Information processing device

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technology for reducing risk of causing, upon operation of a robot according to an operation program, damage to the robot itself or to an end effector mounted to the robot. An information processing device 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: an acceleration vector computation unit 21 which, on the basis of either an operation program 62 or operational information concerning the operation of a robot apparatus 7 that has been actually operated according to the operation program 62, computes multiple acceleration vectors that respectively correspond to multiple time points during a period in which a reference position of the robot apparatus 7 moves from a starting point up to an end point; and an index value computation unit 22 which, on the basis of the multiple acceleration vectors, computes multiple index values that provide indexes for evaluating stress amplitudes acting on the reference position.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] By operating according to a previously created operation program, various operations can be performed on a robot, so many robots are introduced in assembly factories, food factories, etc. One of the backgrounds for the progress of robot introduction is the improvement of technology for ensuring its safety. For example, in order to limit the speed and acceleration of a robot that enters a designated area, it is determined whether the position of the tip of a tool is in an operation limit area of an arbitrary size set by coordinate values in a world coordinate system, and when the position of the tip of the tool is within the operation limit area, at least one of the speed and acceleration of the robot is limited (for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As described above, many technologies have been proposed to reduce the risk of worker injury or damage to surrounding equipment caused by robot operation. However, few technologies have been proposed to reduce the risk of damage to the robot itself or the end effectors attached to the robot caused by robot operation, leaving room for further technological development. In particular, since end effectors attached to robots each have different load capacities and rigidity values, they are subjected to large inertial forces due to the acceleration and deceleration of the robot, which can lead to fatigue accumulation and unexpected fatigue failure. Therefore, there is a need for proposals of technologies that reduce the risk of damage to the robot itself or the end effectors attached to the robot when the robot is operated according to its motion program. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises: an acceleration vector calculation unit that calculates a plurality of acceleration vectors corresponding to a plurality of points in time during the period in which the reference position of a robot moves from a starting point to an ending point, based on an operation program or operation information when the robot is actually operated in accordance with the operation program; and an index value calculation unit that calculates a plurality of index values ​​that serve as indicators for evaluating the stress amplitude acting on the reference position, based on the plurality of acceleration vectors. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to this embodiment, the risk of damage to the robot itself or the end effector attached to the robot when the robot is operated according to the operating program can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of a robot system including an information processing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the information processing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 3]Figure 3 shows the movement trajectory of the robot hand when it operates according to the motion program shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the acceleration vector calculated by the acceleration vector calculation unit in Figure 2. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a supplementary diagram that provides further explanation of the calculation process of the index value calculation unit in Figure 2. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a supplementary diagram that provides further explanation of the calculation process of the angle calculation unit in Figure 2. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a supplementary diagram that provides further explanation for the modification process of the program modification section in Figure 2. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows the first example of a judgment page created by the judgment page creation unit in Figure 2. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows a second example of a judgment page created by the judgment page creation unit in Figure 2. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows a third example of a judgment page created by the judgment page creation unit in Figure 2. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows another example of a robot system including an information processing device according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The information processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having substantially the same function and configuration will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be given only when necessary.

[0009] The information processing device according to this embodiment (hereinafter simply referred to as the information processing device) has a function for evaluating an operation program, specifically, the information processing device has a function for calculating an index value for determining the possibility of fatigue failure occurring at a specific part of the robot device when the robot device is operated according to the operation program. This feature allows, for example, a user to determine the possibility of fatigue failure occurring at a specific part of the robot device by checking the index value and to modify the operation program as necessary. The determination of the possibility of fatigue failure occurring at a specific part of the robot device can also be performed automatically by comparing the index value with a threshold value. Furthermore, the modification of the operation program can also be performed automatically based on the index value and the threshold value.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 1 is configured to be connectable to the control device 10 that controls the robot device 7. For example, the information processing device 1 provides the control device 10 with an operation program modified in the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 also receives the operation program to be evaluated from the control device 10. The control device 10 controls the robot device 7 according to the operation program. In this embodiment, the robot device 7 includes a robot arm mechanism 8 having a plurality of joints and a robot hand 9 attached to the wrist portion of the robot arm mechanism 8. The robot hand 9 includes a base 90 and a pair of fingers 91 and 92 that are openable and closable on the base 90.

[0011] As shown in Figure 2, the information processing device 1 is configured by connecting hardware such as an operation unit 3, a display unit 4, a communication unit 5, and a storage unit 6 to a processor 2 (CPU, etc.). The information processing device 1 is provided by a general-purpose personal computer, tablet, etc.

[0012] The operation unit 3 has input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, and jog dial. Alternatively, a touch panel or similar device that serves both the operation unit 3 and the display unit 4 may be used. The user can input various types of information to the information processing device 1 via the operation unit 3.

[0013] The various information includes the input operation information of the reference position of the robot device 7 that is the target for determining the possibility of fatigue failure, and the input operation information on the determination page displayed on the display unit 4. In this embodiment, the reference position of the robot device 7 is set on the robot hand 9. Hereinafter, the reference position of the robot device 7 is referred to as the robot hand 9.

[0014] The display unit 4 has a display device such as an LCD. The display unit 4 displays the determination page created by the determination page creation unit 26. In addition, the display unit 4 displays the possibility that fatigue failure occurs in the robot hand 9 determined by the determination unit 24. As the display mode, the possibility of fatigue failure may be displayed as a percentage, or the time until fatigue failure occurs may be displayed.

[0015] The storage unit 6 has a storage device such as an HDD or an SSD. A plurality of types of data are stored in the storage unit 6 in advance. The plurality of types of data include a determination program 61, an operation program 62 of the determination target, and a threshold value. The operation program 62 describes an operation position command for the robot device 7 and the like. The threshold value is a value for evaluating the index value, is used in the determination process by the determination unit 24 described later, and is also displayed in a graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum value of the index value.

[0016] The communication unit 5 controls the transmission and reception of data with the control device 10. For example, through the processing of the communication unit 5, the operation program 62 modified by the information processing device 1 is provided to the control device 10 .

[0017] When the determination program 61 stored in the storage unit 6 is executed by the processor 2, the information processing device 1 functions as an acceleration vector calculation unit 21, an index value calculation unit 22, an angle calculation unit 23, a determination unit 24, a graph creation unit 25, a determination page creation unit 26, and a program modification unit 27.

[0018] The acceleration vector calculation unit 21 calculates multiple acceleration vectors corresponding to multiple points in time during the period when the robot hand 9 moves from the starting point to the ending point, based on the motion program 62. The multiple points in time are set to be equally spaced in time. Of course, the multiple points in time may also be set to be equally spaced in distance.

[0019] The index value calculation unit 22 calculates multiple index values ​​that serve as indicators for evaluating the stress amplitude acting on the robot hand 9, based on multiple acceleration vectors calculated by the acceleration vector calculation unit 21. Specifically, the index value calculation unit 22 calculates the dot product of two of the multiple acceleration vectors. Details of the calculation process by the index value calculation unit 22 will be described later.

[0020] The angle calculation unit 23 calculates values ​​corresponding to the angles of multiple acceleration vectors calculated by the acceleration vector calculation unit 21 with respect to the reference axis. Specifically, the angle calculation unit 23 calculates the sine value of the angle between the acceleration vector and the reference axis as the value corresponding to the angle. Details of the calculation process by the angle calculation unit 23 will be described later.

[0021] The determination unit 24 determines the possibility of fatigue failure occurring in the robot hand 9 when the robot device 7 operates according to the operation program 62, based on a plurality of index values ​​calculated by the index value calculation unit 22. For example, the determination unit 24 determines the possibility of fatigue failure occurring in the robot hand 9 by comparing a plurality of index values ​​calculated by the index value calculation unit 22 with a threshold. More specifically, the determination unit 24 determines the possibility of fatigue failure occurring in the robot hand 9 by comparing the minimum value of the index values ​​with a threshold. Alternatively, the determination unit 24 may determine the possibility of fatigue failure occurring in the robot hand 9 based on a plurality of index values ​​calculated by the index value calculation unit 22 and a plurality of angles calculated by the angle calculation unit 23.

[0022] The graph creation unit 25 creates multiple types of graphs. These multiple types of graphs include graphs showing the time change of index values, graphs showing the time change of angles, and graphs showing the time change of acceleration vectors. Graphs showing the time change of index values ​​are created based on multiple index values ​​calculated by the index value calculation unit 22. Specifically, these include graphs corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value, graphs corresponding to the time change of index values ​​with a specific point in time as the reference point, etc., based on multiple dot product values ​​calculated by the index value calculation unit 22. Graphs showing the time change of angles are created based on multiple angles calculated by the angle calculation unit 23. Graphs showing the time change of acceleration vectors are created based on multiple acceleration vectors calculated by the acceleration vector calculation unit 21. Graphs showing the time change of acceleration vectors include graphs for each of the three orthogonal axes and graphs for the absolute value of the acceleration vectors.

[0023] The judgment page creation unit 26 creates a judgment page according to a predetermined format. The judgment page created by the judgment page creation unit 26 is displayed on the display unit 4. Details of the judgment page will be described later.

[0024] The program modification unit 27 modifies the operation program 62 based on the determination result from the determination unit 24. Details of the modification process of the operation program 62 by the program modification unit 27 will be described later.

[0025] Figure 3 shows an example of the movement trajectory of the robot hand 9 when the robot device 7 operates according to the operation program 62. For the sake of simplicity, here we assume that the robot hand 9 moves in translation on the XY plane. As shown in Figure 3, when the robot device 7 operates according to the operation program 62, the robot hand 9 moves in the order of standby position A, picking position B, and release position C, and then returns to standby position A.

[0026] The acceleration vector calculation unit 21 calculates multiple acceleration vectors (Vt0, Vt1, ..., Vt18) corresponding to multiple points in time (T0, T1, ..., T18) during the movement period from the starting point standby position A to the end point standby position A via the picking position B and release position C. Figure 4 shows an example of multiple acceleration vectors (Vt0, Vt1, ..., Vt18) calculated by the acceleration vector calculation unit 21. Since the robot hand 9, which is the reference position of the robot device 7, moves translationally on the XY plane, the acceleration vector is represented only by the XY components. For example, at point T0, immediately after the robot hand 9 starts moving along the -Y direction from standby position A towards picking position B, the absolute value of the acceleration vector Vt0 corresponding to point T0 is large, and its direction is in the -Y direction. At times T2 and T3, which are predetermined time intervals after the robot hand 9 starts moving from standby position A towards picking position B, the absolute values ​​of the acceleration vectors Vt2 and Vt3 corresponding to times T2 and T3 are 0. At time T5, just before reaching picking position B, the robot hand 9 is in a braking period, so the absolute value of the acceleration vector Vt5 corresponding to time T5 is large, and its direction is in the +Y direction.

[0027] The index value calculation unit 22 calculates the dot product of acceleration vectors for each combination of two acceleration vectors from among multiple time points (T0, T1, ..., T18) as an index value. In other words, the index value calculation unit 22 calculates the dot product of two acceleration vectors from among multiple acceleration vectors (Vt0, Vt1, ..., Vt18) by brute force.

[0028] Figure 5 is a supplementary diagram illustrating the calculation process performed by the index value calculation unit 22. Figure 5 shows an example of calculating the dot product value when time T0 is the reference point among several time points (T0, T1, ..., T18). As shown in Figure 5, the index value calculation unit 22 calculates the dot product value of the acceleration vectors (Vt0 and Vt1, Vt0 and Vt2, ..., Vt0 and Vt18) for each combination of the reference time point T0 and each of the other time points (T1, T2, ..., T18). Similarly, the index value calculation unit 22 moves the reference time point to T1 and calculates the dot product value of the acceleration vectors (Vt1 and Vt0, Vt1 and Vt2, ..., Vt1 and Vt18) for each combination of the reference time point T1 and each of the other time points (T0, T2, ..., T18). In this way, one reference time is selected from multiple points in time during the period when the robot hand 9 moves from the starting point to the ending point on the movement trajectory defined in the motion program 62, and the dot product of the acceleration vectors between this reference time and each of the other points in time is calculated. The same calculation is repeated while switching the reference time. This method of selecting two points in permutations from multiple points in time and calculating the dot product is called the brute-force method.

[0029] The dot product value itself does not directly represent the magnitude of the stress amplitude acting on the robot hand 9. It is known that fatigue failure of a member depends on the magnitude of the stress amplitude generated in the member. This stress amplitude increases when two opposite inertial forces act on the member. By calculating the dot product value, it is possible to identify pairs of operating points (time points) during a series of movements of the robot hand 9 that may act on the robot hand 9 with opposite inertial forces. As is well known, the dot product value of the acceleration vectors (Vt0, Vt1) between time point T0 and time point T1 is given by |Vt0|·|Vt1|·cosθ, where θ is the angle between the two acceleration vectors. When the polarity of the dot product value of the two acceleration vectors corresponding to the two time points is negative, it indicates that the angle between the two acceleration vectors is greater than 90 degrees and less than 270 degrees. Two acceleration vectors with a negative dot product polarity are a pair that generate two opposite inertial forces on the robot hand 9. Of course, the larger the absolute value of the dot product, the greater the inertial force acting on the robot hand 9. In other words, the more negative the polarity of the dot product and the larger its absolute value, the larger the stress amplitude acting on the robot hand 9. Thus, since fatigue failure depends on the magnitude of the stress amplitude, and the magnitude of the stress amplitude corresponds to the polarity and absolute value of the dot product, the dot product of the acceleration vectors can be used to determine the possibility of fatigue failure. In this embodiment, the dot product and the index value are related such that the index value increases as the dot product value decreases. When the index value calculated by the index value calculation unit 22 is large, the user can determine that the stress amplitude acting on the robot hand 9 is large and that fatigue failure is likely to occur.

[0030] The angle calculation unit 23 calculates the angle of the acceleration vector with respect to the reference axis. It is desirable that the reference axis be set in the direction that is weak against fatigue failure at the reference position of the robot device 7. For example, the direction that is weak against fatigue failure corresponds to the thickness direction of the member. When a stress amplitude acts in the thickness direction on a thick member, even if the stress amplitude is large, it is unlikely to be a factor that causes fatigue failure. On the other hand, when a stress amplitude acts in the thickness direction on a thin member, even if the stress amplitude is small, it can be a factor that causes fatigue failure. Therefore, by considering not only the magnitude of the stress amplitude acting on the reference position of the robot device 7, but also the direction of the stress amplitude, the possibility of fatigue failure can be determined in more detail.

[0031] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, the reference axis is set to the Y-axis because the fingers 91 and 92 of the robot hand 9, which is the reference position of the robot device 7, are thin and susceptible to fatigue failure. The angle calculation unit 23 calculates the sine value of the horizontal angle θ and the sine value of the vertical angle φ as the horizontal angle θ and vertical angle φ of the acceleration vectors (Vt0, Vt1, ..., Vt18) with respect to the reference axis (Y-axis). Since the acceleration vectors (Vt0, Vt1, ..., Vt18) only contain XY components, the sine value of the vertical angle φ is set to '0' and is omitted in the description of this embodiment. The angle calculation unit 23 calculates the sine value of the horizontal angle θ between the reference axis (Y-axis) and the acceleration vectors (Vt0, Vt1, ..., Vt18). The sine value calculated by the angle calculation unit 23 shows "0" when the reference axis and the acceleration vectors are parallel. It shows "1" when the reference axis and the acceleration vectors are orthogonal.

[0032] The program modification unit 27 modifies the operation program 62 based on the determination result of the determination unit 24. Figure 7 shows an example of the operation program 62. As shown in Figure 7, for example, the operation program 62 contains various commands arranged in order of operation. Operation sequences 3 and 6 are standby commands, and operation sequences 1, 2, 4, and 6 are operation position commands. The operation position command is associated with the operation position, interpolation format, movement format, and operation speed. Operation position "Ichi 'A'" indicates moving to teaching position A. The interpolation format is a condition concerning the interpolation format between two teaching points. For example, the interpolation format "Kakujiku" indicates that the two teaching points are interpolated by an arc so as not to put stress on each joint of the robot device 7. The interpolation format also includes other interpolation formats such as linear interpolation. The movement format is a condition concerning how to move between two teaching points. For example, the movement format "Ichigime" indicates moving in a way that always passes through the teaching points. The operating speed is the operating speed of the robot device 7, and is expressed as a percentage of the predetermined maximum speed. For example, an operating speed of "100%" means that the robot device 7 is operating at the maximum speed.

[0033] The program modification unit 27, based on the determination result of the determination unit 24, modifies the operation program 62 to reduce the speed at a given point in time if it determines that the operation program 62 contains a point in time that could potentially cause fatigue failure in the robot hand 9. For example, if it is determined that an instantaneous movement between position A and position B could potentially cause fatigue failure in the robot hand 9, the program modification unit 27 reduces the speed of operation sequence 2 from "100%" to "90%" in order to reduce the speed of movement between position A and position B. The items to be modified in the operation program 62 are not limited to the speed of movement. For example, the program modification unit 27 may modify the acceleration and deceleration settings to make the acceleration and deceleration smoother, or it may modify the movement type to change the trajectory from position A to position B.

[0034] Figures 8, 9, and 10 show examples of judgment pages created by the judgment page creation unit 26, respectively. As shown in Figures 8, 9, and 10, the judgment page includes multiple UI elements for inputting and selecting various items, and a graph display area. The multiple UI elements include a selection button for displaying a dialog box for file selection, a registration button for displaying a 3D model of the robot device 7 for registering a reference position, a registration button for registering a reference position, four checkboxes for selecting the graph to display in the graph display area, a pull-down menu for selecting the threshold to display in the graph, a pull-down menu for selecting the type of acceleration vector to display in the graph related to acceleration vectors, a judgment processing button that triggers the execution of the judgment process, a manual correction button for the user to manually correct the operation program 62, and an automatic correction button for automatically correcting the operation program 62. The judgment page may also display the judgment result of the judgment unit 24 regarding the possibility of fatigue failure occurring in the robot hand 9. For example, the judgment unit 24 determines that "there is a possibility of fatigue failure" when the index value is smaller than the threshold and there is a point in time when a large stress amplitude that causes fatigue failure is applied. The assessment page displays text informing the user that there is a possibility of fatigue failure.

[0035] When the judgment processing button is clicked, the acceleration vector calculation process, index value calculation process, angle calculation process, and judgment process are executed based on the input operation program, and various graphs are displayed. When the manual correction button is clicked, the operation program shown in Figure 7 is displayed, and the user can manually correct the operation program. When the automatic correction button is clicked, the program correction process by the program correction unit 27 is executed, and the operation program is automatically corrected. After the operation program has been corrected manually or automatically, clicking the judgment processing button again will execute the acceleration vector calculation process, index value calculation process, angle calculation process, and judgment process based on the corrected operation program, and various graphs will be displayed. By referring to the graphs displayed on the judgment page, the user can confirm whether the operation program has been corrected correctly, specifically whether there are no points in time when large stress amplitudes that could cause fatigue failure are applied to the robot hand 9.

[0036] The four checkboxes correspond to 'metric value', 'angle', 'acceleration', and 'threshold', respectively.

[0037] As shown in Figures 8, 9, and 10, by checking the checkbox corresponding to the 'indicator value', the user can display a graph in the graph display area that corresponds to the time change of the maximum value of the indicator value created by the graph creation unit 25.

[0038] The graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value plots the maximum index value for each time point. As explained in Figure 5, for example, the maximum index value at time T0 is determined as follows. That is, the dot product of acceleration vectors (Vt0 and Vt1, Vt0 and Vt2, ..., Vt0 and Vt18) is calculated for each combination of time point T0 and other time points (T1, T2, ..., T18). Then, the combination of acceleration vectors in which the polarity of the dot product of the acceleration vector Vt0 corresponding to time T0 is negative and the absolute value is maximized is identified. In this case, the polarity of the dot product of the acceleration vector Vt0 corresponding to time T0 and the acceleration vector Vt12 corresponding to time T12 is negative and the absolute value is maximized. Therefore, the maximum index value at time T0 is the dot product of Vt0·Vt12. In this way, the maximum index value is also calculated relative to other time points (T1, T2, ..., T18).

[0039] In the graph showing the time evolution of the maximum index value, the horizontal axis represents the passage of time, and the vertical axis represents the magnitude of the index value. The higher the vertical axis, the larger the index value, meaning the smaller the dot product.

[0040] By referring to a graph that shows the time evolution of the maximum value of the indicator, the user can determine whether there are any operating points (time points) that could potentially cause fatigue failure in the robot hand 9, by checking the magnitude of the indicator value. Various information can be displayed on the judgment page to assist the user in making this judgment.

[0041] In Figure 8, thresholds are overlaid on a graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value. The index value used to determine the presence or absence of a pair of operating points (time points) that apply a large stress amplitude, which is a cause of fatigue failure, changes depending on the material, dimensions, shape, and material properties of the location set as the reference position of the robot device 7. Therefore, displaying thresholds overlaid on a graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value can assist the user in making a judgment. It is desirable that thresholds be provided for each reference position of the robot device 7. Alternatively, it is desirable that thresholds be provided for each combination of material type, thickness, shape, etc.

[0042] The user selects threshold A, corresponding to the robot hand 9, as the threshold to be displayed on the graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum value of the index. By referring to Figure 8, the user can easily identify time points T6, T11, T12, and T18, when the index value is greater than threshold A, as points where a large stress amplitude that causes fatigue failure is applied.

[0043] In Figure 9, a graph corresponding to the time change of the angle is overlaid on a graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value. In the graph corresponding to the time change of the angle, the vertical axis represents the sine value of the angle between the reference axis and the acceleration vector, and the horizontal axis represents the passage of time. The reference axis is set in the direction that is weak against fatigue failure. In other words, when the sine value is '0' or close to '0', it indicates that the direction of the acceleration vector is parallel to the direction that is weak against fatigue failure or slightly tilted toward the direction that is weak against fatigue failure. Depending on the location set as the reference position of the robot device 7, there are directions in which the material is susceptible to the influence of stress amplitude, such as the direction in which the material is thin, and are therefore weak against fatigue failure.

[0044] Therefore, for example, even if the index value corresponding to the first time point is small, if the direction of the acceleration vector corresponding to the first time point is parallel to or slightly inclined to the direction that is weak against fatigue failure, it may be better to judge the first time point as the point at which fatigue failure occurs. On the other hand, even if the index value corresponding to the second time point is large, if the direction of the acceleration vector corresponding to the second time point is in a direction that is strong against fatigue failure, it may not be necessary to judge the second time point as the point at which fatigue failure occurs. In this way, by being able to check the time change of the maximum index value and the time change of the angle on the same time axis, it is possible to identify points in time where the index value is small, but the direction of the acceleration vector acts in a direction that is weak against fatigue failure, which cannot be extracted by only a graph showing the time change of the maximum index value. For example, by referring to Figure 9, the user can identify not only points T6, T11, T12, and T18 with large index values, but also points T0 and T5, where the index value is not large but acceleration and deceleration are in a direction that is weak against fatigue failure, as points in time that are factors in causing fatigue failure.

[0045] In Figure 10, a graph corresponding to the time change of the index value, relative to a point in time selected by user operation on the graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value, is displayed alongside the graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value. For example, as shown in Figure 10, if the plot of time point T6, where the index value is large, is selected in the graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value, a graph corresponding to the time change of the index value relative to time point T6 will be displayed. By referring to Figure 10, the user can confirm that time points T6 and T12 are the time point pair where the maximum index value was calculated, and that this is a time point pair that applies a large stress amplitude that could be a cause of fatigue failure. In this way, by displaying the graph corresponding to the time change of the maximum index value and the graph corresponding to the time change of the index value relative to a specific time point side by side, it is possible to identify time point pairs that apply a large stress amplitude that could be a cause of fatigue failure. Furthermore, by checking the graph corresponding to the time change of the index value relative to a specific time point, the user can determine how much stress amplitude is applied to the robot hand 9 over the entire operating period, in combination with other time points. KaoThis can be verified. For example, if the maximum value of the indicator corresponding to a specific point in time exceeds a threshold small Even if it can be determined that a point in time is not one at which a large stress amplitude that would cause fatigue failure is applied, if the index value obtained by combining a specific point in time with several other points in time is a large value that is close to the threshold, then that specific point in time should be judged as a point in time that could cause fatigue failure throughout the entire process. In this way, the user can examine in detail the points in time that cause fatigue failure by referring to Figure 10.

[0046] As described above, the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment can provide the user with information to determine the possibility of fatigue failure occurring at a specific part of the robot device when the robot device 7 is operated according to the operation program. Specifically, as information for determination, it can calculate multiple acceleration vectors corresponding to multiple points in time during the operation period and display a graph corresponding to the time change of an index value that evaluates the magnitude of stress amplitude based on the multiple acceleration vectors. This allows the user to confirm which point in time's operation is an influencing factor that causes fatigue failure in the robot hand 9 during a series of operations. If the operation program includes an operation that may cause fatigue failure, the user can modify the operation program to eliminate that operation. Furthermore, if it is difficult to modify the operation program due to limitations such as cycle time, the strength of the part that may cause fatigue failure can be improved to prevent fatigue failure. The determination process by the information processing device 1 according to this embodiment can be performed before actually operating the robot device 7, so the determination results can be used in the manufacture of the robot hand 9, etc.

[0047] In this embodiment, the acceleration vector was calculated based on the operation program, but it is also possible to calculate the acceleration vector using the operation information when the robot device 7 is actually operated according to the operation program. For example, as shown in Figure 11, an acceleration sensor 100 is attached to a location where the possibility of fatigue failure is to be evaluated, in this case the robot hand 9. The control device 10 controls the robot device 7 according to the operation program and collects sensor information from the acceleration sensor 100 while the robot device 7 is operating. The sensor information collected by the control device 10 during the operation period is provided to the information processing device 1. Based on the sensor information during the operation period, the information processing device 1 can calculate multiple acceleration vectors corresponding to multiple points in time during the operation period.

[0048] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0049] 1... Information processing device, 2... Processor, 3... Operation unit, 4... Display unit, 5... Communication unit, 6... Memory unit, 21... Acceleration vector calculation unit, 22... Index value calculation unit, 23... Angle calculation unit, 24... Judgment unit, 25... Graph creation unit, 26... Judgment page creation unit, 61... Judgment program, 62... Operation program.

Claims

1. An acceleration vector calculation unit calculates multiple acceleration vectors corresponding to multiple points in time during the period when the robot's reference position moves from a starting point to an ending point, based on an operation program or operation information when the robot is actually operated according to the operation program. Based on the plurality of acceleration vectors, an index value calculation unit calculates the dot product of the acceleration vectors for each combination of two of the plurality of time points, which serves as an index for evaluating the stress amplitude acting on the reference position. An information processing device comprising: a display unit that displays a graph representing the fluctuation of the dot product value;

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that determines the possibility of fatigue failure occurring at the reference position based on the minimum value of the dot product.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines the possibility of fatigue failure occurring at the reference position by comparing the minimum value of the inner product with a threshold value.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a threshold value superimposed on the graph.

5. An acceleration vector calculation unit that calculates a plurality of acceleration vectors corresponding to a plurality of points in time during the period in which the reference position of the robot moves from a starting point to an ending point, based on an operation program or operation information when the robot is actually operated in accordance with the operation program, An index value calculation unit calculates a plurality of index values ​​that serve as indicators for evaluating the stress amplitude acting on the reference position based on the plurality of acceleration vectors, A determination unit that determines the possibility of fatigue failure occurring at the reference position based on the plurality of indicator values, An information processing apparatus comprising: a program modification unit that modifies the operation program based on the determination result of the determination unit.

6. The system further includes an angle calculation unit that calculates the angle of each of the plurality of acceleration vectors with respect to a reference axis, The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the determination unit determines the possibility of fatigue failure occurring at the reference position based on the index value and the angle.

Images