Method and system for controlling a number of robots traveling in a specified area, and building in which the robots are arranged

Abstract

A method and system for controlling a robot, and a building in which the robot is located, is provided. [Solution] A method is provided for controlling a plurality of robots to pass through the designated area in sequence by identifying a designated area through which the robot must pass within a space in which the robot travels autonomously, and either i) controlling the robot to pass through the designated area via a first point defined within the designated area, or ii) triggering a designated area driving mode of the robot and controlling the robot to pass through the designated area in the designated area driving mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following description relates to a method and system for controlling a plurality of robots traveling in a designated area such as a confined area.

Background Art

[0002] An autonomous mobile robot is a robot that senses its surroundings and travels along an optimal path to a destination while using wheels or legs while sensing obstacles, and is developed and utilized in various fields such as autonomous vehicles, logistics, hotel services, and robot vacuum cleaners.

[0003] In order to provide services, a large number of robots may be operated within a space such as a building. When a large number of robots are operated within a space, the robots may have to travel in a confined area such as a corridor / hallway inside the building. If a large number of robots gather in such a confined area, the possibility of collision / interference between robots and collision / interference between robots and structures increases. This causes a decrease in the movement efficiency of the robots and a decrease in the efficiency of service provision by the robots.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a robot control method and system that adjusts the movement of robots when a large number of robots travel in a very small area so that the robots can efficiently pass through the very small area.

[0005] Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0024840 discloses a technology related to a path planning method for an autonomous mobile robot, and discloses a method for planning an optimal path for a mobile robot that autonomously moves in a home or office to move safely and quickly to a target point while avoiding obstacles.

[0006] The above-described information is only for helping the understanding of the present invention, and may include content that does not form part of the prior art, or may not include matters presented to those skilled in the art as the prior art.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] In a space where a robot autonomously travels, identify a designated area where passage of the robot is required, and i) control the robot to pass through the designated area via a first point defined within the designated area, or ii) trigger the designated area travel mode of the robot and control the robot to pass through the designated area in the designated area travel mode, thereby providing a method for controlling the robot so that each of a plurality of robots passes through the designated area in order.

[0008] When a large number of robots are controlled to pass through a designated area such as a narrow area, provide a robot control method that centrally controls the robots based on resource management corresponding to the designated area in a robot control system so that the robots can pass through the designated area in order without interfering with each other.

[0009] When a large number of robots are controlled to pass through a designated area such as a narrow area, provide a robot control method that triggers the designated area travel mode for each robot so that each robot can pass through the designated area in order according to the designated area travel mode.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] On one side, a robot control method executed by a robot control system for controlling a plurality of robots moving in a space, the method comprising: identifying a designated area through which the robots need to pass; for a first robot among the plurality of robots that enters the designated area, i) controlling the first robot by the robot control system to pass through the designated area via a first point defined within the designated area, or ii) triggering a designated area driving mode of the first robot and controlling the first robot to pass through the designated area in the designated area driving mode; and controlling each of the robots among the plurality of robots that enter the designated area after the first robot to pass through the designated area in sequence.

[0011] On another side, a robot control system for controlling a plurality of robots moving in a space, the system including at least one processor implemented to execute computer-readable instructions, the at least one processor identifying a designated area through which the robots need to pass, and for a first robot among the plurality of robots that enters the designated area, i) controlling the first robot by the robot control system to pass through the designated area via a first point defined within the designated area, or ii) triggering a designated area driving mode of the first robot and controlling the first robot to pass through the designated area in the designated area driving mode, and controlling each of the robots among the plurality of robots that enter the designated area after the first robot to pass through the designated area in sequence.

[0012] On the other hand, a method for controlling a robot that moves within a space to provide a service, comprising: moving to an entry area of a designated area where passage of the robot is required according to control from a robot control system that controls a plurality of robots including the robot; changing the autonomous driving mode of the robot to a designated area driving mode according to a trigger from the robot control system; determining whether there is another robot ahead within the designated area; moving directly to the exit position of the designated area if there is no other robot within the designated area, or moving to a position separated from the other robot by a predetermined distance if the other robot exists; when the other robot exists, moving toward the exit position of the designated area by moving into the space within the designated area generated by the movement of the other robot; and when reaching the exit position, changing the designated area driving mode to the autonomous driving mode according to control by the robot control system. A robot control method is provided.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] When a large number of robots travel in a designated area such as a narrow area, collisions / interferences between robots and between robots and obstacles can be minimized, and each robot can pass through the designated area in turn.

[0014] Based on resource management of a designated area within the space where a large number of robots travel on the robot control system side, the robots can be centrally controlled and controlled to efficiently pass through the designated area.

[0015] For each robot entering a designated area such as a narrow area, by triggering the designated area driving mode on the robot control system side, each robot can be controlled to efficiently pass through the designated area while considering other robots within the designated area in the designated area driving mode.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016]

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Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0017] <Summary of the Invention> In one aspect, a robot control method executed by a robot control system for controlling a plurality of robots moving in a space, the method comprising: identifying a designated area through which the robots need to pass; for a first robot among the plurality of robots that enters the designated area, i) controlling, by the robot control system, the first robot to pass through the designated area via a first point defined within the designated area, or ii) triggering a designated area driving mode of the first robot and controlling the first robot to pass through the designated area in the designated area driving mode; and controlling each of the plurality of robots such that each robot that enters the designated area after the first robot passes through the designated area in sequence. A robot control method is provided.

[0018] The designated area may be an interval within the space where each of the plurality of robots is required to line up and pass through in sequence.

[0019] The step of controlling the first robot includes identifying that the first robot is located in the entry area of the designated area, and controlling the first robot to move to the first point, where the first point is a point where the first robot can move and is the next point after the points occupied by other robots among the points defined within the designated area, or is the point farthest from the entry area among the points defined within the designated area. The step of controlling each robot may include identifying that the second robot is located next to the first robot among the plurality of robots in the entry area, and controlling the second robot to move to a second point that is next to the first point occupied by the first robot among the points defined within the designated area.

[0020] The step of controlling each robot may include controlling the second robot to move to the first point when the first robot no longer occupies the first point as the first robot moves within the designated area.

[0021] The step of controlling the first robot to move to the first point includes allocating the first point to the first robot as an available point for the first robot among the points defined within the designated area, and controlling the first robot to move to the allocated first point. The step of controlling the second robot to move to the second point includes allocating the second point to the second robot as an available point for the second robot among the points defined within the designated area, and controlling the second robot to move to the allocated second point. The step of controlling the second robot to move to the first point may include allocating the first point to the second robot as an available point for the second robot among the points defined within the designated area, and controlling the second robot to move to the allocated first point.

[0022] The first location and the second location are locations predefined within the designated area, and the robot control method further includes a step of acquiring occupancy information indicating whether each of the locations is occupied by the plurality of robots, and available locations for the first robot and the second robot may be assigned based on the occupancy information.

[0023] The first location and the second location are locations dynamically defined within the designated area, and the second location may be defined to be separated from the first location by a distance determined based on at least one of the attribute information of the first robot and the attribute information of the second robot.

[0024] The first robot is the first robot among the plurality of robots to enter the entry area, the first location is the location farthest from the entry area among the locations defined within the designated area, and the second location may be the location next farthest from the entry area after the first location among the locations defined within the designated area.

[0025] The step of controlling the first robot includes a step of controlling the first robot to exit the designated area from the exit position of the designated area based on the situation information outside the designated area, and the second robot that next enters the designated area after the first robot may be controlled to move to the position occupied by the first robot and then controlled to exit the designated area from the exit position based on the situation information.

[0026] The step of controlling the first robot includes a step of identifying that the first robot is located in the entry area of the designated area and a step of triggering the designated area driving mode of the first robot. In the designated area driving mode, when there are no other robots in the designated area, the first robot is controlled to move directly to the exit position of the designated area, and when there are other robots in the designated area, the first robot may be controlled to move to a position separated from the other robots existing in the designated area by a predetermined distance.

[0027] The step of controlling the first robot may include the step of canceling the designated area driving mode when the first robot reaches the exit position of the designated area.

[0028] The step of controlling each robot includes the step of identifying that the second robot is located next to the first robot among the plurality of robots in the entry area, and the step of triggering the designated area driving mode of the second robot. In the designated area driving mode, when the first robot exists in the designated area, the second robot is controlled to move to a position separated from the first robot by a predetermined distance, but may be controlled to move to the space within the designated area generated by the movement of the first robot within the designated area.

[0029] In the designated area driving mode, the first robot and the second robot may be controlled to pass through the designated area by imitating the operation of a plurality of humans lining up in a row and passing through a narrow area in order.

[0030] In the designated area driving mode, the first robot identifies another robot that is ahead in the designated area without receiving an instruction for controlling the first robot from the robot control system, moves to a position separated from the identified other robot by a predetermined distance, and may be controlled to move to the exit position according to the movement of the identified other robot.

[0031] On the other hand, there is provided a robot control system for controlling a plurality of robots moving in a space, including at least one processor realized to execute computer-readable instructions, the at least one processor identifying a designated area through which the robots need to pass, and for a first robot among the plurality of robots entering the designated area, i) controlling the first robot by the robot control system to pass through the designated area via a first point defined within the designated area, or ii) triggering a designated area travel mode of the first robot and controlling the first robot to pass through the designated area in the designated area travel mode, and controlling each robot such that each robot among the plurality of robots that enters the designated area after the first robot passes through the designated area in sequence.

[0032] On the other hand, there is provided a method for controlling a robot moving in a space to provide a service, including the steps of moving to an entry area of a designated area through which the robot needs to pass according to control from a robot control system for controlling a plurality of robots including the robot; changing an autonomous travel mode of the robot to a designated area travel mode according to a trigger by the robot control system; determining whether there is another robot ahead within the designated area; moving directly to an exit position of the designated area if there is no other robot within the designated area, or moving to a position separated from the other robot by a predetermined distance if there is the other robot; when there is the other robot, moving toward the exit position of the designated area by moving into the space within the designated area generated by the movement of the other robot; and when reaching the exit position, changing the designated area travel mode to the autonomous travel mode according to control by the robot control system.

[0033] <Detailed Description of the Invention> Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a method of controlling a plurality of robots to pass through a designated area such as a narrow area in a space in one embodiment.

[0035] FIG. 1 shows a method in which a plurality of robots 100 configured to provide services in a space 10 pass through a designated area 50 in the space 10 (i.e., go out while traveling within the designated area 50) according to the control by a robot control system 120.

[0036] The space 10 is a place where the robots 100 provide services, and may represent, for example, a building. Such a building is a space where a plurality of occupants (hereinafter referred to as users) work or reside, and may include a plurality of partitioned spaces. The space 10 may represent a part of a building (a specific floor or a partial space on that floor).

[0037] The robot 100 may be a service robot used to provide services in the space 10. The robot 100 may be configured to provide services on at least one floor of the space 10. There may be a plurality of robots 100 as shown in the figure. In the space 10, each of the robots 100 may provide services to an appropriate position or an appropriate user in the space 10 while moving.

[0038] The services provided by the robot 100 may include at least one of, for example, a home delivery service, an ordered drink (such as coffee) delivery service, a cleaning service, and other information / content providing services.

[0039] Robot 100 may provide services to a predetermined user at a predetermined position in space 10 by autonomous driving. The movement and service provision of robot 100 (each of them) may be controlled by robot control system 120. The structure of robot control system 120 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. Robot 100 may move to a predetermined position or a predetermined user by traveling along a path set by robot control system 120, and thereby may provide services to the predetermined position or the predetermined user.

[0040] As shown in the figure, a designated area 50 may be included in space 10. The designated area 50 is a confined / narrow area, for example, an area that is slightly narrow for robot 100 to travel or has restrictions for multiple robots to travel simultaneously. As an example, the designated area 50 may be a section in space 10 where each of a plurality of robots 100 is required to line up and pass through in order. That is, the designated area 50 may indicate a section that is part of the path where robot 100 needs to travel and where each of robot 100 is required to line up and pass through in order. There may be a plurality of such designated areas 50 in the space.

[0041] In an embodiment, robot control system 120 may identify a designated area that robot 100 needs to pass through within space 10 where robot 100 autonomously travels. Robot control system 120 may control the robot to pass through the designated area 50 through a first point defined within the designated area 50 (i), or trigger a designated area travel mode for each of robot 100 and control robot 100 to pass through the designated area 50 in the designated area travel mode, so as to control the robot so that each of robot 100 can pass through the designated area 50 in order.

[0042] That is, in the embodiment, when controlling the robot 100 to pass through a designated area 50 such as a narrow area, as in the above (i), the robot control system 120 centrally controls the robot 100 based on resource management corresponding to the designated area 50, so that the robot 100 can pass through the designated area 50 in sequence without mutual interference. Alternatively / Additionarily, in the embodiment, as in the above (ii), for each robot 100 entering the designated area 50, a designated area driving mode may be triggered so that each robot can pass through the designated area 50 in sequence according to the designated area driving mode.

[0043] For example, as in the example shown in the figure, in the embodiment, in accordance with the control of the robot 100 as in (i) and / or (ii) above, each of the robots 100 can pass through the designated area 50 in sequence. As shown in the figure, the robots 100 enter the designated area 50 in sequence in a line and then exit the designated area 50. At the entrance side of the designated area 50, the robots may be controlled to enter the designated area 50 in sequence (for example, in the order from 1 to 4) and exit the designated area 50 in the order of entry.

[0044] A more specific method for controlling the robot 100 to pass through the designated area 50 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 14.

[0045] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a robot that provides services in a space according to an embodiment.

[0046] As described above, the robot 100 may be a service robot used to provide services in the space 10. The robot 100 may provide services to a predetermined position or a predetermined user in the space 10 by autonomous driving.

[0047] Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of explanation, for the robot corresponding to one of the robots 100, the same reference numeral "100" as that of the robot 100 will be given for explanation.

[0048] Robot 100 may be a physical device and may include, as shown in the figure, a control unit 104, a drive unit 108, a sensor unit 106, and a communication unit 102.

[0049] The control unit 104 may be a physical processor built into the robot 100. Although not shown in the figure, it may include a path planning processing module, a mapping processing module, a drive control module, a localization processing module, a data processing module, and a service processing module. At this time, the path planning processing module, the mapping processing module, and the localization processing module may be selectively included in the control unit 104 according to the embodiment so that the robot 100 can perform autonomous indoor driving even when communication with the robot control system 120 is not established.

[0050] The communication unit 102 may be a configuration for the robot 100 to communicate with other devices (such as other robots or the robot control system 120). That is, the communication unit 102 may be a hardware module such as an antenna, a data bus, a network interface card, a network interface chip, and a network interface port of the robot 100 for transmitting and receiving data and / or information to and from other devices, or a software module such as a network device driver or a network program.

[0051] The drive unit 108 may be a configuration for controlling the movement of the robot 100 to enable movement and may include equipment for executing this.

[0052] The sensor unit 106 may be configured to collect data required for the autonomous driving and service provision of the robot 100. The sensor unit 106 may not include expensive sensing devices and may include sensors such as low-cost ultrasonic sensors and / or low-cost cameras. The sensor unit 106 may include sensors for identifying other robots and people in the front and / or rear. For example, other robots, people, and other features may be identified by the camera of the sensor unit 106. Alternatively, the sensor unit 106 may include an infrared sensor (or an infrared camera). In addition to the camera, the sensor unit 106 may further include sensors for recognizing / identifying surrounding users, other robots, or features.

[0053] As an example, the data processing module of the control unit 104 may transmit sensing data including the output values of the sensors of the sensor unit 106 to the robot control system 120 via the communication unit 102. The robot control system 120 may transmit path data generated using the indoor map in the space 10 to the robot 100. The path data may be transmitted to the data processing module via the communication unit 102. The data processing module may directly transmit the path data to the drive control module, and the drive control module may control the drive unit 108 based on the path data to control the indoor autonomous driving of the robot 100.

[0054] When the robot 100 and the robot control system 120 cannot communicate, the data processing module may transmit the sensing data to the localization processing module and directly process the indoor autonomous driving of the robot 100 by generating path data via the path planning processing module and the mapping processing module.

[0055] The robot 100 may be distinguished from a mapping robot used to generate an indoor map of the space 10. In this case, the robot 100 does not include an expensive sensing device, and may process indoor autonomous navigation using output values ​​of sensors such as a low-cost ultrasonic sensor and / or a low-cost camera. Meanwhile, if the robot 100 has experience of processing indoor autonomous navigation through communication with the robot control system 120, it may be possible to achieve more accurate indoor autonomous navigation while using low-cost sensors by further utilizing mapping data including route data received from the robot control system 120 at that time.

[0056] However, depending on the embodiment, the robot 100 may also serve as the mapping robot.

[0057] The service processing module may receive the command from the robot control system 120 via the communication unit 102 or the communication unit 102 and the data processing module. The driving unit 108 may further include equipment related to the service provided by the robot 100, as well as equipment for moving the robot 100. For example, in order to perform a food / delivery delivery service, the driving unit 108 of the robot 100 may include a configuration for loading food / delivery items and a configuration for delivering the food / delivery items to a user (e.g., a robot arm). The robot 100 may further include a speaker and / or a display for providing information / contents. The service processing module may transmit a driving command for the service to be provided to the driving control module, and the driving control module may control the configurations included in the robot 100 and the driving unit 108 according to the driving command so that the service is provided.

[0058] The robot 100 can navigate a designated area 50, such as a narrow area within the space 10, as controlled by the robot control system 120, and can efficiently traverse the designated area 50 in coordination with other robots. The robot 100 can be said to correspond to a brainless robot in that it only provides sensing data for controlling the robot 100 to the robot control system 120.

[0059] On the other hand, each of the robots 100 may have different sizes and forms depending on the model, the services provided, and the like.

[0060] The configuration and operation of the robot control system 120 that controls the robot 100 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 respectively.

[0061] As described above, since the technical features described with reference to FIG. 1 can also be directly applied to FIG. 2, duplicate explanations are omitted.

[0062] FIGS. 3 to 5 are block diagrams showing a robot control system that controls a plurality of robots in one embodiment.

[0063] The robot control system 120 may be a device that controls the movement (i.e., traveling) of the robot 100 within the space 10 described above, and the provision of services within the space 10 by the robot 100. The robot control system 120 may control the movement of each of the plurality of robots 100 and the provision of services by each of the robots 100. The robot control system 120 may set a path for the robot 100 to provide services through communication with the robot 100, and transmit information regarding such a path to the robot 100. The robot 100 may travel based on the received information regarding the path and provide services to a predetermined position or a predetermined user. The robot control system 120 may control the movement of the robot so that the robot moves (travels) along the path set as described above.

[0064] The robot control system 120 may include at least one computing device.

[0065] As described above, the robot control system 120 may be a device that sets a path for the travel of the robot 100 and controls the movement of the robot 100. The robot control system 120 may include at least one computing device and may be implemented as a server (e.g., a cloud server) located inside or outside the space 10.

[0066] As shown in the figure, the robot control system 120 may include a memory 330, a processor 320, a communication unit 310, and an input / output interface 340.

[0067] The memory 330 is a computer-readable recording medium and may include a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read only memory), and a persistent mass storage device such as a disk drive. Here, the ROM and the persistent mass storage device may be included as another persistent recording device separate from the memory 330. Also, an operating system and at least one program code may be recorded in the memory 330. Such software components may be loaded from a computer-readable recording medium different from the memory 330. Such another computer-readable recording medium may include computer-readable recording media such as a floppy (registered trademark) drive, a disk, a tape, a DVD / CD-ROM drive, a memory card, etc. In other embodiments, the software components may be loaded into the memory 330 through the communication unit 310 which is not a computer-readable recording medium.

[0068] Processor 320 may be configured to process instructions of a computer program by performing basic arithmetic, logic, and input / output operations. The instructions may be provided to processor 320 by memory 330 or communication unit 310. For example, processor 320 may be configured to execute instructions received according to program code loaded into memory 330. Such a processor 320 may include configurations 410 - 440, 510 - 530 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0069] Each of configurations 410 - 440, 510 - 530 of processor 320 is a part of processor 320, may be a software and / or hardware module, and may represent a function (functional block) realized by the processor. Configurations 410 - 440, 510 - 530 of processor 320 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0070] Communication unit 310 may be a configuration for the robot control system 120 to communicate with other devices (such as robot 100 or other servers). That is, communication unit 310 may be a hardware module such as an antenna, data bus, network interface card, network interface chip, and network interface port of the robot control system 120 that transmits and receives data and / or information to and from other devices, or a software module such as a network device driver or network program.

[0071] Input / output interface 340 may be means for interface with input devices such as keyboards and mice, and output devices such as displays and speakers.

[0072] Also, in other embodiments, robot control system 120 may include more components than those shown in the figures.

[0073] With reference to FIG. 4, the components 410 to 440 of the processor 320 will be described in more detail. As shown in the figure, the processor 320 may include a map generation module 410, a localization processing module 420, a route planning processing module 430, and a service operation module 440. The components included in such a processor 320 may be different functional representations executed by at least one processor included in the processor 320 according to control instructions by the code of the operating system and the code of at least one computer program.

[0074] The map generation module 410 may be a component for generating an indoor map of a target facility using sensing data generated by a mapping robot (not shown) that autonomously travels inside a space with respect to the target facility (for example, inside the space 10).

[0075] At this time, the localization processing module 420 may determine the position of the robot 100 inside the target facility using the sensing data received from the robot 100 via the network and the indoor map of the target facility generated by the map generation module.

[0076] The route planning processing module 430 may generate a control signal for controlling the autonomous movement of the robot 100 indoors by using the sensing data received from the robot 100 described above and the generated indoor map. For example, the route planning processing module 430 may generate a route (i.e., route data) of the robot 100. The generated route (route data) may be set for the robot 100 so that the robot 100 travels along this route. The robot control system 120 may transmit information regarding the generated route to the robot 100 via a network. As an example, the information regarding the route may include information indicating the current location of the robot 100, information for mapping the current location and the indoor map, and route planning information. The information regarding the route may include information regarding the route that the robot 100 should travel to provide services to a predetermined user at a predetermined position within the space 10. The route planning processing module 430 may generate a route (i.e., route data) for the robot 100 as a route that travels along at least a part of the dedicated road 110 designated within the space 10, and set it for the robot 100. The robot control system 120 may control the movement of the robot 100 so that the robot 100 moves along such a set route (i.e., along the set route).

[0077] The service operation module 440 may include functions for controlling the services provided by the robot 100 within the space 10. For example, the robot control system 120 or the service provider operating the space 10 may provide an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for the services (such as cloud services) provided by the robot control system 120 to the users or manufacturers of the robot 100. At this time, the users or manufacturers of the robot 100 may produce the software for controlling the services provided by the robot 100 within the space 10 using the IDE and register it with the robot control system 120. In this case, the service operation module 440 may control the services provided by the robot 100 using the software registered in relation to the robot 100. As a specific example, when it is assumed that the robot 100 provides a service of delivering an item (such as food and drink or a delivery) requested by the user to a specified location, the robot control system 120 not only controls the autonomous indoor movement of the robot 100 to move the robot 100 to the specified location, but also, when the destination is reached, may transmit related commands to the robot 100 so that the robot 100 can provide a series of services including delivering the item to the user and outputting a user response voice.

[0078] With reference to FIG. 5, the configurations 510 to 530 of the processor 320 for controlling the robot 100 to pass through the specified area 50 will be described in more detail.

[0079] The processor 320 may include a queue management unit 510, an information management unit 520, and a travel management unit 530.

[0080] The queue management unit 510 may manage robot occupancy information indicating whether a line or a point defined within the space 10 (or within the path along which the robot 100 travels) is occupied by the robot 100. For example, the queue management unit 510 may manage robot occupancy information indicating whether a point defined within the designated area 50 is occupied by the robot 100. Also, the queue management unit 510 may manage robot occupancy information indicating whether a point defined as within a congested area (e.g., a pre-defined or a congested area determined to have a high degree of congestion) within the space 10 (or within the path along which the robot 100 travels) is occupied by the robot 100. The queue management unit 510 may communicate with a DB that records such robot occupancy information.

[0081] The information management unit 520 may manage information related to the robot (robot information) including the respective positions of the robots 100. The information related to the robot 100 may be received from the robot 100 via the communication unit 310. The information management unit 520 may communicate with a DB that records the robot information.

[0082] The travel management unit 530 may establish the respective travel plans of the robots 100, transmit control commands to the robots 100 via the communication unit 310 to move the robots 100, and manage the completion of movement and the completion of service provision of the robots 100. The travel management unit 530 may correspond to the above-described configurations 420 to 440.

[0083] As shown in the figure, the travel management unit 530 may request the allocation of a point within the designated area 50 (i.e., the point to wait) to which the first robot should move, based on the robot information including the position of the first robot entering the designated area 50. The waiting queue management unit 510 may allocate, based on the robot occupancy information, a point within the designated area 50 that is not occupied by the robot 100 as the waiting point for the first robot. The travel management unit 530 may send a command to the first robot to move to the allocated waiting point, and the first robot may be made to move to the allocated waiting point. After the first robot moves to the waiting point according to the command from the travel management unit 530, it may be controlled to pass through the designated area 50.

[0084] The robot control system 120 may control each of the plurality of robots 100 to pass through the designated area 50 in a similar manner.

[0085] The method by which the robot control system 120 controls the plurality of robots 100 to pass through the designated area 50 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 14.

[0086] Since the technical features described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 can also be directly applied to FIGS. 3 to 5, duplicate explanations are omitted.

[0087] In the following detailed description, the operations executed by the components of the robot control system 120 or the robot 100 will be described, for the sake of convenience of explanation, as operations executed by the robot control system 120 or the robot 100.

[0088] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method of controlling a plurality of robots to pass through a designated area such as a tiny area in a space in one embodiment.

[0089] While referring to FIG. 5, a method for a robot 100 to efficiently pass through a designated area 50 such as a narrow area according to the control by the robot control system 120 will be described.

[0090] In step 610, the robot control system 120 may identify a designated area 50 that requires passage of a plurality of robots 100. For example, the robot control system 120 may identify the designated area 50 that requires passage of the robots 100 from the routes that each of the robots 100 moving within the space 10 (to provide services) moves along. Each of the robots 100 may be controlled to provide services individually. Alternatively, the robots 100 may be controlled to move to a common destination within the space 10. The designated area 50 is a narrow area within the space 10, and for example, it may be an area that is slightly narrow for the robot 100 to travel or has limitations for a large number of robots to travel simultaneously. As an example, the designated area 50 may be a section within the space 10 where each of the plurality of robots 100 is required to pass through in a line one by one. That is, the designated area 50 is a part of the route that requires the robot 100 to travel, and may indicate a section where each of the robots 100 is required to pass through in a line one by one.

[0091] In step 620, for the first robot among the plurality of robots 100 that enters the designated area 50, i) the robot control system 120 may control the first robot to pass through the designated area 50 by passing through a first point defined within the designated area 50. Alternatively / additionally, the robot control system 120 may ii) trigger the designated area travel mode of the first robot and control the first robot to pass through the designated area 50 in the designated area travel mode.

[0092] In the above (i), the first location may be a location within the designated area 50 defined by the robot control system 120 and not occupied by other robots (where the first robot can move). For example, the first location may be the location closest to the exit of the designated area 50 (or the location farthest from the first robot) among the points within the designated area 50 that are not occupied by other robots (where the first robot can move).

[0093] In step 630, the robot control system 120 may control each robot such that each robot that enters the designated area 50 next after the first robot among the plurality of robots 100 passes through the designated area in order.

[0094] Each robot that enters the designated area 50 next after the first robot may also be controlled to travel through the designated area 50 and pass through the designated area 50 in accordance with the method of (i) and / or (ii) described above.

[0095] According to the above (i), the robot control system 120 may centrally control the robots 100 based on resource management corresponding to the designated area 50 so that the robots 100 pass through the designated area 50 in order without interfering with each other.

[0096] Also, according to the above (ii), the robot control system 120 may trigger the designated area travel mode for each robot 100 entering the designated area 50 so that each robot passes through the designated area 50 in the designated area travel mode in order.

[0097] The method of centrally controlling the robots 100 described in (i) so that the robots 100 can pass through the designated area 50 in order without interfering with each other will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7, 10, 12, and 14.

[0098] Regarding the method of triggering the designated area driving mode for each robot of the robot 100 described in (ii) so that the robot 100 can pass through the designated area 50 in order without mutual interference, it will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 9, 11, and 13.

[0099] As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, since the technical features can be directly applied to FIG. 6 as well, duplicate descriptions are omitted.

[0100] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of controlling a plurality of robots to pass through a designated area based on resource management for the designated area in an example.

[0101] With reference to FIG. 7, the method of centrally controlling the above-described (i) robot 100 so that the robot 100 can pass through the designated area 50 in order without mutual interference will be described in more detail.

[0102] In step 720, the robot control system 120 may identify that the first robot entering the designated area 50 among the plurality of robots 100 is located in the entry area of the designated area 50. The entry area may indicate a point on the entrance side of the designated area 50. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the entry area may be the front area (point) 30 of the designated area 50. The robot control system 120 may determine whether the first robot is located in such an entry area 30 of the designated area 50. For example, the robot control system 120 may identify whether the robot is located in the entry area 30 based on the (robot) occupancy information for the entry area 30.

[0103] In step 730, when the first robot is located in the entry area 30, the robot control system 120 may control the first robot to move to a first point defined within the designated area 50.

[0104] As in stage 732, when the robot control system 120 controls the first robot to move to the first location, the first location may be assigned to the first robot as an available location among the locations defined within the designated area 50 for the first robot. The robot control system 120 may control the first robot to move to the assigned first location.

[0105] (The assigned) The first location may be a location within the designated area 50 defined by the robot control system 120, where the first robot can move and is not occupied by other robots. For example, the first location may be the location next to the location occupied by other robots among the locations defined within the designated area 50 (as a location where the first robot can move), or the location farthest from the entry area 30 among the locations defined within the designated area 50 (e.g., the location corresponding to the exit position). Even if not occupied by other robots, a location that is congested by other robots and where the first robot cannot move cannot be the first location. When there are no other robots within the designated area 50, or when the first robot is the first robot among the plurality of robots 100 to enter the entry area 30, the first location may be the location farthest from the entry area 30 among the locations defined within the designated area 50 (e.g., the exit location).

[0106] In stage 740, the robot control system 120 may identify that the second robot is located next to the first robot among the plurality of robots 50 in the entry area 30. The second robot may be the robot that passes through the designated area 50 next to the first robot. Regarding the method of identifying whether the second robot is located in the entry area 30, as described above, since the description of the method of identifying whether the first robot is located in the entry area 30 can be applied in the same way, duplicate descriptions are omitted.

[0107] At stage 750, when a second robot is located in the entry area 30, the robot control system 120 may control the second robot to move to a second location that is next to the first location occupied by the first robot among the locations defined within the designated area 50. By moving the second robot to the second location next to the first location, the second robot will follow the first robot.

[0108] As in stage 752, when the robot control system 120 controls the second robot to move to the second location, the second location may be assigned to the second robot as a location available to the second robot among the locations defined within the designated area 50. The robot control system 120 may control the second robot to move to the assigned second location.

[0109] The (assigned) second location may be a location within the designated area 50 defined by the robot control system 120, where the second robot is movable and not occupied by other robots. For example, the second location may be a location next to the location occupied by other robots among the locations defined within the designated area 50 (as locations where the second robot is movable), or the location farthest from the entry area 30 among the locations defined within the designated area 50. A location that is not occupied by other robots but is congested by other robots and where the second robot cannot move cannot be the second location. If the first location is the location farthest from the entry area 30 among the locations defined within the designated area 50, the second location may be the location next farthest from the entry area 30 among the locations defined within the designated area 50.

[0110] At stage 760, when the first robot no longer occupies the first location by moving within the designated area 50 (e.g., by moving in the direction of the exit position of the designated area 50), the robot control system 120 may control the second robot to move to the (vacated) first location.

[0111] As in step 762, when the robot control system 120 controls the second robot to move to the first location, the first location may be assigned to the second robot as an available location among the locations defined within the designated area 50 for the second robot. The robot control system 120 may control the second robot to move to the assigned first location. That is, the second robot may be made to move to the location that has become available (the location that was occupied by the first robot before the move) due to the movement of the preceding first robot.

[0112] According to the above-described steps, in an embodiment, when the first robot starts moving toward the exit position of the designated area 50, the subsequent second robot can then move toward the exit position of the designated area 50 accordingly, and thus, the first robot and the second robot can exit the designated area 50 in order.

[0113] The robot that passes through the designated area 50 after the second robot (i.e., the robot located in the entry area 30 after the second robot) may also be controlled in the same manner as the first robot and the second robot described above.

[0114] Therefore, the plurality of robots 100 can exit the designated area 50 in order (in the order in which they are located in the entry area 30).

[0115] The available locations within the designated area for the first robot and the second robot as described above may be assigned based on the (robot) occupancy information managed by the robot control system 120.

[0116] As in step 710, the robot control system 120 may acquire the occupancy information of the designated area 50. For example, the robot control system 120 may acquire the occupancy information from a database that records the occupancy information. The robot control system 120 may be configured to execute recording, querying, and updating of the occupancy information and manage the occupancy information.

[0117] For example, the robot control system 120 may acquire occupancy information indicating whether each of the points defined within the designated area 50 by the robot 100 is occupied. Based on the occupancy information of each such point, the robot control system 120 may determine available points for a robot entering the designated area 50 (i.e., located in the entry area 30), and may assign the determined points to the corresponding robot. That is, the robot control system 120 may assign available points for the first robot and the second robot based on such occupancy information.

[0118] On the other hand, the points within the designated area 50 may be points predefined within the designated area 50. That is, the above-described first point and second point may be points predefined within the designated area 50.

[0119] The robot control system 120 may predefine the points included in the designated area 50 for the designated area 50 within the space 10 (or the path along which the robot 100 travels) as the points where the robots passing through the designated area 50 are located (waiting). Each of the said points may be a waypoint that the robot must pass through to pass through the designated area 50. The robot control system 120 may define the said points connected in a graph form. Information regarding the defined points may be recorded in the robot control system 120 or an external DB.

[0120] Alternatively, the points within the designated area 50 may not be points predefined within the designated area 50, but may be points defined dynamically (i.e., variably). That is, the above-described first point and second point may be points defined dynamically within the designated area 50. For example, the above-described second point may be defined such that it is separated from the first point by a distance determined based on at least one of the attribute information of the first robot and the attribute information of the second robot.

[0121] In such an embodiment, only the line (column) within the designated area 50 where the robot 100 is located (for example, the robots are lined up) may be predefined, and the positions of the points where each of the robots 100 will be located may be dynamically defined on the line. At this time, the occupancy information regarding the designated area 50 may indicate the position of the line occupied by the robot 100.

[0122] The occupancy information may be configured to include information about the robot occupying the designated area 50 and the position information occupied by the robot. When the occupancy information indicates that the first robot occupies the first position (first point) of the designated area 50, the robot control system 120 may determine a position separated by a distance determined based on the attribute information of the first robot and / or the attribute information of the second robot from the first position as the second point, and assign the determined second point to the second robot.

[0123] In this regard, FIG. 14 shows a method for dynamically defining the points (waiting points) where a robot moves within a designated area where a plurality of robots travel in one example.

[0124] As in the example shown in the figure, the point (W) within the designated area 50 where the robot (subsequent robot) should move may be determined dynamically (variably).

[0125] The position of the point W may be determined based on the attributes of the subsequent / preceding robot (for example, at least one of the type, size of the robot, and the service provided by the robot).

[0126] For example, when the size of the preceding robot and / or the subsequent robot is large, or when the risk level of the service provided by the preceding robot and / or the subsequent robot is high (as an example, a service for delivering hot liquid substances, etc.), or when a large space is required (as an example, a service for delivering large-volume goods, etc.), the position of the point W may be determined to be more separated from the preceding robot than in other cases.

[0127] In this way, by determining the waiting points within the designated area 50 of the subsequent robot entering the designated area 50 based on the attributes of this subsequent robot and / or the preceding robot, the robot 100 can pass through the designated area 50 efficiently and flexibly.

[0128] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 10 and 12, a method for controlling a plurality of robots to pass through a designated area based on resource management for the designated area will be described in more detail.

[0129] The queue management unit 1010 shown in FIG. 10 may be implemented by the above-described queue management unit 510. The "queue" may indicate the designated area 50 that the robot 100 should pass through in order. The queue management unit 1010 may allocate available locations within the designated area 50 to the robots entering the designated area 50 based on resource management for the designated area 50. The queue management unit 1010 may allocate available locations (waiting positions) to the robots entering the designated area 50 based on the (robot) occupancy information 1050 (indicating whether each location within the designated area 50 is occupied by a robot).

[0130] The queue management unit 1010 may be an entity that manages the spatial information of the designated area 50 for the adjustment of the passage of a plurality of robots 100 (i.e., multi-robots) through the designated area 50.

[0131] Each of the robot controllers 1020-1 to 3 may be a controller at the agent level that controls each of the robots 100.

[0132] Each of the robots shown in the figure may be a program (for autonomous driving and movement control) installed on the robot.

[0133] As shown in the figure, the robot 1 controller 1020-1 that controls the robot 1 may instruct the robot 1 to move to the entrance of the narrow area (or the entry area 30), which is the designated area 50 (1021), and may request the waiting queue manager 1010 to allocate an available waiting position (location) so that an available waiting position can be allocated (1022, 1023).

[0134] When a waiting position within the narrow area where the robot 1 moves is allocated, the robot 1 controller 1020-1 may instruct the robot 1 to move to the allocated waiting position (1024). The robot 1 may move to the allocated waiting position and wait at the allocated waiting position (1051, 1052).

[0135] The robot 1 controller 1020-1 may determine whether the waiting position of the robot 1 corresponds to the exit position of the narrow area. If it does not correspond to the exit position, a next available waiting position may be allocated (this may be repeated until the robot 1 reaches the exit position). If it corresponds to the exit position, it may be determined whether the robot 1 can exit the narrow area (1025, 1026).

[0136] If the robot 1 cannot exit the narrow area, the robot 1 controller 1020-1 may cause the robot 1 to wait at the exit position. If the robot 1 can exit the narrow area, the robot 1 controller 1020-1 may instruct the robot 1 to exit the narrow area (1027, 1028).

[0137] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of passing through a specific designated area 50 (narrow area) of the robot 100.

[0138] As shown in the figure, within the designated area 50, points W1 to W5 may be defined in advance.

[0139] As shown in FIGS. 12a to 12f, when the robot that first enters the designated area 50 moves to the entry area 30, the robot control system 120 may assign the farthest point W1 as the available standby point for this robot and move the robot to point W1.

[0140] Next, for the robot located in the entry area 30, point W2 (the next after point W1) is assigned as the available standby point, and the robot control system 120 may move this robot to point W2.

[0141] Next, for the robot located in the entry area 30, point W3 (the next after point W2) is assigned as the available standby point, and the robot control system 120 may move this robot to point W3. On the other hand, when the robot occupying point W1 exits the designated area 50, the robot control system 120 may assign point W1 (which is vacant) as the available standby point for the robot located at point W2 and move this robot to point W1. Next, for the robot located in the entry area 30, point W4 (the next after the occupied point W3) is assigned as the available standby point, and the robot control system 120 may move this robot to point W4. The robot control system 120 may assign point W2 (which is vacant) as the available standby point for the robot located at point W3 and move this robot to point W2.

[0142] As a result, the plurality of robots 100 can pass through the designated area 50 in sequence.

[0143] In FIG. 12, for the sake of convenience of explanation, a standby location available to the robot is assigned and it is shown that the robot exits from the designated area 50. However, the robot control system 120 (queue management unit 1010) of the embodiment can also control the robot to sequentially exit the designated area 50 from the preceding robot while newly assigning a standby location that is continuously available to the robots located in the entry area 30 and the queue, and can also control the robot to continuously move to the vacant standby location within the designated area 50.

[0144] As described above, the technical features described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 can also be directly applied to FIGS. 7, 10, 12, and 14, so duplicate explanations are omitted.

[0145] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a method of controlling a plurality of robots to pass through a designated area by triggering a designated area travel mode for each robot entering the designated area in an example.

[0146] With reference to FIG. 9, the method of triggering the designated area travel mode for each robot of the robot 100 entering the designated area 50 in the above-described ii) and enabling each robot to sequentially pass through the designated area 50 according to the designated area travel mode will be described in more detail.

[0147] In step 910, the robot control system 120 may identify that the first robot entering the designated area 50 among the plurality of robots 100 is located in the entry area 30 of the designated area 50. Regarding step 910, since the description of step 720 can be similarly applied, duplicate explanations are omitted.

[0148] In step 920, the robot control system 120 may trigger (activate) the designated area driving mode of the first robot. For example, the robot control system 120 may change the driving mode of the first robot from the autonomous driving mode (used for general path driving) to the designated area driving mode. Here, the designated area driving mode may be a special driving mode used to drive in a designated area 50 such as a narrow area.

[0149] In such a designated area driving mode, when there is no other robot (i.e., a preceding robot) in the designated area 50, the first robot may be controlled to move directly to the exit position of the designated area 50. The "exit position" may be the position (point) within the designated area 50 that is closest to the exit of the designated area 50. On the other hand, when there is another robot (i.e., a preceding robot) in the designated area 50, the first robot may be controlled to move to a position separated from the other robot existing in the designated area 50 by a predetermined distance. The predetermined distance may be determined based on the attributes of the first robot and / or the preceding robot.

[0150] In step 930, when the first robot reaches the exit position of the designated area 50, the robot control system 120 may cancel the designated area driving mode of the first robot. For example, the robot control system 120 may change the driving mode of the first robot from the designated area driving mode back to the autonomous driving mode. Therefore, the first robot that has exited the designated area 50 will start driving the path in the autonomous driving mode again.

[0151] Next, the operations of the robot(s) that pass through the designated area 50 following the first robot will be described.

[0152] In step 940, the robot control system 120 may identify that the second robot is located in the entry area 30 next to the first robot among the plurality of robots 50. Regarding step 940, since the description of step 740 can be applied in the same way, the overlapping description will be omitted.

[0153] At stage 950, the robot control system 120 may trigger the designated area driving mode of the second robot. For example, the robot control system 120 may change the driving mode of the second robot from the autonomous driving mode (used for general path driving) to the designated area driving mode.

[0154] In such a designated area driving mode, when the first robot is present within the designated area 50, the second robot may be controlled to move to a position separated from the first robot by a predetermined distance. The predetermined distance may be determined based on the attributes of the first robot (preceding robot) and / or the second robot (following robot). Here, the predetermined distance is a distance at which the first robot and the second robot do not collide or interfere with each other, and may be a preset distance. On the other hand, the second robot may be controlled to move to the space within the designated area (for example, the position (point) occupied by the first robot) generated when the first robot moves within the designated area (that is, when moving towards the exit position). In other words, when the first robot moves towards the exit position, the second robot will also move accordingly. At this time, the second robot may move while maintaining the predetermined distance from the first robot.

[0155] The designated area driving mode of the second robot may also be cancelled when the exit position is reached.

[0156] The next robot passing through the designated area 50 of the second robot (that is, the robot located in the next entry area 30 after the second robot) may also be controlled in the same manner as the above-described first robot and second robot.

[0157] Therefore, the plurality of robots 100 can exit from the designated area 50 in order (in the order of being located in the entry area 30).

[0158] As described above, the control operations of the robots (the first robot and the second robot) in the designated area driving mode may be executed by the logic implemented in the robot or the logic implemented in the robot control system 120. Alternatively, at least a part of the control operations of the robots (the first robot and the second robot) in the designated area driving mode may be executed by the logic implemented in the robot.

[0159] For example, in the designated area driving mode, the first robot may identify other robots moving ahead within the designated area 50 without receiving instructions for controlling the first robot from the robot control system 120, move to a position separated by a predetermined distance from the identified other robots, and be controlled to move to the exit position of the designated area 50 in response to the movement of the identified other robots. Similarly, the operation of the second robot in the designated area driving mode can be executed without control instructions or intervention from the robot control system 120.

[0160] That is, the operation of the robot traveling within the designated area 50 in the designated area driving mode can be executed based on the logic implemented in the robot without the intervention of the robot control system 120 which is a server.

[0161] In contrast, the embodiment may be implemented such that the robot control system 120 controls the operation of the robot in the designated area driving mode.

[0162] On the other hand, the operation of the robot in the designated area driving mode according to the above-described embodiment may imitate the operation of a human passing through a very small area. That is, the first robot and the second robot may be controlled to pass through the designated area 50 by imitating the operation in which a plurality of humans line up in a row and pass through in order in the designated area driving mode. The robot 100 may be controlled in the same way as the operation in which humans line up and pass through a narrow passage or corridor in order, and pass through the designated area 50 corresponding to the very small area.

[0163] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 13, a method for controlling a plurality of robots to pass through a designated area by triggering a designated area driving mode for each robot entering the designated area will be described in more detail.

[0164] The queue management unit 1110 shown in FIG. 11 may be implemented by the queue management unit 510 described above. The queue management unit 1110 may correspond to the queue management unit 1010 described with reference to FIG. 10. The "queue" may indicate a designated area 50 that the robot 100 needs to pass through in order. The queue management unit 1010 may manage the robot information 1115 in the queue and the exit information of the queue (information regarding the exit position of the designated area 50). The information regarding the exit position may include, for example, information on whether the exit position is occupied by a robot and / or the situation information outside the designated area 50.

[0165] The robot information 1115 in the queue is information regarding the robot located within the designated area 50 and may include information indicating the position of the robot within the designated area 50.

[0166] Each of the robot controllers 1120-1 to 3 may be an agent-level controller that controls each of the robots 100.

[0167] The robot shown in the figure may be a program (for autonomous driving and movement control) installed on the robot.

[0168] As shown in the figure, the robot controller 1120-1 that controls robot 1 may instruct robot 1 to move to the entrance of the minimum area, which is the designated area 50 (or the entry area 30) (1021), and may trigger the queue mode (in-queue driving mode) (the designated area driving mode described above) of robot 1. That is, the driving mode of robot 1 may be changed from the general driving mode to the queue mode (in-queue driving mode) (1122). Thereby, the robot controller 1120-1 may instruct robot 1 to move to the exit position (1123).

[0169] Robot 1 may move toward the exit position according to the driving mode in the queue (1151), and may detect whether there is a preceding robot (1152). If a preceding robot is detected, it may wait at a position separated from the preceding robot by a predetermined distance (1153). If no preceding robot is detected or the preceding robot moves, the movement toward the exit position may be continued. Steps 1151 to 1154 may be repeated until Robot 1 reaches the exit position.

[0170] The movement of Robot 1 toward the exit position may be monitored by Robot 1 controller 1120-1 (1124). Such monitored information may be transmitted to queue manager 1110 as robot information in the queue.

[0171] When the operation of Robot 1 toward the exit position is confirmed, Robot 1 controller 1120-1 may cancel the queue mode of Robot 1 and change the driving mode to the general driving mode. Therefore, after passing through the queue, Robot 1 may be controlled in the general driving mode.

[0172] As shown in the figure, the operation of the robot in the driving mode (designated area driving mode) in the queue can be executed without a control command from the robot control system 130.

[0173] As an example, a robot attempting to pass through the designated area 50 may move to the entry area 30 of the designated area 50 in accordance with the control from the robot control system 120. The robot may change its (pre-set) autonomous driving mode to the designated area driving mode according to a trigger from the robot control system 120. When the driving mode is changed to the designated area driving mode, the robot may determine whether there is another robot ahead within the designated area 50. If there is no other robot within the designated area 50, the robot may move directly to the exit position of the designated area 50. If there is another robot (ahead robot) within the designated area 50, the robot may move to a position separated from the other robot by a predetermined distance.

[0174] If there is another robot (the ahead robot within the designated area 50), the robot may move to the exit position of the designated area 50 (i.e., towards the exit position) by moving to the space within the designated area 50 (i.e., the position occupied by the ahead robot) generated by the movement of the other robot.

[0175] When the robot reaches the exit position of the designated area 50, according to the control by the robot control system 120, the robot may change the (set) designated area driving mode to the autonomous driving mode. Therefore, after exiting the designated area 50, the robot will operate in the autonomous driving mode.

[0176] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of passing through a specific designated area 50 (narrow area) of the robot 100.

[0177] The robot 100 may receive information regarding the route (route plan) and a mode change trigger (i.e., a mode change trigger to the designated area driving mode) from the robot control system 120 and be controlled accordingly.

[0178] As shown in FIGS. 13a to 13f, when a robot that first enters the designated area 50 moves to the entry area 30, the robot control system 120 may switch the running mode of this robot to the designated area running mode. Since there is no preceding robot, the robot may move directly to the exit position (see FIGS. 13a to 13c). When the next robot is located in the entry area 30, the robot control system 120 may switch the running mode of this robot to the designated area running mode. Since there is a preceding robot, the robot may wait behind the preceding robot (see FIGS. 13c and 13d). When the next robot is located in the entry area 30, the robot control system 120 may switch the running mode of this robot to the designated area running mode. Since there is a preceding robot, the robot may wait behind the preceding robot. At this time, when the robot occupying the exit position exits from the designated area 50, the subsequent robots may move as if being pushed in the exit direction (see FIGS. 13d to 13f).

[0179] By performing such an operation on the robot 100, the robot 100 can pass through side by side in the designated area 50.

[0180] In FIG. 13, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the sequential movement of the robots is described separately. However, in the embodiment, the robot control system 120 may, for example, based on the situation information outside the designated area 50, continuously move the robots occupying the exit position out of the designated area 50 one by one. If a space occurs in the designated area 50, at the same time, the robots in the designated area 50 may be moved toward the exit position, and the robot 100 may be controlled to fill the space. Therefore, the robots can pass through the designated area 50 in the same way as humans pass through a narrow passage side by side.

[0181] As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, FIGS. 10, FIGS. 12, and FIGS. 14, the technical features described can also be directly applied to FIGS. 9, FIGS. 11, and FIGS. 13. Therefore, duplicate explanations are omitted.

[0182] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing a method of controlling a robot traveling in a designated area so that the robot can exit the designated area in one example.

[0183] Referring to Figure 8, a method of allowing a robot that has moved to the exit position of the designated area 50 by the method described above to exit the designated area 50 will be described in more detail.

[0184] According to the above-described i) central control by the robot control system 120 or ii) control by the designated area travel mode, the robot may travel in the designated area 50 and reach the exit position of the designated area 50. The "exit position" may be, for example, a position (point) within the designated area 50 that is closest to the exit of the designated area 50.

[0185] In step 810, the robot control system 120 may control the robot to exit the designated area 50 from the exit position of the designated area 50 based on the situation information outside the designated area 50. For example, when the robot (robot 100 including the first robot or the second robot described above) reaches the exit position of the designated area 50 while traveling in the designated area 50, the robot control system 120 may control the robot to exit the designated area 50 from the exit position based on the situation information.

[0186] On the other hand, as in step 820, the robot control system 120 controls the next robot that enters the designated area 50 after the robot that has exited the designated area 50 in step 810 to move to the position occupied by the robot that has exited the designated area 50, and then may control the robot to exit the designated area 50 from the exit position based on the situation information.

[0187] That is, when the preceding robot exits the designated area 50, the subsequent robot may be controlled to exit the designated area 50 from the exit position after moving to the position occupied by the preceding robot. The position occupied by the preceding robot may be the exit position.

[0188] As a result, the robot 100 can sequentially exit from the designated area 50 based on the situation information outside the designated area 50.

[0189] The situation information outside the designated area 50 may include the congestion level of the area outside the designated area 50, that is, the area near the exit position. For example, when the congestion level of the area near the exit position is less than a predetermined value (for example, the number of obstacles such as robots and humans is less than a predetermined value), the robot control system 120 may allow the robot to exit from the designated area 50. That is, when the situation information indicates that the robot can exit from the designated area 50, the robot control system 120 may permit the robot to escape from the designated area 50.

[0190] The robot control system 120 may generate situation information based on at least one of the position information of each monitored robot, the position information of each monitored human, the indoor map of the space 10 used for the robot's path planning, and the video information obtained from the CCTV installed in the space 10. For example, the robot control system 120 may analyze the video from the CCTV that captures the area near the exit position to calculate the congestion level of the area, and use the calculated congestion level as the situation information.

[0191] As described above, since the technical features described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 and FIGS. 9 to 14 can also be directly applied to FIG. 8, duplicate descriptions are omitted.

[0192] The above-described system or apparatus may be implemented by hardware components, software components, or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the devices and components described in the embodiments may be implemented using one or more general-purpose computers or special-purpose computers, such as, for example, a processor, a controller, an ALU (arithmetic logic unit), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, an FPGA (field programmable gate array), a PLU (programmable logic unit), a microprocessor, or various devices capable of executing instructions and responding. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the OS. Further, the processing device may access data, record, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to the execution of the software. For the sake of convenience of understanding, although it may be described as using one processing device, those skilled in the art will understand that the processing device may include a plurality of processing elements and / or a plurality of types of processing elements. For example, the processing device may include a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. Also, other processing configurations, such as parallel processors, are possible.

[0193] The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, and may configure the processing device to operate as desired or instruct the processing device independently or collectively. The software and / or data may be embodied in any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual device (virtual equipmet), computer recording medium, or device for interpreting by the processing device or providing instructions or data to the processing device. The software may be distributed over a computer system connected by a network and recorded or executed in a distributed state. The software and data may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media.

[0194] The method according to the embodiment may be realized in the form of program instructions executable by various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specially designed for the embodiment or those usable and known to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy (registered trademark) disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and hardware devices specially configured to record and execute program instructions such as ROMs, RAMs, flash memories, etc. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language codes such as those generated by compilers but also high-level language codes executable by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

[0195] As described above, the embodiments have been described based on limited embodiments and drawings. However, those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications and variations from the above description. For example, even if the described technology is executed in an order different from the described method, and / or the components of the described system, structure, device, circuit, etc. are combined or combined in a form different from the described method, or opposed or replaced by other components or equivalents, appropriate results can be achieved.

[0196] Therefore, even if they are different embodiments, as long as they are equivalent to the scope of the claims, they belong to the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A robot control method executed by a robot control system for controlling a plurality of robots moving in a space, comprising: identifying a designated area where passage of the robots is required; for a first robot among the plurality of robots that enters the designated area, i) controlling the first robot by the robot control system to pass through the designated area via a first point defined within the designated area; or ii) triggering a designated area travel mode of the first robot and controlling the first robot to pass through the designated area in the designated area travel mode; and controlling each of the plurality of robots such that each robot that enters the designated area after the first robot passes through the designated area in sequence. The first point is a point defined within the designated area that is located next to a point occupied by another robot or is the farthest point from an entry area. The step of controlling each robot includes: identifying that a second robot is located in the entry area next to the first robot among the plurality of robots; and controlling the second robot to move to a second point that is located next to the first point occupied by the first robot among the points defined within the designated area. The first point and the second point are dynamically defined within the designated area. The second point is separated from the first point by a distance determined based on the attribute information of the first robot and / or the second robot. The attribute information of the first robot and / or the second robot includes one or more of the size of the first robot and / or the second robot, the risk level of the service provided, the size of the required space, and the size of the package being delivered.

2. The designated area is a section within the space where each of the plurality of robots is required to pass through in a line in sequence. The robot control method according to claim 1.

3. The step of controlling the first robot includes: identifying that the first robot is located in the entry area of the designated area; and controlling the first robot to move to the first point. The robot control method according to claim 1.

4. The step of controlling each robot includes: ​ ​ When the first robot ceases to occupy the first point by moving within the specified area, controlling the second robot to move to the first point The robot control method according to claim 3, comprising this step

5. The step of controlling the first robot to move to the first point includes Assigning the first point to the first robot as an available point for the first robot among the points defined within the specified area, and Controlling the first robot to move to the assigned first point including The step of controlling the second robot to move to the second point includes Assigning the second point to the second robot as an available point for the second robot among the points defined within the specified area, and Controlling the second robot to move to the assigned second point including The step of controlling the second robot to move to the first point includes Assigning the first point to the second robot as an available point for the second robot among the points defined within the specified area, and Controlling the second robot to move to the assigned first point The robot control method according to claim 4, comprising this step

6. The first point and the second point are points predefined within the specified area, Further including the step of obtaining occupancy information indicating whether each of the points is occupied by the plurality of robots including The assignment of available points for the first robot and the second robot is performed based on the occupancy information The robot control method according to claim 5

7. The first robot is the robot that first enters the entry area among the plurality of robots, The first point is the point farthest from the entry area among the points defined within the specified area, The second point is the point second farthest from the entry area among the points defined within the specified area after the first point The robot control method according to claim 3

8. The step of controlling the first robot includes Based on the situation information outside the specified area, controlling the first robot to exit the specified area from the exit position of the specified area including The second robot that enters the specified area after the first robot is controlled to move to the position occupied by the first robot, and then is controlled to exit the specified area from the exit position based on the situation information. The robot control method according to claim 1.

9. The step of controlling the first robot includes: identifying that the first robot is located in the entry area of the specified area, and triggering the specified area driving mode of the first robot and includes In the specified area driving mode, when there is no other robot in the specified area, the first robot is controlled to directly move to the exit position of the specified area, when there is another robot in the specified area, the first robot is controlled to move to a position separated from the other robot in the specified area by a predetermined distance. The robot control method according to claim 1.

10. The step of controlling the first robot includes: when the first robot reaches the exit position of the specified area, releasing the specified area driving mode The robot control method according to claim 9, including.

11. The step of controlling each robot includes: identifying that the second robot is located in the entry area next to the first robot among the plurality of robots, and triggering the specified area driving mode of the second robot and includes In the specified area driving mode, when the first robot exists in the specified area, the second robot is controlled to move to a position separated from the first robot by a predetermined distance, but is controlled to move to the space in the specified area generated by the movement of the first robot in the specified area. The robot control method according to claim 9.

12. In the specified area driving mode, the first robot identifies another robot that is moving ahead in the specified area without receiving an instruction for controlling the first robot from the robot control system, moves to a position separated from the identified other robot by a predetermined distance, and is controlled to move to the exit position according to the movement of the identified other robot. The robot control method according to claim 9.

13. A computer program recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for causing a robot control system, which is a computer system, to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a robot control system, which is a computer system, to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is recorded.

15. A robot control system for controlling a plurality of robots moving in a space, including at least one processor implemented to execute computer-readable instructions and the at least one processor identifies a specified area through which the robots need to pass, and for a first robot among the plurality of robots that enters the specified area, i) controls the first robot by the robot control system to pass through the specified area via a first point defined within the specified area, or ii) triggers a specified area travel mode of the first robot and controls the first robot to pass through the specified area in the specified area travel mode, and controls each of the robots among the plurality of robots that enter the specified area after the first robot to sequentially pass through the specified area, wherein the first point is a point among the points defined within the specified area that is located next to a point occupied by another robot or is the point farthest from the entry area, controlling each of the robots includes identifying that a second robot among the plurality of robots is located in the entry area after the first robot, and controlling the second robot to move to a second point located next to the first point occupied by the first robot among the points defined within the specified area, and the first point and the second point are dynamically defined within the specified area, the second point is separated from the first point by a distance determined based on the attribute information of the first robot and / or the second robot, and the attribute information of the first robot and the second robot includes one or more of the size of the first robot and / or the second robot, the risk level of the service provided, the size of the required space, and the size of the package being delivered, a robot control system.

16. A method for controlling a robot that moves within a space to provide a service, comprising: moving to an entry area of a designated area where passage of the robot is required according to control from a robot control system that controls a plurality of robots including the robot; changing the autonomous driving mode of the robot to a designated area driving mode according to a trigger from the robot control system; determining whether there is another robot that is already moving within the designated area; when there is no other robot within the designated area, moving directly to the exit position of the designated area, but when there is another robot, moving to a position separated from the other robot by a first distance; when there is another robot, moving toward the exit position of the designated area by moving into the space within the designated area generated by the movement of the other robot; and when reaching the exit position, changing the designated area driving mode to the autonomous driving mode according to control by the robot control system. The method includes: the first distance is dynamically defined within the designated area; the first distance is determined based on the attribute information of the robot and / or the other robot, and the attribute information of the robot and the other robot includes one or more of the size of the robot and / or the other robot, the risk level of the service provided, the size of the required space, and the size of the package being delivered. A robot control method.

17. A system, comprising: a plurality of robots that travel within a building to provide a service; a robot control system that controls the robots; The system includes: the robot control system includes: at least one processor implemented to execute computer-readable instructions The system includes: the at least one processor includes: Identify a designated area that requires the passage of the robot, and for the first robot among the plurality of robots that enters the designated area, i) control the first robot by the robot control system to pass through the designated area via a first point defined within the designated area, or ii) trigger the designated area driving mode of the first robot and control the first robot to pass through the designated area in the designated area driving mode, and control each of the robots among the plurality of robots to sequentially pass through the designated area after the first robot enters the designated area. The first point is a point among the points defined within the designated area that is located next to the point occupied by another robot or the farthest point from the entry area. Controlling each of the robots includes: Identifying that a second robot among the plurality of robots is located in the entry area next to the first robot, and Controlling the second robot to move to a second point located next to the first point occupied by the first robot among the points defined within the designated area. including The first point and the second point are dynamically defined within the designated area. The second point is separated from the first point by a distance determined based on the attribute information of the first robot and / or the second robot, and the attribute information of the first robot and the second robot includes one or more of the size of the first robot and / or the second robot, the risk level of the service provided, the size of the required space, and the size of the package being delivered. System.

18. A system comprising: A plurality of robots that travel within a building to provide services; A robot control system that controls the robots; including Each of the plurality of robots Moves to the entry area of the designated area according to the control by the robot control system, Changes the autonomous driving mode of the robot to the designated area driving mode according to the trigger by the robot control system, Determines whether there is another robot ahead within the designated area, If there is no other robot within the designated area, it moves directly to the exit position of the designated area, but if there is another robot, it moves to a position separated from the other robot by a first distance. ​ When the other robot exists, move toward the exit position of the specified area by moving to the space within the specified area generated by the movement of the other robot, When reaching the exit position, change the specified area driving mode to the autonomous driving mode according to the control by the robot control system, The first distance is dynamically defined within the specified area, The first distance is determined based on the attribute information of the robot and / or the other robot, and the attribute information of the robot and the other robot includes one or more of the size of the robot and / or the other robot, the risk level of the service provided, the size of the required space, and the size of the package being delivered. System.

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