Automatic measurement system for objects to be measured

Abstract

To provide an automatic measurement system capable of automatically and accurately measuring an object to be measured that stops at an arbitrary position.SOLUTION: The automatic measurement system includes: a tracker mounted on an autonomous robot that moves around the outer circumference of a vehicle; a metrology scanner mounted on the autonomous robot via a robot arm; and a control unit that controls the creation of a virtual map, the tracker, and the metrology scanner. The system executes a virtual map generation step; a position setting step, a synchronous step, and a measurement step. The measurement step calculates the deviation amount by comparing the ideal stopping position of the metrology scanner set on the virtual map in the position setting step and the real stop position of the metrology scanner measured by radiating laser light from the tracker. When there is a discrepancy between the ideal stop position and the actual stop position, the position is corrected by two correction means of travel correction means that corrects the position with an autonomous robot mounted with a metrology scanner and arm correction means that corrects the position with the robot arm.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic measurement system for measuring gaps, steps, etc. of an object to be measured. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, gaps and steps between the body frame that constitutes the vehicle being measured and the components attached to the body frame have been measured by moving a measurement scanner along the gaps and steps between adjacent components.

[0003] This measurement work is performed manually, with the worker visually checking the gap between adjacent components, irradiating the gap with laser light from a measurement scanner, and receiving the reflected light.

[0004] Because the measurement work of measuring the gaps of the object to be measured is performed manually, it takes a long time to complete all the measurements if all the gaps and steps on the vehicle, which is the object to be measured, are measured. Furthermore, because the measurement work is performed manually, the measurement results are likely to vary depending on the skill level of the worker, and in order to obtain accurate measurement results, the worker needs training to improve their measurement accuracy. Furthermore, manual measurement is prone to variation in measurement results, even when performed by the same worker. While the measurement data can be used to determine whether the measured vehicle is manufactured within the set dimensional tolerances, it is difficult to identify trends in defective assembly from the accumulated measurement data.

[0005] As a means for solving such problems, an automatic measurement system has been disclosed that can automatically measure the body dimensions of a vehicle, which is the object to be measured (see Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic measurement system for an object, which includes a freely movable mobile platform, a robotic joint arm mounted and fixed on the mobile platform, a triangulation scanner fixed to the tip of the robotic joint arm, a laser tracker for adjusting the position of the mobile platform, and a target that serves as an index for the movement of the mobile platform.

[0006] The automatic measurement system in Patent Document 1 is configured so that a laser tracker can move around the vehicle using a target placed on the floor of the measurement environment as an index, and a triangulation scanner that moves using the laser tracker as a reference can move around the vehicle without coming into contact with the vehicle body, automatically measuring gaps and steps on the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2018-515774 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] In the automatic measurement system described in Patent Document 1, a vehicle is stopped at a predetermined position in a space where a target is installed. In particular, with a configuration in which the vehicle body is automatically measured by moving a laser tracker, which serves as a position reference, the following problems arise when measuring the installation accuracy of a vehicle.

[0009] A laser tracker is a position reference for a mobile platform that automatically measures vehicle body dimensions and is configured to move using targets installed on the floor as a reference. In such cases, the laser tracker irradiates laser light onto multiple targets installed on the floor and receives the reflected light, allowing the laser tracker to determine its own position. Therefore, the positional relationship between the vehicle and the targets is important so that the laser tracker can move around the vehicle without coming into contact with it and automatically stop at the set measurement reference position.

[0010] Specifically, a laser tracker measures the distance to a target placed on the floor by emitting infrared light and receiving the light reflected from the target. Therefore, if the emitted infrared light of the laser tracker is blocked by a stopped vehicle, there is a risk that the laser tracker will not be able to confirm its own location information, or that the accuracy of the confirmed location information will be reduced.

[0011] One possible solution to the above problem is to fix the target at a height where the laser light emitted from the laser tracker will not be blocked by the vehicle body. However, this solution may cause problems in measurement systems that measure the dimensions of vehicle bodies with complex shapes.

[0012] Specifically, the measurement scanner used in conventional measurement systems is fixed to the tip of a robotic articulated arm, and is configured to automatically measure dimensions by moving the robotic articulated arm along the measurement location. Therefore, when measuring the dimensions of a car body, it is necessary to ensure a movable area in which the robotic articulated arm can move freely.

[0013] If a target were to exist within the movable range of the robot articulated arm, the movement of the robot articulated arm would be hindered, making it impossible to measure the dimensions correctly, or the orientation of the installed target would change if the robot articulated arm came into contact with the target, making it impossible to move the laser tracker correctly and making it impossible to take accurate measurements.

[0014] Furthermore, when moving using a target, various measurements are made based on the target, so unless the vehicle is stopped precisely relative to the target, the stopping position of the laser tracker relative to the vehicle may shift, which could result in an error in the measurement results of the measurement scanner.

[0015] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an automatic measurement system that can automatically and accurately measure the alignment of a vehicle parked at any position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0016] A first aspect of the present invention is an automatic measurement system including an autonomous mobile robot that can move freely around the periphery of a vehicle, a tracker mounted on the autonomous mobile robot, a measurement scanner mounted on the autonomous mobile robot via a robot arm, and a control unit that measures a measurement space, creates a virtual map, and controls the tracker and the measurement scanner, the automatic measurement system including a virtual map generation step of generating a virtual map by running the autonomous mobile robot and mapping the measurement space, a position setting step of setting movement positions of the tracker and the measurement scanner on the virtual map generated in the virtual map generation step, and a vehicle stopping position of the generated virtual map and a vehicle stopping position of an actual vehicle stopped in the measurement space. This automatic measurement system for measuring objects has a synchronization process that synchronizes the actual measurement space with the virtual map by aligning the positions of the components attached to the vehicle body and the vehicle frame, and a measurement process that measures steps and gaps between the components attached to the vehicle body and the vehicle frame.The measurement process calculates the amount of deviation by comparing the ideal stop position of the measurement scanner set on the virtual map in the position setting process with the actual stop position of the measurement scanner measured by irradiating laser light from the tracker, and if there is a deviation between the ideal stop position and the actual stop position, the position is corrected by two correction means: a travel correction means that corrects the position using an autonomous traveling robot equipped with the measurement scanner, and an arm correction means that corrects the position using the robot arm.

[0017] A second aspect of the present invention is an automatic measurement system for measuring an object to be measured, characterized in that the arm correction means of the measurement process is equipped with an information conversion unit for converting into a bit signal the amount of deviation between the actual stop position of the measurement scanner measured by a tracker and the ideal stop position of the measurement scanner set on a virtual map.

[0018] A third aspect of the present invention is an automatic measurement system for an object to be measured, characterized in that in the measurement process, position data of the actual stop position and ideal stop position of a measurement scanner measured by a tracker is used as 6DOF information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic measurement system including an autonomous mobile robot that can move freely around the periphery of a vehicle, a tracker mounted on the autonomous mobile robot, a measurement scanner mounted on the autonomous mobile robot via a robot arm, and a control unit that measures a measurement space, creates a virtual map, and controls the tracker and the measurement scanner, the automatic measurement system including a virtual map generation step of creating a virtual map by moving the autonomous mobile robot and mapping the measurement space, a position setting step of setting movement positions of the tracker and the measurement scanner on the virtual map generated in the virtual map generation step, a synchronization step of synchronizing the actual measurement space and the virtual map by aligning the vehicle stop position on the generated virtual map with the vehicle stop position of an actual vehicle stopped in the measurement space, and a vehicle stop position setting step of synchronizing the actual measurement space and the virtual map. The method has a measurement process for measuring steps and gaps between components attached to the body and the vehicle frame. The measurement process compares the ideal stopping position of the measurement scanner set on the virtual map in the position setting process with the actual stopping position of the measurement scanner measured by irradiating laser light from the tracker to calculate the amount of deviation. If there is a deviation between the ideal stopping position and the actual stopping position, the position is corrected using two correction means: a driving correction means that corrects the position using an autonomous traveling robot equipped with the measurement scanner, and an arm correction means that corrects the position using a robot arm.This makes it possible to align not only the stopping position of the measurement scanner relative to the vehicle, but also the measurement starting point of the measurement scanner with the measurement target location on the vehicle, and enables accurate automatic measurement of steps and gaps between vehicle components. That is, by measuring the measurement space for measuring the installation of the vehicle and creating a virtual map, the stopping positions of the tracker, measurement scanner, and vehicle can be set arbitrarily on the virtual map, and gaps and steps between the components that make up the vehicle can be measured automatically, regardless of the measurement space. Furthermore, by correcting the position of the measurement scanner relative to the vehicle using two correction means, namely, the travel correction means and the arm correction means, the scan start position of the measurement scanner can be positioned at approximately the same location as the ideal stopping position, and steps and gaps between vehicle components can be measured accurately and automatically.

[0020] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the arm correction means of the measurement process is equipped with an information conversion unit for converting the amount of deviation between the actual stop position of the measurement scanner measured by the tracker and the ideal stop position set on the virtual map into a bit signal, so that the amount of deviation from the ideal stop position of the measurement scanner measured by the tracker can be accurately transmitted to the robot arm, and the measurement scanner can be reliably moved to the measurement start point.

[0021] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the measurement data of the ideal stopping position and actual stopping position of the measurement scanner measured using laser light emitted from the tracker is converted into 6DOF information, making it possible to reliably and automatically measure the object to be measured by taking into account not only the three-dimensional position information of the measurement scanner but also the measurement direction. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an autonomous mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tracker according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view showing a robot arm according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view showing a measurement scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a measurement flow of an automatic measurement system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the stopping positions of a tracker and a measurement scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention displayed on a virtual map. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for correcting the position of the measurement scanner according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a step diagram showing a procedure for calculating position correction information of the measurement scanner according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0024] In this embodiment, the automatic measurement system comprises a freely movable autonomous mobile robot 10, a laser tracker 20 mounted and fixed to one of the autonomous mobile robots 10 via a pedestal 21, a robot arm 30 mounted and fixed to the other autonomous mobile robot 10 via the pedestal 21, a measurement scanner 40 fixed to the tip of the robot arm 30, and a control unit 50 that controls a virtual map V that stores the stopping positions of the vehicle and the autonomous mobile robot 10, and the movement distance and movement angle of the measurement scanner 40.

[0025] As shown in Figure 1, the autonomous mobile robot 10 has a roughly box-shaped robot body 11, running units 12, 12 respectively provided at the left and right lower ends of the robot body 11, a laser scanner 13 provided at approximately the center in the vertical direction of the front end of the robot body 11, a laser sensor 14 installed below the laser scanner 13, an autonomous mobile robot control unit 15 that controls the autonomous mobile robot 10 stored in the robot body 11, and a data memory unit 16 for storing control information and various data for the autonomous mobile robot 10.

[0026] The robot body 11 is formed in a generally box-like shape with an opening at the bottom, and has a front surface 11a, a rear surface 11b, left and right side surfaces 11c and 11d, and a top surface 11e. The front surface 11a of the robot body 11 is formed in a generally arc-like shape that bulges forward in a plan view, and has an opening 11f that is generally rectangular in a front view at the approximately center of the top and bottom. That is, the front surface 11a is divided into two parts, an upper front surface 11a1 and a lower front surface 11a2, by the opening 11f. An insertion hole is drilled in the approximately center of the lower front surface 11a2. Furthermore, a front bumper 17 is disposed in front of the lower front surface 11a2.

[0027] The front bumper 17 has approximately the same shape as the front lower part 11a2 when viewed from the front, and has a constant thickness in the front-to-rear direction. A support rod 17a protrudes rearward from approximately the center of the back of the front bumper 17. The support rod 17a is inserted into an insertion hole drilled in the front lower part 11a2, and its tip is connected to the robot main body 11. In other words, the front bumper 17 is supported by the robot main body 11 at a certain distance forward from the front lower part 11a2, and is configured to be able to move backward by the distance separated from the front lower part 11a2.

[0028] As a result, when the front bumper 17 comes into contact with an obstacle, the support rod 17a supporting the front bumper 17 is pushed into the insertion hole. The robot body 11 detects that the robot body 11 has come into contact with an obstacle and stops when the support rod 17a is pushed into the inside of the robot body 11. In this way, the front bumper 17 functions as an emergency stop device in case of contact with an obstacle. The robot body 11 has running parts 12, 12 on the left and right side surfaces 11c, 11d, respectively.

[0029] The travel unit 12 has left and right wheels 12a, 12b for moving the autonomous mobile robot 10, and left and right encoders for controlling the rotation amount of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b. The left and right wheels 12a, 12b are arranged at approximately the center lower part in the front-to-rear direction of the left and right side surfaces 11c, 11d of the robot body 11. The left and right wheels 12a, 12b are journaled to the robot body 11 so that approximately one-quarter of the wheels protrude downward from the lower edges of the left and right side surfaces 11c, 11d. The left and right wheels 12a, 12b are of a two-wheel independent mechanism type that can be controlled so that they can rotate independently, and each wheel is connected to a left and right encoder, respectively.

[0030] The left and right encoders are connected to an autonomous mobile robot control unit 15 mounted on the robot body 11 and function to ensure that the autonomous mobile robot 10 moves reliably to its destination. Specifically, the autonomous mobile robot 10 is configured so that the rotational amounts of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b can be controlled by the left and right encoders. Therefore, if the rotational amounts of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b are the same, the autonomous mobile robot 10 moves straight. If the rotational amount of one of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b is less than the rotational amount of the other wheel, the autonomous mobile robot 10 can change its direction of travel toward the wheel with the smaller rotational amount. This allows the autonomous mobile robot 10 to change its direction of travel without rotating the left and right wheels 12a, 12b left or right. The left and right encoders can be various types, such as optical or magnetic encoders. Any type of encoder can be used as long as it can independently control the rotational amounts of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b.

[0031] By configuring the left and right wheels 12a, 12b in this manner, when the autonomous mobile robot 10 is traveling autonomously, the left and right wheels 12a, 12b do not protrude from the left and right side surfaces 11c, 11d of the robot main body 11. In other words, the autonomous mobile robot 10 can reliably travel to its destination by reducing as much as possible the risk of the robot main body 11 coming into contact with an obstacle that is in a range that cannot be detected by the laser scanner 13 and laser sensor 14 described below.

[0032] Furthermore, the autonomous mobile robot 10 stores the rotation amount of each of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b in a data storage unit 16 housed in the robot body 11. The rotation amount information of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b stored in the data storage unit 16 is transmitted to a control unit 50 that manages a virtual map V while the autonomous mobile robot 10 is moving. This allows the control unit 50 to estimate the self-position of the autonomous mobile robot 10 on the virtual map V.

[0033] A laser scanner 13 is disposed in the opening 11f of the robot body 11, and a laser sensor 14 is disposed in the lower front surface 11a2.

[0034] The laser scanner 13 is an object detection sensor that has a scanner function for mapping the measurement space and detecting obstacles when the autonomous mobile robot 10 is traveling.

[0035] The laser scanner 13 emits laser light at a certain angle, and measures the distance from the autonomous mobile robot 10 to an object by measuring the time from when the laser light starts to be emitted until it is reflected by the object and returns to the laser scanner 13.

[0036] The laser scanner 13 stores distance measurement information using laser light in the data storage unit 16 and completes the mapping of the measurement space by synchronizing it with information on the amount of rotation of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b stored in the data storage unit 16. The mapped information of the measurement space is converted into a virtual map V by the control unit 50. In other words, the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the laser scanner 13 can read obstacle information in the measurement space and easily map the read obstacle information onto the virtual map V simply by traveling through the measurement space.

[0037] Below the laser scanner 13 configured in this manner, that is, at the front lower portion 11 a 2 of the front bumper 17 , a laser sensor 14 is disposed. The laser sensor 14 is an object detection sensor for obstacle avoidance that detects low-lying obstacles. While traveling, the autonomous mobile robot 10 can detect obstacles placed on the floor surface using the laser sensor 14 and automatically stop or avoid the obstacle and move to its destination. In other words, by detecting an obstacle on the floor surface using the laser sensor 14, the autonomous mobile robot 10 reduces the risk of either the left or right wheel 12a, 12b of the traveling unit 12 running over the obstacle, causing the robot to lose balance and fall, and can reliably travel to its destination.

[0038] The information on the measurement space acquired by the laser scanner 13 and laser sensor 14 described above is recorded in the data storage unit 16 of the autonomous mobile robot 10, and then transmitted to the control unit 50 in which the virtual map V is saved. This allows the autonomous mobile robot 10 to estimate where it is located on the virtual map V.

[0039] One of the autonomous mobile robots 10 configured in this manner is equipped with a laser tracker 20, and the other autonomous mobile robot 10 is equipped with a robot arm 30 and a measurement scanner 40 connected to the tip of the robot arm 30.

[0040] (About Laser Tracker 20) As shown in FIG. 2, the laser tracker 20 has a base 21 mounted and fixed to the top surface 11e of the autonomous mobile robot 10 with fasteners such as bolts, and a tracker 22 mounted and fixed to the upper end surface of the base 21.

[0041] The base 21 is a hollow box having a substantially rectangular horizontal cross section, and has front and rear side surfaces 21a and 21b, left and right side surfaces 21c and 21d, and upper and lower side surfaces 21e and 21f. The base 21 has a tracker 22 standing upright in the substantially center of the top surface 21e.

[0042] The tracker 22 has a left-right rotating part 23 that is erected on the upper surface 21e of the base 21 so as to be rotatable horizontally, a tracker housing 24 that is connected to the left-right rotating part 23, and a tracker main body 25 that is journaled on the tracker housing 24 so as to be rotatable vertically.

[0043] The horizontal cross section of the left-right rotating part 23 is circular. The left-right rotating part 23 is configured to be rotatable in the circumferential direction. A tracker housing 24 is disposed above the left-right rotating part 23.

[0044] When viewed from the front, the tracker housing 24 is formed in a roughly U-shape with an open top, and has a lower support portion 24d and left and right support portions 24a, 24b erected on the left and right ends of the lower support portion 24d.

[0045] The left and right support portions 24a, 24b are formed in a substantially semi-elliptical shape in a side view, which is obtained by cutting an elliptical shape with its major axis extending in the vertical direction horizontally at the substantially center between the top and bottom. Also, the left and right support portions 24a, 24b are formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a front view.

[0046] The lower support part 24d has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape and is connected at its approximate center to the left-right rotation part 23. The left-right rotation part 23 allows the tracker housing 24 to rotate left and right while maintaining a horizontal state. A rotation space 24e is formed in the approximate center of the tracker housing 24, surrounded on three sides by the upper surface of the left-right rotation part 23 and the left and right support parts 24a, 24b. The tracker main body 25 is disposed in the rotation space 24e.

[0047] The tracker main body 25 is formed in a generally elliptical shape with its major axis extending in the vertical direction when viewed from the side. The tracker main body 25 is supported by left and right support parts 24a, 24b via rotation shafts that protrude from the left and right sides of the tracker main body 25. This allows the tracker main body 25 to rotate freely up and down based on the rotation shafts.

[0048] The tracker main body 25 has a laser light emitting unit 25a disposed at approximately the center in the up-down direction at the front end.

[0049] The laser light emitting unit 25a is a cylindrical body that protrudes forward from approximately the center in the vertical direction of the tracker main body 25, and has the functions of emitting laser light and capturing images. The laser light emitting unit 25a has a distance measurement function that can measure the distance to an object by measuring the time it takes for the emitted laser light to reflect off the object and return. Specifically, the tracker main body 25 can measure the distance to the measurement location by emitting laser light from the laser light emitting unit 25a to a reflector installed at the measurement location and receiving the light reflected by the reflector. The reflector installed at the measurement location is a corner cube reflector in which the angle of incidence and angle of reflection of the irradiated light are the same.

[0050] The laser light emitting unit 25a also has an angle measurement function that captures an image of a characteristic point of the measurement object and measures the stop angle of the object. The laser light emitting unit 25a captures an image of the measurement scanner 40 (described later) and can measure the attitude (stop angle) of the measurement scanner 40 from the relative positional relationship of the angle detection LEDs 46, 46... that are protruded from the measurement scanner 40.

[0051] In this way, the tracker main body 25 measures the distance from the tracker 22 to the measurement scanner 40 by having the laser light emitting unit 25a irradiate the reflector 45 of the measurement scanner 40 with laser light and receive the reflected light, and further, the laser light emitting unit 25a detects the light from multiple angle detection LEDs 46, 46... arranged on the surface of the measurement scanner 40, and can detect the attitude (stop angle) of the measurement scanner 40 from the relative positional relationship of each detected LED.

[0052] A pedestal 21 is placed and fixed on the top surface 11e of the other autonomous mobile robot 10. A robot arm 30 is placed and fixed on approximately the center of the top surface 21e of the pedestal 21.

[0053] (Regarding the robot arm 30) As shown in Fig. 3, the robot arm 30 is configured as a flexible robot arm (multi-joint robot) whose posture can be controlled to various positions and angles. By operating the robot arm 30, the measurement scanner 40 connected and fixed to the tip of the robot arm 30 moves three-dimensionally in any direction within its movable range. The robot arm 30 is, for example, a six-axis robot having six joints.

[0054] The robot arm 30 is connected to a robot control unit 31, which serves as a control unit for controlling the operation of the robot arm 30, and operates in response to control signals from the robot control unit 31. The robot control unit 31 is housed in the base 21, and causes the robot arm 30 to perform predetermined operations that have been taught in advance. The operation of the robot arm 30 allows the measurement scanner 40 to move along steps and gaps between components that make up the vehicle while its position and orientation (posture) are controlled.

[0055] (About Measurement Scanner 40) The measurement scanner 40 is configured as a high-precision 3D scanning device having two measurement LED irradiation units. The measurement scanner 40 simultaneously emits a linear LED light and a point-like LED light, focuses on the overlapping portion of the two LED lights, and measures the object within the range illuminated by the linear LED light. In other words, the measurement scanner 40 is configured so that when the linear LED light is irradiated within the irradiation range of the point-like LED light, position information relative to the measurement scanner 40 of the range illuminated by the linear LED light is measured.

[0056] As shown in Figure 4, the measurement scanner 40 has a measurement scanner housing 41, two measurement LED irradiation units 42, 43 provided on the front of the measurement scanner housing 41, a light receiving unit 44 arranged below the measurement LED irradiation units 42, 43, reflectors 45, 45, 45 protruding from the top and both side surfaces of the measurement scanner 40, and multiple angle detection LEDs 46, 46... provided on the left and right side surfaces and top surface of the measurement scanner 40.

[0057] The measurement scanner housing 41 is a box having a substantially rectangular shape in plan and side views. The measurement scanner housing 41 has two measurement LED irradiation units 42 and 43 arranged above and below on the front surface, and a light receiving unit 44 disposed below the measurement LED irradiation units 42 and 43.

[0058] The measurement LED irradiation unit 42 located on the upper side is configured to emit linear LED light extending in the left-right direction. The measurement LED irradiation unit 43 located on the lower side is configured to emit LED light in a substantially circular shape. After irradiating the measurement object, these LED lights are reflected toward the measurement scanner housing 41. This reflected light is received by the light receiving unit 44 provided on the front surface of the measurement scanner housing 41, allowing the position information of the measurement site to be measured.

[0059] Furthermore, measurement scanner housing 41 has approximately cylindrical reflectors 45, 45, 45 arranged on the top and both side surfaces. Reflector 45 is configured as a so-called corner cube reflector that reflects incident light in the direction of incidence. As a result, no matter what angle measurement scanner 40 is transformed, laser light irradiated from laser light irradiator 25a of tracker 22 is reflected toward tracker 22, allowing the distance from tracker 22 to measurement scanner 40 to be measured accurately.

[0060] The measurement scanner housing 41 also has angle detection LEDs 46, 46 protruding from the front and rear ends of the top surface, as well as angle detection LEDs 46, 46, 46 protruding from the upper and lower corners near the rear ends of both left and right sides and near the upper front end.

[0061] The angle detection LED 46 has a substantially hemispherical head 46b at the tip of a cylindrical LED housing 46a, and a substantially circular opening 46c at the top of the head 46b. The LED housing 46a houses a weakly emitting LED for detecting the orientation of the measurement scanner 40. The LED housed in the LED housing 46a is radiated to the outside of the LED housing 46a through the opening 46c. This LED light is detected by the imaging unit 25b of the tracker 22 and acts to measure the angle at which the measurement scanner 40 is stopped. Specifically, the tracker 22 can detect the measurement orientation of the measurement scanner 40 by using the imaging unit 25b of the tracker 22 to detect a total of five angle detection LEDs 46, 46, 46, 46: two angle detection LEDs 46, 46 at the front and rear of the top surface of the measurement scanner housing 41, and three angle detection LEDs 46, 46, 46 on each of the left and right sides of the measurement scanner housing 41.

[0062] In this way, with the use of multiple reflectors 45, 45 and multiple angle detection LEDs 46, 46, the trajectory of the measurement scanner 40 can be reliably tracked by the tracker 22 even when the measurement scanner 40 is moved along the measurement portion of the vehicle body, and gaps and steps between components that make up the vehicle can be accurately measured using the trajectory of the tracked measurement scanner 40 and the measurement data from the two measurement LED irradiation units 42, 43 of the measurement scanner 40. The various measured measurement data is transmitted to the control unit 50 in real time.

[0063] (Regarding the control unit 50) The control unit 50 is configured to be able to communicate with each of the components that make up the automatic measurement system as shown in Fig. 5, and is responsible for generating a virtual map V that maps the measurement space for measuring the vehicle, confirming and correcting the positions of each of the autonomous mobile robots 10, 10, laser tracker 20, robot arm 30, and measurement scanner 40, and performing comparison calculations between pre-stored official CAD information of the vehicle and the 3D information of the measured vehicle. Note that the measurement scanner 40 does not have a direct means of movement, so its position is corrected via the robot arm 30.

[0064] The automatic measurement system for gaps and steps between components that make up a vehicle configured in this manner corrects the positions of the tracker 22 and measurement scanner 40 relative to the actual vehicle by adjusting the position of the vehicle's normal CAD information set in the virtual map V to correspond to the stopping position of the actual vehicle being measured, and can automatically and accurately measure the position (gaps and steps between components) of a vehicle stopped at any position.

[0065] Furthermore, the tracker 22 and the measurement scanner 40, which have been moved to positions previously specified on the virtual map V, can be stopped accurately with respect to the actual vehicle by checking their relative positions after moving to positions previously set on the virtual map V. This allows for accurate automatic measurement of mounting gaps and steps between components that make up the vehicle.

[0066] <Measurement procedure> The procedure for measuring gaps and steps between members mounted on a vehicle using the automatic measurement system configured in this way will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 6, the automatic measurement system of the present invention consists of four processes: a virtual map generation process S1 for generating a virtual map V; a position setting process S2 for setting movement positions of laser tracker 20 and measurement scanner 40 on the virtual map V generated in the virtual map generation process S1; a synchronization process S3 for aligning the vehicle stop position on the generated virtual map V with the stop position of the actual vehicle; and a measurement process S4 for measuring steps and gaps between the members attached to the vehicle body and the vehicle frame.

[0068] <Virtual map generation process S1> The virtual map generation process S1 includes a space measurement process S1-1 for sensing a measurement space for measuring the vehicle, and a map generation process S1-2 for inputting the trajectory traveled by the autonomous mobile robot 10 into the control unit 50 and mapping it.

[0069] The space measurement step S1-1 is a step of moving the autonomous mobile robot 10 in a measurement space for measuring steps and gaps between components that make up the vehicle, and acquiring and recording obstacle information in the measurement space.

[0070] While traveling, the autonomous traveling robot 10 acquires information about surrounding obstacles by emitting laser light from the laser scanner 13. The autonomous traveling robot 10 also records in the data storage unit 16 the amount of rotation of each of the left and right wheels 12 a, 12 b and information about surrounding obstacles corresponding to the amount of rotation of the left and right wheels 12 a, 12 b. When mapping the measurement space, the autonomous mobile robot 10 may travel in any manner to perform measurements, such as automatically, manually by connecting a controller, or semi-automatically by combining automatic and manual operations.

[0071] The information stored in the data storage unit 16 of the autonomous mobile robot 10 in the space measurement step S1-1 is transmitted to the control unit 50 of the automatic measurement system. The control unit 50 generates a virtual map V based on the information stored in the data storage unit 16 of the autonomous mobile robot 10 and obstacle information in the measurement space (map generation step S1-2).

[0072] The position setting step S2 is a step of determining the ideal stopping positions of the tracker 22 and the measurement scanner 40 during vehicle measurement on the virtual map V of the measurement space generated in the map generation step S1-2.

[0073] The position setting process S2 includes a no-travel area setting process S2-1 that sets areas in which each autonomous mobile robot 10, 10 cannot travel on the virtual map V of the measurement space generated in the map generation process S1-2; a vehicle stop position setting process S2-2 that sets a vehicle stop position where gaps and steps between components are measured; a measurement scanner position setting process S2-3 that sets an ideal stop position for the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with a measurement scanner 40; a tracker position setting process S2-4 that sets an ideal stop position for the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with a tracker 22; a position confirmation process S2-5 that compares the current position of each autonomous mobile robot 10, 10 with the virtual map V; and an actual vehicle stopping process S2-6 that stops the actual vehicle at the vehicle stop position R set in the virtual map V.

[0074] In the no-travel area setting step S2-1, a no-travel area F in which the autonomous mobile robot 10 cannot travel is set on the virtual map V generated in the map generation step S1-2. The no-travel area F is set by the control unit 50 by painting the no-travel area on the monitor.

[0075] The no-travel area F is set, for example, as an obstacle when the autonomous mobile robot 10 travels or a wall surface of the measurement space, to minimize the risk of the autonomous mobile robot 10 coming into contact with an obstacle or a wall surface and becoming unable to move when traveling automatically. Furthermore, by setting the no-travel area F, when changing the scan position, the autonomous mobile robot 10 can move to the next measurement location in the shortest possible time without following an unnecessary travel route.

[0076] The vehicle stop position setting process S2-2 is a process of setting a vehicle stop position R in a no-travel area F set on the virtual map V. The vehicle stop position R is preferably set at a position in the measurement space where the autonomous mobile robot 10 can freely move around the vehicle, and is preferably set, for example, approximately in the center of the measurement space. The vehicle stop position R is set by a stop space R1 set to a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view to accommodate the vehicle, and a wheel stop position R2 indicating the wheel stop position set within the stop space R1. The wheel stop position R2 is displayed as a substantially triangular shape in a plan view, and is set so that the approximately center of the wheels in the fore-and-aft direction stops at the vertex. By stopping the vehicle in accordance with this wheel stop position R2, the vehicle is reliably stopped within the stop space R1.

[0077] The measurement scanner position setting process S2-3 is a process of setting a scan position, which is the ideal stopping position of the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the measurement scanner 40, around the vehicle stopping position R set on the virtual map V. The measurement scanner position setting process S2-3 is a process of setting the optimum position for measuring gaps and steps between components when a vehicle having correct CAD information (a vehicle of ideal configuration) is stopped at the vehicle stopping position set in the vehicle stopping position setting process S2-2.

[0078] A total of eight scan positions are set: three scan positions P1, P2, and P3 on the front side of the actual vehicle, two scan positions P4 and P5 on the left side of the actual vehicle, one scan position P6 on the rear side of the actual vehicle, and two scan positions P7 and P8 on the right side of the actual vehicle. Note that in this embodiment, the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the measurement scanner 40 has eight stopping positions, but the stopping positions of the autonomous mobile robot 10 are not limited to this, and any number of stopping positions may be set as long as all gaps and steps between members assembled to the vehicle can be accurately measured.

[0079] The tracker position setting process S2-4 is a process of setting the stopping position of the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the tracker 22 to match the vehicle stopping position R set on the virtual map V. In the tracker position setting process S2-4, the stopping position of the tracker 22 is set so that the tracker 22 and the measurement scanner 40 can measure each other's positions when the autonomous mobile robot 10 stops at each scan position set in the measurement scanner position setting process S2-3. In other words, the tracker position (measurement reference position) is set as the ideal stopping position of the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the tracker 22 at a position where the laser light irradiated from the laser light irradiation unit 25a of the tracker 22 is not blocked by the vehicle body stopped at the stopping position set in the vehicle stopping position setting process S2-2. This allows the measurement scanner 40 and the tracker 22 to confirm their positions with each other.

[0080] The tracker positions set in the tracker position setting step S2-4 are a total of three positions: a first position T1 located directly in front of the stopped vehicle in the direction of travel; a second position T2 located to the left and rear of the stopped vehicle; and a third position T3 located to the right and rear of the stopped vehicle. In this embodiment, the autonomously traveling robot 10 equipped with the tracker 22 is set to three stop positions. However, the number of stop positions of the autonomously traveling robot 10 is not limited to three. Any number of tracker positions may be set as long as the measurement scanner 40 and the tracker 22 can confirm each other's positions without being obstructed by the vehicle body. However, because the tracker positions are reference points when the measurement scanner 40 moves, increasing the number of stop positions for the tracker positions increases the likelihood of errors in the measurement results. Therefore, it is desirable to set as few tracker positions as possible.

[0081] The position confirmation step S2-5 is a step of checking the current positions of the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the tracker 22 and the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the measurement scanner 40 against the virtual map V.

[0082] The position confirmation process S2-5 is a process of comparing information about surrounding obstacles measured by the laser scanner 13 of each autonomous mobile robot 10, 10 with information about obstacles illustrated on the virtual map V to determine the current positions (waiting positions Tw, Pw) of the autonomous mobile robots 10, 10. The waiting positions Tw, Pw are recorded in the control unit 50.

[0083] The actual vehicle stopping step S2-6 is a step of stopping the actual vehicle at the vehicle stopping position R set on the virtual map V. In the actual vehicle stopping step S2-6, a stop line that fits the vehicle's longitudinal and lateral dimensions is affixed to the floor of the measurement space. This stop line is a roughly rectangular part in a plan view, and is marked on the floor with tape or the like. Note that it is sufficient that the actual vehicle's overall length and width fit within the stop line in a plan view.

[0084] The synchronization step S3 is a step of aligning the position of the actual vehicle stopped within the stop line in the measurement space with the position of the regular stopped vehicle set on the virtual map V.

[0085] In the synchronization step S3, first, the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the tracker 22 is moved from a waiting position Tw set on the virtual map V to a first position T1.

[0086] Next, the worker opens the hood of the actual vehicle parked at vehicle parking position R in the measurement space and installs corner cube reflectors at each measurement point in the engine compartment.

[0087] The operator measures the three-dimensional coordinates of each reflector installed at the measurement location and its angle relative to tracker 22 by irradiating the corner cube reflector with laser light from laser light irradiation unit 25a of tracker 22. The measured three-dimensional coordinates and angle information of each reflector are recorded in control unit 50.

[0088] The control unit 50 compares the measured three-dimensional coordinates of each reflector with the three-dimensional coordinates of each reflector provided on the genuine vehicle that have been set in advance on the virtual map V, and calculates the amount of deviation. The control unit 50 corrects the virtual map V and the position of the genuine vehicle set on the virtual map V by the calculated amount of deviation. As a result, the stopping position and stopping form of the actual vehicle match the stopping position and stopping form of the genuine vehicle set on the virtual map V.

[0089] In the synchronization step S3, to ensure that the vehicle stopping positions of the actual vehicle and the genuine vehicle on the virtual map V are aligned, the holes on the actual vehicle other than the mounting locations of the corner cube reflectors are covered with covers. The control program of the control unit 50 may be configured to issue an error message indicating a measurement error if the measured three-dimensional coordinates of each reflector significantly deviate from the three-dimensional coordinates set on the virtual map V.

[0090] In this way, by accurately measuring the three-dimensional coordinates of the corner cube reflector and configuring the system so that the stopping positions of the real vehicle and the genuine vehicle on virtual map V are reliably aligned, it is possible to synchronize the real space with virtual map V and accurately measure gaps and steps between the components that make up the vehicle. Furthermore, this configuration can minimize the risk of the autonomous mobile robot 10 coming into contact with the vehicle while it is traveling, and the risk of the measurement scanner 40 coming into contact with the vehicle body when measuring the vehicle.

[0091] The measurement process S4 is a process in which the measurement scanner 40 and the tracker 22 are moved to the scan position P, which is the ideal stopping position of the measurement scanner 40, and the tracker position T, which is the ideal stopping position of the tracker 22, which were set in the position setting process S2, and gaps and steps between the components assembled to the vehicle are measured.

[0092] The measurement process S4 includes a first measurement process S4-1 for measuring the front of the vehicle, a second measurement process S4-3 for measuring the left side of the vehicle, a third measurement process S4-5 for measuring the right side of the vehicle, a first changeover process S4-2 for moving the tracker 22 between the first measurement process S4-1 and the second measurement process S4-3, and a second changeover process S4-4 for moving the tracker 22 between the second measurement process S4-3 and the third measurement process S4-5.

[0093] Each measurement process includes a travel correction unit M1 that calculates the deviation of the measurement scanner 40, which has stopped at an actual stop position, from the ideal stop position and corrects the position of the measurement scanner 40 by rotating the left and right wheels 12a, 12b of the autonomous mobile robot 10 based on the calculated deviation. Another measurement process includes an arm correction unit M2 that measures the actual stop position of the measurement scanner 40 corrected by the travel correction unit M1, recalculates the deviation from the ideal stop position of the measurement scanner 40, and corrects the position of the measurement scanner 40 using the robot arm 30 based on the calculated deviation. Each measurement process uses two correction units, the travel correction unit M1 and the arm correction unit M2, to perform position correction, allowing the measurement scanner 40 to be positioned at the ideal stop position, which is the measurement start point. This allows gaps and steps between the components that make up the vehicle to be accurately measured. The measurement process is performed as follows. Figure 8, which shows the flow of the measurement process, illustrates the point at which the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the measurement scanner 40 moves from the waiting position Pw to the scan position P1 as the starting point, but Figure 8 is not limited to correction of the measurement scanner 40 at the scan position P1, but also applies to correction at each scan position (for example, when moving from the scan position P1 to the scan position P2).

[0094] In the first measurement step S4-1, first, the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the measurement scanner 40 is moved from the standby position Pw to the scanning position P1 (see S40 in FIG. 8). At this time, the autonomous mobile robot 10 determines its own travel distance based on the rotation timing and amount of rotation of the left and right wheels 12a, 12b.

[0095] The measurement scanner 40, which has moved to scan position P1, stops the reflectors 45 provided on both sides of the measurement scanner 40 at the 6DOF information P1A of a preset ideal stopping position in a vehicle coordinate system based on the vehicle in its normal configuration set on the virtual map V (STEP 1 in FIG. 9). At this time, the measurement scanner 40 stops in a preset configuration so that the tracker 22 stopped at the first position T1 can measure the 6DOF information P1A of either of the reflectors 45, 45 protruding from the left and right sides. Note that the measurement scanner 40 may be stopped in any configuration.

[0096] The tracker 22 irradiates the reflector 45 of the measurement scanner 40 with laser light from the laser light irradiation unit 25a in a tracker coordinate system based on the tracker 22, and acquires 6DOF information P1a of the actual stop position of the measurement scanner 40 (STEP 2 in FIG. 9). The 6DOF information P1a of the actual stop position of the measurement scanner 40 is transmitted from the tracker 22 to the control unit 50.

[0097] The control unit 50 converts the 6DOF information P1a measured by the measurement scanner 40 into 6DOF information P1c in a vehicle coordinate system based on the vehicle (STEP 3 in FIG. 9).

[0098] The control unit 50 compares the 6DOF information P1c of the vehicle coordinate system with the 6DOF information P1A of the preset ideal stopping position of the measurement scanner 40 to calculate the deviation amount P1d of the 6DOF information (STEP 4 in FIG. 9).

[0099] The control unit 50 transmits the calculated deviation amount P1d of the 6DOF information to the measurement scanner 40 via the tracker 22.

[0100] The measurement scanner 40 moves the autonomous mobile robot 10 in accordance with the deviation amount P1d (STEP 5 in FIG. 9).

[0101] The movement of the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the above-mentioned measurement scanner 40 is the travel correction means M1. This movement is adjusted by repeatedly moving the autonomous mobile robot 10 until each coordinate (three-dimensional coordinate) of the 6DOF information of the deviation amount P1d falls within the range of ±15 mm (see S41 and S42 in FIG. 8).

[0102] After that, the tracker 22 measures the 6DOF information P1e of the measurement scanner 40 in the tracker coordinate system (STEP 6 in FIG. 9).

[0103] The tracker 22 transmits the 6DOF information P1e of the measurement scanner 40 to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 converts the 6DOF information P1e measured in the tracker coordinate system into 6DOF information P1f in the vehicle coordinate system (STEP 7 in FIG. 9).

[0104] The control unit 50 compares the 6DOF information P1f of the measurement scanner 40 converted into the vehicle coordinate system with the regular 6DOF information P1A to calculate the deviation amount P1g (STEP 8 in FIG. 9). The control unit 50 converts the calculated deviation amount P1g from the vehicle coordinate system to a deviation amount P1h in the robot coordinate system (STEP 9 in FIG. 9).

[0105] The deviation amount P1h converted into the robot coordinate system is converted into a bit signal by the information conversion unit 32 housed inside the base 21 and transmitted to the robot control unit 31 (STEP 10 in FIG. 9). The robot control unit 31 converts the received bit signal back into difference information P1j (STEP 11 in FIG. 9).

[0106] The robot arm 30 moves by the amount of difference information P1j (STEP 12 in FIG. 9). As a result, the measurement scanner 40 can stop at a measurement start position whose three-dimensional coordinates are approximately ±0 mm compared to the 6DOF information P1A of the ideal stop position, and its pitching, yawing, and rolling can be made approximately the same as the 6DOF information P1A of the ideal stop position (see S43 in FIG. 8).

[0107] In other words, the measuring scanner 40 can accurately measure gaps and steps between the components that make up the vehicle by using two correction means: a driving correction means M1 that corrects the position using the autonomous driving robot 10 to keep the deviation from the above-mentioned scan position P1 to ±15 mm or less, and an arm correction means M2 that corrects the position of the measuring scanner 40 using the robot arm 30 to compensate for pitching, yawing, and rolling while keeping the deviation from the measurement start position to approximately ±0 mm.

[0108] When the tracker 22 confirms again that the vehicle is stopped at the ideal stopping position, the measurement scanner 40 starts measuring the gaps and steps between the components that make up the vehicle (see S44 in FIG. 8).

[0109] At scan position P1, measurement scanner 40 moves along a pre-taught trajectory with the measurement start position as the base point. Measurement scanner 40 performs measurements using LED light emitted from measurement LED irradiation units 42 and 43 provided on the front surface of measurement scanner 40. When measurement scanner 40 moves to the end point of the pre-taught trajectory, it notifies control unit 50 that measurement has ended.

[0110] When the control unit 50 receives a signal that the measurement scanner 40 has moved to the end point at scan position P1, it transmits a signal to the measurement scanner 40 to move the measurement scanner 40 to scan position P2. This movement signal from scan position P1 to scan position P2 is also transmitted to the tracker 22, which confirms the position of the measurement scanner 40.

[0111] The measurement scanner 40, which has moved to scan position P2, is repeatedly corrected by the autonomous mobile robot 10 until the deviation from the ideal stopping position at scan position P2 is ±15 mm or less, just as with scan position P1. The measurement scanner 40 then undergoes position correction by the robot arm 30 so that the deviation from the measurement start position is approximately ±0 mm. Once the tracker 22 confirms that the measurement scanner 40 is positioned at the measurement start position, the measurement scanner 40 begins measuring the gaps and steps between the components that make up the vehicle. At scan position P2, the measurement scanner 40 performs measurements along a pre-taught trajectory, just like at scan position P1. Once the measurement scanner 40 has completed moving along the pre-taught trajectory, it notifies the control unit 50 that the measurement has ended.

[0112] When the control unit 50 has finished measuring the steps and gaps of the vehicle at scan position P2, it sends a signal to the measurement scanner 40 to move it to scan position P3. At scan position P3, as with scan position P2, the position of the measurement scanner 40 is corrected so that it is in the ideal stopping position, and the measurement scanner 40 is moved along a pre-taught trajectory to measure the steps and gaps of the vehicle. Note that the position correction of the measurement scanner 40 is the same as the correction method at scan position P1, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0113] When the measurement scanner 40 completes measurement at scan position P3, it moves to a predetermined three-dimensional coordinate position by the robot arm 30 and stops in a preset orientation. At this time, the three-dimensional coordinates and stopping orientation (6DOF information) of the measurement scanner 40 are measured by the tracker 22 and stored in the control unit 50.

[0114] Next, the control unit 50 moves the autonomous mobile robot 10, on which the tracker 22 is mounted and fixed, from the first position T1 to the second position T2 (first changeover step S4-2).

[0115] The first changeover step S4-2 is a step of accurately moving the tracker 22 to the second position T2 set in the tracker position setting step 2-4.

[0116] The tracker 22, which has moved to the second position T2, measures the three-dimensional coordinates of the reflector 45 of the measurement scanner 40, which has stopped at the ideal stopping position, at the scan position P3, and stores the coordinates in the control unit 50 as position information.

[0117] The control unit 50 compares the three-dimensional coordinates of the reflector 45 before and after the movement of the tracker 22 and measures the difference.

[0118] If there is a difference in the three-dimensional coordinates of reflector 45 before and after the movement of tracker 22, tracker 22 corrects the position by moving autonomous mobile robot 10 according to the difference. After correcting the position, tracker 22 measures the three-dimensional coordinates of reflector 45 again.

[0119] The first changeover step S4-2 ends when the three-dimensional coordinates of the reflector 45 match before and after the movement of the tracker 22. After the first changeover step S4-2 ends, the automatic measurement system proceeds to the second measurement step S4-3, which measures the left side of the vehicle.

[0120] The second measurement step S4-3 is a step of measuring steps and gaps on the left side and rear of the vehicle.

[0121] In the second measurement step S4-3, first, the autonomous mobile robot 10 equipped with the measurement scanner 40 is moved from the scan position P3 to the scan position P4. The measurement scanner 40 that has moved to the scan position P4 moves the robot arm 30, thereby moving the reflector 45 of the measurement scanner 40 to the three-dimensional coordinates of the ideal stop position.

[0122] The tracker 22 measures the three-dimensional coordinates of the reflector 45 of the measurement scanner 40 in the same way as for scan position P1, and then performs travel correction means M1, which compares the measured three-dimensional coordinates with the three-dimensional coordinates of the ideal stopping position and corrects the position of the measurement scanner 40 on the autonomous mobile robot 10 until the difference between the coordinates is within ±15 mm. Note that the detailed correction method is the same as the correction method described for scan position P1, so a detailed explanation of it will be omitted.

[0123] The measurement scanner 40, which has moved to scan position P4, moves the robot arm 30 so that the reflector 45 is positioned at the initial measurement position at scan position P4. The position correction of the measurement scanner 40 to the initial measurement position is the same as the correction method for scan position P1, so a description thereof will be omitted. When measurement at scan position P4 is completed, the measurement scanner 40 notifies the control unit 50 that the measurement has been completed. The control unit 50 transmits a command to move the measurement scanner 40 to scan position P5.

[0124] The measurement scanner 40 moves from scan position P4 to scan position P5. The position correction of the measurement scanner 40 to the initial measurement position and the measurement procedure are the same as those described for scan position P1, so detailed description will be omitted.

[0125] Once measurement by the measurement scanner 40 in the second measurement step S4-3 is completed, the tracker 22 is moved from the second position T2 to the third position T3 in the second changeover step S4-4. Note that the second changeover step S4-4 is carried out by having the tracker 22 measure the position information of the reflector 45 of the measurement scanner 40 before and after the movement of the tracker 22, just like the first changeover step S4-2. Details are the same as those of the first changeover step S4-2, so a description thereof will be omitted. Once the movement of the tracker 22 to the third position T3 is completed in the second changeover step S4-4, the process proceeds to the third measurement step S4-5.

[0126] The third measurement step S4-5 is a step of moving the measurement scanner 40 to scan positions P7 and P8 using the tracker 22 stopped at the third position T3 as a reference, and measuring the steps and gaps on the right side of the vehicle.

[0127] The alignment of the measurement scanner 40 when it moves to scan position P7 and scan position P8, and the method of measuring steps and gaps using the measurement scanner 40, are the same as the alignment and measurement method of the measurement scanner 40 at scan position P1, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0128] When the measurement by the measurement scanner 40 in the third measurement step S4-5 is completed, the robot arm 30 is transformed to stop the measurement scanner 40 at a position away from the vehicle.

[0129] Thereafter, the vehicle for which the measurement has been completed is moved, and the measurement of the steps and gaps for that vehicle is completed.

[0130] As described above, measurements are taken of the front of the vehicle in the first measurement process S4-1, the tracker 22 that serves as the position reference is moved from the first position T1 to the second position T2 in the first changeover process S4-2, measurements are taken of the left side and rear of the vehicle using the tracker 22 that has moved to the second position T2 as a reference in the second measurement process S4-3, the tracker 22 that serves as the position reference is moved from the second position T2 to the third position T3 in the second changeover process S4-4, and measurements are taken of the right side of the vehicle using the tracker 22 that has moved to the third position T3 in the third measurement process S4-5, thereby making it possible to accurately measure the steps and gaps between the vehicle and the components that make up the vehicle.

[0131] In other words, in the present invention, by understanding the relative positions of the tracker 22, which serves as the positional reference for the measurement scanner 40, and the measurement scanner 40, the tracker 22 and the measurement scanner 40 can be positioned at the ideal stopping position, and measurements by the measurement scanner 40 can be performed automatically and accurately.

[0132] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but also includes configurations in which the components disclosed in the above-described embodiments are mutually substituted or modified, known inventions, and configurations in which the components disclosed in the above-described embodiments are mutually substituted, etc. Furthermore, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but extends to the matters set forth in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0133] 10 Autonomous Robot 11 Robot body 12 Running part 13. Laser scanner 14 Laser Sensor 15 Autonomous driving robot control unit 16 Data storage unit 17 Front bumper 20 Laser Tracker 21 Pedestal 22 Tracker 23 Left and right rotating part 24 Tracker housing 25 Tracker body 30 Robot Arm 31 Robot control unit 32 Information Conversion Unit 40 Measurement Scanner 41 Measurement scanner housing 42, 43 Measurement LED irradiation unit 44 Light receiving part 45 Reflector 46 Angle detection LED 50 control section F No driving area M1 Driving correction means M2 Arm Compensation Means P scan position R Stop position S1 Virtual map generation process S2 Position setting process S3 synchronous process S4 Measurement process T Tracker Position V Virtual Map

Claims

1. an autonomous robot that can move freely around the periphery of the vehicle; a tracker mounted on the autonomous mobile robot; a measurement scanner mounted on the autonomous mobile robot via a robot arm; a control unit that measures a measurement space to create a virtual map and controls the tracker and the measurement scanner, The control unit a virtual map generation step of generating a virtual map by moving the autonomous mobile robot and mapping the measurement space; a position setting step of setting movement positions of the tracker and the measurement scanner with respect to the virtual map generated by the virtual map generating step; a synchronization step of synchronizing the actual measurement space with the virtual map by matching the vehicle stop position on the virtual map with the vehicle stop position of the actual vehicle stopped in the measurement space; a measuring step of measuring a step or a gap between a member attached to the vehicle body and the vehicle body frame; In the measurement step, an ideal stop position of the measurement scanner set on the virtual map in the position setting step; The actual stop position of the measurement scanner measured by irradiating a laser beam from the tracker is compared with the actual stop position to calculate the amount of deviation, If there is a deviation between the ideal stop position and the actual stop position, a travel correction means for correcting the position of the autonomous traveling robot equipped with the measurement scanner; an arm correction means for correcting the position of the robot arm; 1. An automatic measurement system for an object to be measured, characterized in that position correction is performed by two correction means.

2. The arm correction means is configured to:

2. The automatic measurement system for an object to be measured according to claim 1, further comprising an information conversion unit for converting the amount of deviation from the ideal stop position of the measurement scanner set on the virtual map into a bit signal.

3. An automatic measurement system for measuring an object as described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that in the measurement process, the position data of the actual stopping position and ideal stopping position of the measurement scanner measured by the tracker is converted into 6DOF information.

Images