Method, system and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for controlling a robot

The system addresses the challenge of user identification in robots by acquiring and analyzing voice and behavioral information to autonomously adjust actions, ensuring appropriate control without user intervention.

JP7609931B2Active Publication Date: 2025-01-07BEAR ROBOTICS INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023113411
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2021-05-10
Filing Date
2023-07-11
Publication Date
2025-01-07
Estimated Expiration
2041-06-11

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing robot systems struggle to accurately identify users based on voice and behavioral information to determine appropriate actions without requiring cumbersome user operations.

Method used

A system and method for controlling robots that acquire voice and behavioral information, determine user identification, and adjust actions accordingly, enabling autonomous operation without additional user input.

Benefits of technology

Enables robots to adapt to various situations by determining user identification from voice and behavior, allowing appropriate control without user interaction.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To propose a technique to appropriately control a robot according to the situation.SOLUTION: According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling a robot is provided, the method including the steps of: acquiring at least one of sound information and action information for a robot from a user in a serving place; determining identification information on the user on the basis of at least one of the sound information and the action information; and determining an operation to be performed by the robot on the basis of the identification information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method, a system and a non-transitory computer readable medium for controlling a robot. [Background technology]

[0002] Serving refers to providing objects such as food and drink to customers in places such as restaurants, and recently robots have been developed and are being used in serving instead of or to assist waiters and waitresses. Such robots generally have the function of receiving food and drink orders and serving them, and can also move autonomously using table position information, etc. Such robots may be configured to include a means of movement (including a sensor for obstacle avoidance), a display means for outputting menus or inputting orders, etc. The robot may also include a means for placing and transporting food and drink and food containers.

[0003] One example of the related art is the technology disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1083700, which discloses a robot system for serving in a restaurant that receives orders in a restaurant and transports a tray on which the ordered food and drink is placed, comprising a pair of synchronously driven articulated robot arms, an upper section including a tray gripper that is rotatably connected to the lower section of the articulated robot arms and fixes the tray, a lower section having a robot moving section at its lower section that includes main wheels and one or more auxiliary wheels, a middle section that is fixed to the lower section and to which the upper section is rotatably connected, and a robot actuator that controls the pair of articulated robot arms, the tray gripper, and the robot moving section. a control unit for controlling the movement of the tray gripper; a hand rotatably connected to the end of the articulated robot arm; a fixed unit provided on the hand so as to be vertically movable; a gripper located under the tray and connected to the fixed unit; a stopper located above the tray and connected to the fixed unit so as to face the gripper; a switch pressed by the fixed unit which moves upward as the end of the articulated robot arm is driven downward and the stopper is pressed by the tray; a spring which contracts when the fixed unit moves upward; and a gripper angle detection unit which detects the angle of the gripper.

[0004] Meanwhile, such a robot can obtain various information such as voice information, behavioral information, etc. from at least one user (e.g., an employee working at the service providing location, a customer using the service providing location, etc.) while walking around the service providing location. Depending on the situation, the robot may need to determine who the user associated with the voice information, behavioral information, etc. is, or what group (e.g., an employee group, a customer group, etc.) the user belongs to, before deciding what action the robot will perform.

[0005] For example, when a robot receives a specific command from a user through voice information, it is preferable that the robot perform a different action depending on whether the user is an employee or a customer, or perform the specific action only if the user is an employee and make no reaction if the user is a customer. In order for the robot to be controlled in this way, it is first necessary to determine identification information regarding the user before the robot performs a certain action.

[0006] However, the above-mentioned conventional technologies and the technologies introduced so far have not yet proposed a technology that, when voice information and / or behavioral information regarding a robot is obtained from a user, determines identification information regarding the user based on the voice information and / or behavioral information, and determines the action to be performed by the robot based on the identification information, thereby allowing the robot to be appropriately controlled according to the situation without the user having to perform cumbersome operations on the robot (e.g., authenticating that the user is an employee through touch input, etc.). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] An object of the present invention is to solve all of the problems of the prior art described above.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to obtain at least one of voice information and behavioral information regarding a robot from a user at a service providing location, determine identification information regarding the user based on at least one of the voice information and behavioral information, and determine an action to be performed by the robot based on the identification information.

[0009] It is yet another object of the present invention to determine an action to be performed by a robot based on the identification information of a user determined as described above, thereby enabling the robot to be appropriately controlled according to a situation without the user having to perform troublesome operations on the robot. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A representative configuration of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot, the method including the steps of acquiring at least one of voice information and behavioral information for a robot from a user at a service providing location, determining identification information for the user based on at least one of the voice information and behavioral information, and determining an action to be performed by the robot based on the identification information.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for controlling a robot, the system including an information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of voice information and behavioral information regarding the robot from a user at a service providing location, an identification information determination unit that determines identification information regarding the user based on at least one of the voice information and the behavioral information, and an action determination unit that determines an action to be performed by the robot based on the identification information.

[0013] In addition, other methods and systems for implementing the present invention, as well as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a computer program for performing the methods, are also provided. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, at least one of voice information and behavioral information regarding a robot is obtained from a user at a service providing location, identification information regarding the user is determined based on at least one of the voice information and behavioral information, and an action to be performed by the robot is determined based on the identification information.

[0015] In addition, according to the present invention, the action to be performed by the robot is determined based on the identification information of the user determined as described above, so that the user can appropriately control the robot according to the situation without having to perform cumbersome operations on the robot. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an entire system for controlling a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating in detail an internal configuration of a robot control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation in which a robot is controlled at a service providing location according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a structure of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The following detailed description of the present invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show, by way of example, specific embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. Such embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice the present invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different from one another but are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, specific shapes, structures and characteristics described herein may be embodied in one embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should also be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each embodiment may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description should not be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention should be understood to include the scope of the claims and all equivalents thereto. In the drawings, like reference numerals indicate the same or similar components throughout the various aspects.

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, various preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to enable those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains to easily practice the present invention.

[0019] Overall system configuration

[0020] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an entire system for controlling a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the overall system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a communication network 100, a robot control system 200, and a robot 300.

[0022] First, the communication network 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be configured regardless of the communication format such as wired communication or wireless communication, and may be configured as various communication networks such as a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and a wide area network (WAN). Preferably, the communication network 100 in this specification may be the well-known Internet or World Wide Web (WWW). However, the communication network 100 does not necessarily have to be limited thereto, and may include at least a part of a well-known wired / wireless data communication network, a well-known telephone network, or a well-known wired / wireless television communication network.

[0023] For example, the communication network 100 may be a wireless data communication network that at least partially embodies a conventional communication method such as WiFi communication, WiFi-Direct communication, Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication, 5G communication, Bluetooth communication (including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication), infrared communication, ultrasonic communication, etc. As another example, the communication network 100 may be an optical communication network that at least partially embodies a conventional communication method such as LiFi (Light Fidelity), etc.

[0024] Next, the robot control system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention can communicate with the robot 300 described below through the communication network 100, and can perform a function of acquiring at least one of voice information and behavioral information for the robot 300 from a user at a service providing location, determining identification information for the user based on at least one of the voice information and behavioral information, and determining an action to be performed by the robot 300 based on the identification information.

[0025] The configuration and functions of the robot control system 200 according to the present invention will be explained in detail below.

[0026] Next, the robot 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device that can communicate with the robot control system 200 through the communication network 100 and autonomously perform a predetermined function or assigned task (e.g., serving food and drink, collecting containers, etc.) without the operation of a user (e.g., an employee, a customer, etc.), and can include at least one of a module (e.g., a grab, a robot arm module, etc.) for loading and unloading an object (e.g., a food tray), an image acquisition module (e.g., a visible light camera, an infrared camera, etc.) for acquiring surrounding images, an audio acquisition module (e.g., a microphone, etc.) for acquiring surrounding audio, a display and speaker module for providing images and audio, and a driving module (e.g., a motor, etc.) for moving the robot 300. For example, the robot 300 may be a robot having similar characteristics or functions to at least one of a guide robot, a serving robot, a transport robot, a cleaning robot, a medical robot, an entertainment robot, a pet robot, and an unmanned flying robot.

[0027] Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the robot 300 may include an application (not shown) for controlling the robot 300 according to the present invention. Such an application may be downloaded from the robot control system 200 or an external application distribution server (not shown). Meanwhile, the characteristics of such an application may be generally similar to the information acquisition unit 210, the identification information determination unit 220, the action determination unit 230, the communication unit 240, and the control unit 250 of the robot control system 200, which will be described later. Here, at least a part of the application may be replaced with a hardware device or a firmware device capable of performing substantially the same or equivalent functions, if necessary.

[0028] Robot control system configuration

[0029] Hereinafter, the internal configuration of the robot control system 200 and the functions of each component thereof, which perform important functions for implementing the present invention, will be described in detail.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating in detail the internal configuration of a robot control system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 2, the robot control system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an information acquisition unit 210, an identification information determination unit 220, an action determination unit 230, a communication unit 240, and a control unit 250. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the information acquisition unit 210, the identification information determination unit 220, the action determination unit 230, the communication unit 240, and the control unit 250 may be program modules, at least some of which communicate with an external system (not shown). Such program modules may be included in the robot control system 200 in the form of an operating system, application module, or other program modules, and may be physically stored in various known storage devices. Also, such program modules may be stored in a remote storage device that can communicate with the robot control system 200. Meanwhile, such program modules include, but are not limited to, routines, subroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or execute specific abstract data types according to the present invention, which will be described later.

[0032] Meanwhile, while the robot control system 200 has been described above, this description is merely an example, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that at least some of the components or functions of the robot control system 200 may be embodied in or included in the robot 300 or an external system (not shown) as necessary. In addition, in some cases, all of the functions and components of the robot control system 200 may be embodied in or included in the robot 300.

[0033] First, the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention can perform a function of acquiring at least one of voice information and behavior information regarding the robot 300 from a user at a service providing location.

[0034] Specifically, the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a voice acquisition module (not shown) such as a microphone. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the voice acquisition module may be coupled to the body 510 (see FIG. 4) of the robot 300 and may receive voice generated by at least one user (e.g., employee or customer) around the robot 300. The information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may acquire voice information for the robot 300 by processing and recognizing the voice received as described above. To this end, the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform pre-processing and noise removal on the voice received by the voice acquisition module using a known voice processing technique.

[0035] Here, the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention recognizes voice, which should be understood to mean that it can recognize the words and / or voice contained in the voice. The voice information acquired as described above may mean one command for calling the robot 300 or for giving a specific task to the robot 300, but may also mean a series of commands acquired sequentially (e.g., a combination of at least one command for calling the robot 300 and at least one command for giving a specific task to the robot 300).

[0036] Meanwhile, the information acquiring unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine whether a corresponding voice or voice information corresponding to the corresponding voice is for the robot 300 based on the strength and / or direction of the voice received by the voice acquiring module. For example, the information acquiring unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may analyze the voice received by two or more voice acquiring modules to determine the direction of the corresponding voice, and based on this, may determine whether the corresponding voice or voice information corresponding to the corresponding voice is for the robot 300.

[0037] Also, the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an image acquisition module (not shown) such as a camera. According to an embodiment of the present invention, such an image acquisition module may be coupled to the body 510 (see FIG. 4) of the robot 300 and may capture at least one user (e.g., an employee or a customer) around the robot 300. The information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may process the captured image and recognize the behavior of the corresponding user to acquire behavior information of the robot 300. To this end, the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may use known image processing techniques such as a CNN (Convolutional Neural Network)-based image processing algorithm and an image processing algorithm related to pose estimation.

[0038] Here, the behavior information on the robot 300 acquired by the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include information on the user's movement, posture, facial expression, gaze, etc. The behavior information acquired as described above may mean one behavior for calling the robot 300 or for giving a specific task to the robot 300, but may also mean a series of actions acquired sequentially (e.g., a combination of at least one behavior for calling the robot 300 and at least one behavior for giving a specific task to the robot 300).

[0039] Meanwhile, the information acquiring unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine whether the user's behavior or behavior information corresponding to the corresponding behavior is directed to the robot 300, based on information regarding the user's gaze. For example, the information acquiring unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine whether the user's behavior or behavior information corresponding to the corresponding behavior is directed to the robot 300, based on whether the user's gaze is directed to the robot 300, how long the gaze on the robot 300 is maintained, etc.

[0040] Next, the identification information determination unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a function of determining identification information regarding a user based on at least one of the voice information and the behavior information regarding the robot 300 acquired by the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Specifically, when a user who provides voice information and / or behavioral information to the robot 300 is identified (i.e., when the voice information and / or behavioral information obtained from the user is determined to be for the robot 300), the identification information determination unit 220 according to one embodiment of the present invention can determine identification information for the user based on the voice information and / or behavioral information.

[0042] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the identification information of the user may include information on a group related to the user, the gender of the user, the age of the user, etc. That is, when the identification information determining unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention determines the identification information of the user, it does not necessarily mean that the user is accurately identified, but it may mean that the user is identified to a level that allows the group related to the user to be distinguished. Here, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the group related to the user may mean a group to which the user belongs among a plurality of groups (e.g., an employee group and a customer group) classified according to a predetermined criterion.

[0043] For example, when a user is an employee and the employee is classified into a first group, the identification information determining unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine the first group as a group related to the user (i.e., identification information related to the user). As another example, when a user is a customer (or not an employee) and the customer (or non-employee) is classified into a second group, the identification information determining unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine the second group as a group related to the user (i.e., identification information related to the user). As yet another example, when a group is determined according to the role of the user (e.g., an employee works in the hall, kitchen, or counter of a cafeteria), the identification information determining unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine a group according to the role of the user as identification information related to the user.

[0044] However, the method of determining identification information for a user or a group associated with a user according to one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above and may be modified in various ways within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention.

[0045] Meanwhile, the identification information determination unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention can determine identification information regarding a user by comparing at least one of the voice information and the behavior information regarding the robot 300 acquired by the information acquisition unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention with at least one of the reference voice information and the reference behavior information, respectively.

[0046] Specifically, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the reference voice information and the reference behavior information may refer to voice information and behavior information that are set in advance to determine identification information regarding a user. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the reference voice information and / or the reference behavior information may be set by the user. Furthermore, the reference voice information and / or the reference behavior information may be set for each robot 300, or may be set for each group related to the user.

[0047] For example, the identification information determination unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may support the user to register a voice, calling word, and / or action for calling the robot 300, or a voice, command word, and / or action for giving a specific task to the robot 300, as reference voice information and / or reference action information for a specific group (e.g., an employee group), or may support the user to delete or change the registered reference voice information and / or reference action information. The identification information determination unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may compare such reference voice information and / or reference action information with the voice information and / or action information for the robot 300, respectively, and, if the degree of agreement between the two is equal to or higher than a predetermined level as a result of the comparison, may determine the specific group as a group related to the user (i.e., identification information related to the user).

[0048] Next, the action determination unit 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a function of determining an action to be performed by the robot 300 based on the identification information regarding the user determined by the identification information determination unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] For example, the action determination unit 230 according to one embodiment of the present invention may determine the action to be performed by the robot 300 differently depending on whether the group associated with the user is a first group (e.g., an employee group) or a second group (e.g., a customer group).

[0050] For example, when a group related to a user is a first group (e.g., an employee group), the action determination unit 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine whether the user has called the robot 300 or assigned a specific task to the robot 300 based on at least one of voice information and behavior information on the robot 300 acquired from the user. Then, depending on the result of the determination, an action such as responding to the user's call or performing a specific task may be determined as an action to be performed by the robot 300. On the other hand, when a group related to a user is a second group (e.g., a customer group), the action determination unit 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may not make the above determination and may determine that the action to be performed by the robot 300 is to not respond to the user.

[0051] In addition, the action determination unit 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine an action to be performed by the robot 300 based on information about the current situation of the robot 300. For example, if a user assigns a specific task to the robot 300 but the robot 300 is currently serving food and cannot immediately perform the task, the action determination unit 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine, as an action to be performed by the robot 300, to inform the user that the task cannot be performed or to inform the user that the task can be performed after the current task is completed.

[0052] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation in which a robot is controlled at a service providing location according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] 3, for example, when the service providing place is a restaurant, the information acquiring unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention can acquire voice information (e.g., a calling word such as "Service!" and a command word such as "Come here!") for the robot 300 from the first user 400 and the second user 440. In this case, the information acquiring unit 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention can determine that at least one of the voice information and behavior information acquired from the other users 410, 420, and 430 is not for the robot 300.

[0054] Subsequently, the identification information determining unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine identification information for the first user 400 and the second user 440 based on the voice information for the robot 300 obtained as described above. For example, the identification information determining unit 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine a first group (e.g., an employee group) as a group related to the first user 400 (i.e., identification information for the first user 400) and determine a second group (e.g., a customer group) as a group related to the second user 440 (i.e., identification information for the second user 440) by comparing the voice information for the robot 300 obtained as described above with reference voice information (e.g., a pre-registered voice).

[0055] Next, the action determination unit 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine, as an action to be performed by the robot 300, not to respond to the second user 440 based on the identification information determined as above. The action determination unit 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine, as an action to be performed by the robot 300, actions such as responding to a call from the first user 400 or performing a specific task assigned by the first user 400 based on voice information for the robot 300 acquired from the first user 400. In this case, if the robot 300 is currently serving food and therefore cannot immediately perform the corresponding task, the action determination unit 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine, as an action to be performed by the robot 300, to inform the first user 400 that the corresponding task cannot be performed or to inform the first user 400 that the corresponding task can be performed after the current task is completed.

[0056] Next, the communication unit 240 according to an embodiment of the present invention can perform a function of enabling data transmission / reception to / from the information acquisition unit 210, the identification information determination unit 220, and the operation determination unit 230.

[0057] Finally, the control unit 250 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a function of controlling data flow between the information acquiring unit 210, the identification information determining unit 220, the action determining unit 230, and the communication unit 240. That is, the control unit 250 according to an embodiment of the present invention may control the information acquiring unit 210, the identification information determining unit 220, the action determining unit 230, and the communication unit 240 to perform their respective unique functions by controlling data flow from / to the outside of the robot control system 200 or data flow between each component of the robot control system 200.

[0058] Robot configuration

[0059] The robot 300 according to one embodiment of the present invention may be a robot that performs a task similar to that performed by at least one of a guide robot, a serving robot, a transport robot, a cleaning robot, a medical robot, an entertainment robot, a pet robot, and an unmanned flying robot, and therefore may be embodied in various shapes corresponding to each task.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 4, the robot 300 may include a body 510 , a drive unit 520 and a processor 530 .

[0061] For example, the main body 510 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include at least one loading space for loading an object to be transported or an object to be collected. The object to be transported and the object to be collected according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a general concept of all tangible objects that can be moved, and may include, for example, things, animals, people, etc. For example, the object to be transported may be food and drink, and the object to be collected may be a container containing the food and drink.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 5, for example, when the robot 300 is a serving robot, it may include a first space 610 and a second space 620 for providing an object to be transported and collecting an object to be collected. The robot 300 may further include a third space 630, which is an expansion space provided through a removable column, and may have more loading space by adding an expansion space as necessary. The robot 300 may further include a tray 640 dedicated to objects to be transported or objects to be collected. For example, the tray 640 may have a configuration in which a plurality of circular grooves are formed on an upper surface when viewed from above. Each circular groove may be formed so that a lower portion of a cup containing a beverage is placed thereon and easily fixed to a certain extent. The size of such circular grooves may vary. The robot 300 may further include a fourth space 650 below the first space 610, which may be taken out through a side surface of the robot 300. The fourth space 650 according to an embodiment of the present invention may have an empty space formed therein, and may have a shape similar to a basket with closed sides, open top, and closed bottom. However, the loading space of the robot 300 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and may be embodied in various other forms as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved.

[0063] Meanwhile, referring again to FIG. 4, the main body 510 may further include an image acquisition module (e.g., a visible light camera, an infrared camera, etc.) (not shown) for acquiring surrounding images (e.g., customers, tables, employees, other robots 300, etc.) and obstacle information, and a scanner module (e.g., a LIDAR sensor, etc.).

[0064] Next, the driving unit 520 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a module for moving the main body 510 to another location or a module for loading and unloading objects to be transported and objects to be collected.

[0065] For example, the driving unit 520 may include modules for electrically, mechanically, or hydraulically driven wheels, propellers, etc. as modules for moving the main body 510 to another location, and may include a robotic arm module for mounting and transporting the objects to be transported and the objects to be collected as modules for loading and unloading the objects to be transported and the objects to be collected.

[0066] Next, the processor 530 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be electrically connected to the driver 520 to perform a function of controlling the driver 520 (it may further include a communication module for communication with an external system), and may refer to a data processing device built into hardware having a circuit physically structured to perform a function expressed by a code or instruction included in a program. For example, such a data processing device built into hardware may include a processing device such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.

[0067] In addition, the processor 530 may perform at least one function of the information acquisition unit 210, the identification information determination unit 220, and the action determination unit 230 of the robot control system 200 according to the present invention (for example, the corresponding functions may be modularized and included in the processor 530), and may perform a function of controlling the driving unit 520 through communication with an external system (not shown) that performs at least one function of the information acquisition unit 210, the identification information determination unit 220, and the action determination unit 230.

[0068] Specifically, the processor 530 may perform a function of acquiring at least one of voice information and behavioral information for the robot 300 from a user at a service providing location of the robot 300, determining identification information for the user based on at least one of the voice information and behavioral information, and determining an action to be performed by the robot 300 based on the identification information.

[0069] Although the above mainly describes an embodiment in which the service providing location of the present invention is a restaurant, it should be made clear that the service providing location is not necessarily limited to a restaurant, and can be changed to any number of cafes, izakayas, bars, etc. within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention.

[0070] The above-described embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer components and recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be specially designed and constructed for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROMs, RAMs, flash memories, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language codes, such as those produced by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, and the like. The hardware devices may be replaced by one or more software modules to perform the processes of the present invention, and vice versa.

[0071] Although the present invention has been described above using specific details such as specific components and limited examples and drawings, this is merely provided to assist in a more general understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above examples. Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may attempt various modifications and changes from such descriptions.

[0072] Therefore, the concept of the present invention should not be limited to the above described embodiments, and all scopes equivalent to or modified equivalently to the scope of the claims below, as well as the scope of the claims, fall within the scope of the concept of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 100:Communication network 200:Robot control system 210: Information acquisition department 220: Identification information determination unit 230: Action determination unit 240: Communications Department 250: Control unit 300:Robot

Claims

1. A method for controlling a robot by a system including an information acquisition unit, an identification information determination unit, and an operation determination unit, comprising: the information acquisition unit acquiring at least one of voice information and behavior information from the user at a service providing location by recognizing at least one of a voice uttered by the user and a behavior performed by the user, and determining whether or not at least one of the voice information and the behavior information is intended for the robot; a step in which the identification information determination unit determines, when it is determined that at least one of the voice information and the behavioral information is intended for the robot, identification information regarding the user as a group corresponding to the role of the user in the service providing location based on at least one of the voice information and the behavioral information; a step of determining an action to be performed by the robot based on the identification information; Including, In the case where the role of the user is a first group consisting of users who are employees working at the service provision location, i) if the voice information includes at least one command word for calling the robot or the behavioral information includes at least one action for calling the robot, it is determined that the robot responds to the call of the user as a process to be performed by the robot, or ii) if the voice information includes at least one command word for assigning a specific task to the robot or the behavioral information includes at least one action for assigning the specific task to the robot, it is determined that the robot executes the specific task as a process to be performed by the robot; When the role of the user is a second group consisting of users other than the employee, determining not to react to the user as a process to be executed by the robot. method.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining identification information comprises determining identification information about the user by comparing at least one of the voice information and behavioral information to at least one of baseline voice information and baseline behavioral information, respectively.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the reference speech information and the reference behavior information is preset.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining an action comprises determining an action to be performed by the robot further based on information about a current situation of the robot.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a computer program recorded thereon for carrying out the method according to claim 1.

6. 1. A system for controlling a robot, comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of voice information and behavior information from the user at a service providing location by recognizing a voice uttered and a behavior performed by the user, and determines whether or not at least one of the voice information and the behavior information is intended for the robot; an identification information determination unit that, when it is determined that at least one of the voice information and the behavioral information is intended for the robot, determines identification information for the user as a group corresponding to the role of the user in the service providing location based on at least one of the voice information and the behavioral information; a motion determination unit that determines a motion to be performed by the robot based on the identification information; Equipped with In the case where the role of the user is a first group consisting of users who are employees working at the service provision location, i) if the voice information includes at least one command word for calling the robot or the behavioral information includes at least one action for calling the robot, it is determined that the robot responds to the call of the user as a process to be performed by the robot, or ii) if the voice information includes at least one command word for assigning a specific task to the robot or the behavioral information includes at least one action for assigning the specific task to the robot, it is determined that the robot executes the specific task as a process to be performed by the robot; A system that determines, when the role of the user is a second group consisting of users other than the employee, not to react to the user as a process to be performed by the robot.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the identification information determiner determines identification information for the user by comparing at least one of the voice information and behavioral information with at least one of reference voice information and reference behavioral information, respectively.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the reference voice information and the reference behavior information is preset.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the action determination unit determines the action to be performed by the robot further based on information regarding a current situation of the robot.

Citation Information

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