Object handling apparatus and method

Abstract

To improve efficiency in handling an object.SOLUTION: An object handling apparatus comprising: an object information acquisition unit configured to acquire object information that is information about a position or a state of an object based on information from a sensor; and an operation determination unit configured to determine an operation for the object based on a relationship between a fixed position or a fixed state of the object and the position or the state indicated by the object information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an object handling device and method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, research into various robots with mobility capabilities has been progressing. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an inspection device that patrols a predetermined area, performs inspection work at designated inspection points using a laser sensor, and transmits the inspection results to a monitoring device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-037709 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, even if an abnormality is found during the inspection, the above-mentioned inspection device only transmits the results of the inspection, and does not take any action on the object being inspected (for example, restoring the object to its original state), which poses issues in terms of efficiency.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can improve efficiency in handling objects. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, an object handling device is provided, which includes an object information acquisition unit that acquires object information, which is information regarding the position or state of an object, based on information from a sensor, and an action determination unit that determines an action to be taken with respect to the object based on the relationship between the fixed position or fixed state of the object and the position or state indicated by the object information.

[0007] The object handling device may be a mobile body having a mechanism for movement.

[0008] The object handling device may further include a storage unit that stores information indicating the fixed position or the fixed state of the object.

[0009] The action determination unit may determine, as the action to be taken on the object, an action for returning the object to a steady state, based on the fact that the state indicated by the object information is not the steady state.

[0010] The action determination unit may determine, based on the fact that the position indicated by the object information is not the fixed position or is farther away from the fixed position than a first distance, that an action to return the object to the fixed position is the action for the object.

[0011] The object handling device may further include an information processing unit that sets predetermined information to position information indicating the fixed position in the memory unit when object information for the object is not acquired at the fixed position, and the operation determination unit may determine, based on the fact that the position indicated by the object information acquired by the object information acquisition unit is not the fixed position, that the operation for the object is to return the object to the fixed position indicated by the position information for which the predetermined information is set.

[0012] The object handling device may execute a first process of collecting information indicating the fixed position or fixed state of the object, and a second process of the operation determination unit determining an operation based on the information collected in the first process.

[0013] The object handling device may further include an information processing unit that stores the object information acquired by the object information acquisition unit in the first processing in the memory unit as information indicating the fixed position or the fixed state of the object.

[0014] The object handling device may further include an identification unit that acquires reference information and identifies a fixed position or a fixed state of the object based on the reference information.

[0015] In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, a computer-implemented method is provided, which includes acquiring object information, which is information regarding the position or state of an object, based on information from a sensor, and determining an action to be taken with respect to the object based on the relationship between the fixed position or fixed state of the object and the position or state indicated by the object information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to improve the efficiency of handling objects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which an autonomous mobile robot 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied to a construction site. [Figure 2] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an autonomous mobile robot 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a control unit 200. [Figure 4] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of object information stored in the storage unit 140. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a first specific example of the inspection process. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a second specific example of the inspection process. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a third specific example of the inspection process. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a fourth specific example of the inspection process. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a fourth specific example of the inspection process. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of a collection process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of an inspection process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12]FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of an inspection process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an autonomous mobile robot 12 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of an inspection process according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0019] The present invention relates to an object handling device that inspects an object and, if an abnormality is found in the object, performs an appropriate action on the object. Examples of objects to be inspected include traffic cones (registered trademark) and signs placed at construction sites. An abnormality in the object to be inspected may be, for example, an abnormality in the position or state of the object to be inspected. An appropriate action may be a restoration action to return the object to its original position or to a fixed state. The fixed position is the position where the object to be inspected should be, and the fixed state is the state the object to be inspected should be. The object handling device may be a mobile or non-mobile object. If the object handling device is a mobile object, the mobile object may move autonomously or may move based on human operation. Furthermore, the mobile object may or may not have a human on board.

[0020] In the following, an object handling device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be mainly described as an autonomous mobile robot that moves autonomously while inspecting traffic cones at a construction site.

[0021] <<First embodiment>> <Application example> Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which an autonomous mobile robot 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied to a construction site. As shown in Figure 1, a construction vehicle B is present at the construction site, and a plurality of inspection objects 30 (30A to 30D) are placed so as to surround the construction vehicle B. In Figure 1, traffic cones are shown as the inspection objects 30.

[0022] The autonomous mobile robot 10 travels autonomously through such construction sites. The travel route of the autonomous mobile robot 10 may be set in advance, may be determined by the autonomous mobile robot 10, or may be instructed as needed from an external device such as a display terminal 20.

[0023] The autonomous mobile robot 10 performs a collection process (first process) that collects information indicating the home position and home state of each inspection object 30, and an inspection process (second process) that checks whether each inspection object 30 is in its home position and home state based on the information collected in the collection process. For example, in the collection process, information is collected that indicates that the home position of inspection object 30B is P2 (X2, Y2) and that the home state of inspection object 30B is an upright state. In the inspection process, if inspection object 30B is not in home position P2 or if inspection object 30B has fallen over at home position P2, the autonomous mobile robot 10 determines a recovery operation to return inspection object 30B to its home position and home state, and executes the recovery operation.

[0024] Although FIG. 1 shows an autonomous mobile robot 10 having wheels as an example of an object handling device, the object handling device may also be another mobile body such as a drone or a water vehicle that does not have wheels.

[0025] The display terminal 20 receives information about the inspection object 30 from the autonomous mobile robot 10, generates a display screen based on the information, and displays the display screen. For example, the display terminal 20 may generate a display screen of a map on which a marker is superimposed at the position of the inspection object 30, and display the display screen.

[0026] The above describes an application example of the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Next, the configuration and operation of the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0027] <Configuration of the Autonomous Mobile Robot 10> 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an autonomous mobile robot 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a sensor group 110, a mobile mechanism 120, an inspection object restoration unit 130, a memory unit 140, and a control unit 200.

[0028] (sensor group 110) The sensor group 110 detects information used to estimate the self-position of the autonomous mobile robot 10 and information used to recognize the inspection object 30. For example, with regard to the detection of information used to estimate the self-position of the autonomous mobile robot 10, the sensor group 110 may include an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a GPS signal receiver, or the like. Furthermore, with regard to the detection of information used to recognize the inspection object 30, the sensor group 110 may include a visible light image capturing sensor, a range image capturing sensor, or the like.

[0029] (Moving mechanism 120) The locomotion mechanism 120 is a mechanism for moving the autonomous mobile robot 10. The locomotion mechanism 120 operates under the control of the control unit 200. The locomotion mechanism 120 may include, for example, a power source that outputs driving force, such as an engine or a motor, and wheels that are driven by the driving force. Depending on the form of the autonomous mobile robot 10, the locomotion mechanism 120 may include other mechanisms, such as a propeller or a screw.

[0030] (Inspection and Restoration Department 130) The inspection object restoration unit 130 is a mechanism used for the restoration operation of the inspection object 30. The inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the restoration operation determined by the control unit 200. For example, if the inspection object 30 has fallen over, the inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the restoration operation of returning the inspection object 30 to an upright position, which is a fixed state. To this end, the inspection object restoration unit 130 may include a mechanism for gripping the inspection object and a mechanism for changing the posture of the inspection object.

[0031] (Storage unit 140) The storage unit 140 stores various information used in the operation of the autonomous mobile robot 10. For example, the storage unit 140 stores information indicating the fixed position and fixed state of each inspection object 30, which is collected in the collection process of the autonomous mobile robot 10. This information will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0032] (control unit 200) The control unit 200 controls the overall operation of the autonomous mobile robot 10. The functions of the control unit 200 can be realized by the processor reading software such as a program into RAM and executing the software. The description of the control unit 200 will continue below with reference to FIG. 3.

[0033] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 200. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 200 has an inspection object recognition unit 210, an information processing unit 220, an information inquiry unit 230, and an operation determination unit 240.

[0034] The inspection object recognition unit 210 functions as an object information acquisition unit that acquires object information, which is information about the identity, position, and state of an object, based on information from the sensor group 110. For example, the inspection object recognition unit 210 recognizes the identity and state of an object detected by the sensor group 110 based on the information from the sensor group 110, using template matching or a model-based recognition method, a deep learning method, or other method. The inspection object recognition unit 210 also recognizes the relative position of the object with respect to the autonomous mobile robot 10 based on the information from the sensor group 110, and recognizes the position of the object on the map based on the current position of the autonomous mobile robot 10 on the map and the above relative position.

[0035] The information processing unit 220 stores the object information acquired by the inspection object recognition unit 210 in the collection process in the storage unit 140. As a result, the storage unit 140 stores the object information as shown in, for example, FIG.

[0036] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of object information stored in the storage unit 140. As shown in FIG. 4, the storage unit 140 stores object information indicating a fixed position, an inspection object, and a fixed state in association with a number and a flag. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the number "1" is associated with object information indicating a fixed position P1 (X1, Y1), an inspection object "a traffic cone," and a fixed state "standing." Flags will be described later. Note that while FIG. 4 shows an example in which a position on a map is stored as the fixed position of an inspection object, the manner in which the fixed position is managed is not limited to this example. For example, the storage unit 140 may store, as information for identifying the fixed position of an inspection object, information indicating both the position of the autonomous mobile robot 10 on the map when the inspection object is recognized and the relative position of the inspection object with respect to the autonomous mobile robot 10.

[0037] Returning to the description of the control unit 200 with reference to Fig. 3, the information inquiry unit 230 inquires about the object information stored in the storage unit 140 during the inspection process. For example, the information inquiry unit 230 inquires about the object information stored in the storage unit 140 and determines the relationship (for example, whether or not there is a match) between the object information acquired by the inspection object recognition unit 210 and the object information stored in the storage unit 140.

[0038] The operation determination unit 240 determines the operation to be performed on the inspection object 30 based on the result of the determination by the information reference unit 230. The functions of the information reference unit 230 and the operation determination unit 240 will be described in more detail below with reference to Figs. 5 to 9. In the example described below, it is assumed that the position and state of each inspection object 30 shown in Fig. 1 are stored in the storage unit 140 as a fixed position and fixed state by the collection process.

[0039] <Specific examples of inspection processing> (First specific example) Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a first specific example of the inspection process. In the example shown in Figure 5, the autonomous mobile robot 10 is at position Q1, and the inspection object 30B has fallen at position P2. In this case, the inspection object recognition unit 210 of the autonomous mobile robot 10 recognizes the inspection object 30B, and recognizes that the position of the inspection object 30B is position P2 and that the state of the inspection object 30B is fallen.

[0040] Then, the information reference unit 230 references the object information stored in the storage unit 140 and determines whether the position P2 and the lying state match the fixed position and fixed state in the object information. Here, the information reference unit 230 determines that the position P2 matches the fixed position P2 in the object information, but the lying state does not match the standing state, which is the fixed state.

[0041] The operation determination unit 240 determines the operation to be performed on the inspection object 30 based on the result of the above determination by the information reference unit 230. Specifically, the operation determination unit 240 determines the operation to return the inspection object 30B to an upright position as the operation to be performed on the inspection object 30B. The inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the operation determined by the operation determination unit 240, and the inspection object 30B returns to an upright position at the home position P2.

[0042] (Second specific example) Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a second specific example of the inspection process. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the autonomous mobile robot 10 is at position Q1, and the inspection object 30B is standing at position Pn. In this case, the inspection object 30B is not recognized at the home position P2.

[0043] If the inspection object 30 is not recognized at the fixed position P, the autonomous mobile robot 10 attempts to recognize the inspection object 30 around the fixed position P (for example, within the range of a second distance L2 described below). In the example shown in Figure 6, the inspection object recognition unit 210 of the autonomous mobile robot 10 recognizes the inspection object 30B around the fixed position P2 and recognizes that the inspection object 30B is in an upright position.

[0044] The operation determination unit 240 determines, as the operation for the inspection object 30B, an operation to return the inspection object 30B to the home position P2 in an upright position, which is the home state, based on the fact that the inspection object 30B has been recognized around the home position P2 by the inspection object recognition unit 210. The inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the operation determined by the operation determination unit 240, and the inspection object 30B returns to the home position P2 in an upright position.

[0045] (Third specific example) Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a third specific example of the inspection process. In the example shown in Figure 7, the autonomous mobile robot 10 is located at position Q2, and the inspection object 30B is standing at position Pn. In this case, the inspection object recognition unit 210 of the autonomous mobile robot 10 recognizes the inspection object 30B, and recognizes that the position of the inspection object 30B is position Pn and that the state of the inspection object 30B is standing. Here, position Pn is away from the fixed position P2 by a first distance L1 and within a second distance L2 from the fixed position P2.

[0046] The information reference unit 230 references the object information stored in the memory unit 140 and determines that the position Pn is farther away from the fixed position P2 than the first distance L1 and is within the second distance L2 from the fixed position P2.

[0047] Based on the above determination by the information inquiry unit 230, the operation determination unit 240 determines, as the operation for the inspection object 30B, an operation to return the inspection object 30B to the home position P2 in a fixed upright position, which is the home position. The inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the operation determined by the operation determination unit 240, so that the inspection object 30B returns to the home position P2 in a standing position. Note that if the position Pn is within the first distance L1 from the home position P2, it is considered that the deviation from the home position P2 is small and does not require the inspection object 30B to be moved, and therefore the operation determination unit 240 may determine not to perform an operation for the inspection object 30B.

[0048] (Fourth Specific Example) 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a fourth specific example of the inspection process. The autonomous mobile robot 10 is located at position Q1, and the inspection object 30B is standing at position Pm. In this case, the inspection object 30B is not recognized at the fixed position P2. Furthermore, the inspection object 30B is not recognized around the fixed position P2 (for example, within the range of the second distance L2).

[0049] In this case, the information processing unit 220 sets a flag in the position information indicating the fixed position P2 in the object information stored in the storage unit 140 as predetermined information indicating that the inspection object 30 is not present.

[0050] 9, when the autonomous mobile robot 10 recognizes the inspection object 30B at position Q3 and recognizes that the inspection object 30B is at position Pm, the autonomous mobile robot 10 performs an operation to return the inspection object 30B to the home position P2. Specifically, the information reference unit 230 references the memory unit 140 and extracts position information for which a flag is set, and the operation determination unit 240 determines, as the operation for the inspection object 30B, an operation to return the inspection object 30B to the home position P2 indicated by the position information extracted by the information reference unit 230.

[0051] The inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the action determined by the action determination unit 240, and the inspection object 30B returns to the home position P2 in an upright position. After that, the information processing unit 220 deletes the flag set in the position information indicating the home position P2.

[0052] <Operation> Next, the operation of the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above will be summarized. The operation of the autonomous mobile robot 10 can be broadly divided into a collection process operation for collecting object information indicating the fixed position and fixed state of the inspection object 30, and an inspection process operation for inspecting the inspection object 30 based on the collected object information. Below, the collection process operation will be described with reference to Fig. 10, and the inspection process operation will be described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12.

[0053] (Collection processing) 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the collection process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the autonomous mobile robot 10 executes S308 to S328 while continuing the collection process (S304 / YES).

[0054] Specifically, when the autonomous mobile robot 10 moves (S308) and the inspection object recognition unit 210 recognizes an object (S312 / YES), if the object is an inspection object 30 (S316 / YES), the inspection object recognition unit 210 recognizes the position of the inspection object 30 (S320).

[0055] Furthermore, the inspection object recognition unit 210 recognizes the state of the inspection object 30 (S324). Thereafter, the information processing unit 220 stores object information indicating the object, position, and state recognized by the inspection object recognition unit 210 in the storage unit 140 (S328). If no object is recognized in S312 (S312 / NO), if an object other than the inspection object 30 is recognized in S316 (S316 / NO), or after S328, the processing returns to S304.

[0056] (Inspection process) 11 and 12 are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the inspection process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 11 and 12, the autonomous mobile robot 10 executes S408 to S486 while continuing the inspection process (S404 / YES).

[0057] Specifically, the autonomous mobile robot 10 moves (S408), and the information reference unit 230 references the object information stored in the memory unit 140 to determine whether the autonomous mobile robot 10 has reached the recognition position of the fixed position of the inspection object 30 (S412). If it is determined that the autonomous mobile robot 10 has not reached the recognition position of the fixed position of the inspection object 30 (for example, recognition position Q1 of fixed position P2 shown in FIG. 5) (S412 / NO), the process proceeds to S452 shown in FIG.

[0058] On the other hand, if it is determined that the autonomous mobile robot 10 has reached the recognition position of the fixed position of the inspection object 30 (S412 / YES), the information inquiry unit 230 determines whether the inspection object 30 has been recognized at the fixed position by the inspection object recognition unit 210 (S416).

[0059] If the inspection object 30 is not recognized in the fixed position (S416 / NO), the inspection object recognition unit 210 attempts to recognize whether or not there is an inspection object 30 around the fixed position. If the inspection object recognition unit 210 recognizes the inspection object 30 around the fixed position (S420 / YES), the operation determination unit 240 determines an operation to return the inspection object 30 to the fixed position and fixed state as the operation for the inspection object 30, and the inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the operation (S424).

[0060] If the inspection object 30 is not recognized around the fixed position (S420 / NO), the information processing unit 220 sets a flag in the position information indicating the fixed position stored in the storage unit 140 (S428). After S424 and S428, the process returns to S404.

[0061] If the inspection object 30 is recognized in the fixed position (S416 / YES), the inspection object recognition unit 210 recognizes the state of the inspection object 30 (S432). The information reference unit 230 references the object information stored in the storage unit 140 and determines whether the state recognized by the inspection object recognition unit 210 matches the fixed state in the object information (S436). If it is determined that the fixed state in the object information does not match the state recognized by the inspection object recognition unit 210 (S436 / NO), the action determination unit 240 determines an action for returning the state of the inspection object 30 to the fixed state as the action for the inspection object 30, and the inspection object restoration unit 130 executes that action (S440). After S440, or if it is determined in S436 that the state recognized by the inspection object recognition unit 210 matches the fixed state in the object information (S436 / YES), the processing returns to S404.

[0062] If the autonomous mobile robot 10 has not reached the recognition position of the fixed position of the inspection object 30 (S412 / NO), and the inspection object recognition unit 210 recognizes the inspection object 30 as shown in Figure 12 (S452 / YES), the inspection object recognition unit 210 recognizes the position and state of the inspection object 30 (S456, S460).

[0063] The information inquiry unit 230 inquires about the object information stored in the storage unit 140 and determines whether there is a fixed position within a second distance from the position of the inspection object 30 (S464). If there is such a fixed position (S464 / YES), the information inquiry unit 230 determines whether another inspection object 30 has been recognized by the inspection object recognition unit 210 at the fixed position (S468). If another inspection object 30 has not been recognized at the fixed position (S468 / NO), the information inquiry unit 230 determines whether the position of the inspection object 30 is within a first distance from the fixed position and whether the state of the inspection object 30 is a fixed state associated with the fixed position in the object information (S472).

[0064] If the position of the inspection object 30 is farther than the first distance from the fixed position, or if the state of the inspection object 30 is different from the fixed state associated with the fixed position in the object information (S472 / NO), the operation determination unit 240 determines the operation for the inspection object 30 to be an operation of returning the inspection object 30 to the fixed position in a fixed state, and the inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the operation (S476).

[0065] After S476, if it is determined in S472 that the position of the inspection object 30 is within the first distance from the fixed position and the state of the inspection object 30 is the fixed state associated with the fixed position in the object information (S472 / YES), and if the inspection object is not recognized in S452 (S452 / NO), the processing returns to S404 shown in Figure 11.

[0066] If it is determined in S464 that there is no fixed position within the second distance from the position of the inspection object 30 (S464 / NO), and if it is determined in S468 that there is another inspection object 30 at a fixed position within the second distance from the position of the inspection object 30 (S468 / YES), the information inquiry unit 230 inquires about the object information stored in the memory unit 140 and determines whether there is any position information for which a flag is set (S480).

[0067] If it is determined that there is position information for which a flag is set (S480 / YES), the operation determination unit 240 determines, as the operation for the inspection object 30, an operation for returning the inspection object 30 in a fixed state corresponding to the fixed position to the fixed position indicated by the position information for which the flag is set, and the inspection object restoration unit 130 executes the operation (S484). Thereafter, the information processing unit 220 deletes the flag that was set for the fixed position to which the inspection object 30 has been moved in the object information (S488).

[0068] After S488, or if it is determined in S480 that there is no location information for which the flag is set (S480 / NO), the process returns to S404 shown in FIG.

[0069] <Action and effect> According to the first embodiment of the present invention described above, various operational effects can be obtained. For example, the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention can return the inspection object 30 to a fixed position and in a fixed state when the current position and state of the inspection object 30 are not fixed. Therefore, the work related to the inspection of the inspection object 30 can be made more efficient.

[0070] Furthermore, the autonomous mobile robot 10 is a mobile body that has a mechanism for movement. Therefore, the autonomous mobile robot 10 can inspect the inspection object 30 over a wider range than if it did not have a mechanism for movement. Note that if the autonomous mobile robot 10 does not have a mechanism for movement, the autonomous mobile robot 10 may have an extendable arm and a rotation mechanism for changing the orientation of the autonomous mobile robot 10. Even in this case, the autonomous mobile robot 10 can spread the inspection object 30 within the reach of the arm.

[0071] Furthermore, the operation determination unit 240 determines an operation to return the inspection object 30 to its home position as the operation for the inspection object 30 based on the fact that the position of the inspection object 30 is farther away from its home position than the first distance. If the distance of the inspection object 30 from its home position is within the first distance, the deviation in the position of the inspection object 30 is small, and it is considered that there is relatively little need to return the inspection object 30 to its home position. In such a case, the autonomous mobile robot 10 does not perform an operation to return the inspection object 30 to its home position, thereby making it possible to improve the efficiency of the work related to the inspection of the inspection object 30.

[0072] Furthermore, if object information is not acquired at the fixed position during the inspection process, the information processing unit 220 sets a flag in the position information indicating the fixed position. With this configuration, if the inspection object 30 is subsequently recognized at a position away from the fixed position, it becomes possible to return the inspection object 30 to the fixed position indicated by the position information for which the flag is set.

[0073] Furthermore, the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention collects object information indicating the fixed position and fixed state of the inspection object 30, and inspects the inspection object 30 based on the collected object information. Therefore, the autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention can inspect and restore the inspection object 30 without the need for human input of object information.

[0074] <<Second embodiment>> The first embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to perform an inspection process without a collection process.

[0075] <Configuration> Figure 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an autonomous mobile robot 12 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 13, the autonomous mobile robot 12 according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a sensor group 110, a moving mechanism 120, an inspection object restoration unit 130, a memory unit 142, and a control unit 202. The functions of the sensor group 110, the moving mechanism 120, and the inspection object restoration unit 130 are the same as those described in the first embodiment. The following description will mainly focus on the configuration that differs from the first embodiment.

[0076] The storage unit 142 stores reference information (pre-stored information) regarding the placement of the inspection objects 30. Examples of the reference information include an arrangement rule indicating the placement range of the inspection objects 30 and the placement interval of the inspection objects 30, or area information set as the movement range of the autonomous mobile robot 12.

[0077] 13, the control unit 202 has an inspection object recognition unit 210, an information processing unit 220, an information inquiry unit 230, an operation determination unit 240, and an identification unit 250. The functions of the inspection object recognition unit 210, the information processing unit 220, the information inquiry unit 230, and the operation determination unit 240 are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

[0078] The identification unit 250 acquires the reference information stored in the storage unit 142, and identifies the fixed position and fixed state of the inspection object 30 based on the reference information. The information processing unit 220 stores the information indicating the fixed position and fixed state identified by the identification unit 250 in the storage unit 142 as object information.

[0079] For example, when the reference information is an alignment rule for the inspection object 30, the identification unit 250 may identify multiple positions with an arrangement interval within the arrangement range as fixed positions of the inspection object 30, and identify the standing state as the fixed state. Also, when the reference information is area information, the identification unit 250 may identify multiple positions with an equal interval within the outer frame of the movement range indicated by the area information, and identify the standing state as the fixed state.

[0080] The autonomous mobile robot 12 according to the second embodiment of the present invention performs inspection processing based on the object information stored in the storage unit 142 by the method described above.

[0081] <Operation> Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the inspection process according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 14, first, the identification unit 250 acquires reference information stored in the storage unit 142, and identifies the fixed position and fixed state of the inspection object 30 based on the reference information (S402). Information indicating the fixed position and fixed state identified by the identification unit 250 is stored in the storage unit 140 as object information. The subsequent processes of S404 to S488 are as described in the first embodiment with reference to Figs. 11 and 12.

[0082] <Action and effect> According to the second embodiment of the present invention described above, various operational effects can be obtained. For example, according to the second embodiment, the autonomous mobile robot 12 can start the inspection process without performing the collection process. Therefore, the autonomous mobile robot 12 can start the inspection process earlier.

[0083] <<Conclusion>> Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can conceive of various modifications and alterations within the scope of the technical ideas set forth in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0084] For example, an autonomous mobile robot may be provided that has the function of installing the inspection object 30. In this case, the autonomous mobile robot stores information indicating the position where it has installed the inspection object 30 as object information indicating the fixed position of the inspection object 30, and can perform inspection processing based on the object information.

[0085] In addition, although an example has been described in which the autonomous mobile robot 10 determines the action to be taken with respect to the inspection object 30 based on both the position and posture of the inspection object 30, the autonomous mobile robot 10 may also determine the action to be taken with respect to the inspection object 30 based only on the position of the inspection object 30, or may also determine the action to be taken with respect to the inspection object 30 based only on the state of the inspection object 30.

[0086] Furthermore, the steps in the processing of the autonomous mobile robot 10 and the autonomous mobile robot 12 in this specification do not necessarily have to be processed in chronological order according to the order described in the flowcharts. For example, the steps in the processing of the autonomous mobile robot 10 and the autonomous mobile robot 12 may be processed in an order different from the order described in the flowcharts, or may be processed in parallel.

[0087] It is also possible to create a computer program that causes hardware such as the CPU, ROM, and RAM built into autonomous mobile robot 10 and autonomous mobile robot 12 to perform functions equivalent to those of the above-described components of autonomous mobile robot 10 and autonomous mobile robot 12. A non-transitory storage medium on which the computer program is stored is also provided.

[0088] Furthermore, the functions of the autonomous mobile robot 10 described above may be implemented in a single housing, or may be distributed across multiple housings. When the functions are implemented in a single housing, the device having that housing may correspond to the autonomous mobile robot 10. When the functions are distributed across multiple housings, one or a combination of two or more of the multiple devices having each housing may correspond to the autonomous mobile robot 10. When the functions are distributed across multiple housings, an interface for inputting and outputting information between the devices having each housing is also implemented. The same applies to the autonomous mobile robot 12. [Explanation of symbols]

[0089] 10 Autonomous Mobile Robot 110 Sensor Group 12 Autonomous Mobile Robot 120 Moving mechanism 130 Inspection and Restoration Department 140, 142 Storage section 20 Display terminal 200, 202 control section 210 Inspection object recognition unit 220 Information Processing Department 230 Information Inquiry Department 240 Action decision unit 250 Specific section 30 Inspection Items

Claims

1. an object information acquisition unit that acquires object information, which is information about the position or state of an object, based on information from a sensor; an action determination unit that determines an action to be taken with respect to the object based on a relationship between a fixed position or a fixed state of the object and a position or state indicated by the object information; An object handling device comprising:

2. 2. The object handling device according to claim 1, wherein the object handling device is a mobile body having a mechanism for movement.

3. 3. The object handling apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a storage unit that stores information indicating the fixed position or the fixed state of the object.

4. The object handling apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the operation determination unit determines, as the operation for the object, an operation for returning the object to a constant state, based on the fact that the state indicated by the object information is not the constant state.

5. 5. The object handling device according to claim 4, wherein the operation determination unit determines an operation of returning the object to the fixed position as the operation for the object based on the fact that the position indicated by the object information is not the fixed position or is farther away from the fixed position than a first distance.

6. The object handling device an information processing unit that sets predetermined information to position information indicating the fixed position in the storage unit when object information of the object at the fixed position is not acquired; 4. The object handling device according to claim 3, wherein the operation determination unit determines, based on the fact that the position indicated by the object information acquired by the object information acquisition unit is not the fixed position, that an operation of returning the object to the fixed position indicated by the position information in which the predetermined information is set is the operation for the object.

7. The object handling device according to claim 3, wherein the object handling device executes a first process of collecting information indicating the fixed position or the fixed state of the object, and a second process of determining an operation by the operation determination unit based on the information collected in the first process.

8. The object handling device according to claim 7, further comprising an information processing unit that stores the object information acquired by the object information acquisition unit in the first processing in the memory unit as information indicating the fixed position or the fixed state of the object.

9. The object handling apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising an identification unit that acquires reference information and identifies a fixed position or a fixed state of the object based on the reference information.

10. Obtaining object information, which is information about the position or state of an object, based on information from the sensor; determining an action to be taken on the object based on a relationship between a fixed position or a fixed state of the object and a position or state indicated by the object information; A computer-implemented method comprising:

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