JP2001191282A - Robot apparatus and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to realize a robot apparatus and a control method thereof that can further improve amusement. In a robot apparatus and a control method thereof that act based on first control data, after recognizing a surrounding and / or a self state, when a specific recognition result is obtained among the recognition results, a second step is performed. The first control data is changed to the second control data for imitating a living thing corresponding to a specific recognition result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robot apparatus and a control method therefor, and is suitably applied to, for example, a pet robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a pet robot of a four-legged walking type that performs an action in response to a command from a user or the surrounding environment has been proposed and developed by the present applicant. Such a pet robot has a shape similar to a dog or cat bred in a general household, and acts autonomously in response to a command from a user or a surrounding environment.

[0003] In general, an autonomous pet robot generally used is limited in the type of creature that can be imitated depending on the outer shape, and usually imitates only the movement of one type of creature specified at the time of design.

[0004]

By the way, recent autonomous pet robots have relatively many degrees of freedom, so if a single pet robot can imitate multiple types of living things, It is considered that it is possible to prevent the user from getting tired and to further improve the amusement.

As such a pet robot, one that changes its shape by an operation such as uniting, such as a modular robot or a group robot, has been proposed by the present applicant (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-57159). However, Japanese Patent Application Hei 8-
In the pet robot disclosed in No. 57159,
What imitates various creatures according to the user's preference has not yet been proposed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose a robot apparatus which can further improve amusement properties and a control method thereof.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a robot apparatus which acts on the basis of first control data, comprising: state recognition means for recognizing a surrounding and / or own state; Data for changing the first control data to the second control data for imitating an organism corresponding to the specific recognition result when a specific recognition result is obtained among the recognition results by the recognition means. A change means is provided.

As a result, in this robot apparatus, when a specific recognition result among the surrounding and / or self states is obtained, regardless of the current state, it is possible to imitate the creature according to the recognition result and act. it can.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot apparatus acting based on first control data,
After recognizing the surrounding and / or self state, when a specific recognition result is obtained among the recognition results, the first control data is used to imitate an organism corresponding to the specific recognition result. The control data is changed to the second control data.

As a result, according to the control method of the robot apparatus, when a specific recognition result is obtained among the surrounding and / or self states, the behavior is imitated by imitating an organism corresponding to the recognition result regardless of the current state. Can be done.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Configuration of Pet Robot According to the Present Embodiment In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a pet robot according to the present embodiment as a whole, and leg units 3A to 3D are respectively connected to the front, rear, left and right of a body unit 2. The head unit 4 and the tail unit 5 are connected to the front end and the rear end of the body unit 2, respectively.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, a controller 10 for controlling the entire operation of the pet robot 1, a battery 11 as a power source of the pet robot 1, a battery sensor 12 and A heat sensor 13, an internal memory 14A, an external memory 14B which is detachably mounted, and the like are stored.

The head unit 4 has a microphone 15 corresponding to the "ears" of the pet robot 1 and a CCD (Charge Coupled De) corresponding to the "eyes".
vice) camera 16 and touch sensor 17 and "mouth"
Are disposed at predetermined positions, respectively.

Further, the joints of the leg units 3A to 3D, the leg units 3A to 3D and the trunk unit 2
Each coupling portion of the coupling portion of the head unit 4 and body unit 2, and each actuator 19 ₁ ~ is like the connecting portions of the tail unit 5 and the body unit 2
19 _n are provided.

The microphone 15 of the head unit 4
Collects command sounds such as “walk”, “down” or “chase the ball” given as a musical scale by a user via a sound commander (not shown), and sends the obtained audio signal S1 to the controller 10. Further, the CCD camera 16 captures an image of the surroundings, and sends the obtained image signal S2 to the controller 10.

Further, as apparent from FIG. 1, the touch sensor 17 is provided on the upper part of the head unit 4 and detects a pressure received by a physical action such as “stroke” or “hit” from the user. Then, the detection result is sent to the controller 10 as a pressure detection signal S3.

Further, the battery sensor 12 of the body unit 2 detects the remaining energy of the battery 11 and uses the detection result as a remaining battery detection signal S4.
0, the heat sensor 13 detects the heat inside the pet robot 1 and sends the detection result to the controller 10 as a heat detection signal S5.

The controller 10 includes a microphone 15,
Audio signal S1, image signal S2, pressure detection signal S3, remaining battery signal S4 provided from CCD camera 16, touch sensor 17, battery sensor 12 and heat sensor 13.
Then, based on the heat detection signal S5 and the like, the surrounding conditions, the command from the user, the presence or absence of the user's action, and the like are determined.

The controller 10 determines a subsequent action based on the determination result based on the control program stored in the internal memory 14A in advance and various control data stored in the external memory 14B in advance. By driving the necessary actuators 19 _{1 to} 19 _n based on the above, the head unit 4 can be swung up and down, left and right, the tail 5A of the tail unit 5 can be moved, and the leg units 3A to 3D can be driven. Have the person perform an action or action such as walking. In the following, a set of actions is defined and used as an action.

At this time, the controller 10 generates a sound signal S6 as necessary and supplies the sound signal S6 to the speaker 18 to output a sound based on the sound signal S6 to the outside. (Not shown) disposed at the position of "" (Light Emitti
ng Diode) blinks.

In this manner, the pet robot 1 autonomously acts on the basis of the surrounding conditions, the control program stored in the internal memory 14A, and various control data stored in the external memory 14B. Have been made to gain.

(2) Software Configuration of Control Program Next, specific processing of the controller 10 in the pet robot 1 will be described.

When the processing contents of the controller 10 are functionally classified, as shown in FIG. 3, a state recognition mechanism section 30 for recognizing external and internal states, and emotions and emotions based on the recognition results of the state recognition mechanism section 30 are obtained. Emotions that determine the state of instinct
An instinct model unit 31, an action determining mechanism unit 32 that determines a subsequent action or action based on the recognition result of the state recognition mechanism unit 30 and the output of the emotion / instinct model unit 31, and an action determined by the action determining mechanism unit 32 Transition mechanism unit 33 that makes a series of motion plans of the pet robot 1 for performing motion and motion
And a control mechanism unit 34 for controlling the actuators 19 _{1 to} 19 _n based on an operation plan established by the posture transition mechanism unit 33.

Hereinafter, these state recognition mechanism units 30
The instinct model unit 31, action determination mechanism unit 32, posture transition mechanism unit 33, and control mechanism unit 34 will be described in detail.

(2-1) Processing of the state recognition mechanism section 30 The state recognition mechanism section 30 includes a sound signal S1 and an image signal S provided from the microphone 15, the CCD camera 16, the touch sensor 17, the battery sensor 12, and the heat sensor 13.
2. Recognize a specific state based on the pressure detection signal S3, the remaining battery signal S4, and the heat detection signal S5, and notify the recognition result as state recognition information S10 to the emotion / instinct model unit 31 and the action determination mechanism unit 32. .

In practice, the state recognition mechanism section 30 constantly monitors the audio signal S1 given from the microphone 15 (FIG. 2), and as a spectrum of the audio signal S1, "walk", "prone", "follow the ball". When a spectrum of the same scale as the command sound output from the sound commander is detected in response to such a command, it is recognized that the command has been given, and the recognition result is expressed by the emotion / instinct model unit 31, the action determination mechanism unit 32, and the judgment. Notify the unit 35.

The state recognizing mechanism 30 constantly monitors the image signal S2 given from the CCD camera 16 (FIG. 2), and includes, for example, a “red round object” or “red ground” in an image based on the image signal S2. When a “vertical plane having a height equal to or more than a predetermined height” is detected, it is recognized that “there is a ball” and “there is a wall”, and the recognition result is notified to the emotion / instinct model unit 31, the action determination mechanism unit 32, and the determination unit 35. .

Further, the state recognition mechanism section 30 constantly monitors the pressure detection signal S3 given from the touch sensor 17 (FIG. 2), and based on the pressure detection signal S3, has a predetermined threshold or more and a short time (for example, 2 seconds). When a pressure of less than a predetermined threshold is detected and the pressure is detected for a long time (for example, 2 seconds or more), it is recognized that the user has been struck (praised). )), And notifies the recognition result to the emotion / instinct model unit 31, the action determination mechanism unit 32, and the determination unit 35.

On the other hand, the state recognition mechanism 30
3 (FIG. 2) is constantly monitored, and when a predetermined level of heat is detected based on the heat detection signal S5, it is recognized that "the internal temperature has risen" and the recognition result is expressed as emotion / instinct. Notify the model unit 31 and the action determination mechanism unit 32.

(2-2) Processing of the Emotion / Instinct Model Unit 31 As shown in FIG. 4, the emotion / instinct model unit 31 performs “joy”, “sadness”, “surprise”, “fear”, and “disgust”. And a basic emotion group 40 composed of emotion units 40A to 40F as emotion models provided corresponding to the six emotions of “anger” and “anger”, “appetite”, “love affection”, “search desire”, and “exercise desire”. Unit 41A-4 as a desire model provided corresponding to each of the four needs
1D basic desire group 41 and each emotion unit 40A
To 40F and the intensity increasing / decreasing functions 42A to 42J provided corresponding to the desire units 41A to 41D, respectively.

Each of the emotion units 40A to 40F
The degree of the corresponding emotion is represented by, for example, intensity from 0 to 100 level, and the intensity is given by intensity information S11A given from the corresponding intensity increase / decrease functions 42A to 42F.
１１S11F to change every moment.

Similarly to the emotion units 40A to 40F, each of the desire units 41A to 41D expresses the degree of the corresponding desire by the intensity from 0 to 100 level, and the intensity is obtained from the corresponding intensity increase / decrease functions 42G to 42J. It changes every moment based on the given intensity information S11G to S11J.

The emotion / instinct model 31 determines the state of emotion by combining the intensity of the emotion units 40A to 40F,
The state of the instinct is determined by combining the intensities of 1A to 41D, and the determined emotion and the state of the instinct are expressed as emotion /
The information is output to the action determining mechanism 32 as the instinct state information S12.

The intensity increasing / decreasing functions 42A to 42J correspond to state recognition information S10 given from the state recognition mechanism 30 and
Behavior information S representing the current or past behavior of the pet robot 1 itself given from the behavior determining mechanism 32 described later.
13, and generates and outputs intensity information S11A to S11J for increasing / decreasing the intensity of each of the emotion units 40A to 40F and each of the desire units 41A to 41D according to the parameters set in advance as described above. Function.

Here, the judging section 35 includes the state recognizing mechanism section 30
Judge the creature designated by the user using at least one of the microphone 15, the CCD camera 16 and the touch sensor 17 based on the recognition result given by the user and stored in advance in the external memory 14B based on the judgment result. Various data on an organism selected from a plurality of types of organisms are read out.

The external memory 14B stores emotion and instinct data DA (DA ₁ , DA ₁₎ for giving a plurality of types of creatures a personalized feeling and a character corresponding to their instinct.
_2, DA _3, ......) are stored. As shown in FIG. 5, in the emotion / instinct data DA, for example, in the case of “cat” (emotion / instinct data DA ₁ ), a “hard to reach a person” character and a “small” character are described. in the case of the dog "easy to Natsuki to" people in (emotion-instinct data DA ₂₎ "
The personality and “faithful” personality are described. In the case of “lizard” (emotional and instinct data DA ₃ ), the personality “avoid people” and the “violent” personality are described.

The emotion / instinct model unit 31 reads the emotion / instinct data DA (DA ₁ , DA ₂ , DA ₃ ,...) Corresponding to the creature designated by the user from the external memory 14 B in the judgment unit 35. Then, based on the emotion / instinct data DA, the value of the emotion model or the parameter of the corresponding emotion or desire of the instinct model is periodically changed.

Thus, in the pet robot 1, by changing the parameters of the intensity increasing / decreasing functions 42A to 42J to values corresponding to the creature designated by the user, the pet robot 1 can be changed in the same manner as the designated creature. It is made to be able to have a personality.

(2-3) Processing of the Action Determination Mechanism 32 The action determination mechanism 32 has a plurality of action models in the internal memory 14A. And the action decision mechanism unit 32
State recognition information 10 provided from the state recognition mechanism unit 30
And each emotion unit 40A of the emotion / instinct model unit 31
The next action or action is determined based on the strength of the unit 40F and the desire units 41A to 41D and the corresponding action model, and the determination result is output to the attitude transition mechanism unit 33 as action determination information S14.

In this case, the action determining mechanism 32 determines the next action or operation from one node (state) ND _A0 as shown in FIG. 6 or any other node ND _{A0 to} ND _An as shown in FIG. To each node ND _A0 to
An algorithm called probability automaton for determining probabilistically based on the transition probability _P 0 to P _n which is set respectively arc _AR A0 _{to Ar An} for connecting the ND _An employed.

More specifically, a state transition table 50 as shown in FIG. 7 for each of the nodes ND _{A0 to} ND _An is stored in the external memory 14B as a behavior model, and the behavior decision mechanism 32 Next, the next action or action is determined based on the state transition table 50.

In the state transition table 50, input events (recognition results) as transition conditions at the nodes ND _{A0 to} ND _An are listed in the “input event” row in the order of priority, and further conditions for the transition conditions are further described. Are described in the corresponding columns in the rows of “data name” and “data range”.

Therefore, the node ND ₁₀₀ defined in the state transition table 50 of FIG.
L) "is given, the" size (SIZ) "of the ball given together with the recognition result is given.
E) is in the range of 0 to 1000 (0,1000), or when a recognition result of “obstacle detected (OBSTABLE)” is given, the obstacle is given together with the recognition result. "Distance (DISTANC
"E)" is in the range of "0 to 100 (0, 100)", which is a condition for transition to another node.

In the node ND ₁₀₀ , even when there is no input of the recognition result, each of the emotion units 4 of the emotion / instinct model unit 31 periodically referred to by the action determining mechanism unit 31.
0A to 40F and the intensity of each desire unit 41A to 41D, “joy” and “surprise”
E) ”or“ Sadness ”, the intensity of the emotion unit 40A to 40F is“ 50 to 100 ”.
Is within the range (50, 100) ”, it is possible to transit to another node.

In the state transition table 50, in the column of "transition destination node" in the column of "transition probability to another node", the names of nodes that can transition from the nodes ND _{A0 to} ND _An are listed, and Other nodes ND _{A0 to} ND _An to which a transition can be made when all the conditions described in each row of “event name”, “data value”, and “data range” are met
Is described in the row of “output action” in the column of “transition probability to another node”. Note that the sum of the transition probabilities of each row in the column of “transition probability to another node” is 100
[%].

Therefore, in the node NODE _{100 of} this example, for example, “ball is detected (BALL)”, and it is recognized that the “size” of the ball is in the range of 0 to 1000 (0, 1000). If the result is given, the “node NODE” has a probability of “30 [%]”.
₁₂₀ (node 120) ", and the action or action of" ACTION 1 "is output at that time.

The respective behavior models correspond to the nodes ND _{A0 to} ND A described in the state transition table 50, respectively.
The configuration is such that a number of D _An are connected.

The action determining mechanism 32 stores the information in the external memory 14B when the state recognizing information S10 is given from the state recognizing mechanism 30 or when a certain period of time has passed since the last appearance of the action. Using the state transition table 50 of the corresponding nodes ND _A0 to ND _{An in} the corresponding behavior model, the next behavior or behavior (the behavior or behavior described in the row of “output behavior”) is probabilistically determined. Decided to
The posture transition mechanism unit 3 uses the determination result as the action command information S14.
3 is output.

In the external memory 14B, behavior data DB (DB ₁ , DB ₂ , DB) representing a behavior model for expressing a specific behavior for each of a plurality of types of living things are stored.
₃ ,...) Are stored. In the behavior data DB, for example, in the case of “cat” (behavior data DB ₁ ), behavior patterns such as “sunshine”, “grooming” and “screaming” are described, and in the case of “dog” (behavior data DB 1). ₂ ) describes behavior patterns such as "marking", "territory fight" and "barking". In the case of "lizard" (behavior data DB ₃ ), behavior patterns such as "escape" and "attack" are described. (FIG. 5).

Thus, the action determining mechanism 32 is provided with the determining unit 3
5 stores the behavior data DB (DB ₁ , DB ₂ , DB ₃ ,...) Corresponding to the creature designated by the user in the external memory 1.
After reading from 4B, the behavior model is changed to the behavior model based on the behavior data DB.

Thus, in the pet robot 1, by changing the behavior model to a behavior model corresponding to the creature designated by the user, the pet robot 1 can exhibit the same behavior as the designated creature. It has been made like that.

(2-4) Processing of Posture Transition Mechanism 33 When the behavior decision information S14 is given from the behavior decision mechanism 32, the posture transition mechanism 33 receives the behavior decision information S14.
A series of operation plans of the pet robot 1 for performing an action or an operation based on the operation plan are made, and operation command information S15 based on the operation plan is output to the control mechanism unit 34.

In this case, the posture transition mechanism unit 33 uses the nodes ND _{B0 to} ND _{B2 to} determine the postures that the pet robot 1 can take as shown in FIG.
And then, connected by directed arcs _AR B0 _{to Ar B2} representing the operation between possible transition nodes _ND B0 _{to ND B2,} and one node _ND B0 self operating arc operation to complete between _{~ND B2 AR} C0 _{~AR C2} Is used.

Therefore, in the external memory 14B, a file in which the starting point posture and the ending posture of all the movements that can be expressed by the pet robot 1 as a source of such a directed graph are stored in a database (hereinafter, referred to as a network definition file) Is stored, and the posture transition mechanism unit 33 uses the network definition file to
The directed graphs 60 to 63 for the whole body, for the head, for the legs, and for the tail as shown in FIGS.

As is clear from FIGS. 9 to 12, in the pet robot 1, the posture is largely “stand (oStanding)” and “stand (oSit)”.
"station", which is an attitude on a charging stand (not shown) for charging the battery 11 (FIG. 2), "oSleeping", and the battery 11 (FIG. 2).
n)). For each of these four postures, the basic posture (marked with ◎) common to each “growth stage” and “childhood”, “childhood”, and “youth”
And one or a plurality of normal postures (marked with “○”) for the child and “adult”.

For example, a portion surrounded by a broken line in FIGS. 9 to 12 represents a normal posture for “childhood”,
As is apparent from FIG. 9, the normal posture “down” in “childhood” is “oSleeping”.
b (baby) "," oSleeping b2 "~
There is “oSleeping b5”, and “oSitting b”, “oSit
ting b2 ".

Then, the posture transition mechanism section 33 sends the "stand", "walk", "reach hand",
When an action command such as "shake the head" or "move the tail" is given as the action command information S14, the command is designated from the current node using the corresponding directed graphs 60 to 63 while following the direction of the directed arc. A path to a node to which a posture is associated or a directed arc or a self-operation arc to which a specified operation is associated is searched, and the operations respectively associated with the directed arcs on the searched path are sequentially performed. Operation commands to be performed are sequentially output to the control mechanism unit 34 as operation command information S15.

For example, if the current node of the pet robot 1 is “oSitting” in the directed graph 60 for the whole body,
b ”, and the behavior determination mechanism unit 32 outputs“ oSleepi
If the action command of the operation to be expressed at a node ngb4 "(operation associated with the self-operating arc a ₁₎ is given to the posture transition mechanism unit, the posture transition mechanism section 33 on the directed graph 60 for the whole body" oSitting b) to search for a path from the node “o Sleeping b4” to the node “o Sleeping b4”, and an operation command to change the posture from the node “o Sleeping b 5” to the node “o Sleeping b 5”, and “o Sleeping b 5”
An operation command for changing the posture from the node of “oSleeping b3” to the node of “oSleeping b3” and “oSleepi b3”
ng b3 ”node to“ oSleeping b
4 is sequentially output to the control mechanism unit 34 as the operation command information S15 as the operation command information S15, and finally, the self-operation associated with the operation specified by the node “oSleeping b4” arc _{a 1} through the "OSleeping b4" control mechanism unit 3 an operation command for returning to the node as operation command information S15 in
4 is output.

At this time, the “growth stage” of the pet robot 1
In order to change the movement (“rough” movement, “quiet” movement, etc.) according to the “personality” and the like, two nodes that can be transitioned may be connected by a plurality of directed arcs. In such a case, the posture transition mechanism 33
Selects a directed arc as a path according to the “growth stage” and “character” of the pet robot 1 at that time.

Similarly, a plurality of self-operation arcs returning from a certain node to the node may be provided in order to change the movement according to each “growth stage” and “character”. In such a case, the posture transition mechanism 3
3 selects a directed arc according to the “growth stage” and “character” of the pet robot 1 at that time as a path in the same manner as described above.

In the above-described posture transition, the time of staying in the middle position is almost “0”. Therefore, during the posture transition, it is possible to pass through a node used in another “growth stage”. good. Therefore, when searching for a path from the current node to the target node or the directed arc or the self-acting arc, the posture transition mechanism unit 33 searches for the shortest path regardless of the current “growth stage”.

When an action command for the head, legs, or tail is given, the posture transition mechanism unit 33 changes the posture of the pet robot 1 based on the directed graph 60 for the whole body. Return to one of the basic postures (marked with ◎), and thereafter, use the directed graphs 61 to 63 of the corresponding head, leg, or tail to move the posture of the head, leg, or tail so as to change the posture. S15 is output.

The external memory 14B stores posture data DC (DC ₁ , DC ₂ , DC ₃ ,...) For expressing a unique posture for each of a plurality of types of living things. These posture data DC include, for example, “cat”
In the case of (posture data DC ₁ ), a posture pattern such as “sleep”, “stretch” or “stroke a beard” is described.
In the case of “dog” (posture data DC ₂ ), a posture pattern such as “urinating with legs raised” or “smell smell” is described. In the case of “lizard” (posture data DC ₃ ), “crab” Posture patterns such as "crawling" and "biting" are described (FIG. 5).

Thus, the posture transition mechanism 33 is
5, the posture data DC (DC ₁ , DC ₂ , DC ₃ ,...) Corresponding to the creature designated by the user is stored in the external memory 1.
4B, the directional arcs for posture transition according to the creature designated by the user are sequentially selected as paths using the directional graphs 60 to 63 on the basis of the posture data DC. 1 can be shifted to a posture similar to the designated creature.

(2-5) Processing of the control mechanism section 34 The control mechanism section 34 generates a control signal S16 based on the operation command information S15 given from the attitude transition mechanism section 33, and generates each control signal based on the control signal S16. Actuator 1
By controlling the driving of 9 _{1 to} 19 _n , the pet robot 1 is caused to perform a specified action or operation.

(3) Operation and Effect of the Present Embodiment In the above configuration, in the pet robot 1, when a specific creature is designated in response to a command or action from the user, the behavior and the currently appearing creature are displayed. The operation is stopped, and instead, a characteristic, behavior and posture similar to the specified creature are developed.

Therefore, in the pet robot 1, not only the behavior and action according to the creature specified at the time of manufacture but also the behavior and action according to the creature selectively designated by the user are expressed. Can be done.

For example, a dog-type pet robot 1 shown in FIG.
In this case, when the name of the "cat" is called "tama", both front legs are extended forward as shown in FIG. 13 (A), or extended with the front legs as shown in FIG. 13 (B). By stroking the beard, you can imitate the behavior of a real cat.

According to the above configuration, the pet robot 1 is designated by the user's preference from among a plurality of types of creatures, although the pet robot 1 has a shape and a structure manufactured according to a specific creature. By imitating the behavior and action according to the other living creatures, it is possible to make the user hard to feel tired and to give the user more intimacy and satisfaction, and thus amusement It is possible to realize a pet robot that can further improve the performance.

(4) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the present invention is applied to a quadruped walking type pet robot 1 configured as shown in FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to robot devices having various other configurations.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, three kinds of living things to be imitated, namely, dogs, cats and lizards, have been described. Can be applied to not only real creatures but also virtual creatures (for example, dragons and kappas). In this case, the emotion / instinct data DA, the behavior data DB, and the posture data DC as the second control data may be stored in the external memory 14B for various real or virtual creatures.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case is described in which the pet robot 1 acts by imitating a living thing by moving each of the leg units 3A to 3D, the head unit 4, and the tail unit 5. As stated,
The present invention is not limited to this, and when the controller 10 specifies a living thing to be imitated, the sound of the living thing may be generated via the speaker 18.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the controller 10 (state recognition mechanism unit 30) is applied as state recognition means for recognizing the surroundings and / or its own state, and the controller 10 uses a sound commander (not shown). Has been described in which the surrounding sound is recognized based on the instruction sound by inputting the instruction sound by the microphone 15 through the microphone 15, but the present invention is not limited to this. A unit (not shown) may be provided to recognize the surrounding state by recognizing the voice content uttered by the user via the microphone 15.

In addition to speech recognition, the controller 1
0 may be made to recognize the surroundings and / or its own state based on the imaging result by the CCD camera 16, and furthermore, the detection by the touch sensor 17, the acceleration sensor (not shown), the battery sensor 12, and the heat sensor 13. You may make it recognize surroundings and / or a self state based on a result. In short, according to the form of the robot device to which the present invention is applied, if the surroundings and / or the state of the user can be recognized by not only commands and actions from the user but also spontaneous operations, the state of various other configurations Recognition means can be widely applied.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when a specific recognition result is obtained among the recognition results of the surroundings and / or its own state, the controller 1 as a data changing means is used.
0 (the emotion / instinct model unit 31, the behavior determination mechanism unit 32, and the posture transition mechanism unit 33) are the first control data (the emotion / instinct data DA, the behavior data DB, and the posture data DC).
To the second control data (emotion / instinct data DA,
Although the description has been made on the case where the behavior data is changed to the behavior data DB and the posture data DC), the present invention is not limited to this. Various other configurations can be widely applied.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the external memory 14B is applied as the data recording means detachably mounted in the main body (that is, the body user 2) has been described. Not limited to this, as long as a plurality of types of second control data (emotion / instinct data DA, action data DB, and posture data DC) can be stored, various other removable data can be used in addition to a memory such as a flash memory. It can be widely applied to recording media (optical disks, magneto-optical disks, etc.).

In the above embodiment, the head unit 4 and the leg units 3 are used as the pet robot 1.
A to 3D, a case in which the body unit 2 and the tail unit 5 are integrally formed has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the head unit 4 and each leg are used for the body unit 2. When the unit units 3A to 3D and the tail unit 5 are detachably attached, these units 2 to 5 may be replaced with other units as needed.

In this case, a recording medium in which the operating state of each unit to be replaced is recorded is prepared, and a software process for reading the recording medium in the body unit and making each unit operable is performed. You can do it. As a result, it is possible to imitate not only the behavior but also the shape of the creature determined based on the recognition result of the surroundings and / or the state of one's own state, thereby further reducing the user's tiredness and improving the affinity and satisfaction. Can be.

[0080]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a robot apparatus which acts based on the first control data, a state recognizing means for recognizing a surrounding and / or self state, and a recognition result by the state recognizing means. And a data change unit for changing the first control data to the second control data for imitating a living thing corresponding to the specific recognition result when a specific recognition result is obtained. By doing so, it is possible to make the user less likely to feel tired and to give the user a further sense of intimacy and satisfaction, thereby realizing a robot device that can further improve amusement.

Further, according to the present invention, in a robot apparatus acting based on the first control data, after recognizing the surroundings and / or its own state, when a specific recognition result is obtained among the recognition results. , The first control data is used to imitate a living thing corresponding to a specific recognition result.
The control of the robot apparatus which makes it difficult for the user to feel tired and gives the user a further sense of intimacy and satisfaction by changing the control data to the control data of the robot apparatus, thus further improving the amusement property. The method can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a pet robot according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the pet robot according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining processing of a controller;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram serving to explain data processing in an emotion / instinct model unit.

FIG. 5 is a chart provided for explaining an example of behavior of each living thing.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a stochastic automaton.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a state transition table.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a directed graph.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a directed graph for the whole body.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a directed graph for the head.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a directed graph for a leg.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing a directed graph for a tail.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view for explaining an example of imitating a living thing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... pet robot, 2 ... body unit, 3A ~
3D ... leg unit, 4 ... head unit, 5 ... tail unit, 10 ... controller, 14A ... internal memory, 14B ... external memory, 15 ... microphone, 16 ... CCD camera, 17 ...... Touch sensor, 1
9 _l ~ 19 _n ...... actuator, 30 ...... state recognition mechanism unit, 31 ...... emotion or instinct model unit, 32 ...... action decision unit, 33 ...... posture transition mechanism unit, 34 ...... control mechanism unit, 35 …… Judgment part, DA …… Emotion / instinct data, DB
... action data, DC ... posture data.

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G05B 13/02 G05B 13/02 MF term (reference) 2C150 BA06 CA02 DA05 DA24 DA26 DA27 DA28 DF03 DF04 DF06 DF33 ED42 ED52 EF16 EF23 EF29 EF33 3F059 AA00 BA00 BB06 DA05 DA07 DB04 DC01 DD00 FC00 3F060 AA00 BA10 CA14 5H004 GA26 GB16 HA07 HB03 HB07 HB20 JA03 JA22 JB05 JB06 JB08 KD52 KD55 KD70 MA23 MA29 9A001 HH19 KK32 KK62

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A robot apparatus which acts on the basis of first control data, comprising: state recognition means for recognizing a surrounding and / or self state; And a data changing means for changing the first control data to second control data for imitating a living thing corresponding to the specific recognition result when the first control data is received. apparatus. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a data storage unit that is removably mounted in the main body and stores a plurality of types of the second control data. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second control data corresponding to the recognition result is read out from a plurality of types of second control data. 3. A control method for a robot apparatus acting based on first control data, comprising: a first step of recognizing a surrounding and / or a self state; and obtaining a specific one of the recognition results. And changing the first control data to second control data for imitating a creature corresponding to the specific recognition result. A method for controlling a robot device.