JP7141614B2 - device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, a device or the like that performs solution search for a group of state variables for controlling the motion of a leg of a robot.

In a search for a solution such as a satisfiability problem (SAT) by a general computer, as the number of state variables increases, the amount of calculation increases explosively, and it takes a long time to obtain a correct answer. Therefore, conventionally, an amoeba-type computer has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In amoeba-type computers, even if the number of state variables increases, the amount of computation increases, for example, only linearly, and efficient solution search can be expected.

JP 2014-85733 A

The inventors of the present application have devised a robot (hereinafter referred to as an amoeba-type robot) that uses the principle of an amoeba-type computer as a device for controlling the movement of its legs.

However, in the conventional amoeba-type computer, the solution is not updated in response to the feedback from the controller, especially regarding the state variable group for controlling the movement of the legs of the amoeba-type robot, and the steady-state solution is obtained repeatedly. Efficient solution search may become difficult as a result of falling into a state or a state where solution search becomes impossible.

Also, other conventional devices may not be able to efficiently search for solutions for state information groups of devices such as robots.

A device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a rule associated with a group of partial state information, which is a set of one or more pieces of state information, and stores one or more negative rules indicating prohibited matters. , a core circuit having two or more partial circuits each having a diode, a capacitor, and a switch; Acquiring a state information group that does not match the negative rule corresponding to each of the above partial state information groups, and based on the state information group, supplying or stopping the current to each of the two or more partial circuits. and a control unit that performs control, and the time constants of charging or discharging of at least a part of the one or more capacitors included in each of the two or more partial circuits are different, and the time constants are different so that the two capacitors included in the core circuit are controlled. At least some of the above partial circuits are devices that do not operate based on the partial state information group, at least temporarily.

With this configuration, it becomes difficult to fall into a state in which a steady solution is repeatedly obtained or a state in which the solution search becomes impossible, and as a result, an efficient solution search can be performed.

In addition, the device of the second invention is a device in which two or more partial circuits are connected via a hub, and current is supplied to each of the two or more partial circuits from the center of the hub, in contrast to the first invention. is.

With such a configuration, the total current in the hub is conserved according to Kirchhoff's law.

Further, in the device of the third invention, in contrast to the first or second invention, the control unit acquires a state information group, which is a set of state information indicating at least the state of each of the two or more partial circuits. group acquisition means; negative rule acquisition means for acquiring, from a storage unit, one or more negative rules corresponding to one or more partial status information groups of the status information group; and one or more negative rules acquired by the negative rule acquisition means. a positive case acquisition means for acquiring a positive case state information group that does not match any of the above; and a control means for performing control for.

With such a configuration, for example, efficient solution search can be performed with respect to the state variable group for controlling the movement of the legs of the amoeba robot.

Further, in the device of the fourth invention, in contrast to any one of the first to third inventions, the charging time or discharging time of the capacity of the capacitor is controlled according to the result of the state information group acquired by the control unit. It is a device that takes longer than the time to do

With such a configuration, the state change may not catch up with the control, and as a result, the operation may not be performed, increasing the possibility of finding the correct answer.

In addition, in the device of the fifth invention, in contrast to the third invention, the positive example obtaining means is a device that obtains a state information group of positive cases by trial and error.

With such a configuration, it is possible to efficiently acquire a group of status information of positive cases.

In addition, in the device of the sixth invention, in contrast to any one of the first to fifth inventions, the two or more partial circuits are circuits for controlling movements of the two or more legs of the robot; Each leg has a sensor 31 for detecting whether or not the leg is on the ground, and the state information group also includes state information indicating detection results by the sensors 31 of two or more legs. Device.

With such a configuration, efficient solution search can be performed with respect to the state variable group for controlling the movement of the legs of the amoeba robot.

In addition, in the device of the seventh invention, in contrast to the sixth invention, the storage unit raises the leg when the number of legs indicating the state of landing is equal to or less than a predetermined number. is a device that stores the first negative rule that prohibits

With such a configuration, the movement of the legs of the amoeba robot can be accurately controlled.

Further, in the device of the eighth invention, in contrast to the sixth or seventh invention, each of the two or more legs can move back and forth, and the storage part can move back and forth between the two or more legs. It is a device that stores a second negative rule that prohibits back-and-forth movement of one or more legs out of two or more legs, corresponding to the positional relationship.

With such a configuration, the movement of the legs of the amoeba robot can be accurately controlled.

Further, in the device of the ninth invention, in the device of any one of the sixth to eighth inventions, each of the two or more legs can be raised and lowered, and the storage section relates to each of the two or more legs, A third negative rule that prohibits forward movement with the leg down, corresponding to the state of the leg being on the ground, and a leg It is a device that stores a fourth negative rule that prohibits backward movement with the up.

With such a configuration, the movement of the legs of the amoeba robot can be accurately controlled.

In addition, in the device of the tenth invention, in contrast to any one of the sixth to ninth inventions, the storage part relates to each of the two or more legs, and when the legs are positioned forward or backward, A device that stores a fifth negative rule that prohibits the movement of other legs that have a predetermined positional relationship with the leg.

With such a configuration, the movement of the legs of the amoeba robot can be accurately controlled.

In addition, in the device of the eleventh invention, in the device of any one of the sixth to tenth inventions, the storage part has two or more legs, and the legs are raised and lowered and grounded. A device storing a sixth negative rule that permits prohibited movements according to a combination of whether or not.

With such a configuration, the movement of the legs of the amoeba robot can be accurately controlled.

In addition, the device of the twelfth invention is a device in which, in contrast to the eleventh invention, the sixth negative rule permits two or more types of movement for the same state information group.

Such a configuration increases the possibility of escaping from a state in which steady solutions are repeatedly obtained or a state in which solution search is impossible, and as a result, the leg movements of the amoeba robot can be controlled accurately.

According to the present invention, for example, efficient solution search can be performed for a group of state variables of a device such as a robot.

Block diagram of the robot in the embodiment Block diagram of the same device Data structure diagram of dominance rule Flowchart explaining the operation of the device Overview of the robot A diagram showing the circuit configuration of the same electronic amoeba together with a single-celled amoeba. A diagram showing the circuit configuration of the pseudopodia unit and error signal waveforms with different characteristics given to the pseudopodia unit. A diagram showing the time evolution of the four variables (a) and the search time fluctuation (b) according to the change in the error period λ for each error probability Diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the same computer system

An embodiment of a robot having a device will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that, since components denoted by the same reference numerals in the embodiments perform similar operations, repetitive description may be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the robot according to this embodiment. The robot comprises a device 1 , a body 2 , two or more (eg, four, eight, etc.) legs 3 and a drive mechanism 4 .

Device 1 will be described later. The body 2 may be made of, for example, a flexible material, have a hollow portion (not shown), and pressurize the inside of the hollow portion. However, the material and structure of the body 2 do not matter.

The legs 3 are movable up and down and back and forth. The leg portion 3 may also be made of, for example, a flexible material such as rubber or elastomer, have a hollow portion (not shown), and pressurize the interior of the hollow portion. In this case, the movement of the leg 3 up and down and back and forth is realized by its expansion and contraction and bending. Alternatively, the legs 3 may be made of a hard material such as metal or carbon fiber and have joints. Up-down and back-and-forth movements in this case are achieved by bending the joints.

The leg 3 also has a sensor 31 . The sensor 31 detects whether or not the leg 3 is on the ground, and outputs the detection result. The detection result is, for example, information indicating whether or not the leg 3 is on the ground (for example, "on" indicating the state of being on the ground, "off" indicating the state of not being on the ground, etc.). . Alternatively, the detection result may be a signal that is not output when the ground is not detected and is output when the ground is detected, or it is continuously output when the ground is not detected and the ground is detected. A signal to be stopped according to the detection may be used. However, the material and configuration of the leg portion 3 are not limited.

Further, the sensor 31 is, for example, a touch sensor, but may be a distance sensor, a push button, or the like, and any type of element can be used as long as it can detect whether or not the sensor is on the ground. Also, the form of the detection result output by the sensor 31 is not limited.

The drive mechanism 4 is a mechanism (for example, an actuator) for realizing vertical and longitudinal movement of each of the two or more legs 3 . The drive mechanism 4 includes, for example, a blower for injecting and discharging air into and from the hollow portion of each of the two or more legs 3, one or more wires attached to the hollow portion, and one or more wires. It has an electric reel for winding. Alternatively, the drive mechanism 4 may have one or more motors for bending the joints for each of the two or more legs 3 . However, the configuration of the driving mechanism 4 is not limited.

The device 1 drives two or more legs 3 via a drive mechanism 4 . Specifically, the device 1 drives the two or more legs 3 by controlling the current of two or more electric elements such as electric reels and motors that constitute the drive mechanism 4, thereby controlling the movement of the robot. Realize movement.

Note that the robot may be, for example, a commercially available multi-legged robot, and its hardware configuration does not matter. Also, the device 1 may be provided in a device other than a robot. Devices other than robots are, for example, chemical reaction simulators. Chemical reaction simulators, for example, simulate chemical reaction processes of covalently bonded organic molecular compounds and predict reaction products. Here, a binding state that violates one or more physical principles or general chemical reaction rules is defined as a negative rule.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the device 1. As shown in FIG. The device 1 comprises a storage section 11 , a core circuit 12 and a control section 13 .

The core circuit 12 comprises two or more partial circuits 121 . The two or more partial circuits 121 are connected via, for example, a hub, and current is supplied to each of the two or more partial circuits 121 from the center of this hub. With such a configuration, the total current in the hub is conserved according to Kirchhoff's law, and as a result, for example, the movement of an amoeba-type robot corresponding to an amoeba whose volume is conserved can be realized.

The control unit 13 includes state information group acquisition means 131 , negative rule acquisition means 132 , positive example acquisition means 133 , and control means 134 .

The storage unit 11 configuring the device 1 can store various types of information. Various types of information are, for example, one or more negative rules. Negative rules are rules regarding prohibited items. Prohibitions are things that cannot be done. A negative rule is, for example, a rule associated with a partial state information group, which is a set of one or more pieces of state information, and is a rule indicating a prohibited matter. A partial state information group is a part of the state information group. A status information group is a set of one or more status information. State information is information indicating a state. Details of the state information, the state information group, and the partial state information group will be described later.

Prohibited items may be, for example, prohibited items related to the movement of two or more legs 3 in order to avoid overturning of the robot. Specifically, the negative rule is, for example, a rule such as "it is prohibited to raise three or more legs at once".

Note that the storage unit 11 can also store, for example, regular rules. A positive rule is a rule that must be followed. However, it is preferable that the storage unit 11 does not store the correct rule. Alternatively, even if there is no positive rule, it can be said that the robot can perform accurate movements based on the negative rule.

The storage unit 11 stores, for example, a first negative rule. The first negative rule is that when the number of legs 3 indicating a state of landing among the two or more legs 3 possessed by the robot is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the leg is lifted. This rule prohibits it. The predetermined number is for example 2, but could also be 1 if the robot has only two legs 3 .

The first negative rule is, for example, "if (the number of legs with the sensor on is two or less), then (the leg is prohibited from being lifted)", but the form of expression does not matter.

The storage unit 11 also stores, for example, a second negative rule. The second negative rule is a rule that prohibits forward and backward movement of one or more legs 3 out of the two or more legs 3, corresponding to the forward and backward positional relationship between the two or more legs 3. .

The second negative rule is, for example, "if (either right or left front leg is behind), then (one leg is prohibited from moving backward)", "if (either right or left rear leg is One leg is in front), then (one leg is prohibited from moving forward)”, etc., but it may be a revocation of permission, and the form of expression does not matter.

The storage unit 11 also stores two negative rules, the third and the fourth. The third negative rule is a rule that prohibits moving forward with the leg 3 in a lowered state, corresponding to the state in which the leg 3 is on the ground. . The fourth negative rule is a rule that similarly relates to two or more legs 3 and prohibits the leg 3 from moving backward in a raised state in response to the state in which the leg 3 does not land. be.

The third negative rule is, for example, "if (sensor on), then (moving forward + prohibiting lowered state, and allowing backward movement + lowered state)", and the fourth negative rule is, for example, "if (sensor off), then (prohibit backward movement + raised state, and allow forward movement + raised state), but the expression format is not limited.

The storage unit 11 also stores, for example, a fifth negative rule. The fifth negative rule is that for each of two or more legs 3, if the position of the leg 3 is forward or backward, the movement of the other leg 3 that has a predetermined positional relationship with the leg 3 is a rule that prohibits

The fifth negative rule is, for example, "if (the leg is in front), then (the leg in the point-symmetrical position is prohibited from moving other than forward)", "if (the leg is in the back), then (It is prohibited for the leg in a point-symmetrical position to move in any direction other than backward)”, but the form of expression does not matter.

The storage unit 11 also stores, for example, a sixth negative rule. The sixth negative rule is a rule that permits prohibited movements for each of two or more legs 3, depending on the combination of the state of raising and lowering the leg 3 and whether or not it is in contact with the ground. be. Combinations are, for example, regarding whether or not the leg is raised and lowered, and whether or not the leg is on the ground. There are four states: a state in which the legs are lowered and grounded (sensor on), and a state in which the legs are raised and grounded (sensors on).

The sixth negative rule is, for example, the rule "if (with leg down and sensor off), then (change direction with leg down") that permits the prohibited movement "change direction with leg down". permission to change)”.

Alternatively, the sixth negative rule is a rule that permits the prohibited movement "lowering the leg in that direction", "if (with the leg raised and the sensor off), then (lowering the leg in that direction"). allowed)”.

Or, the sixth negative rule is the rule "if (leg up and sensor off), then (change direction and drop leg") that permits the prohibited movement "change direction and drop leg". allowed)”.

Alternatively, the sixth negative rule is the rule "if (with the leg lowered and the sensor on)" that permits the prohibited movement "raising the leg in that direction", then (raising the leg in that direction allowed).

Or, the sixth negative rule is the rule "if (leg down and sensor on), then (change direction and lift leg") that allows the prohibited movement "turn leg up". allowed)”.

Alternatively, the sixth negative rule is a rule that permits the prohibited movement “lowering the leg in that direction”, “if (with the leg raised and the sensor on), then (lowering the leg in that direction”). is prohibited)” is acceptable.

However, the expression form of the sixth negative rule does not matter. Also, the sixth negative rule may include, for example, rule groups corresponding to two or more of the above six examples.

It should be noted that the sixth negative rule, for example, the second and third, fourth and fifth of the above six examples, for the same state information group, two or more movement. As a result, for example, in a specific example to be described later, the possibility of escaping from a state in which steady-state solutions are repeatedly obtained or a state in which solution search is impossible increases, and as a result, the movement of the leg 3 of the amoeba-type robot can be accurately controlled. You can control it. The state in which the solution search becomes impossible is a state in which all the variables try to take the same value at the same time, causing a conflict. As a result of the system being locked in this state, the robot 1 stops moving or falls over in an unstable place.

Each of the two or more partial circuits 121 forming the core circuit 12 has a diode, a capacitor and a switch. A diode allows current to flow only in one direction (forward) and not in the opposite direction. The capacitor stores electricity flowing through the diode and releases the stored electricity through the switch.

It is preferable that the two or more partial circuits 121 have different capacitor charging or discharging time constants (hereinafter sometimes referred to as charging/discharging time constants or simply time constants). The charge/discharge time constant is basically determined by the capacitance of the capacitor, but also varies depending on other circuit elements (eg, diodes, resistors, switches, etc.) connected to the capacitor. Therefore, even if the capacitance of the capacitors is the same between the two or more partial circuits 121, for example, the values of the resistors and the characteristics of the diodes are different, and the thresholds of the NOT gates that realize the switches are different. If so, the charging/discharging time constant will be different.

The switch switches between a state in which the capacitor can be charged and a state in which the capacitor can be discharged. That is, the capacitor can be charged when the switch is OFF and discharged when the switch is ON.

Subcircuit 121 typically also has a resistor. A resistor, for example, increases the time constant for charging and discharging a capacitor. A time constant is the time required to charge and discharge a capacitor. The timing at which the charging of the capacitor is completed is delayed by a time corresponding to the time constant with respect to the timing at which the switch is turned on. Similarly, with respect to the timing when the switch is turned off, the timing when discharging from the charged capacitor is also delayed by a time corresponding to the time constant.

Note that the switch is composed of, for example, a NOT gate, but an inverter may be used, and any means for realizing it may be used. It goes without saying that the partial circuit 121 may also have other elements. The other element is, for example, a field effect transistor (FET), which will be described in a specific example, but the type of element does not matter.

The control unit 13 controls movements of the two or more legs 3 via the two or more partial circuits 121 forming the core circuit 12 . Specifically, the control unit 13 acquires a state information group that is a set of state information indicating at least the state of each of the two or more partial circuits 121 that constitute the core circuit 12, A state information group that does not match the negative rule corresponding to the state information group is obtained, and based on the state information group, current is supplied to each of the two or more partial circuits 121, or current is stopped. conduct.

State information is information indicating a state. The state is, for example, the state of the partial circuit 121 . The information indicating the state of the partial circuit 121 is, for example, the amount of electricity stored in the capacitor, or information indicating whether the capacitor is being charged or discharged.

Alternatively, the state may be the state of the sensor 31 . The state information indicating the state of the sensor 31 is, for example, "on" or "off" as described above, but the form of expression is not limited.

Alternatively, the state may be the state of the leg 3 . The state information indicating the state of the leg portion 3 includes, for example, "leg raised state", "leg lowered state", "backward moving state", forward moving state, "grounded state", It is "ungrounded state" and the like.

The “grounded state” and “non-grounded state” are equivalent to “on” and “off” of the sensor 31 . Other information such as “leg raised state” may be acquired using state information indicating the state of the partial circuit 121, for example. However, the state information may be any information that indicates the state of the components of the robot, such as information that indicates the state of the drive mechanism 4 (for example, the current value of the electric reel, the angle of the joint, etc.). Also, information indicating the state of a component of a device other than a robot may be used.

A state information group is a set of various types of state information as described above. The state information group includes at least state information of each of the two or more partial circuits 121 forming the core circuit 12 . In the case of the robot shown in FIG. 1, the state information group also normally includes state information of the sensor 31.

The state information group may be, for example, a state variable group {X1, X2, X3, X4, . . . } described in a specific example. Each of the state variables "X1", "X2", etc. forming the state variable group takes a value of either true (eg "1") or false (eg "0").

In this case, the storage unit 11 may store, for example, two or more negative rules as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram of a negative rule. A negative rule has a state information group and prohibited matters. The state information group is composed of one or more state variables X1 to X4.

The state variable X1 is, for example, a variable indicating whether or not the leg 3 is raised, and is "1" corresponding to the true "leg raised state" or false "leg lowered state". It takes any value of "0". Note that the correspondence between true/false and "0" and "1" may be reversed (same below).

The state variable X2 is, for example, a variable indicating whether or not the leg 3 is moved forward, and is "1" corresponding to true "state of forward movement" or false "state of forward movement". It takes any value of "0" corresponding to the "non-existent state". Similarly, the state variable X3 is, for example, a variable indicating whether or not the leg 3 has moved backward, and is "1" corresponding to true "backward movement state" or false "backward movement state". It takes any value of "0" corresponding to the state "not

Further, the state variable X4 is, for example, a variable indicating whether or not the leg 3 is in contact with the ground. Takes one of the corresponding "0" values.

Two or more stored negative rules are associated with IDs (for example, "1", "2", etc.). For example, the negative rule corresponding to ID "1" (hereinafter sometimes referred to as negative rule 1) is positioned symmetrically with the state information group "0, 1, 0, 1..." It is forbidden to move the legs other than forward.” In addition, the negative rule (negative rule 2) corresponding to the ID "2" is the state information group "0, 0, 1, 1..." have a "forbidden".

Similarly, the negative rule 3 includes the state information group "Null, 0, 0, 1..." and the prohibition "prohibit forward movement + lowered state, and allow backward movement + lowered state". Negative rule 4 has a state information group "Null, 0, 0, 0 ..." and a prohibition "prohibit backward movement + raised state, and forward movement + raised state" Permission”. Note that "Null" indicates that the value of the state variable may be either "0" or "1".

However, the data structure of the negative rule does not matter. A negative rule may be a bounceback rule in a specific example described later.

The state information group acquisition unit 131 acquires, for example, for each of two or more partial circuits 121, a state information group including one or more pieces of state information of the partial circuits 121 concerned.

Alternatively, the state information group acquisition means 131 obtains, for each of two or more legs 3, one or more state information of the partial circuit 121 corresponding to the leg 3 and state information of the sensor 31 corresponding to the leg 3. You may acquire the state information group containing.

Negative rule obtaining means 132 obtains, for each of two or more status information groups obtained by status information group obtaining means 131, one or two or more negative rules corresponding to one or two or more partial status information groups possessed by the status information group. A rule is acquired from the storage unit 11 .

It can be said that the partial state information group is a subset of the state information group, which is a set of various types of state information. For example, in the case of the state variable group {X1, X2, X3, X4}, the one or more partial state information groups are {X1}, {X2}, {X1, X2}, {X2, X3}. . . , {X1, X2, X3}, {X1, X2, X4} . . . , {X1, X2, X3, X4}.

For example, the negative rule acquisition unit 132 searches the storage unit 11 using the state information group as a key for each of one or more partial state variable groups as described above, and acquires a negative rule corresponding to the state variable group. Therefore, one or more partial state information groups can be obtained for one state information group, and one or more negative rules can be obtained for each of them.

The positive case obtaining means 133 obtains a state information group of positive cases. A positive example state information group is a state information group that does not match any of the one or more negative rules acquired by the negative rule acquisition means 132 .

The positive case acquisition unit 133 acquires a state information group of positive cases, for example, by trial and error. Trial and error refers to the process of repeatedly trying and failing to finally solve an unknown problem when there is no known solution. Trial and error may be, for example, a solution search for a group of state variables as explained in a specific example.

That is, the positive example acquiring means 133, for example, obtains a state variable group that does not match any of the one or more negative rules (this is {X1=1, X2=0, X3=0, X4=1} ), and using the inverted state variable group (that is, {X1 = 0, X2 = 1, X3 = 1, X4 = 0}), the state after a unit time Δt The process of calculating the variable group is repeated until the previous calculation result and the current calculation result match.

Then, the positive example acquisition unit 133 acquires a state variable group in which the previous calculation result and the current calculation result match as a positive example state information group. Note that the positive case acquisition unit 133 may store the state information group of positive cases thus acquired in the storage unit 11 .

The control means 134 controls the operation of either supplying or stopping the current to each of the two or more partial circuits 121 based on the positive case state information group acquired by the positive case acquiring means 133 . Also good. Specifically, for example, of the conditions (if...) and permission items (then...) that constitute the sixth negative rule, the former (for example, "the state in which the leg is raised and the sensor is off") etc.) corresponds to the positive example of the state information group, and the latter (for example, "permit to change direction while putting the foot down") corresponds to the control based on the positive example of the state information group.

In the device 1 configured as described above, it is preferable that at least some of the one or more capacitors included in each of the two or more partial circuits 121 constituting the core circuit 12 have different capacitances. For example, when each of two or more partial circuits 121 has only one capacitor, the difference in capacitance means that the capacitance varies between the two or more capacitors. Alternatively, if two or more partial circuits 121 each have two or more capacitors, the difference in capacitance is that, for example, the two or more capacitors included in one partial circuit 121 have different capacitances. It may be that the two or more partial circuits 121 have different degrees of variation in capacitance. Due to the difference in capacitance, at least some partial circuits 121 out of the two or more partial circuits 121 of the core circuit 12 do not operate based on the partial state information group, at least temporarily.

It should be noted that not operating includes, for example, a case where the partial circuit 121 changes slowly in response to the control of the control unit 134 and, as a result, the partial circuit 121 does not operate.

Alternatively, the charge/discharge time constants of the capacitors may be different between the two or more partial circuits 121 forming the core circuit 12 . Note that the charge/discharge time constant varies, for example, depending on the capacitance of the capacitor or a combination of the capacitance of the capacitor and the value of the resistance.

Due to the difference in the charging and discharging time constants of the capacitors, in at least some of the partial circuits 121, the charging time or discharging time of the capacitance of the capacitors is controlled according to the result of the acquisition of the positive state information group by the control unit 13. As a result, there are cases where the part of the partial circuit 121 does not operate.

In a specific example described later, even if the charge/discharge time constant of the capacitor is longer than the feedback time from the controller to the core circuit 12, at least part of the partial circuit 121 may not operate. .

In this way, at least a portion of the partial circuits 121 are not operated, so that a state of repeatedly obtaining a steady state solution and a solution search for the state variable group for controlling the motion of each of the two or more legs 3 of the robot are not performed. As a result of being less likely to fall into an impossible state, efficient solution search can be performed.

The storage unit 11 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium such as a flash memory, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium such as a RAM.

It does not matter how the information is stored in the storage unit 11 or the like. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 11 or the like via a recording medium such as a memory card, or information transmitted via a network, a communication line, or the like may be stored in the storage unit 11 or the like. Alternatively, information input via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 11 or the like. Any input device such as a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like may be used.

The control unit 13, the state information group acquisition means 131, the negative rule acquisition means 132, the positive example acquisition means 133, and the control means 134 can usually be implemented by an MPU, memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the control unit 13 and the like is normally realized by software, and the software is recorded in a recording medium such as a ROM. However, the processing procedure may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

Next, the operation of the device 1 will be explained using the flowchart of FIG. The processing of this flow chart is executed in software by a computer such as a microcomputer, but may be executed in hardware by a digital circuit using logic gates or an analog circuit that performs logical operations.

(Step S401) The control unit 13 sets the initial value 1 to the variable i. The variable i is a variable for sequentially selecting unselected partial circuits 121 out of the two or more partial circuits 121 forming the core circuit 12 . In the case of an analog circuit, since it operates in continuous time, the variable i is convenient for understanding.

(Step S402) The control unit 13 determines whether or not the i-th partial circuit 121 exists. If the i-th partial circuit 121 exists, the process proceeds to step S403, and if the i-th partial circuit 121 does not exist, the process returns to step S401.

(Step S403) The state information group acquisition unit 131 acquires a state information group corresponding to the i-th partial circuit 121. FIG.

(Step S404) The negative rule acquisition unit 132 acquires from the storage unit 11 one or more negative rules corresponding to the state information group acquired in step S403.

(Step S405) The positive example obtaining unit 133 obtains a group of positive state information that does not match any of the one or more negative rules obtained in step S404.

(Step S406) The control means 134 uses the state information group of the positive example acquired in step S405 to control the operation of either supplying or stopping the current to the i-th partial circuit 121. .

(Step S407) The control unit 13 increments the variable i. After that, the process returns to step S402.

In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process ends when the power of the device 1 is turned off or a process end interrupt occurs.

A specific operation example of the robot according to the present embodiment will be described below. The robot of this example is an amoeba type robot as shown in FIG. Although this robot has four legs, it may have any number of legs, such as eight or six, as long as it has two or more legs. Each leg (pseudopod unit) of this robot corresponds to each leg 3 of the robot shown in FIG. Each leg has joints and is movable in up and down and forward and backward directions. A touch sensor corresponding to the sensor 31 is provided at the tip of each leg.

This robot then has an Electronic amoeba that corresponds to device 1 . Electronic amoebas are inspired by the prey behavior of single-celled amoeboid organisms (hereafter single-celled amoeba) and are designed to search for solutions to combinatorial optimization problems. Single-celled amoebas seek to maximize food intake while meeting given constraints.

Specifically, first, single-celled amoeba extend pseudopodia in one direction with some degree of fluctuation. Electronic amoeba exhibit such pseudopodic movements by means of unidirectional currents flowing through diodes within the pseudopodia unit, corresponding to state variables. Deformation fluctuations and errors in single-celled amoeba are realized electronically in electronic amoeba using a random bit generator. Alternatively, similar fluctuations and errors can be obtained by introducing noise into the power supply or the like.

Second, unicellular amoebae are constrained in their deformation by volume conservation. Constraints on deformation by volume conservation give rise to spatiotemporal correlations between pseudopodia. In the electronic amoeba, volume conservation is expressed by Kirchhoff's law at the center of the star-shaped network of pseudopodia units.

Third, unicellular amoebae contract their pseudopodia when exposed to light. This light avoidance is used to intentionally deform the amoeba shape. The property of light avoidance is represented by current control by field effect transistors with capacitors in each pseudopod.

FIG. 6 shows the circuitry of an electronic amoeba as described above, together with a unicellular amoeba. The electronic amoeba has an amoeba core corresponding to the core circuit 12 , a controller corresponding to the control section 13 , and a memory (not shown) corresponding to the storage section 11 .

Stored in memory is a bounceback rule that corresponds to the negative rule. The bounceback rule can be said to be a rule corresponding to the "given constraints" of the single-celled amoeba. Bounceback rules may also be built into the program. Furthermore, a logic function written in a program may be directly implemented by a circuit of logic gates.

The amoeba core has two or more (eight in FIG. 6) pseudopod units corresponding to partial circuits 121 . These two or more pseudopodia units are connected via a star-topology network, which represents a hub. Current is supplied to the center (hub) of the star network, and the supplied current is distributed to each of the two or more pseudopodia units. A current Ii is input to each pseudopodia unit, and the output Xi of each pseudopodia unit is provided to the controller. The controller generates a feedback signal yi based on the bounceback rule for the output Xi from each pseudopodia unit and provides it to each pseudopodia unit. A feedback signal is a signal for updating a state variable and is also called a bounceback signal.

Each pseudopod is also provided with an error signal ei generated by a random bit generator (not shown). It can be said that the error signal is a signal that realizes the deformation error or fluctuation of the single-celled amoeba.

FIG. 7 shows the circuit configuration of each pseudopodia unit and the waveforms of three error signals with different characteristics given to each pseudopodia unit. First, regarding the circuit configuration, the input terminal of the pseudopod unit is connected to the anode side of the diode via the resistor R, and the cathode side of the diode is connected to the output terminal via the NOT gate. The cathode side of the diode is also grounded through a capacitor C, and a first FFT is connected between the cathode side of the diode and capacitor C, and in series with the first FET between capacitor C and ground. A second FET is connected respectively. A feedback signal yi is applied to the first FET, and an error signal ei is applied to the second FET.

For example, the capacitance of the capacitor C of each pseudopod unit is 10 nF and the resistance R is 100Ω. However, it is preferable that one or more of the capacitance and resistance values vary among the pseudopod units. For example, it is desirable that the relative variation in capacitance, etc. between pseudopodia units be less than 100%. The relative variability can be said to be a value that relatively indicates the degree of variability in two or more groups with different units, averages, or the like, for example. The relative variation is, for example, the relative standard deviation (also referred to as coefficient of variation) obtained by dividing the standard deviation by the arithmetic mean, but any value can be used as long as it can relatively express the degree of variation. This is because if the variation is too large, the device 1 may not operate.

The current injected into the hub is 10 μA. The number of variables N is 12 and the number of redundant variables is 2N=24. The clock frequency of the controller is 84 MHz, which is sufficiently faster than the charging/discharging speed of the capacitor C.

A random bit string generated by the Xorshift method is used as the error signal that causes the fluctuation. The error signal produces a "0" regardless of the bounceback signal.

Error signals with different characteristics such as e1 to e3 shown in the lower part of FIG. 7 affect the solution search. The error probability p means how many pseudopodia units received an error signal at one time. The error period λ is the sum of the error bit width and the average time interval between adjacent bits. Increasing λ increases both the bit width and the time interval of the error. The state variable Xi of the electronic amoeba is obtained from the output of the pseudopod unit (ie the output voltage of the NOT gate).

FIG. 8 shows the time evolution of the four variables (a) and the search time variation (b) according to the change in the error period λ for each error probability.

In FIG. 8(a), the error probability p is 0.65 and the number of state variables is 24. Starting the search process from the initial state Xi_j=1 for all i and j, each of the state variables changes and sometimes shows an oscillatory behavior. When an error signal is randomly imposed on the pseudopodia unit, the electronic amoeba goes into another state. After applying the error signal several times, the system reaches a steady state and stabilizes. This confirms that the steady-state state variables always satisfy the constraints, that is, the amoeba core can find a solution.

On the other hand, the oscillatory state suggests that the amoeba core cannot resolve discrepancies between variables. The system becomes localized and it becomes necessary to provide an error signal to the system in order to escape from the localized state. In other words, the amoeba core maintains its dynamics until a final solution is found. This is because the bounceback rule continues to flip at least one of the state variables until all state variables satisfy the constraint.

Also, from FIG. 8(b), it can be seen that the error probability is related to the solution retrieval efficiency. Each curve has a minimum value, which indicates the existence of an optimal error period that minimizes the solution search time. This data shows that the optimal error period depends on the error probability and is of the order of the charging time constant of the capacitance, thereby minimizing the optimal error probability p It can be seen that there exists a value of

Thus, the electronic amoeba of the present example finds the proper state of walking straight, depending on the sensor 31 signal and the previous state. If the electronic amoeba is constrained to avoid falling or getting lost, it doesn't need to be programmed how to walk.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the device 1 stores one or more negative rules that are rules associated with a partial state information group that is a set of one or two or more pieces of state information and that indicate prohibited items. a core circuit 12 having two or more partial circuits 121 each having a diode, a capacitor, and a switch; obtain a state information group that does not match the negative rule corresponding to each of the one or more partial state information groups possessed by the state information group; and a control unit 13 for performing control for any one of the operations of stopping the At least some of the one or more capacitors included in each of the two or more partial circuits 121 have different charging or discharging time constants. Partial circuit 121 does not operate based on the partial state information group, at least temporarily. According to the device 1, for example, regarding the state variable group for controlling the movement of the leg 3 of the amoeba robot, it is difficult to fall into a state where a steady solution is repeatedly obtained or a state where the solution search becomes impossible. , efficient solution search can be performed.

In the above device 1, the two or more partial circuits 121 are connected via a hub, and current is supplied to each of the two or more partial circuits 121 from the center of the hub. As a result of being conserved according to the law of , for example, a motion of a robot corresponding to amoeba whose volume is conserved can be realized.

In the device 1 described above, the control unit 13 includes a state information group obtaining unit 131 for obtaining a state information group, which is a set of state information indicating at least the state of each of the two or more partial circuits 121; Negative rule acquisition means 132 for acquiring one or more negative rules corresponding to each of the above partial state information groups from the storage unit 11, and a positive example that does not match any of the one or more negative rules acquired by the negative rule acquisition means 132 A positive case acquisition means 133 that acquires the state information group of the positive case, and a control for either supplying or stopping the current to each of the two or more partial circuits 121 based on the state information group of the positive case. By providing the means 134, for example, efficient solution search can be performed with respect to the state variable group for controlling the movement of the leg 3 of the amoeba type robot.

In addition, in the device 1, the charging time or discharging time of the capacitance of the capacitor is longer than the time until the control unit 13 performs control according to the result of acquiring the state information group. .

In the device 1 described above, the positive case obtaining means 133 can obtain the state information group of positive cases efficiently by obtaining the state information group of positive cases through trial and error.

In the device 1, the two or more partial circuits 121 are circuits for controlling the motion of the two or more legs 3 of the robot, and the two or more legs 3 are on the ground. It has a sensor 31 for detecting whether or not it is in a state, and the state information group also includes state information indicating the detection result of the sensor 31 of each of two or more legs 3, so that the movement of the leg 3 of the amoeba robot can be detected. Efficient solution search can be performed for the state variable group for control.

Further, in the device 1, the storage unit 11 stores a first negative rule that prohibits raising the leg when the number of the legs 3 indicating the landing state is equal to or less than a predetermined number. By doing so, the movement of the leg 3 of the amoeba robot can be controlled accurately.

In addition, in the device 1, each of the two or more legs 3 is movable back and forth, and the storage part 11 is configured to accommodate the two or more legs corresponding to the front and back positional relationship between the two or more legs 3. By storing the second negative rule that prohibits forward and backward movement of one or more legs 3 out of 3, the movement of the legs 3 of the amoeba robot can be accurately controlled.

In addition, in the device 1, each of the two or more legs 3 can be raised and lowered, and the storage section 11 is configured so that the two or more legs 3 correspond to the state in which the legs 3 are on the ground. In response to the third negative rule that prohibits forward movement with the leg 3 down, and the state in which the leg 3 is not on the ground, it is prohibited to move the leg 3 backward while in the raised state. By storing the fourth negative rule for prohibition, the movement of the leg 3 of the amoeba robot can be accurately controlled.

Further, in the device 1 described above, the storage unit 11 is provided with respect to each of the two or more legs 3, and when the position of the leg 3 is in the front or the rear, the other leg having a predetermined positional relationship with the leg 3 is stored. By storing the fifth negative rule that prohibits the movement of the leg 3, the movement of the leg 3 of the amoeba robot can be accurately controlled.

In the device 1 described above, the storage unit 11 permits the prohibited movement of each of the two or more legs 3 according to the combination of the state of raising and lowering the legs 3 and whether or not they are in contact with the ground. By storing the sixth negative rule that

In the above device 1, the sixth negative rule allows two or more types of motion for the same group of state information, resulting in a state in which a steady state solution is repeatedly obtained and a state in which solution search becomes impossible. As a result, the movement of the legs 3 of the amoeba robot can be controlled accurately.

In the present embodiment, the two or more partial circuits 121 that constitute the core circuit 12 are analog circuits. As a result, the partial circuit 121 did not operate based on the partial state information group at least temporarily. By, for example, adding different delays to their outputs or stochastically delaying their outputs between the circuits 121, at least some of the partial circuits 121 are at least temporarily dependent on the set of partial state information. It can result in no action taken based on it.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment and the above modification (modification 1), regardless of whether the two or more partial circuits 121 are analog circuits or digital circuits, at least some of the partial circuits 121 are: At least temporarily, it is possible to obtain a result in which no operation is performed based on the partial state information group, and efficient solution search can be performed for the state information group.

Further, even in a modification (modification 2) in which the device 1 does not have the core circuit 12 configured by two or more partial circuits 121 as described above, for example, the control unit 13 may At least some of the two or more legs 3 are at least temporarily , may result in no action based on the partial state information group.

The processing that causes different delays between the legs means, for example, that the timing of changing the control signal to each leg 3 between 0 and 1 is based on the operation clock of the MPU (hereinafter referred to as unit time). However, as long as the processing results in different delays between the legs, the procedure does not matter. Here, the unit time is, for example, several microseconds. However, the unit time may be on the order of less than microseconds, or may be 10 microseconds or more, and its value does not matter.

On the other hand, the delay generated in each of the two or more partial circuits 121 constituting the analog core circuit 12 described in the embodiment fluctuates, for example, within the range of several milliseconds to several hundreds of milliseconds. However, the delay occurring in each partial circuit 121 may be, for example, a time on the order of less than milliseconds or a time of one second or more, and its value and fluctuation range are not limited.

Therefore, in order to realize a delay equivalent to the above-described delay generated in the core circuit 12 by software, the control signal to each leg 3 should be set within a range of, for example, 1,000 to 100,000 times the unit time. , may be delayed randomly or according to a predetermined algorithm.

That is, since the timescale of the motion of the robot is different from the timescale of the motion inside the device 1, in order to avoid the unstable motion of the robot, the control unit 13 should be adjusted to the timescale of the motion of the robot. It is only necessary to produce a delay that is of a length that is appropriate and that fluctuates.

A delay of a predetermined length (eg, 100,000 units of time) occurs only in one or more legs 3 out of two or more legs 3, No delay may occur in the other one or more legs 3 .

As a process therefor, the control unit 13 generates a random number for each of two or more legs 3, for example, and sets the random number (for example, 5390, 1253, 5326, etc.) to a predetermined number (for example, 10). If the remainder (e.g. 0, 3, 6, etc.) is a predetermined value (e.g. 0), then the control signal to the leg 3 is a predetermined time (e.g. 10 10,000 unit time), and if the value is different from a predetermined value (eg, 3, 6, etc.), the control signal to the leg 3 is not delayed. As a result, each of the two or more legs 3 will have its movement delayed by a predetermined time (eg, 100,000 units of time) with a certain probability (eg, 1/10 probability).

Note that the control unit 13 may change the probability by changing the predetermined number when performing the division (for example, if the predetermined number is 100, the movement of each leg 3 delay is 1 in 100).

Alternatively, the occurrence of different delays between the legs is within a predetermined range (for example, 10,000 unit time to 90,000 unit time) in at least some of the two or more legs 3. , which may result in a delay of random length.

As a process therefor, the control unit 13 generates a random number for each of two or more legs 3, for example, and sets the random number (for example, 5390, 1253, 5326, etc.) to a predetermined number (for example, 10). division, and delaying the control signal to the leg 3 by a length (e.g., 0, 30,000 unit time, 60,000 unit time) according to the remainder (e.g., 0, 3, 6, etc.) process. This results in each of the two or more legs 3 delaying its movement by a random length, for example in the range of 0 to 90,000 units of time.

Therefore, according to the modified example 2 as well, as a result of efficient solution search for the state information group, a robot whose motion is less likely to become unstable is realized.

According to Modification 2, even when the device 1 is used in a device other than a robot, the control unit 1 causes a delay of a length corresponding to the time scale of the operation of the device, and a fluctuating delay. The operation of the device can be stabilized. Further, inside the device 1, a delay of a length corresponding to the time scale of the operation of the device (for example, about several times the unit time) and a fluctuating delay is generated, so that the operation of the device 1 itself can also be stabilized.

However, if the device 1 has a core circuit 12, the charge/discharge time constant is a charge/discharge time constant corresponding to the time scale of the operation of the device 1 or a device such as a robot having it, and the fluctuating charge/discharge time constant is By using a group of capacitors having such a structure, the control unit 13 does not need to perform the processing described above, and the load on the MPU or the like that implements the control unit 13 is reduced.

Alternatively, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the control unit 13 causes at least some of the two or more legs 3 to perform an operation based on the partial state information group, at least temporarily. You can control it so that it does not. The predetermined condition is usually a condition regarding information other than the partial state information group. Information other than the partial state information group is, for example, information outside the robot (environmental information) such as an image from a camera, information from a humidity sensor or a temperature sensor.

Specifically, for example, a camera that captures the range in which the robot moves is provided on the robot itself or on the outside thereof. The condition for the image from the camera is that "high frequency components are greater than or equal to the threshold". As a result, for example, when the ground is rough, the motion based on the partial state information group is not performed, increasing the possibility of avoiding the overturning of the robot.

Also, for example, a temperature sensor is provided on the robot itself or in the range in which the robot moves. The condition regarding the temperature information from the temperature sensor is that "the temperature is lower than or equal to the threshold". As a result, for example, when the ground is frozen, the motion based on the partial state information group is not performed, increasing the possibility of avoiding a collision or overturn due to the robot slipping.

Furthermore, humidity sensors are provided, for example, on the robot itself or in the area in which it moves. The condition for humidity information from the humidity sensor is "the humidity is higher than or equal to the threshold". As a result, for example, when the ground is wet due to rain, the motion based on the partial state information group is not performed, thereby increasing the possibility of avoiding a collision or falling due to a slip of the robot.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 11 stores one or more negative rules indicating prohibited items, which are rules associated with a partial state information group that is a set of one or more state information, For example, the following control method is realized by the core circuit 12 having two or more partial circuits 121 each having a diode, a capacitor, and a switch, and the controller 13 . The control unit 13 includes state information group acquisition means 131, negative rule acquisition means 132, positive example acquisition means 133, and control means 134. a state information group acquisition step of acquiring a state information group that is a set of state information indicating at least the state of each partial circuit 121 of the above; A negative rule obtaining step of obtaining one or more negative rules corresponding to the group from the storage unit 11, and the positive example obtaining means 133 matching both of the one or more negative rules obtained by the negative rule obtaining means 132. a positive example acquiring step of acquiring a positive example state information group; including a control step of performing control for any operation, at least one of the one or more capacitors included in each of the two or more partial circuits 121 has different time constants for charging or discharging at least some of the capacitors, and the time constants are different; Therefore, at least some of the partial circuits 121 among the two or more partial circuits 121 of the core circuit 12 do not operate based on the partial state information group at least temporarily.

Furthermore, the processing in this embodiment may be realized by software. Then, this software may be distributed by software download or the like. Also, this software may be recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed.

Note that the software that implements the device 1 in this embodiment is, for example, the following program. That is, the computer of the device 1 having the core circuit 12 having two or more partial circuits 121 each having a diode, a capacitor, and a switch is associated with a partial state information group that is a set of one or more state information. The program is accessible to a storage unit 11 storing one or more negative rules that are rules and indicate prohibited matters, and this program causes the computer to store state information indicating at least the state of each of the two or more partial circuits 121. and a negative rule for acquiring from the storage unit 11 one or more negative rules corresponding to one or more partial state information groups included in the state information group. acquisition means 132; positive example acquisition means 133 for acquiring a group of positive example status information that does not match any of the one or more negative rules acquired by the negative rule acquisition means 132; function as control means 134 for controlling the operation of either passing current through or stopping the current in each of the two or more partial circuits 121, and one or more capacitors of the two or more partial circuits 121 At least some of the capacitors have different charging or discharging time constants, and due to the different time constants, at least some of the two or more partial circuits 121 included in the core circuit 12 are at least temporarily , which does not operate based on the partial state information group.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a computer system 900 that implements the device 1 by executing the program according to the embodiment. In FIG. 9, a computer system 900 includes an MPU 911 that is a computer that executes programs, a ROM 912 that stores programs such as a boot-up program, and a ROM 912 that is connected to the MPU 911 to temporarily store instructions of application programs. A RAM 913 that provides a temporary storage space, a storage 914 that stores application programs, system programs, and data, a bus 915 that interconnects the MPU 911, ROM 912, etc., and provides connections to networks such as external networks and internal networks. , a memory card slot 917 and a core circuit 12 . The storage 914 is, for example, flash memory or SSD. Note that the entire computer system 900 may be called a computer.

A program that causes computer system 900 to perform the functions of device 1 may be stored in memory card 920 , inserted into memory card slot 917 , and transferred to storage 914 , for example. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted over a network to computer system 900 and stored in storage 914 . Programs are loaded into RAM 913 during execution. Note that the program may be loaded directly from the memory card 920 or from the network.

The programs may not necessarily include an operating system (OS), third-party programs, etc. that cause the computer system 900 to perform the functions of the device 1 . A program may contain only those portions of instructions that call the appropriate functions or modules in a controlled manner to produce the desired result. How the computer system 900 operates is well known and will not be described in detail. However, the above is an example, and the hardware configuration of the computer that implements the device 1 is not a concern.

The number of computers that execute the above programs may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed. (However, performing distributed processing on multiple computers is preferable because, for example, different delays can be easily added between computers, or the occurrence of different delays can be expected stochastically. Even when performing centralized processing (for example, time-division processing), it is possible to add different delays or perform control in which different delays are expected stochastically.

In the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be implemented by centralized processing by a single device (system), or may be implemented by distributed processing by a plurality of devices. may However, distributed processing by a plurality of devices is preferable in that, for example, it is possible to easily add different delays between the devices or to predict the occurrence of different delays stochastically. Also, even when centralized processing is performed by one device, it is possible to add different delays or perform control in which the occurrence of different delays can be expected stochastically.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and that various modifications are possible and are also included within the scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the device according to the present invention has the effect of being able to efficiently search for a solution for a state information group of a device such as a robot, and is useful as a device or the like.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 device 2 body 3 leg 4 drive mechanism 11 storage unit 12 core circuit 13 control unit 31 sensor 121 partial circuit 131 status information group acquisition means 132 negative rule acquisition means 133 positive example acquisition means 134 control means

Claims (5)

a storage unit that stores one or more negative rules that are rules associated with a partial state information group that is a set of one or two or more pieces of state information and that indicate prohibited items;
a core circuit having two or more sub-circuits with diodes, capacitors and switches;
Obtaining a state information group that is a set of state information indicating at least the state of each of the two or more partial circuits, and obtaining a state information group that does not match a negative rule corresponding to each of the one or more partial state information groups included in the state information group and a control unit that performs control for either passing or stopping the current to each of the two or more partial circuits based on the state information group,
At least some of the one or more capacitors included in each of the two or more partial circuits have different time constants for charging or discharging,
A device in which at least some of the two or more partial circuits included in the core circuit do not operate based on the group of partial state information at least temporarily due to the different time constants ,
The two or more partial circuits are circuits for controlling movements of two or more legs of the robot,
each of the two or more legs has a sensor for detecting whether or not the leg is on the ground;
The device, wherein the state information group also includes state information indicating detection results by the sensors of the two or more legs . the two or more partial circuits are connected via a hub;
2. The device of claim 1, wherein current is supplied to each of said two or more sub-circuits from the center of said hub. The control unit
state information group acquisition means for acquiring a state information group, which is a set of state information indicating at least the state of each of the two or more partial circuits;
negative rule acquisition means for acquiring from the storage unit one or more negative rules corresponding to one or more partial state information groups included in the state information group;
positive example acquisition means for acquiring a positive example state information group that does not match any of the one or more negative rules acquired by the negative rule acquisition means;
3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising control means for controlling an operation of supplying or stopping current to each of the two or more partial circuits based on the state information group of the positive example. . The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the charging time or discharging time of the capacity of the capacitor is longer than the time until the control unit performs the control according to the result of acquiring the state information group. . The positive example acquisition means is
4. The device of claim 3, wherein the group of positive status information is obtained by trial and error.

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