Robot simulation device and robot simulation method

Abstract

The present invention switches to a display screen capable of automatically confirming a state of a collision spot when a situation of a collision spot is difficult to grasp.　This robot simulation device capable of displaying a three-dimensional space including a robot and an obstacle on a screen includes: a collision detection unit for detecting a collision between the robot and an obstacle; and a display switching unit for switching to a display screen for simultaneously displaying a collision part of the robot and a part where the obstacle collides when a collision between the robot and the obstacle is detected.

Description

Robot simulation device and robot simulation method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a robot simulation device and a robot simulation method that display a collision location when a robot collides with an obstacle in a simulation.

[0002] Software for simulating robots has been developed. For example, a technology is known in which graphics of a robot model and a workpiece model are input, robot teaching and simulation are performed, and interference checks between the robot model and the workpiece model are performed collectively for each combination of multiple selected robot models, workpiece models, and operation programs, and interference conditions are displayed. See, for example, Patent Document 1. Another technology is known in which, when a pair of objects that are interfering with each other is detected among objects existing in a model space, the operation simulation of the objects is temporarily stopped and the pair of objects is displayed in a color different from the other objects. See, for example, Patent Document 2.

[0003] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-78017 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-259024

[0004] The techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a problem in that when a collision (interference) occurs, it is difficult for the user to determine the location of the collision depending on the viewpoint. For example, as shown in Fig. 7, in a composition in which the viewpoint, obstacle, and robot are aligned in a straight line, it is difficult to determine the location of the collision. Note that in Fig. 7, the robot is displayed with a hatched area to indicate that it has collided with an obstacle, using a known method (e.g., Patent Document 2, etc.).

[0005] Therefore, when the state of the collision point is difficult to see, it is desirable to automatically switch to a display screen that allows the state of the collision point to be confirmed.

[0006] One aspect of the robot simulation device disclosed herein is a robot simulation device capable of displaying a three-dimensional space including a robot and an obstacle on a screen, and includes a collision detection unit that detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle, and a display switching unit that, when a collision between the robot and an obstacle is detected, switches to a display screen that simultaneously displays the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the obstacle that has collided.

[0007] One aspect of the robot simulation method disclosed herein is a robot simulation method that causes a computer to function as a robot simulation device capable of displaying a three-dimensional space including a robot and an obstacle on a screen, and includes a collision detection step of detecting a collision between the robot and an obstacle, and a display switching step of, when a collision between the robot and an obstacle is detected, switching to a display screen that simultaneously displays the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the obstacle that has collided.

[0008] 2A is a diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of a robot simulation device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a robot and an obstacle arranged in a three-dimensional simulation space. FIG. 2C is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a robot and an obstacle arranged in a three-dimensional simulation space. FIG. 2D is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a robot and an obstacle arranged in a three-dimensional simulation space. FIG. 2E is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a robot and an obstacle changed from the posture of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2F is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a robot and an obstacle changed from the posture of FIG. 3. FIG. 2G is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a collision point of FIG. 4. FIG. 2H is a flowchart illustrating a display switching process of the robot simulation device 10. FIG. 2I is a diagram showing an example of a composition in which the viewpoint, the obstacle, and the robot are lined up in a straight line in this order.

[0009] A simulation device according to one embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. <One Embodiment> First, an outline of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, in a three-dimensional simulation space including a robot and an obstacle, a robot is moved along a trajectory determined by the operation program at a speed determined by the operation program based on an operation program to detect a collision between the robot and the obstacle. When a collision between the robot and the obstacle is detected, the display screen is switched to simultaneously display the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the object that has collided. As a result, according to this embodiment, when the state of the collision point is difficult to see, it is possible to automatically switch to a display screen that allows the state of the collision point to be confirmed. This concludes the outline of this embodiment.

[0010] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block configuration of a robot simulation device according to an embodiment. The robot simulation device 10 is a computer or the like well known to those skilled in the art, and includes a control unit 11, a display unit 12, and an input unit 13. The control unit 11 also includes a collision detection unit 110 and a display switching unit 120.

[0011] <Display unit 12> The display unit 12 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays the robot operating based on the operation program in the three-dimensional simulation space together with obstacles. Furthermore, as will be described later, when it is detected that the robot operating in the three-dimensional simulation space has collided with an obstacle, the display unit 12 switches to a display screen that simultaneously displays the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the object that has collided.

[0012] <Input Unit 13> The input unit 13 is, for example, a keyboard or a touch panel disposed on the display unit 12, and receives input from the user.

[0013] <Control Unit 11> The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) memory, and the like, which are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a bus and are well known to those skilled in the art. The CPU is a processor that controls the entire robot simulation device 10. The CPU reads system programs and application programs stored in the ROM via the bus and controls the entire robot simulation device 10 in accordance with the system programs and application programs. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1 , the control unit 11 is configured to implement the functions of the collision detection unit 110 and the display switching unit 120. The CMOS memory is backed up by a battery (not shown) and is configured as a non-volatile memory that retains its stored state even when the robot simulation device 10 is powered off.

[0014] The control unit 11 also executes an operation program to move the robot in the three-dimensional simulation space at a speed and along a trajectory determined by the operation program at predetermined time intervals (e.g., 1 / 60 seconds) in a predetermined manner. FIGS. 2A to 2C are diagrams showing an example of a display screen of a robot and obstacles arranged in the three-dimensional simulation space. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the three-dimensional simulation space as viewed from the Y-axis direction. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the three-dimensional simulation space of FIG. 2A as viewed from the Z-axis direction. FIG. 2C is a diagram showing the three-dimensional simulation space of FIG. 2A as viewed from the X-axis direction. Note that, on the display screens of FIGS. 2A to 2C, the robot and obstacles are rendered by parallel projection. Two or more robots may be arranged in the three-dimensional simulation space, and the control unit 11 may execute the operation program to operate the multiple robots.

[0015] The collision detection unit 110 detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle. Specifically, the collision detection unit 110 uses, for example, a known method (e.g., Patent Document 1, etc.) to determine whether the position of the hand, which is the tip of the robot, at each predetermined time (e.g., 1 / 60 seconds) calculated based on the speed and trajectory of the robot determined by the operation program executed by the control unit 11 is within the range of the three-dimensional space occupied by a pre-placed obstacle in a three-dimensional simulation space. If the collision detection unit 110 determines that the position of the hand of the robot is within the three-dimensional space occupied by the obstacle, it determines that a collision between the robot and the obstacle has been detected.

[0016] When a collision between the robot and an obstacle is detected (determined), the display switching unit 120 switches to a display screen that simultaneously displays the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the obstacle that has collided. Specifically, for example, in a three-dimensional simulation space, if the robot changes from the posture shown in FIG. 2A to the posture shown in FIG. 3 based on the operation program and then the collision detection unit 110 detects a collision with the obstacle when the robot assumes the posture shown in FIG. 4 , the display switching unit 120 extracts, from any direction starting from the collision point detected by the collision detection unit 110, a direction in which the line of sight is not obstructed by the robot or the obstacle. The display switching unit 120 switches from the display screen shown in FIG. 4 to a display screen that enlarges the collision point so that the part of the robot that has collided (interfered) is on the right side and the part of the obstacle that has collided (interfered) is on the left side, as shown in FIG. 5 . In FIG. 5 , the collided robot is indicated by a hatched area, and the collision point is indicated by an oval. In this way, the robot simulation device 10 switches to a display screen that approaches the collision point at the moment when a collision (interference) occurs between the robot and an obstacle, making it possible to confirm the state of the collision point even from a viewpoint that makes it difficult to see the state of the collision point. Note that, as in the case of Figure 7, Figures 4 and 5 use a known method (e.g., Patent Document 2, etc.) to display the robot with a shaded area to indicate that the robot has collided with an obstacle.

[0017] <Display Switching Process of Robot Simulation Apparatus 10> Next, the flow of the display switching process of the robot simulation apparatus 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the display switching process of the robot simulation apparatus 10.

[0018] In step S11, the control unit 11 executes an operation program.

[0019] In step S12, the collision detection unit 110 determines whether the position of the robot's hand in three-dimensional space is within the range of the three-dimensional space occupied by a pre-placed obstacle, and determines whether a collision between the robot and the obstacle has been detected. If the position of the robot's hand is within the three-dimensional space of the obstacle and a collision between the robot and the obstacle has been detected, the process proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, if the position of the robot's hand is outside the three-dimensional space of the obstacle and a collision between the robot and the obstacle has not been detected, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0020] In step S13, the display switching unit 120 extracts, from any direction starting from the collision point detected in step S12, a direction in which the line of sight is not obstructed by the robot or obstacle, and switches to a display screen in which the part of the robot that has collided (interfered) with the extracted direction is on the right side and the part of the obstacle that has collided (interfered with) with the extracted direction is enlarged on the left side.

[0021] In step S14, the control unit 11 advances the operation program by a predetermined time (for example, 1 / 60 seconds).

[0022] In step S15, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the entire operation program is complete. If the entire operation program is complete, the robot simulation device 10 ends the display switching process. On the other hand, if the entire operation program is not complete, the process returns to step S12.

[0023] As described above, the robot simulation device 10 according to one embodiment can automatically switch to a display screen that allows the user to check the state of the collision point when it is difficult to see the state of the collision point, thereby allowing the user to check the state of the collision point.

[0024] <Variation 1> In the embodiment described above, when the collision detection unit 110 detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle, the display switching unit 120 switches the display screen to one in which the part of the robot that has collided (interfered) is on the right side and the part of the obstacle that has collided (interfered) is on the left side, as shown in FIG. 5 . However, this is not limited to this. For example, when the collision detection unit 110 detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle, the display switching unit 120 may switch the display screen to one in which the part of the robot that has collided (interfered) is on the left side and the part of the obstacle that has collided (interfered) is on the right side. Furthermore, when the collision detection unit 110 detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle, the display switching unit 120 may switch the display screen to one in which the part of the robot that has collided (interfered) is on the upper side and the part of the obstacle that has collided (interfered) is on the lower side. Furthermore, when the collision detection unit 110 detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle, the display switching unit 120 may switch the display screen to one in which the part of the robot that has collided (interfered) is on the lower side and the part of the obstacle that has collided (interfered) is on the upper side. In addition, after switching to a display screen that simultaneously displays the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the object that has collided, the display switching unit 120 may, if it receives an instruction from the user via the input unit 13 to switch the viewpoint on the switched display screen, switch to a display screen based on the received viewpoint.

[0025] <Modification 2> In the above-described embodiment, the display switching unit 120 switches the display screen when the collision detection unit 110 detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle. However, this is not limiting. For example, if the display switching unit 120 determines that the position of the robot's hand before the collision detection unit 110 detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle has come within a predetermined distance (e.g., 5 cm) of the obstacle's three-dimensional space, the display switching unit 120 may switch to a display screen that simultaneously displays the robot and the obstacle even before the collision. Alternatively, if the display switching unit 120 determines that the position of the robot's hand has come within a predetermined distance (e.g., 5 cm) of the obstacle's three-dimensional space after the collision detection unit 110 detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle, the display switching unit 120 may switch to a display screen that simultaneously displays the robot and the obstacle even after the collision.

[0026] <Modification 3> In the above-described embodiment, the robot simulation device 10 displays the display screen in which the robot and obstacles are parallel-projected, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the robot simulation device 10 may display the robot and obstacles in perspective projection.

[0027] <Modification 4> In the above-described embodiment, the robot simulation device 10 displays a display screen related to the robot simulation on the display unit 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the robot simulation device 10 may apply VR (Virtual Reality) to display a display screen corresponding to the user's viewpoint in a three-dimensional simulation space on the display unit 12. Alternatively, the robot simulation device 10 may apply AR (Augmented Reality) to display a display screen related to the robot simulation on the display unit 12.

[0028] In one embodiment, each function included in the robot simulation device 10 can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of these. Here, "realized by software" means that the function is realized by a computer reading and executing a program.

[0029] The program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R / Ws, and semiconductor memories (e.g., mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs). The program may be provided to the computer by various types of transient computer-readable media. Examples of transient computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transient computer-readable media can provide the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electrical wire or optical fiber, or via a wireless communication path.

[0030] The step of executing the program recorded on the recording medium includes not only processes that are performed in chronological order, but also processes that are not necessarily performed in chronological order but are performed in parallel or individually. Also, the step of writing the program may be performed by cloud computing.

[0031] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible in these embodiments without departing from the gist of the present disclosure or the spirit of the present disclosure derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. These embodiments can also be implemented in combination. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the order of each operation and the order of each process are shown as examples and are not limited to these. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical expressions are used in the description of the above-described embodiments.

[0032] The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiments and variations. (Supplementary Note 1) A robot simulation device (10) is a robot simulation device (10) capable of displaying a three-dimensional space including a robot and an obstacle on a screen, and includes a collision detection unit (110) that detects a collision between the robot and the obstacle, and a display switching unit (120) that, when a collision between the robot and the obstacle is detected, switches the display screen to simultaneously display the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the obstacle that has collided. (Supplementary Note 2) In the robot simulation device (10) of Supplementary Note 1, the display switching unit (120) switches the display screen based on the viewpoint. (Supplementary Note 3) In the robot simulation device (10) of Supplementary Note 1 or Supplementary Note 2, the display switching unit (120) switches the display screen at least either before, during, or after a collision between the robot and the obstacle. (Supplementary Note 4) The robot simulation method is a robot simulation method that causes a computer to function as a robot simulation device (10) that can display a three-dimensional space including a robot and an obstacle on a screen, and includes a collision detection step of detecting a collision between the robot and the obstacle, and a display switching step of switching to a display screen that simultaneously displays the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the obstacle that has collided, when a collision between the robot and the obstacle is detected.

[0033] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Robot simulation device 11 Control unit 110 Collision detection unit 120 Display switching unit 12 Display unit 13 Input unit

Claims

1. A robot simulation device capable of displaying a three-dimensional space including a robot and an obstacle on a screen, comprising: a collision detection unit that detects a collision between the robot and an obstacle; and a display switching unit that, when a collision between the robot and an obstacle is detected, switches to a display screen that simultaneously displays the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the obstacle that has collided.

2. The robot simulation device according to claim 1, wherein the display switching unit switches the display screen based on the viewpoint.

3. A robot simulation device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the display switching unit switches the display screen at least either before, during, or after a collision between the robot and an obstacle.

4. A robot simulation method that causes a computer to function as a robot simulation device capable of displaying a three-dimensional space including a robot and an obstacle on a screen, the robot simulation method comprising: a collision detection step of detecting a collision between the robot and an obstacle; and a display switching step of, when a collision between the robot and an obstacle is detected, switching to a display screen that simultaneously displays the part of the robot that has collided and the part of the obstacle that has collided.

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