and the obstacle avoidance method includes the following steps: In step 201, a projection assembly is controlled to project at least two perpendicular laser beams. In step 202, obstacle location information is determined based on the image information of the laser on the object.

[0051] The obstacle avoidance method provided by the embodiments of the present application includes an obstacle avoidance module that emits at least two vertical lasers, and the two vertically set lasers may be in the shape of a cross. In the cross-shaped laser combination, one laser is set vertically and the other laser is set horizontally. The horizontally emitted laser is irradiated horizontally onto a traveling surface ahead of the traveling direction of the mobile device. As the mobile device moves, the horizontally emitted laser can cross the traveling surface, and the vertically emitted laser is irradiated vertically onto a vertical surface ahead of the traveling direction of the moving object. The receiving device can collect image information of the lasers on the object and determine obstacle location information through image comparison. During the entire obstacle avoidance process, there is no need to rely on binocular position calibration or ray flight time, which reduces the cost of obstacle avoidance and improves the accuracy of obstacle location information.

[0052] In a possible embodiment, the step of controlling the emission assembly to emit at least two perpendicular lasers includes controlling the emission assembly to alternately emit the first laser and the second laser, and controlling the receiving assembly to be on when the emission assembly is emitting the first laser and the second laser, wherein the first laser is positioned horizontally and the second laser is positioned vertically.

[0053] The technical solution further provides a step of controlling the emission assembly to emit at least two vertical lasers, and a step of alternately emitting the first laser and the second laser vertically, which can avoid simultaneous emission of the first laser and the second laser, avoid confusion between the horizontal laser and the vertical laser, and further improve the detection accuracy.

[0054] It should be understood that when there are multiple lasers, the multiple lasers are emitted at equal intervals.

[0055] As shown in Figure 7, in some cases, the interval between the emission of the first and second lasers is 33 ms or more, and the receiving assembly is turned on synchronously with the emission of the laser by the emission assembly. The emission times of the first and second lasers and the on time of the receiving assembly are 2.5 ms or more, so that the horizontal and vertical line lasers are emitted at intervals according to the synchronization signal, and the emission times and the exposure times of the receiving assembly can be closely matched. This not only ensures the effective brightness of the line lasers in the image, but also shortens the emission time of the entire line laser, thereby meeting the laser safety standards for human eyes.

[0056] In a possible embodiment, the step of determining obstacle position information based on image information of the laser on the object includes: The distance between the obstacle and the obstacle avoidance module is determined by the following formula: q=fs / x where q is the distance between the obstacle and the obstacle avoidance module, f is the focal length of the receiving assembly, s is the distance between the center of the injection assembly and the center of the receiving assembly, and x is the distance from the pixel point of the sensor to the center of the sensor.

[0057] The present technical solution further provides a specific step of determining obstacle position information, and determines the distance between the obstacle and the obstacle avoidance module based on the focal length of the receiving assembly, the distance between the injection assembly and the receiving assembly, and the detection result of the sensor, thereby accurately determining the position of the obstacle and facilitating obstacle avoidance for equipment or devices equipped with the obstacle avoidance module.

[0058] In some examples, the present application emits a laser through the obstacle avoidance module, and calculates the location information of the obstacle in combination with triangulation. The specific principle is as shown in FIG. 6, and the processor processes the detection result of the obstacle avoidance module according to the similar triangulation distance q=fs / x, which makes it convenient to accurately determine the location of the obstacle.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 8, according to a third aspect of the embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium 301 is further provided, and a computer program 302 is stored in the computer-readable storage medium 301, which realizes the obstacle avoidance method of any of the above technical solutions.

[0060] The computer-readable storage medium 301 provided by the embodiments of the present application realizes the obstacle avoidance method of any of the above technical solutions, so that the computer-readable storage medium 301 has all the beneficial effects of the above obstacle avoidance methods.

[0061] The computer-readable storage medium may be either non-volatile or volatile.

[0062] The computer-readable storage medium 301 provided by the embodiment of the present application emits at least two perpendicular lasers via an obstacle avoidance module, and the two perpendicularly arranged lasers may be cross-shaped. In the cross-shaped laser combination, one laser is arranged vertically and the other laser is arranged horizontally. The horizontally emitted laser is irradiated horizontally onto a traveling surface ahead of the traveling direction of the mobile device. As the mobile device moves, the horizontally emitted laser can cross the traveling surface, and the vertically emitted laser is irradiated vertically onto a vertical surface ahead of the traveling direction of the moving object. The receiving device collects image information of the lasers on the object and determines obstacle location information through image comparison. This eliminates the need for binocular position calibration and ray flight time during the entire obstacle avoidance process, thereby reducing obstacle avoidance costs and improving the accuracy of obstacle location information.

[0063] Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application may be embodied in the form of a software product, which may be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, etc.), and contains a number of instructions to cause a computer device (such as a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform the methods described in each implementation scenario of the present application.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 9 , according to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a control device 400 is provided, comprising: a memory 401 storing a computer program; and a processor 402 for executing the computer program, wherein, when the processor 402 executes the computer program, the obstacle avoidance method of any of the above technical solutions is realized.

[0065] The control device 400 provided by the embodiments of the present application realizes the obstacle avoidance methods of any of the above technical solutions, so the control device 400 has all the beneficial effects of the above obstacle avoidance methods.

[0066] The control device 400 provided by the embodiment of the present application emits at least two perpendicular lasers via the obstacle avoidance module, and the two perpendicularly arranged lasers may be cross-shaped. In the cross-shaped laser combination, one laser is arranged vertically and the other laser is arranged horizontally. The horizontally emitted laser is irradiated horizontally onto the traveling surface ahead of the traveling direction of the mobile device. As the mobile device moves, the horizontally emitted laser can cross the traveling surface, and the vertically emitted laser is irradiated vertically onto the vertical surface ahead of the traveling direction of the moving object. The receiving device collects image information of the lasers on the object and determines obstacle position information through image comparison. This eliminates the need for binocular position calibration and ray flight time during the entire obstacle avoidance process, reducing obstacle avoidance costs while improving the accuracy of obstacle position information.

[0067] In some examples, the control device 400 may further include a user interface, a network interface, a camera, a radio frequency (RF) circuit, a sensor, an audio circuit, a Wi-Fi module, etc. The user interface may include an input unit such as a display and a keyboard, and optionally, the user interface may further include a USB interface, a card reader interface, etc. The network interface may optionally include a standard wired interface, a wireless interface (such as a Wi-Fi interface), etc.

[0068] In an exemplary embodiment, the control device may further include an input / output interface and a display device, and the functional units can communicate with each other via a bus. A computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor is used to execute the program stored in the memory to implement the method in the above embodiment.

[0069] The storage medium may also include an operating system and a network communication module. The operating system is a program that manages the hardware and software resources of the physical device of the method and supports the operation of the information processing program and other software and / or programs. The network communication module is used to realize communication between each assembly in the storage medium and to realize communication between other hardware and software in the information processing physical device.

[0070] Through the description of the above embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present application can be realized with the aid of software and a required general-purpose hardware platform, or by hardware.

[0071] The present application will be described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of processes and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be executed by a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded computer, or other programmable data processing device to produce a device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0072] 10 , according to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a robot, comprising: a robot body 210; and an obstacle avoidance module 100 of any of the above technical solutions, disposed on the robot body 210, wherein at least one of the lasers emitted by the obstacle avoidance module 100 is disposed parallel to the base of the robot body 210.

[0073] The robot provided by the embodiment of the present application includes the obstacle avoidance module 100 of the above technical solution, and therefore has all the beneficial effects of the obstacle avoidance module 100 of the above technical solution.

[0074] In the robot provided by the embodiment of the present application, at least one of the lasers emitted by the obstacle avoidance module 100 is arranged parallel to the base of the robot body 210, and at least one other laser is arranged vertically in the horizontal direction, i.e., the other laser is arranged vertically. The laser arranged parallel to the base direction is emitted horizontally, and the horizontally emitted laser is horizontally irradiated onto a traveling surface ahead of the traveling direction of the robot body 210, and as the mobile device travels, the horizontally irradiated laser can cross the traveling surface. The vertically emitted laser is vertically irradiated onto a vertical surface ahead of the traveling direction of the moving object. The receiving device can collect image information of the laser on the object and determine the position of the obstacle by comparing the images, and further control the robot body 210 to avoid the obstacle. The robot provided in the embodiments of the present application emits at least two vertically arranged lasers via the emission assembly 110, and the emitted lasers can cover both horizontal and vertical directions, allowing for accurate identification of obstacles on the ground and, at the same time, for identification of obstacles on a vertical surface erected in front of the avoidance module, thereby enabling efficient identification of obstacles and facilitating efficient obstacle avoidance by the robot body 210.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 10, in a possible embodiment, the robot further comprises a control device 400 of any of the above technical solutions.

[0076] In this technical solution, the robot may further include the control device of the above technical solution, so that the robot has all the beneficial effects of the control device of the above technical solution, which will not be repeated here.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 11, according to a sixth aspect of the embodiment of the present application, there is provided a robot control method applied to the robot of any of the above technical solutions, and the control method includes the following steps: In step 601, obstacle position information is determined based on the obstacle avoidance module, it should be understood that the obstacle avoidance module can identify obstacles in two directions: horizontal and vertical.

[0078] In step 602, if the obstacle position information indicates a horizontal obstacle, the robot's travel path is changed so that the robot body goes around the obstacle. It should be understood that if the obstacle avoidance module identifies an obstacle in the horizontal direction, it indicates that the obstacle is ahead of the robot body in the travel direction and is low in height, and in this case, the obstacle can be avoided by changing the robot's travel direction.

[0079] If the obstacle position information indicates a vertical obstacle, the robot body is controlled to turn and move. It should be understood that if the obstacle avoidance module identifies an obstacle in the vertical direction, it indicates that the obstacle is ahead of the robot body in the direction of travel and is high. In this case, if the robot continues to travel forward, it is likely to collide with the obstacle, so the robot body can be controlled to turn and avoid the obstacle.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 12, in some examples, a method for controlling a robot may include the following steps. In step 701, obstacle position information is determined based on the obstacle avoidance module. In step 702, it is determined whether there is an obstacle ahead of the robot based on the obstacle position information, and if so, step 703 is executed, and if not, step 706 is executed. In step 703, it is determined whether there is an obstacle on the left side in the horizontal direction ahead of the robot, and if so, step 707 is executed, and if not, step 704 is executed. In step 704, it is determined whether there is an obstacle to the right of the robot in the horizontal direction in front of it. If so, step 708 is executed; if not, step 705 is executed. In step 705, it is determined whether there is an obstacle to the right of the robot in the vertical direction in front of it. If so, step 709 is executed; if not, step 701 is executed. In step 706, the robot is controlled to run along the current direction. In step 707, the robot is controlled to adjust its pose to the right. In step 708, the robot is controlled to adjust its pose to the left. In step 709, the robot is controlled to turn and adjust its attitude.

[0081] By combining the robot control method provided by the embodiments of the present application with the obstacle avoidance module, at least two vertically arranged lasers are emitted through the emission assembly, and the emitted lasers can cover both horizontal and vertical directions, allowing for accurate identification of obstacles on the ground, and at the same time, for identifying obstacles on a vertical surface erected in front of the avoidance module, thereby enabling efficient identification of obstacles.

[0082] In this application, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, and the term "plurality" means two or more than two, unless otherwise expressly and limited. Terms such as "attached," "coupled," "connected," and "fixed" should be understood broadly; for example, "connected" may mean fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, and "connected" may mean directly connected or indirectly connected via an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0083] In the description of this application, the orientations or positional relationships indicated by terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," "rear," etc. are orientations or positional relationships based on the accompanying drawings and are used solely for the purpose of simplifying the description and explanation of this application, and are not to be construed as limitations of this application, as they do not indicate or imply that such devices or units necessarily have a particular direction or must be configured and operated in a particular orientation.

[0084] In the description herein, terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," and "specific embodiments" indicate that the specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with this embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

[0085] The above is merely a preferred embodiment of the present application, and does not limit the present application. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made without departing from the spirit and principles of the present application shall all be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. an injection assembly used to emit at least two lasers, the at least two lasers being oriented perpendicular to one another; a receiving assembly used to collect said laser image information of an object.

2. The injection assembly includes: A drive circuit unit; 2. The obstacle avoidance module according to claim 1, further comprising: at least two VCSEL units, wherein the driving circuit unit is connected to the VCSEL units, and the VCSEL units are used to emit the lasers.

3. The injection assembly includes: a substrate provided with at least two VCSEL units; a positive access port provided on the substrate, at least one of the positive access ports being connected to each of the VCSEL units; a negative electrode access port provided on the substrate and connected to all of the VCSEL units; The obstacle avoidance module of claim 2 , wherein the drive circuit unit is connected to the positive access port and the negative access port.

4. The injection assembly includes: a focusing mirror unit that focuses the laser emitted through the VCSEL unit; 3. The obstacle avoidance module of claim 2, further comprising: a wavelength mirror unit disposed on the focusing mirror unit away from the VCSEL unit.

5. The receiving assembly includes: A lens unit; a sensor that collects the image information through the lens unit; 5. The obstacle avoidance module according to claim 1, further comprising: a filtering unit provided on the lens unit on a side remote from the sensor.

6. The receiving assembly includes: The obstacle avoidance module of claim 5 , further comprising a signal processing unit connected to the sensor and used to convert a photoelectric signal into a digital signal.

7. An obstacle avoidance method to be applied to the obstacle avoidance module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: controlling the delivery assembly to deliver at least two perpendicular laser beams; and determining obstacle position information based on said laser image information of the object.

8. The step of controlling the emission assembly to emit at least two perpendicular laser beams includes: controlling the delivery assembly to alternately deliver a first laser and a second laser; and controlling the receiving assembly to be turned on when the emitting assembly is emitting the first laser and the second laser; 8. The obstacle avoidance method of claim 7, wherein the first laser is positioned horizontally and the second laser is positioned vertically.

9. The step of determining obstacle position information based on image information of the laser on the object includes: determining a distance between an obstacle and the obstacle avoidance module according to the following formula: q = fs / x 8. The obstacle avoidance method of claim 7, wherein q is the distance between the obstacle and the obstacle avoidance module, f is the focal length of the receiving assembly, s is the distance between the center of the injection assembly and the center of the receiving assembly, and x is the distance from a pixel point of the sensor of the obstacle avoidance module to the center of the sensor.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for implementing the obstacle avoidance method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

11. a memory in which a computer program is stored; a processor for executing the computer program; A control device that, when the processor executes the computer program, realizes the obstacle avoidance method according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

12. The robot body, an obstacle avoidance module according to any one of claims 1 to 6 provided on the robot body; At least one of the lasers emitted from the obstacle avoidance module is arranged parallel to the base of the robot body.

13. The robot according to claim 12, further comprising the control device according to claim 11.

14. A robot control method applied to the robot according to claim 12 or 13, the control method comprising: determining obstacle position information based on the obstacle avoidance module; If the obstacle position information indicates a horizontal obstacle, changing a travel path of the robot so that the robot body goes around the obstacle; and controlling the robot body to turn and travel when the obstacle position information indicates a vertical obstacle.

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