JP7230889B2 - Device, control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device such as a pet robot, a device control method , and a program.

A robot control device has been proposed that controls a robot so as to prompt a user to act voluntarily. (For example, Patent Document 1)

JP 2016-135530 A

Including the technology described in the above patent document, robots for pets, etc., which are becoming popular in recent years, are capable of recognizing the surrounding environment such as face recognition, voice recognition, and space recognition, as well as emotional expressions and dialogue. The amount of data to be handled regarding input, processing, and output, such as various actions involving functions, movements, and movements, has increased significantly, and the burden on the CPU becomes even greater when executed in a stand-alone manner. In addition, in order to reduce the CPU load, when performing cloud processing using an external network to realize some functions, it is necessary to perform communication processing. , there is a problem that the processing time increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to enable a device such as a pet robot to quickly respond to an external stimulus given from the surroundings while reducing the processing burden. It is to make it possible to take

One aspect of the present invention is an apparatus having a device that performs an operation, a sensor that detects a sound pressure level of sound from the outside, a first CPU, and a second CPU, wherein The CPU performs speech recognition processing on the speech when the sound pressure level detected by the sensor does not exceed a preset threshold, and what operation should be performed based on the obtained recognition result. and outputs it to the second CPU, and the second CPU performs the operation indicated by the instruction signal when the instruction signal is input from the first CPU. Control to execute the operation of the above device according to the content, and execute immediately before the above interrupt signal is input when an interrupt signal is input that is output when the sound pressure level detected by the above sensor exceeds the above threshold Based on the operation content of the operation of the device that was being performed, it is determined whether or not the operation can be executed with the operation content set corresponding to the interrupt signal, and the operation with the interrupt operation content cannot be executed. When it is determined that the interrupt signal is invalid, control is performed to continue the operation according to the operation content of the operation of the device that was executed immediately before the input of the interrupt signal. and

According to the present invention, it is possible for a device such as a pet robot to respond quickly to an external stimulus given from the surroundings while reducing the processing load.

1 is a block diagram showing a part of the configuration of a functional circuit of a pet robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall processing contents corresponding to voice input according to the embodiment;

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a pet robot (apparatus) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an extracted part of the functional circuit configuration of a pet robot 10 according to this embodiment. The pet robot 10 uses a microphone, which is one of the sensors, as an external stimulus such as a user's call or command, an external voice, etc., and then analyzes the pre-registered command or the like by voice recognition processing, and sets the stimulus. and perform the various operations specified.

In FIG. 1, a sound signal corresponding to the directivity of the ambient sound and the microphone 11 itself, which is input from a microphone 11 embedded in the head of a pet robot 10, is converted into digital data in a codec section 12, and is converted into digital data by a codec unit 12. After being coded according to the coding format, it is given to the system CPU 13 .

On the other hand, when an audio signal having a sound pressure level exceeding a predetermined threshold is input to the codec section 12, the codec section 12 directly sends an interrupt signal to the device CPU 14, which will be described later.

The system CPU 13 is a main CPU in the pet robot 10, and controls the pet robot 10 as a whole. Depending on the content, the pet robot 10 generates an instruction signal that instructs the action to be executed at that time, and outputs it to the device CPU 14 .

The device CPU 14 serves as a sub-CPU in the pet robot 10, and based on instruction signals given from the system CPU 13, drives and controls each device that actually operates in the pet robot 10. Rotation drive control for a large number of stepping motors (not shown) connected via , display drive control for a liquid crystal display panel (LCD) connected via a display drive unit 16, and audio output from a speaker (not shown) Execute control, etc.

A large number of stepping motors driven by the motor drive unit 15 are provided for each joint axis of the limbs and neck of the pet robot 10 . The liquid crystal display panels are provided on both eyes of the pet robot 10 and, for example, on the display on the chest.

In this embodiment, a device control apparatus comprising the codec section 12, the system CPU 13, and the device CPU 14 controls devices such as a stepping motor and a display section.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the overall processing contents corresponding to voice input in the pet robot 10. As shown in FIG. The processing is mainly performed by the system CPU 13, which is the main CPU, and the device CPU 14, which is the sub CPU, in cooperation with each other.

When the power is turned on, first, the system CPU 13 sets the sound pressure level Lth, which is the threshold value of the input sound (step S101).

The sound pressure level Lth serving as the threshold value may be a fixed value prepared in advance, or the fixed value may be set according to the ambient sound pressure level measured by the microphone 11 at that time. may be increased or decreased using the coefficient of .

After that, under the control of the system CPU 13, the codec unit 12 determines whether or not there is an input voice from the microphone 11 at the lowest sound pressure level set in advance. (step S102).

If there is no input voice obtained by the microphone 11 and it is determined that there is no call to the pet robot 10 (No in step S102), the codec unit 12 repeats the process of step S102 to Waits for some kind of call or the like to be made.

In step S102, if there is an input voice obtained by the microphone 11 and it is determined that there is some kind of call to the pet robot 10 (Yes in step S102), the codec unit 12 digitizes and codes the input voice signal. Also, the sound pressure level is detected from the digitized result (step S103).

The codec unit 12 determines whether or not the detected sound pressure level exceeds the set threshold value Lth (step S104).

If it is determined that the detected sound pressure level does not exceed the threshold value Lth (No in step S104), the codec section 12 sends the coded audio data to the system CPU 13 as it is.

The system CPU 13 executes voice recognition processing for voice data input from the codec unit 12, and determines what kind of motion the pet robot 10 should perform during normal motion according to the motion program based on the obtained recognition result. Then, an instruction signal corresponding to the determination result is generated and sent to the device CPU 14 .

Upon receiving the instruction signal, the device CPU 14 causes the motor driving section 15 to rotationally drive each stepping motor, or causes the display driving section 16 to display and drive the liquid crystal display panel according to the instructed display content. or

As described above, after the system CPU 13 and the device CPU 14 have executed processing control during normal operation corresponding to the audio data encoded by the codec unit 12 (step S105), the above step S102 is performed again in preparation for the next audio input. Return to processing from.

If it is determined in step S104 that the detected sound pressure level exceeds the threshold value Lth, for example, if the pet robot 10 is given a loud startling stimulus (Yes in step S104), The codec unit 12 outputs the interrupt signal directly to the device CPU 14 .

Upon receiving this interrupt signal, the device CPU 14 prohibits the motor drive section 15 and the contents of the operation that was being operated via the motor drive section 15 immediately before and the operation contents preset corresponding to the interrupt signal. Based on whether or not the combination is out of the prescribed combinations, it is determined whether or not the current operating situation will have an adverse effect, such as causing a situation such as a fall (step S107).

If it is determined that the previous operation content and the operation content set by the interrupt signal are a combination that is prohibited and that there is a possibility that the current operation state may have an adverse effect (No in step S107), the device CPU 14 , the interrupt signal from the codec section 12 is regarded as invalid, and the process advances to step S105 to continue the operation that has been executed up to that point.

Further, in step S107, if it is determined that the combination of the immediately preceding operation content and the operation content set by the interrupt signal is not a prohibited combination, and that there is no possibility of adverse effects from the current operation state (Yes in step S107). ), the device CPU 14 activates the interrupt signal from the codec unit 12 instead of the operation that has been executed so far, and performs a preset operation, such as jumping in surprise or displaying surprised eyes. In order to execute this, the motor drive unit 15 rotates each stepping motor, and the display drive unit 16 drives the liquid crystal display panel according to the display contents instructed (step S108).

In addition, the device CPU 14 notifies the system CPU 13 that temporary processing corresponding to this interrupt signal has been executed (step S109), and prepares for the next voice input again from step S102. Return to processing.

It should be noted that it is possible to set a plurality of operation contents to be temporarily processed by the device CPU 14 in response to an interrupt signal from the codec unit 12, and one operation may be selected at random from among them, or may be executed until then. Control may be adopted to preferentially select an action immediately after the action that has been performed and which has no possibility of adversely affecting the user.

As described in detail above, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to quickly respond to stimuli given from the surroundings while reducing the processing load of the system CPU 13, which is the main CPU.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when an interrupt signal is sent from the codec unit 12 to the device CPU 14, the device CPU 14 performs the operation contents executed immediately before and the operation to be executed in association with the interrupt signal. When it is determined that there is a possibility that the pet robot 10 may have an adverse effect, such as an unstable posture, from the combination with the contents, the input of the interrupt signal is invalidated. The situation can be avoided in advance so as to disturb the behavior of the pet robot 10 against excessive stimulation.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the device CPU 14, which is the sub CPU, executes a temporary operation in response to an interrupt signal from the codec unit 12, and then notifies the system CPU 13, which is the main CPU, of the contents of the operation to be executed. Therefore, even after the system CPU 13, which executes the overall motion control of the pet robot 10, temporarily acts mainly on the device CPU 14 in response to a large external stimulus, It becomes possible to utilize it for the following control.

In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the system CPU 13 sets the sound pressure level Lth, which is the threshold value for judging the loudness of the input voice in the codec section 12, when the pet robot 10 is powered on. As described above, the threshold value that is used as a criterion for determination may be set arbitrarily by the user, or may be set variably according to the time zone, etc., with a certain range. Furthermore, the motion of the pet robot 10 can be varied.

Further, in the above embodiment, as an external stimulus given to the pet robot 10, a case has been described in which voice is input through the microphone 11 and reacts to the sound pressure. Not limited to external images using image sensors, external force and posture using acceleration sensors, fall status, etc., brightness using illuminance sensors, temperature and humidity of the outside air using temperature and humidity sensors, and pressure sensors. By detecting various external stimuli such as the external air pressure, operating pressure, and water pressure used, it is possible to produce a variety of motions.

In the above embodiment, the case of applying to a robot having a main CPU and a sub CPU has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a single CPU can control the entire operation of a robot or the like to be controlled. A control object operated by software having a program structure that separates and controls a program area that controls multiple devices on the terminal side in individual operations, or a plurality of devices on the terminal side can also be applied to a controlled object having a multiprocessor structure such that a microprocessor is used to control .

In the above embodiment, the codec section 12 judges an external stimulus and sends out an interrupt signal. may be provided separately.

Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to robots but also to various electronic devices that operate in response to external stimuli.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be variously modified in the implementation stage without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, each embodiment may be implemented in combination as appropriate, in which case the combined effect can be obtained. Furthermore, various inventions are included in the above embodiments, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiments, if the problem can be solved and effects can be obtained, the configuration with the constituent elements deleted can be extracted as an invention.

The invention described in the original claims of the present application is appended below.
[Claim 1]
A device control apparatus for controlling an apparatus having a device that performs an operation and a sensor that detects an external environment,
a first control means for outputting an operation content instruction signal corresponding to the sensor data output by the sensor;
a second control means for controlling the operation of the device based on the instruction signal output by the first control means;
with
When the sensor data satisfies a preset condition, the second control means causes the device to operate based on an interrupt signal without using the instruction signal output by the first control means. Controlling device controller.
[Claim 2]
conversion means for generating the interrupt signal when the sensor data satisfies a preset condition;
The second control means controls the operation of the device based on the interrupt signal output from the conversion means without using the instruction signal output by the first control means. 1. The device control apparatus according to 1.
[Claim 3]
The conversion means converts the detection output of the sensor into data and outputs it,
3. The device control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said first control means outputs an operation content instruction signal corresponding to the sensor data output by said conversion means.
[Claim 4]
4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said second control means determines whether or not to perform an operation in response to said interrupt signal, based on the details of the operation of said device which was controlled immediately prior to said input of said interrupt signal. Control device.
[Claim 5]
The second control means controls the operation of the device based on the operation content of the device controlled immediately before the interrupt signal is input, and then transfers the control content to the first control means. 5. The device control apparatus according to claim 1, which notifies.
[Claim 6]
4. The device control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a preset condition for sensor data under which said conversion means outputs said interrupt signal can be arbitrarily set.
[Claim 7]
A device control method for controlling an apparatus having a device that performs an operation and a sensor that detects an external environment, comprising:
a first control step of outputting an operation content instruction signal corresponding to the sensor data output by the sensor;
a second control step of controlling the operation of the device based on the instruction signal output in the first control step;
and controls the operation of the device based on an interrupt signal without using the instruction signal output in the first control step when the sensor data satisfies a preset condition. control method.
[Claim 8]
A program executed by a computer that controls an apparatus having a device that performs an operation and a sensor that detects an external environment, the program comprising:
a first control means for outputting an operation content instruction signal corresponding to the sensor data output by the sensor;
a second control means for controlling the operation of the device based on the instruction signal output by the first control means;
to make it work,
When the sensor data satisfies a preset condition, the second control means causes the device to operate based on an interrupt signal without using the instruction signal output by the first control means. program to control.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Pet robot 11... Microphone 12... Codec part 13... System CPU (main CPU)
14 CPU for device (sub CPU)
15... Motor drive section 16... Display drive section

Claims (6)

a device that performs the action;
a sensor that detects the sound pressure level of an external sound;
a first CPU;
a second CPU, and
The first CPU,
When the sound pressure level detected by the sensor does not exceed a preset threshold value, a judgment result of what kind of operation should be performed based on the recognition result obtained by executing speech recognition processing on the speech. to generate an instruction signal corresponding to and output to the second CPU,
The second CPU,
when the instruction signal is input from the first CPU, controlling the device to operate according to the operation content indicated by the instruction signal;
When an interrupt signal is output when the sound pressure level detected by the sensor exceeds the threshold value, based on the operation content of the device operation executed immediately before the interrupt signal is input, Judging whether or not the operation can be executed according to the operation content set in response to the interrupt signal,
If it is determined that the operation cannot be executed with the above interrupt operation contents, the interrupt signal is regarded as invalid, and the above device operation executed immediately before the interrupt signal is input is executed with the operation contents. A device characterized by controlling the execution of an action to continue . Further, when the second CPU determines that it is possible to execute the operation with the operation content set in response to the interrupt signal, the second CPU performs the operation with the operation content set in response to the interrupt signal. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, after controlling the execution, the content of the executed operation is notified to the first CPU . 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said threshold can be set arbitrarily. 2. The second CPU further controls the operation of the device according to the operation content set in response to the interrupt signal when the interrupt signal is input. 4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 3 . A control method for an apparatus having a device that performs an operation, a sensor that detects the sound pressure level of an external sound, a first CPU, and a second CPU, comprising:
The step executed by the first CPU is
When the sound pressure level detected by the sensor does not exceed a preset threshold value, a judgment result of what kind of operation should be performed based on the recognition result obtained by executing speech recognition processing on the speech. generating an instruction signal according to and outputting it to the second CPU;
The step executed by the second CPU is
a step of controlling, when the instruction signal is input from the first CPU, to execute the operation of the device according to the operation content indicated by the instruction signal;
When an interrupt signal is output when the sound pressure level detected by the sensor exceeds the threshold value, based on the operation content of the device operation executed immediately before the interrupt signal is input, Judging whether or not the operation can be executed according to the operation content set in response to the interrupt signal,
If it is determined that the operation cannot be executed with the above interrupt operation contents, the interrupt signal is regarded as invalid, and the above device operation executed immediately before the interrupt signal is input is executed with the operation contents. controlling to continue execution of the action ;
A control method comprising: the first CPU of a device having a device that performs an operation, a sensor that detects the sound pressure level of an external sound, a first CPU, and a second CPU,
When the sound pressure level detected by the sensor does not exceed a preset threshold value, a judgment result of what kind of operation should be performed based on the recognition result obtained by executing speech recognition processing on the speech. means for generating an instruction signal according to and outputting it to the second CPU;
the second CPU,
means for controlling, when the instruction signal is input from the first CPU, to execute the operation of the device according to the operation content indicated by the instruction signal;
When an interrupt signal is output when the sound pressure level detected by the sensor exceeds the threshold value, based on the operation content of the device operation executed immediately before the interrupt signal is input, Judging whether or not the operation can be executed according to the operation content set in response to the interrupt signal,
If it is determined that the operation cannot be executed with the above interrupt operation contents, the interrupt signal is regarded as invalid, and the above device operation executed immediately before the interrupt signal is input is executed with the operation contents. means for controlling continued execution of the action ;
A program to function as

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