Mobile robot

Abstract

To provide a mobile robot capable of avoiding situations in which the mobile robot hinders people's evacuation in emergencies.SOLUTION: A mobile robot 130 that moves autonomously includes: means of transportation 132; and a movement controller 170 that controls the means of transportation 132. The movement controller 170 includes: a self-location recognition unit 171 for recognizing a self-location; an emergency information acquisition unit 172 for acquiring emergency information; an area identification unit 173 for identifying a movable area on the basis of urgent information; an evacuation point selection unit 174 that selects an evacuation point out of multiple evacuation candidate points 202 in an area identified within a range capable of being detected by the sensor from the self-position; and an evacuation unit 175 that controls the means of transportation 132 to move to the selected evacuation point.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a mobile robot that moves autonomously. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is a technology in which an evacuation determination unit determines whether to perform evacuation operations based on travel information of an autonomous mobile device, and if it is determined that evacuation operations are necessary, the route information is updated to a route for the autonomous mobile device to perform evacuation operations (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-110272 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, until now, there have been no robots that can move autonomously so as not to get in the way of people's evacuation in emergencies such as fires or earthquakes, and workers who are near the robot at the time of the emergency have had to move the robot away from people's evacuation routes.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a mobile robot that receives emergency information indicating evacuation instructions, etc., and autonomously moves to a position where it does not interfere with people's evacuation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one aspect of the present invention is a mobile robot that moves autonomously, and is equipped with a moving means and a moving control device that controls the moving means, and the moving control device is equipped with a self-location recognition unit that recognizes its own location based on information from a sensor, an emergency information acquisition unit that acquires emergency information, an area identification unit that identifies an area in which movement is possible based on the acquired emergency information, an evacuation point selection unit that selects an evacuation point from a plurality of candidate evacuation points within the identified area within a range that can be detected by the sensor from the self-location recognized by the self-location recognition unit, and an evacuation unit that controls the moving means to move to the selected evacuation point. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, a mobile robot can autonomously move to an evacuation area based on emergency information, and in an emergency, the mobile robot can be prevented from interfering with the evacuation of people. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view showing the appearance of a mobile robot according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the appearance of the mobile robot according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the mobile control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a floor map with potential evacuation points. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile control device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cost map in which the floor map is divided by priority. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile control device according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of a mobile robot according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are presented as examples to explain the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. For example, the shapes, structures, materials, components, relative positional relationships, connection states, numerical values, mathematical formulas, the content of each step in a method, and the order of each step shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and may include content not described below. Furthermore, while geometric expressions such as parallel and orthogonal may be used, these expressions do not imply mathematical precision and include substantially acceptable errors, deviations, and the like. Furthermore, expressions such as simultaneous and identical also include substantially acceptable ranges.

[0010] Furthermore, the drawings are schematic diagrams in which emphasis, omission, or adjustment of proportions has been appropriately made in order to explain the present disclosure, and the shapes, positional relationships, and proportions may differ from the actual shapes, positional relationships, and proportions.

[0011] In addition, multiple inventions may be collectively described below as one embodiment, and some of the content described below may be described as optional components related to the present disclosure.

[0012] Furthermore, the drawings are schematic diagrams in which emphasis, omission, or adjustment of proportions has been appropriately made in order to explain the present disclosure, and the shapes, positional relationships, and proportions may differ from the actual shapes, positional relationships, and proportions.

[0013] (Embodiment 1) Fig. 1 is a side view showing the appearance of a mobile robot according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a bottom view showing the appearance of the mobile robot according to embodiment 1. Mobile robot 130 described in this embodiment 1 is a robot-type vacuum cleaner that performs cleaning while moving autonomously, and includes moving means 132 and a movement control device 170. In this embodiment 1, mobile robot 130 includes main body 131, cleaning means 134, and sensor 136 for acquiring position information.

[0014] The main body 131 is a structural member that forms the structural foundation of the mobile robot 130. The main body 131 also functions as a housing that houses or holds the moving means 132, the cleaning means 134, the sensor 136 for acquiring position information, the movement control device 170, etc. A bumper 139 that can be displaced radially relative to the main body 131 is attached to the outer periphery of the main body 131. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, a suction port 138 for sucking dust into the main body 131 is provided on the bottom surface of the main body 131.

[0015] The moving means 132 is a device that causes the mobile robot 130 to travel and change direction based on instructions from the movement control device 170. The moving means 132 is not particularly limited, but in the first embodiment, it includes a pair of wheels 140 rotatably attached to the main body 131, a traveling motor (not shown) that applies torque to the wheels 140, and a housing 141 that accommodates the traveling motor. The moving means 132 is provided with casters 142 that function as auxiliary wheels on the bottom surface of the main body 131. The main body 131 of the mobile robot 130 can move freely in directions such as going straight forward, backward, turning left, and turning right by independently rotating the two wheels 140 of the moving means 132.

[0016] As long as cleaning means 134 cleans dust and dirt under main body 131 or around main body 131, examples of cleaning means 134 include a device that collects dust by suction, a device that wipes with a mop or nonwoven fabric, etc. In the case of the first embodiment, cleaning means 134 is a unit that sweeps up dust and sucks it through suction port 138, and includes rotating brush 146 arranged near suction port 138, brush drive motor 147 that rotates rotating brush 146, suction unit 133, etc.

[0017] Suction unit 133 is a unit that sucks in dust from suction port 138 and holds the sucked dust inside main body 131, and is equipped with an electric fan (not shown) and dust holding section 143. The electric fan sucks in air from inside dust holding section 143 and expels the air out of main body 131, thereby sucking in dirt from suction port 138 and storing the dirt in dust holding section 143.

[0018] 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a mobile control device according to embodiment 1. Mobile control device 170 is a device that controls moving means 132 to move mobile robot 130. Mobile control device 170 includes a processor, and includes processing units that are realized by executing a program on the processor, such as a self-position recognition unit 171, an emergency information acquisition unit 172, an area specification unit 173, an evacuation point selection unit 174, and an evacuation unit 175. When no emergency information has been acquired, mobile control device 170 moves mobile robot 130 to clean the floor based on normal information, for example, route information included in cleaning information.

[0019] The self-position recognition unit 171 is a processing unit that recognizes the position of the mobile robot 130 based on position-related information, which is information from a sensor. In the first embodiment, the self-position recognition unit 171 acquires position-related information that indicates the relative positional relationship of an object with respect to the main body 131, and recognizes the relative position of the mobile robot 130 within a floor as its own position by comparing the information with map information such as a floor map. Specifically, the self-position recognition unit 171 detects the direction and distance of objects such as walls and furniture that exist around the main body 131, and acquires 2.5-dimensional position information. The self-position recognition unit 171 also determines the self-position of the mobile robot 130 from the information on the direction and distance of the object detected by the self-position recognition unit 171 and map information such as a route map and floor map that are separately stored.

[0020] The type of sensor from which the self-position recognition unit 171 acquires information is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) camera that emits light and detects the position and distance based on the light reflected by an object and returned, and a ToF (Time of Flight) camera.Other examples of the self-position recognition unit 171 include a compound eye camera that acquires illumination light or natural light reflected by an object as an image and acquires the position and distance based on parallax, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, and a sensor that detects the amount of rotation of the wheel 140.The self-position recognition unit 171 may recognize its own position based on information from multiple sensors.

[0021] In the first embodiment, the self-position recognition unit 171 detects the self-position relative to a predetermined position based on the movement record of the mobile robot 130 by the moving means 132. Specifically, the mobile robot 130 may be equipped with, as a self-position detection device, an odometry sensor such as an encoder that detects the rotation angle of each of the pair of wheels 140 rotated by a traveling motor, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration when traveling, an inertial sensor such as a gyro sensor that detects the angular acceleration when turning, etc. The self-position detection device may also be equipped with an LPS (Local Positioning System).

[0022] The self-position recognition unit 171 acquires its own position using SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). Specifically, it creates a map while continuously acquiring scan data from odometry and LiDAR, which are self-position detection devices, and acquires its own position by calculation based on the created map.

[0023] The emergency information acquisition unit 172 is a processing unit that acquires emergency information. Emergency information is information that notifies the occurrence of a disaster such as a fire or earthquake. The method of notifying the emergency information is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, communication by radio waves from a management system that has jurisdiction over the area in which the mobile robot 130 moves. Alternatively, an alarm sound such as a siren issued by the management system may be acquired by a microphone provided in the mobile robot 130, and the emergency information acquisition unit 172 may acquire the emergency information based on the sound information from the microphone. Alternatively, an alarm light such as a flashing light issued by the management system may be acquired by a camera, illuminance sensor, or the like provided in the mobile robot 130, and the emergency information acquisition unit 172 may acquire the emergency information based on the light information from the camera, illuminance sensor, or the like.

[0024] Alternatively, the emergency information acquisition unit 172 may generate emergency information by detecting the occurrence of an earthquake based on information from an inertial sensor, such as a gyro sensor, provided in the mobile robot 130. The generation of emergency information is included in the acquisition of emergency information. Alternatively, the emergency information acquisition unit 172 may generate emergency information by detecting the occurrence of a fire based on information from a temperature sensor, a smoke sensor, etc. provided in the mobile robot 130.

[0025] The area specifying unit 173 specifies an area in which the mobile robot 130 can move based on the emergency information acquired by the emergency information acquisition unit 172. The area in which the mobile robot 130 can move is specified by the area specifying unit 173 based on the self-position recognized by the self-position recognition unit 171 when the emergency information acquisition unit 172 acquires the emergency information, taking into consideration the positions of emergency closing members 201 such as fire doors and fire shutters that will close in the event of an emergency, as shown in Fig. 4, for example. The position of the emergency closing members 201 is acquired in advance by the area specifying unit 173 and stored in a storage device.

[0026] The evacuation point selection unit 174 selects at least one evacuation point (double circle in FIG. 4 ) from a plurality of evacuation point candidates 202 in the area specified by the area specification unit 173, within a range detectable by a sensor from which the self-position recognition unit 171 acquires information, starting from the self-position recognized by the self-position recognition unit 171 when the emergency information acquisition unit 172 acquires emergency information. The evacuation point candidate 202 is a single point or multiple points that are set in advance in an evacuation area 203, which is an area where the mobile robot 130 will not hinder the evacuation of people in an emergency. The positions of the evacuation point candidate 202 are acquired in advance by the evacuation point selection unit 174 and stored in a storage device.

[0027] The method by which the evacuation point selection unit 174 selects an evacuation point is not limited, but for example, the evacuation point selection unit 174 selects a candidate evacuation point 202 that is included in an area where the sensor from which the self-position recognition unit 171 acquires position-related information can detect an object from the self-position, for example, if the sensor is a LiDAR, within a circle with the self-position as its center and the detection limit distance of the LiDAR (for example, 20 m) as its radius.

[0028] The evacuation point selection unit 174 assigns a higher priority to selected evacuation points 202 that are closer to a forward evacuation point in the direction of travel (arrow in FIG. 4), and assigns a lower priority to evacuation points 202 that are further back than forward evacuation points, but a higher priority to evacuation points 202 that are closer. This reduces the amount of direction change required by the mobile robot 130, and allows evacuation points 202 that can be reached more quickly to be assigned higher priority. The evacuation point 202 with the highest priority may be selected as the evacuation point (double circle in FIG. 4).

[0029] The evacuation point selection unit 174 may further increase the priority of evacuation point candidate 202 that does not have any obstacles that may obstruct travel between the evacuation point candidate 202 and the prioritized evacuation point candidate 202 based on information from a sensor (e.g., LiDAR) that the self-position recognition unit 171 acquires position-related information, and select the evacuation point candidate 202 with the highest priority as the evacuation point. This allows the mobile robot 130 to quickly reach the evacuation point in an approximately straight line while minimizing the amount of direction changes.

[0030] Furthermore, the evacuation point selection unit 174 may increase the priority of the evacuation point candidate 202 that does not have any obstacles that would hinder travel on the way to the evacuation point candidate based on the movement record of the mobile robot 130 up until the emergency information acquisition unit 172 acquired the emergency information, rather than based on information from a sensor, and select the evacuation point candidate 202 with the highest priority as the evacuation point. Specifically, if there is a movement record of the mobile robot 130 having passed through all of the linear areas connecting the self-position of the mobile robot 130 and the evacuation point candidate 202 to perform cleaning, the evacuation point candidate 202 is increased in priority as a point that does not have any obstacles that would hinder evacuation.

[0031] The source from which the movement history is acquired is not particularly limited, but an example of the source from which the movement history is acquired is a cleaning control unit provided in the mobile robot 130. The cleaning control unit is a processing unit that acquires in advance a floor map of the movement target of the mobile robot 130 and determines a cleaning plan in advance. The floor map has pre-registered locations of obstacles that may hinder movement, such as walls, pillars, partitions, and furniture. The cleaning control unit controls the movement means 132 and cleaning means 134 according to the determined cleaning plan using the acquired floor map, and performs cleaning. In addition, the movement and cleaning history is generated as a movement history.

[0032] When the emergency information acquisition unit 172 acquires disaster location information indicating the location of a fire or the like as emergency information, the evacuation point selection unit 174 may increase the priority of the evacuation point candidate 202 the farther it is from the disaster location.

[0033] The evacuation unit 175 controls the moving means 132 so as to move to the selected evacuation point as quickly as possible. After the mobile robot 130 reaches an evacuation point that is one of the evacuation point candidates 202 with a high priority, the evacuation unit 175 may move the mobile robot 130 to the nearest wall from the evacuation point. The evacuation unit 175 may detect the nearest wall based on the sensor from which the self-position recognition unit 171 acquires information. This further prevents the mobile robot 130 from becoming an obstacle to the evacuation of people.

[0034] Furthermore, the retraction unit 175 may control the moving means 132 so that when the mobile robot 130 reaches the nearest wall, it abuts against the wall in a posture that minimizes the amount of protrusion of the mobile robot 130 from the wall. In this way, if the aspect ratio (ratio of length to width) of the shape of the mobile robot 130 when projected onto the floor is large, the mobile robot 130 can be stopped closer to the wall to avoid interfering with people's evacuation. Walls include not only building walls but also surfaces formed into a wall by furniture, etc.

[0035] According to the mobile robot 130 according to the first embodiment, in a situation where emergency information is reported, the mobile robot 130 searches for reachable evacuation points 202 and moves to an evacuation point that is a high-priority evacuation point 202. In this way, the mobile robot 130 that has acquired the emergency information can quickly move to an evacuation point, and it is possible to avoid a situation in which the mobile robot 130 gets in the way of people's evacuation.

[0036] (Embodiment 2) Next, other embodiments of the mobile robot 130 will be described. Note that parts (portions) having the same actions, functions, shapes, mechanisms, and structures as those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof may be omitted. Also, the following description will focus on differences from the first embodiment, and descriptions of the same contents may be omitted.

[0037] Mobile robot 130 described in this second embodiment is a robotic vacuum cleaner that performs cleaning while moving autonomously, and includes moving means 132 and a movement control device 170. In this second embodiment, mobile robot 130 includes main body 131 shown in Figures 1 and 2, cleaning means 134, and sensor 136 for acquiring position information.

[0038] 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a mobile control device according to embodiment 2. The mobile control device 170 is a device that controls the moving means 132 to move the mobile robot 130. The mobile control device 170 includes a processor, and includes a self-position recognition unit 171, an emergency information acquisition unit 172, an area identification unit 173, a cost map acquisition unit 176, a control update unit 177, a cost map update unit 178, and an evacuation unit 175 as processing units realized by executing a program on the processor.

[0039] The cost map acquisition unit 176 acquires a cost map indicating the evacuation priority assigned to each section within the identified area. The cost map is a map generated in accordance with a floor map or the like. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the cost map is information that divides the floor map into an evacuation area 203 with the highest priority, a medium area 204 with the next highest priority, a low area 205 with a low priority that corresponds to an evacuation route for people, and a lowest area 206 with the lowest priority that is an area for opening and closing an emergency door 210.

[0040] In the second embodiment, the evacuating unit 175 controls the moving means 132 to move to a section with a higher priority than the priority corresponding to the section including the self-position recognized by the self-position recognition unit 171, based on the cost map acquired by the cost map acquisition unit 176. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, when the evacuating unit 175 determines that a part of the mobile robot 130 is above the low region 205 based on the self-position, the moving means 132 controls the moving means 132 to move to the nearest medium region 204. The evacuating unit 175 controls the moving means 132 to move to the evacuating region 203 with an even higher priority. Note that the evacuating unit 175 may control the moving means 132 based on a route that passes through a section with a higher priority, rather than selecting a route that passes through a section with a lower priority.

[0041] The evacuation unit 175 may also use a path search algorithm such as the A* (A-star) algorithm to find a path that moves only in a direction with a higher priority. That is, after moving to the medium region 204, the evacuation unit 175 does not search for a path that returns to the low region 205. This allows the mobile robot 130 to be reliably moved to an evacuation position with a higher priority than the position before evacuation when an evacuation timeout occurs, including when the elapsed time described below exceeds a time limit.

[0042] The control update unit 177 measures the time elapsed since the emergency information acquisition unit 172 acquired the emergency information, and when the elapsed time exceeds the time limit and the mobile robot 130 has not reached the highest priority section within the movable area, updates the control of the evacuation unit 175 so as to move the mobile robot 130 to the wall closest to the current position of the mobile robot 130.

[0043] In addition, when the emergency information acquisition unit 172 acquires an evacuation instruction, which is the second emergency information, if the mobile robot 130 has not reached the highest priority section within the movable area, the control update unit 177 may update the control of the evacuation unit 175 so as to move the mobile robot 130 to the wall closest to the current position of the mobile robot 130.

[0044] Furthermore, the control update unit 177 may update the control of the evacuation unit 175 so that the mobile robot 130 stops on the spot when a travel time limit indicating the time allowed for travel from the time the mobile robot 130 starts moving toward a high-priority section is reached. The travel time limit may be dynamically changed depending on the situation. For example, the travel time limit may be dynamically changed according to the following equation 1.

[0045] Travel time limit = Cost map × (travel time limit - elapsed time) / travel time limit Formula 1 The cost map is the priority of the section including the self-position of the mobile robot 130 .

[0046] Furthermore, if the priority of the location where the mobile robot 130 is located is lower than the priority of the movement start position at a point a predetermined time before the movement limit time, the control of the retreat unit 175 may be updated so that the mobile robot 130 returns to the movement start position.

[0047] The cost map update unit 178 updates the acquired cost map based on the emergency information acquired by the emergency information acquisition unit 172. For example, when the emergency information acquisition unit 172 acquires disaster location information indicating the location of a fire or the like as emergency information, the cost map update unit 178 may lower the priority of a category close to the disaster location. Furthermore, when the emergency information includes detailed evacuation routes for people, the cost map update unit 178 may update the cost map based on the acquired evacuation routes for people.

[0048] According to the mobile robot 130 of the second embodiment, if an emergency occurs while the mobile robot 130 is moving in front of an emergency door, it is possible to immediately determine, using the cost map, whether the mobile robot 130 is in an area to which it should move. Therefore, it is possible to immediately avoid a situation in which the mobile robot 130 moving within the opening and closing area of ​​the emergency door 210 in the event of an emergency from interfering with the opening and closing of the emergency door 210 or the evacuation of people.

[0049] (Embodiment 3) Next, other embodiments of the mobile robot 130 will be described. Note that parts (portions) having the same actions, functions, shapes, mechanisms, and structures as those in the first and second embodiments will be given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof may be omitted. Also, the following description will focus on differences from the first and second embodiments, and descriptions of the same contents may be omitted.

[0050] The mobile robot 130 described in the third embodiment is a robotic vacuum cleaner that performs cleaning while moving autonomously, and includes a moving means 132 and a movement control device 170. In the second embodiment, the mobile robot 130 includes a main body 131 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a cleaning means 134, and a sensor 136 for acquiring position information.

[0051] The type of sensor 136 is not particularly limited, and may include sensors other than sensors that acquire position information. Furthermore, the mobile robot 130 may be equipped with a plurality of sensors. Specific examples of the sensor 136 that acquires position information include a LiDAR, a ToF camera, a compound eye camera, a GPS sensor, an odometry sensor, and an inertial sensor including a gyro sensor. Furthermore, examples of the sensor 136 other than the sensor that acquires position information include a digital camera, an ultrasonic ranging sensor, and a ranging sensor that detects obstacles based on the presence or absence of reflected infrared light.

[0052] 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a mobile control device according to embodiment 3. The mobile control device 170 is a device that controls the moving means 132 to move the mobile robot 130. The mobile control device 170 includes a processor, and includes, as processing units realized by executing a program on the processor, a self-position recognition unit 171, an emergency information acquisition unit 172, an area identification unit 173, a floor map acquisition unit 179, a prohibited area recognition unit 180, an evacuation map generation unit 181, a current status notification unit 182, a sound reduction unit 183, and an evacuation unit 175.

[0053] The emergency information acquisition unit 172 detects the occurrence of an emergency based on information from the sensors 136 and generates emergency information. For example, when the mobile robot 130 is stopped or while moving, the mobile robot 130 is stopped and a signal from one of the sensors 136, a gyro sensor, is stored for a predetermined period of time. The stored signal from the gyro sensor is compared with the signal currently acquired from the gyro sensor to detect the occurrence of an earthquake. This makes it possible to distinguish between normal vibrations, such as those caused by passing trucks or trains or wind, and vibrations caused by an earthquake, and to detect vibrations caused by an earthquake as the occurrence of an emergency. Furthermore, the floor map acquired by the floor map acquisition unit 179 (described below) includes information about floor heights (number of floors), and gyro sensor signals may be stored for each floor height. In this case, the occurrence of an earthquake may be detected based on the gyro sensor signals stored for floors at the same height as the floor on which the mobile robot 130 is located. This allows for accurate understanding of the different vibrations on each floor and highly accurate detection of an earthquake.

[0054] The emergency information acquisition unit 172 may also acquire emergency information generated by other mobile robots. This allows the occurrence of an earthquake detected by a mobile robot 130 on a higher floor to be communicated to mobile robots 130 on lower floors, allowing mobile robots 130 that were unable to detect the earthquake tremors to take appropriate evacuation actions.

[0055] The floor map acquisition unit 179 acquires a floor map of the floor including the self-position of the mobile robot 130. The floor map acquisition unit 179 may acquire a map created by the self-position recognition unit 171 using SLAM as the floor map, or may acquire a floor map created during the design of the building, etc. Furthermore, the floor map may include evacuation candidate points, and evacuation priorities may be set for each section.

[0056] The prohibited area recognition unit 180 recognizes areas within the acquired floor map where stopping is prohibited based on information from the sensor 136. For example, the prohibited area recognition unit 180 acquires image information from a digital camera, which is one of the sensors 136, and recognizes prohibited area objects such as people, regular doors, emergency doors, and fire department entry marks affixed to windows, and recognizes areas in front of or around the recognized objects that have a shape and size corresponding to the objects as prohibited areas. Alternatively, prohibited area objects may be recognized by shape recognition from point cloud data acquired from a LiDAR. This makes it possible to recognize prohibited areas according to the current situation, and, for example, when people are present, it is possible to move the mobile robot 130 in a direction where there are no people.

[0057] If the prohibited area recognition unit 180 recognizes a person after a predetermined evacuation deadline has elapsed since the emergency information acquisition unit 172 acquired the emergency information, the prohibited area recognition unit 180 may recognize the person as a person who was too late to escape. This allows the external management system or the like to be notified of the location of the mobile robot 130 and the fact that the person was too late to escape, thereby supporting rescue operations.

[0058] The evacuation map generation unit 181 generates an evacuation map by overlaying the prohibited areas recognized by the prohibited area recognition unit 180 on a floor map. The evacuation map may include evacuation point candidates 202, and may also function as a cost map.

[0059] The evacuation unit 175 moves the mobile robot 130 out of the prohibited area based on the generated evacuation map, and controls the moving means 132 so that the mobile robot 130 does not approach the prohibited area. Furthermore, the evacuation unit 175 moves the mobile robot 130 to an area with a high priority.

[0060] The current status notification unit 182 notifies a person of the current status based on the emergency information acquired by the emergency information acquisition unit 172. Specifically, the current status notification unit 182 outputs the current status information to notification means such as a display, a light, or a speaker, and notifies a person of the current status via the notification means. The current status notification unit 182 may output the current status information after the mobile robot 130 has finished moving for evacuation. Examples of the current status information include information clearly indicating that an emergency situation has occurred, information outputting information to sound a siren from a speaker and flash a light to sound a fire alarm, and the like.

[0061] The current situation reporting unit 182 may also output evacuation information such as evacuation routes, evacuation directions, and the location of the fire as current situation information.

[0062] The sound silencing unit 183 stops the electronic sounds that the mobile robot 130 normally generates while the mobile robot 130 is moving using the retracting unit 175. This prevents the electronic sounds generated by the mobile robot 130 from interfering with in-building announcements such as evacuation instructions that are broadcast to people in an emergency.

[0063] According to the mobile robot 130 of the third embodiment, the evacuation position of the mobile robot 130 can be determined based on predetermined map information related to evacuation as well as on prohibited areas that can be recognized by the mobile robot 130. This makes it possible to ensure an even safer evacuation route for people.

[0064] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the present invention may be embodied in another embodiment by arbitrarily combining the components described in this specification or by excluding some of the components. Furthermore, the present invention also includes various modifications that would occur to a person skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention, i.e., the meaning of the wording of the claims.

[0065] For example, a cleaning robot that cleans by moving on the floor surface has been exemplified as the mobile robot 130, but the mobile robot may not only be a robot that moves two-dimensionally on the floor surface, but also a flying robot that can move in three-dimensional space.

[0066] Furthermore, when the self-position recognition unit 171, the prohibited area recognition unit 180, or the like recognizes that the mobile robot 130 is in an elevator, the evacuation unit 175 may control the moving means 132 so as not to take an evacuation action. Furthermore, the current status notification unit 182 does not have to output current status information.

[0067] Furthermore, a robot system may be constructed that includes multiple mobile robots 130 and a server that can communicate with each of the mobile robots 130, and signals from sensors 136 equipped on the multiple mobile robots 130 may be acquired together with position information (which may include height information) and comprehensively analyzed, allowing the server to predict the epicenter of an earthquake, whether a tsunami will occur, and the arrival of S-waves. Furthermore, the server may also predict the occurrence of an earthquake.

[0068] Furthermore, the sensor 136 may include a heat source sensor, and the emergency information acquisition unit 172 may detect the occurrence of a fire and the location of the fire, and generate emergency information.

[0069] Furthermore, the mobile robot 130 may be provided with electrode members such as multiple metal wires or metal chains that extend from the main body 131 to the floor surface, and the emergency information acquisition unit 172 may detect whether the floor surface is flooded based on the current flowing between two of the electrode members and generate emergency information regarding the flooding. Based on the emergency information, the evacuation unit 175 may control the moving means 132 to move to a location that is not flooded. [Industrial Applicability]

[0070] The present disclosure is applicable to autonomously moving robots such as cleaning robots, security robots, food delivery robots, guide robots, and advertising robots. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 130 Mobile Robot 131 Main Unit 132 Transportation 133 Suction unit 134 Cleaning means 136 Sensors 138 Intake port 139 Bumper 140 wheels 141 Housing 142 Caster 143 Dust holding part 146 Rotating Brush 147 Brush Drive Motor 170 Movement control device 171 Self-location recognition unit 172 Emergency Information Acquisition Department 173 Area identification part 174 Evacuation Point Selection Department 175 Evacuation Area 176 Cost Map Acquisition Unit 177 Control Update Unit 178 Cost Map Update Unit 179 Floor Map Acquisition Department 180 Forbidden area recognition unit 181 Evacuation map generation unit 182 Current Status Reporting Department 183 Silencer 201 Emergency Closure 202 Potential evacuation points 203 Evacuation area 204 Medium area 205 Low area 206 lowest area 210 Emergency Door

Claims

1. A mobile robot that moves autonomously, Means of transportation, a movement control device for controlling the movement means, The movement control device includes: a self-location recognition unit that recognizes its own location based on information from a sensor; an emergency information acquisition unit that acquires emergency information; an area specifying unit that specifies an area in which the vehicle can move based on the acquired emergency information; an evacuation point selection unit that selects an evacuation point from a plurality of evacuation point candidates in an area identified within a range detectable by the sensor from the self-position recognized by the self-position recognition unit; an evacuation unit that controls the moving means so that the moving means moves to the selected evacuation point; The evacuation point selection unit Based on the movement record of the mobile robot up until the time when the emergency information acquisition unit acquires the emergency information, the priority of the evacuation candidate point where there are no obstacles that will hinder travel to the evacuation candidate point is increased, and the evacuation candidate point with the highest priority is selected as the evacuation point. Mobile robot.

2. The evacuation point selection unit A higher priority is set for a candidate evacuation point that is located ahead in the direction of travel of the vehicle, the closer it is to the candidate evacuation point, and a lower priority is set for a candidate evacuation point that is located behind the vehicle than for a candidate evacuation point located ahead, and a higher priority is set for a candidate evacuation point that is closer to the vehicle among candidate evacuation points located behind the vehicle. The mobile robot of claim 1 .

3. The evacuation point selection unit 3. The mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the priority of a candidate evacuation point that has no obstacles that would hinder travel on the way to the candidate evacuation point is increased based on information from the sensor, and the candidate evacuation point with the highest priority is selected as the evacuation point.

4. The retreat section is After reaching the evacuation point, the moving means is controlled so that the mobile robot assumes a posture that minimizes the amount of protrusion from the wall surface and abuts against the wall surface. The mobile robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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