Motion trajectory evaluation device and motion trajectory evaluation method

The evaluation device calculates vectors for the robot hand's movement and attention areas to alert workers to potential risks, effectively reducing hazards around the robot.

JP7768904B2Active Publication Date: 2025-11-12YAMAHA MOTOR CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2022576291
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-01-21
Publication Date
2025-11-12
Estimated Expiration
2041-01-21

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Workers need to pay attention to the movement trajectory of a robot hand when working around it, as the robot hand and the workpiece move during tasks, posing potential risks.

Method used

An evaluation device and method that calculates vectors indicating the movement direction and attention areas of the robot hand, determining an evaluation value based on these vectors to alert workers to potential risks.

Benefits of technology

Evaluates the motion trajectory of the robot hand, allowing workers to be alerted to potential dangers, thereby reducing risks by alerting workers to potential hazards.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Patent Text Reader

Abstract

An evaluation device 200 for a motion trajectory W of a robot hand 50, the evaluation device being provided with a calculation unit 210 and a storage unit 250, wherein: the storage unit 250 stores at least data of a site of interest of the robot hand 50 and / or a site of interest of a workpiece 20 held by the robot hand and data of the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50; and the calculation unit 210 calculates a first vector A1 indicating the motion direction of the robot hand 50 on the basis of the data of the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50, calculates a second vector A2 extending from the center of the robot hand 50 toward the site of interest on the basis of the data of the site of interest, and calculates an evaluation value B of the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50 on the basis of the first vector A1 and the second vector A2.
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a technology for evaluating the motion trajectory of a robot hand. [Background technology]

[0002] One type of industrial robot is a collaborative robot that works in cooperation with a worker to perform a predetermined task. Prior art related to collaborative robots is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-197790 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-192556 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When working around a robot, the robot hand and the workpiece held by it move during the work, so the worker needs to pay attention to the movement trajectory of the robot hand. The technology disclosed in this specification aims to provide an evaluation device and an evaluation method for evaluating the motion trajectory of a robot hand in order to alert workers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The technology disclosed in this specification is an apparatus for evaluating the motion trajectory of a robot hand, which includes a calculation unit and a memory unit, wherein the memory unit stores at least data on at least one of an attention area of ​​the robot hand or an attention area of ​​a workpiece held by the robot hand, and data on the motion trajectory of the robot hand, and the calculation unit calculates a first vector indicating the movement direction of the robot hand based on the data on the motion trajectory of the robot hand, calculates a second vector indicating the direction of the attention area with the center of the robot hand as the starting point based on the data on the attention area, and calculates an evaluation value of the motion trajectory of the robot hand based on the first vector and the second vector.

[0006] In this configuration, by evaluating the movement trajectory of the robot hand, it is possible to alert workers working around the robot, for example.

[0007] In one embodiment of the evaluation device disclosed in this specification, the magnitude of the first vector may be constant and independent of the attention area, and the magnitude of the second vector may be larger as the attention level of the attention area increases. The attention level may be determined based on the shape, material, or temperature of the attention area, or a combination of these. With this configuration, the movement trajectory of the robot hand can be evaluated taking into account the attention level of the attention area.

[0008] In one embodiment of the evaluation device disclosed in this specification, the evaluation value may be an inner product of the first vector and the second vector. With this configuration, the motion trajectory of the robot hand can be evaluated based on the relationship between the moving direction of the robot hand and the direction of the attention part.

[0009] In one embodiment of the evaluation device disclosed in this specification, the evaluation value may be a product of the dot product of the first vector and the second vector and the moving speed of the robot hand. With this configuration, the motion trajectory of the robot hand can be evaluated taking the moving speed of the robot hand into consideration.

[0010] In one embodiment of the evaluation device disclosed in this specification, the calculation unit may automatically correct the movement speed of the robot hand so that the evaluation value is equal to or less than a threshold. In this configuration, the evaluation value can be kept equal to or less than the threshold, thereby reducing the risk to workers working around the robot.

[0011] In one embodiment of the evaluation device disclosed in this specification, the evaluation result of the movement trajectory may be displayed on a display unit. By displaying the evaluation result, it is possible to alert workers working around the robot. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] This technology makes it possible to evaluate the motion trajectory of a robot hand, which can then be used to warn workers working around the robot. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] Side view of a working robot [Figure 2] Perspective view of a robot hand [Figure 3] Block diagram of a work robot [Figure 4] Evaluation device block diagram [Figure 5] A perspective view showing the motion trajectory of the robot hand [Figure 6] Plan view showing the motion trajectory of the robot hand [Figure 7] Illustrative diagram of the evaluation method for motion trajectory [Figure 8] Diagram showing the evaluation criteria for motion trajectories [Figure 9] Figure showing the evaluation results of the motion trajectory [Figure 10] An example of the evaluation results [Figure 11] Motion trajectory evaluation sequence [Figure 12] S50 subroutine [Figure 13] An example of the evaluation results [Figure 14] Perspective view of a work robot [Figure 15] Illustration of areas of caution [Figure 16] Illustration of areas of caution [Figure 17] Side view of a working robot DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] <Embodiment 1> 1. Description of the Working Robot 30 and Evaluation Device 200 The working robot 30 performs predetermined tasks such as processing and assembling the workpiece 20, which is the object to be worked on. The working robot 30 may be a collaborative robot that works in cooperation with a worker to perform predetermined tasks, or may be a robot that performs tasks independently.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, working robot 30 is a vertical articulated robot made up of a base unit 31, a swivel body 35, and an arm mechanism 41. In Fig. 1, the up-down direction is the Z direction. Two directions perpendicular to the Z direction are the X direction and the Y direction. This is also true for other figures.

[0016] The swivel body 35 is attached to the base part 31 via a shaft part 33. The swivel body 35 is capable of swiveling around the shaft part 33 in the circumferential direction (R direction).

[0017] The arm mechanism 41 is attached to the rotating body 35. The arm mechanism 41 is composed of a first arm 42, a second arm 43, and a third arm 44, and each of the arms 42 to 44 can operate independently (can rotate around the motor shaft).

[0018] 2, a robot hand 50 is attached to the tip of the third arm 44. The robot hand 50 has a cylindrical cylinder portion 51 and a pair of clamp pieces 52, 53 facing each other.

[0019] The pair of clamp pieces 52, 53 can be opened and closed by air drive to hold the workpiece 20. Specifically, the workpiece 20 can be held so that the reference point of the workpiece 20 coincides with the hand center P. The reference point of the workpiece 20 may also be the center of the workpiece.

[0020] Teaching device 150 is a device that remotely controls working robot 30 and teaches working robot 30 how to operate by actually performing tasks such as moving workpiece 20.

[0021] 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of working robot 30. Working robot 30 is equipped with a controller 81, a memory unit 83, and drive motors M1 to M4.

[0022] The drive motor M1 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 33. The drive motors M2 to M4 are incorporated into the joints of the arms 42 to 44. The drive motors M1 to M4 are equipped with position sensors S1 to S4, which can detect the rotation angle of the motor shaft.

[0023] Storage unit 83 stores a control program PX for working robot 30. The control program PX is a program that controls the rotation angle and rotation speed of each of motors M1 to M4.

[0024] Controller 81 controls each of drive motors M1 to M4 in accordance with control program PX, causing working robot 30 to perform a predetermined task, such as moving workpiece 20.

[0025] 4 is a block diagram of evaluation device 200. Evaluation device 200 includes a calculation unit 210 configured with a CPU or the like, a connection unit 220, an input unit 230, a display unit 240, and a memory unit 250. Evaluation device 200 can be connected to work robot 30 via connection unit 220. Evaluation device 200 may be, for example, a laptop computer.

[0026] The evaluation device 200 is a device that evaluates the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50, and the storage unit 250 stores an evaluation program PY that evaluates the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50. The storage unit 250 also stores data necessary for evaluating the motion trajectory W.

[0027] The data required for evaluating the movement trajectory W includes the following data (a) to (c). In addition to these, data on the movement speed V of the robot hand 50 may also be included. If there are areas of attention on both the robot hand 50 and the workpiece 20, (c) may be data on each of the areas of attention.

[0028] (a) Data on the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50 (b) Data of the robot hand 50 and the workpiece 20 (c) Data on the robot hand 50 or the workpiece 20 attentive area

[0029] 2. Evaluation method for movement trajectory W The evaluation device 200 calculates an evaluation value B of the movement trajectory W based on the first vector A1 and the second vector A2.

[0030] 5 and 6 show an example of the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50. "P1" to "P4" are the centers of the robot hand 50. The robot hand 50 holding the workpiece 20 moves along the motion trajectory W of "P1" ⇒ "P2" ⇒ "P3" ⇒ "P4".

[0031] Workpiece 20 is elongated in one direction, and has triangular protrusions 21 and 22 on both sides. Also, "O" shown in Figure 6 is the center of working robot 30 (the center of shaft 33).

[0032] The first vector A1 is a vector that indicates the movement direction of the robot hand 50. When the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50 is made up of a plurality of successive motions, the first vector A1 is calculated for each motion.

[0033] In the above case, the motion trajectory W is composed of a first motion in which the robot hand 50 moves from "P1" to "P2", a second motion in which the robot hand 50 moves from "P2" to "P3", and a third motion in which the robot hand 50 moves from "P3" to "P4". In the first operation in which the robot hand 50 moves from "P1" to "P2," the first vector A1 is a vector that starts at "P1" and points toward the next point "P2." In other words, it is a vector in the direction of the line L1 that connects the two points P1 and P2.

[0034] In the second operation in which the robot hand 50 moves from "P2" to "P3," the first vector A1 is a vector that starts at "P2" and points toward the next point, "P3." In other words, it is a vector in the direction of the line L2 that connects the two points P2 and P3.

[0035] Furthermore, in the third motion in which the robot hand 50 moves from "P3" to "P4," the first vector A1 is a vector that starts at "P3" and points toward the next point, "P4." In other words, it is a vector in the direction of the line L3 that connects the two points P3 and P4. In this way, the direction of the first vector A1 changes depending on each motion of the robot hand 50.

[0036] The second vector A2 is a vector indicating the direction of the attention portion of the robot hand 50 or the attention portion of the workpiece 20 held by the robot hand 50.

[0037] The caution area may be determined by the operator based on the shapes of the robot hand 50 and the workpiece 20. Alternatively, the caution area may be determined automatically by a computer.

[0038] In this example, of the protrusions 21, 22 on both sides of the workpiece, one (right) protrusion 21 has a sharper shape than the other (left) protrusion 22. Therefore, the tip M of one protrusion 21 is designated as a caution area 25 (see FIG. 7).

[0039] The second vector A2 can be calculated based on data on the attention area 25. Specifically, the direction of the second vector A2 is a direction from the center P of the robot hand 50 as the starting point toward the attention area 25.

[0040] In this example, since the tip M of the workpiece 20 is the attention area 25, the second vector A2 is a vector that starts from the center P of the robot hand 50 and points toward the tip M of the workpiece 20 held by the hand 50. In other words, it is a vector in the direction of the straight line PM that connects the center P of the robot hand 50 and the tip M of the workpiece 20 (see FIG. 7).

[0041] The magnitude (length) of the first vector A1 is constant and does not depend on the degree of attention of the attention area 25. The magnitude (length) of the second vector A2 increases as the level of attention of the attention area 25 increases.

[0042] The level of caution can be determined by the shape of the caution area 25. For example, the sharper the shape of the caution area 25, the higher the level of caution. The level of caution can be set in three stages, for example, "high," "medium," and "low." The level of caution may be determined by the worker based on predetermined evaluation criteria, or may be determined automatically by a computer. The level of caution is not limited to three stages, but may also be set in two or four stages.

[0043] The evaluation value B of the motion trajectory W is the dot product of the first vector A1 and the second vector A2, and can be calculated from equation (1). The symbol "·" indicates the dot product.

[0044] B=A1·A2=|A1||A2|COSθ···(1) formula |A1| is the magnitude of the first vector, |A2| is the magnitude of the second vector, and "θ" is the angle between the two vectors A1 and A2 (Figure 7: angle between them).

[0045] The evaluation value B obtained by equation (1) is larger as the degree of attention of the attention portion 25 is higher and as the angle θ between the two vectors A1 and A2 is smaller.

[0046] As the degree of attention of the attention part 25 is higher, and the angle θ between the two vectors A1 and A2 is smaller, the operator needs to pay more attention to the movement of the robot hand 50 and the movement of the workpiece 20 held by it. Therefore, when working around the robot, the larger the evaluation value B is, the higher the risk is, and the operator needs to pay attention. Also, the smaller the evaluation value B is, the lower the risk is, and the need to pay attention is small. Thus, using the evaluation value B, the movement trajectory W of the robot hand 50 can be evaluated. That is, for the operator working around the robot, the risk of the movement of the robot hand 50 can be evaluated.

[0047] In addition, when the angle θ is small, the reason for the need for attention is that when the angle θ is small, the moving direction of the robot hand 50 and the direction of the attention part 25 of the workpiece 20 are in a state of almost coincidence. Therefore, if the operator is in the moving direction of the robot hand 50, the attention part 25 will move towards the operator.

[0048] In this embodiment, since the movement trajectory W of the robot hand 50 is composed of a first movement from P1 to P2, a second movement from P2 to P3, and a third movement from P3 to P4, for each of these movements, the evaluation value B is calculated respectively.

[0049] As shown in equation (2), since the angle θ between the two vectors A1 and A2 is small in the order of the first movement, the second movement, and the third movement, the evaluation values B1 to B3 are large in the order of the evaluation value B1 of the first movement, the evaluation value B2 of the second movement, and the evaluation value B3 of the third movement, as shown in equation (3).

[0050] θ1 < θ2 < θ3 ··· (2) formula B3 < B2 < B1 ··· (3) formula

[0051] Therefore, in the order of the first movement, the second movement, and the third movement where the evaluation value B is the largest, the risk is high, and the operator needs to pay attention.

[0052] In this example, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, the evaluation value B is compared with thresholds K1 and K2, and the motion trajectory W is evaluated by ranking it into three levels: "small," "medium," and "large." The ranking is not limited to three levels, but may be two levels: "small" and "large." It may also be four or more levels.

[0053] Fig. 10 is a display example of the evaluation results of the movement trajectory W. The evaluation results can be displayed on the display unit 240 of the evaluation device 200. "O" shown in Fig. 10 is the center of the working robot 30 (center of the shaft 33). In this example, the movement trajectory W of the robot hand 50 is represented using a first vector A1.

[0054] That is, the first action from P1 to P2, the second action from P2 to P3, and the third action from P3 to P4 are represented using three first vectors A11, A12, and A13. The first vectors A11 to A13 are displayed in different colors depending on the rank of the evaluation value B.

[0055] For example, if the evaluation value B is "large", the display color is "red", if the evaluation value B is "medium", the display color is "yellow", and if the evaluation value B is "small", the display color is "blue".

[0056] In this example, the evaluation value B1 of the first action is "large," so the first vector A11 of the first action is displayed in "red." The evaluation value B2 of the second action is "medium," and the evaluation value B3 of the third action is "small," so the first vector A12 of the second action is displayed in "yellow," and the first vector A13 of the third action is displayed in "blue."

[0057] In this way, by changing the display color of the first vectors A11 to A13 that represent each movement of the robot hand 50, it is possible to present to the worker the evaluation result of each movement of the robot hand 50. In other words, the display color of the first vectors A11 to A13 can present the degree of risk of each movement (red: high risk, blue: low risk).

[0058] Next, the evaluation sequence for the movement trajectory W will be described (see FIG. 11). The evaluation sequence is made up of seven steps S10 to S70, and is executed before the working robot 30 starts work.

[0059] First, in S10, the worker registers data of the robot hand 50 and the workpiece 20 in the evaluation device 200.

[0060] The data of the robot hand 50 includes data on the external shape of the robot hand 50 and the coordinates of the center P. The center P may be the center of the cylinder part 51. The data of the workpiece 20 includes data on the external shape of the workpiece 20 and the reference point (center coordinates). Data can be registered using predetermined application software. The registered data of the robot hand 50 and workpiece 20 is stored in the memory part 250.

[0061] Thereafter, in S20, the worker determines whether there are any parts of the robot hand 50 and the workpiece 20 that require attention, based on the data of the robot hand 50 and the workpiece 20 registered in S10.

[0062] When there is a part that is considered to require attention, the worker uses the input unit 230 to register the attention part 25 in the evaluation device 200. For example, when it is considered that attention is required for a protrusion 21 of the workpiece 20, the worker inputs the protrusion 21 as the attention part 25 and stores it in the storage unit 250. Specifically, the position information (coordinates) of the protrusion 21 on the workpiece 20 is stored as the position information of the attention part 25.

[0063] The worker also inputs and registers the caution level of the caution area 25 along with the caution area 25. The caution level can be determined based on the shape of the caution area 25. The sharper the shape of the caution area 25, the higher the caution level is set. In this example, the caution level is set in three stages, such as "high," "medium," and "low." Information on the caution level is stored in the memory unit 250.

[0064] Thereafter, in S30, the worker teaches the working robot 30 how to operate the robot hand 50. The worker remotely controls the working robot 30 using the teaching device 150 and actually has the working robot 30 perform a task such as moving the workpiece 20.

[0065] Control data (control program PX) for working robot 30 is obtained by teaching operations to working robot 30. The control data is data on the axis values ​​and rotational speeds of each of motors M1 to M4 for executing the taught operations.

[0066] In S40, the worker reads the control data for the working robot 30 from the controller 81. Once the control data has been read, the calculation unit 210 generates data for the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50 from the read control data, data for the arm mechanism 40, data for the robot hand 50, etc.

[0067] The data of the motion trajectory W is coordinate data of the center points P1 to P4 along which the robot hand 50 moves, and is stored in the storage unit 250.

[0068] In S50, the calculation unit 210 of the evaluation device 200 calculates an evaluation value B of the movement trajectory W. If the movement trajectory W is made up of a plurality of consecutive movements, an evaluation value B is calculated for each movement.

[0069] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50 is composed of three consecutive motions, namely, the first motion of moving from P1 to P2, the second motion of moving from P2 to P3, and the third motion of moving from P3 to P4, and an evaluation value B is calculated for each of these motions.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 12, the evaluation value B can be calculated through three steps: S51, S53, and S55.

[0071] S51 is a step of calculating a first vector A1. In S51, the calculation unit 210 reads out data of the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50 from the storage unit 250. Then, based on the data of each motion of the read motion trajectory W, the calculation unit 210 calculates a first vector A1 of each motion.

[0072] S53 is a step of calculating the second vector A2. In S53, the calculation unit 210 reads out the data of the attention region 25 from the storage unit 250, and calculates the second vector A2 based on the read out data of the attention region 25.

[0073] S55 is a step of calculating the dot product of the first vector A1 calculated in S51 and the second vector A2 calculated in S53. The dot product can be calculated using the above-mentioned formula (1). The calculation unit 210 performs the calculation of S55 for each movement of the robot hand 50. As a result, an evaluation value B for each movement is obtained.

[0074] Thereafter, the process proceeds to S60, where the calculation unit 210 compares the evaluation values ​​B1 to B3 of each action with thresholds K1 and K2 to rank them (see FIG. 9).

[0075] Thereafter, the process proceeds to S70, where the calculation unit 210 displays the evaluation result of the movement trajectory W on the display unit 240. For example, as shown in Fig. 10, the display color of each of the first vectors A11 to A13 is changed according to the rank of the evaluation values ​​B1 to B3 of each movement.

[0076] The evaluation device 200 is detachable from the working robot 30, and after displaying the evaluation results, it can be removed and used for work.

[0077] 3.Effectiveness With this configuration, the presence or absence of risks around the robot can be notified to the worker in advance based on the evaluation results of the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50, and the worker can be alerted. This technology is effective for risk assessment of work around the working robot 30.

[0078] <Embodiment 2> In the first embodiment, the evaluation value B of the motion trajectory W is calculated by equation (1). In the second embodiment, the evaluation value B of the motion trajectory W is calculated by equation (4).

[0079] B=|A1||A2|COSθ×V···(4) formula V is the movement speed of the robot hand 50.

[0080] By including the movement speed V of the robot hand 50 in the calculation formula for the evaluation value B, it becomes possible to evaluate the motion trajectory W of the robot hand 50 taking the movement speed V into consideration.

[0081] Furthermore, when the moving speed V is used to calculate the evaluation value B, the moving speed V may be automatically corrected so that the evaluation value B is equal to or less than a threshold value K. The threshold value K is K1 or K2 described in the first embodiment (see FIG. 8).

[0082] For example, if the "evaluation value B" is greater than the "threshold value K2", the moving speed V may be automatically corrected to be slower than before correction so as to satisfy the formula (5).

[0083] K2≧|A1||A2|COSθ×V···(5) formula

[0084] By correcting the movement speed V, the evaluation value B can be set to "K2" or less, thereby reducing the risk to workers working around the robot. It is advisable to correct the movement speed V for each movement of the working robot 30.

[0085] <Embodiment 3> The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the method of displaying the evaluation results of the motion trajectory W. Figure 13 is a display example of the evaluation results of the movement trajectory W. "O" shown in Figure 13 is the center of the working robot 30 (the center of the shaft 33). In this example, the periphery of the working robot 30 is divided into four working areas S1 to S4, and the evaluation results of the movement trajectory W are displayed for each of the areas S1 to S4.

[0086] For example, in the case of area S4, the evaluation value B1 of the first movement included in area S4 is set as the evaluation value B1 of the movement trajectory W of area S4. In the display example of Fig. 10, the evaluation value B of the movement trajectory W for each of areas S1 to S4 is shown as text information such as "large," "medium," or "small."

[0087] When a plurality of movements are included in the same region S, the largest evaluation value B among the evaluation values ​​B of the movements may be set as the evaluation value B of the movement trajectory W of the region S.

[0088] By displaying the evaluation value B for each area S1 to S4, it is possible to provide information to help determine whether there is a risk in the work areas S1 to S4 that may be entered or exited during work, and whether caution is required.

[0089] 13, the first vectors A11 to A13 may be displayed in addition to the evaluation results of the regions S1 to S4. As in the first embodiment, the display colors of the first vectors A11 to A13 may be changed according to the "evaluation value B."

[0090] Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and alterations of the specific examples exemplified above.

[0091] (1) In the first embodiment, a vertical articulated robot 30 is illustrated as an example of a working robot. The working robot is not limited to a vertical articulated robot. For example, a SCARA robot (horizontal articulated robot) 300 shown in FIG. 14 may also be used.

[0092] (2) In the first embodiment, a chuck-type holding structure is exemplified as a structure for holding the workpiece 20 by the robot hand 50, but a holding structure using negative pressure may also be used.

[0093] (3) In the first embodiment, the evaluation results of the movement trajectory (specifically, the evaluation values ​​B1 to B3) are displayed on the display unit 240 to alert the worker to the work. The method of utilizing the evaluation results is not limited to display. An alarm sound may also be sounded. For example, a buzzer may be sounded to alert the worker during the first movement with a large evaluation value B.

[0094] (4) In the first embodiment, the tip of the protrusion 21 on the right side of the workpiece 20 is designated as the attention area, but there may be multiple attention areas. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the tips of the protrusions 21, 22 on both sides of the workpiece 20 may be designated as attention areas 25A, 25B, respectively. "A2a" is the second vector of attention area 25A, and "A2b" is the second vector of attention area 25B. When there are multiple attention areas, an evaluation value B is calculated for each attention area for each movement. Then, the evaluation value B with the worst conditions, i.e., the largest value, may be used as the evaluation value B for that movement to evaluate the movement trajectory W.

[0095] (5) In the first embodiment, a part of the workpiece 20 is designated as the attention area 25, but a part of the robot hand 50 may also be designated as the attention area. For example, as shown in Fig. 16, both ends of the clamp pieces 52, 53 may be designated as attention areas 55A, 55B. "A2a" is the second vector of the attention area 55A, and "A2b" is the second vector of the attention area 55B.

[0096] The evaluation of the motion trajectory W is not limited to when the robot hand 50 moves while holding the workpiece 20, but can also be applied to when the robot hand 50 moves without holding the workpiece 20.

[0097] (6) In the first embodiment, the evaluation value B of the motion trajectory W is calculated using equation (1), and in the second embodiment, the evaluation value B of the motion trajectory W is calculated using equation (4). The evaluation value B may be calculated by any method other than equations (1) and (4) as long as it is calculated based on the first vector A1 and the second vector A2. For example, it may be calculated based only on the angle θ between the two vectors A1 and A2.

[0098] (7) In the first embodiment, the magnitude of the second vector A2 is determined depending on the degree of caution of the caution portion 25. However, similar to the first vector A1, the magnitude of the second vector A2 may be set to a constant value independent of the degree of caution.

[0099] (8) In the first embodiment, the "level of caution" is determined based on the shape of the caution area 25. The "level of caution" can be determined based on any one of the shape, material, and temperature of the caution area 25. It can also be determined based on a combination of these. When the shape is used as a determining factor, the sharper the shape of the caution area 25, the higher the level of caution. When the material is used as a determining factor, the harder the material of the caution area 25, the higher the level of caution. When the temperature is used as a determining factor, the higher the temperature of the caution area 25, the higher the level of caution.

[0100] (9) In the first embodiment, the first vector A1 and the second vector A2 are two-dimensional (XY) vectors, but the first vector A1 and the second vector A2 may be three-dimensional (XYZ) vectors.

[0101] (10) This technology can also be applied to a work robot 330 that moves using a transport device 310 such as an AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle), as shown in Fig. 17. The shape of the workpiece 20 is not limited to that disclosed in the embodiment, and may be another shape. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 20 Work 25 Caution areas 30 Work Robot 50 Robot Hand 200 Evaluation Device 210 Arithmetic section 240 Display section 250 Storage section A1 First Vector A2 Second Vector B Evaluation Value W motion trajectory

Claims

1. An apparatus for evaluating a motion trajectory of a robot hand, A calculation unit; a storage unit, the storage unit stores at least data on an important part of a workpiece held by the robot hand and data on a motion trajectory of the robot hand; The calculation unit calculating a first vector indicating a movement direction of the robot hand based on data of the motion trajectory of the robot hand; calculating a second vector indicating a direction of the attention area from a center of the robot hand as a starting point based on the data of the attention area; calculating an evaluation value of a motion trajectory of the robot hand based on the first vector and the second vector; The evaluation device displays the evaluation result of the motion trajectory on a display unit by changing the display color according to the rank of the evaluation value.

2. The evaluation device according to claim 1 , the magnitude of the first vector is constant and does not depend on the attention area; The magnitude of the second vector is larger as the degree of attention of the attention area is higher.

3. 3. The evaluation device according to claim 1 or 2, The evaluation device, wherein the evaluation value is an inner product of the first vector and the second vector.

4. 3. The evaluation device according to claim 1 or 2, The evaluation device, wherein the evaluation value is a product of the inner product of the first vector and the second vector and the moving speed of the robot hand.

5. The evaluation device according to claim 4, The calculation unit corrects the movement speed of the robot hand so that the evaluation value is equal to or less than a threshold value.

6. A method for evaluating a motion trajectory of a robot hand, comprising: calculating a first vector indicating a movement direction of the robot hand based on data of the motion trajectory of the robot hand; calculating a second vector from a center of the robot hand toward the attention area based on data of the attention area of ​​the workpiece held by the robot hand; calculating an evaluation value of a motion trajectory of the robot hand based on the first vector and the second vector; The evaluation method includes displaying the evaluation result of the motion trajectory on a display unit in a different display color depending on the rank of the evaluation value.

7. An apparatus for evaluating a motion trajectory of a robot hand, A calculation unit; a storage unit, the storage unit stores at least data on an important part of a workpiece held by the robot hand and data on a motion trajectory of the robot hand; The calculation unit calculating a first vector indicating a movement direction of the robot hand based on data of the motion trajectory of the robot hand; calculating a second vector indicating a direction of the attention area from a center of the robot hand as a starting point based on data of the attention area of ​​the workpiece held by the robot hand; calculating an evaluation value of a motion trajectory of the robot hand holding the workpiece based on an inner product of the first vector and the second vector; The evaluation device displays the evaluation result of the motion trajectory on a display unit by changing the display color according to the rank of the evaluation value.

8. An apparatus for evaluating a motion trajectory of a robot hand, A calculation unit; a storage unit, the storage unit stores at least data on an important part of a workpiece held by the robot hand and data on a motion trajectory of the robot hand; The calculation unit When the motion trajectory of the robot hand is composed of a plurality of consecutive motions, calculating a first vector indicating a moving direction of the robot hand for each of a plurality of consecutive movements based on data of the movement trajectory of the robot hand; calculating a second vector indicating a direction of the attention area from a center of the robot hand as a starting point based on the data of the attention area; calculating evaluation values ​​of a plurality of consecutive movements constituting the movement trajectory of the robot hand based on the dot product of the first vector and the second vector; The evaluation device displays the evaluation result of the motion trajectory on a display unit by changing the display color according to the rank of the evaluation value.

9. An apparatus for evaluating a motion trajectory of a robot hand, A calculation unit; a storage unit, the storage unit stores at least data on an important part of a workpiece held by the robot hand and data on a motion trajectory of the robot hand; The calculation unit calculating a first vector indicating a movement direction of the robot hand based on data of the motion trajectory of the robot hand; calculating a second vector indicating a direction of the attention area from a center of the robot hand as a starting point based on the data of the attention area; calculating an evaluation value of a motion trajectory of the robot hand based on the first vector and the second vector; The evaluation result of the motion trajectory is displayed on a display unit in a different display color depending on the rank of the evaluation value, the magnitude of the second vector is calculated according to the attention level of the attention area; The evaluation device determines the degree of caution of the caution area based on either one of the material or the temperature of the caution area, or a combination of the shape, material, and temperature of the caution area.

10. An apparatus for evaluating a motion trajectory of a robot hand, A calculation unit; a storage unit, the storage unit stores at least data on an important part of a workpiece held by the robot hand and data on a motion trajectory of the robot hand; The calculation unit calculating a first vector A1 indicating a movement direction of the robot hand based on data of the motion trajectory of the robot hand; calculating a second vector A2 indicating a direction of the attention area from the center of the robot hand as a starting point based on the data of the attention area; An evaluation value B of the motion trajectory of the robot hand is calculated by the vector calculation formula of the following formula (1) using an inner product, The evaluation device displays the evaluation result of the motion trajectory on a display unit in different colors depending on the rank of the evaluation value B. B=A1・A2=|A1||A2|COSθ...(1) "B" is the evaluation value of the motion trajectory, "A1" is the first vector, "A2" is the second vector, "·" is the symbol representing the dot product, "|A1|" is the magnitude of the first vector, "|A2|" is the magnitude of the second vector, and "θ" is the angle between the two vectors A1 and A2.

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