JP7720486B2 - Robot control system, robot control method, and building on which a robot moves - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a robot-friendly building, a robot, and a control system for a robot that travels through a building. More specifically, the present invention relates to a robot control method and system that enables robots to coexist with humans in the same space and provide useful services to humans.

As technology advances, a variety of service devices are emerging, and in recent years, technological development has been particularly active in relation to robots that perform a variety of tasks or services.

In addition, with the recent development of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies, it has become possible to control robots more precisely and safely, and as a result, the use of robots is gradually increasing. In particular, technological advances have led to robots being able to safely coexist with humans in indoor spaces.

As a result, robots have recently been replacing human tasks and work, and various methods for robots to provide direct services to humans, especially in indoor spaces, are being actively researched.

For example, in public places such as airports, train stations, and department stores, robots provide navigation services, and in restaurants, robots provide serving services. Furthermore, in office spaces and shared living spaces, robots provide delivery services, delivering mail and parcels. Robots also provide a variety of other services, including cleaning services, security services, and logistics processing services. The types and range of services provided by robots are expected to continue to increase exponentially, and the level of service provision is expected to continue to evolve.

Such robots provide a variety of services not only in outdoor spaces, but also in the indoor spaces of buildings such as offices, apartment buildings, department stores, schools, hospitals, and amusement facilities. In such cases, the robots are controlled to provide various services while moving around the indoor spaces of the building.

On the other hand, when multiple robots are operating in a large space, there are limitations to operating them on a single cloud server. In such cases, a method can be used in which multiple servers are used to appropriately distribute and control the robots operating within the space. When using multiple servers to control multiple robots, a method is needed to appropriately assign robots to one of the multiple servers and enable flexible switching between servers.

Therefore, in order to provide higher-level services using robots within buildings, not only is research into robot control technology for individual services (e.g., route guidance services, delivery services, serving services, etc.) necessary, but fundamental research is also needed to enable the various infrastructure required for robots to be supported in the buildings themselves where the robots provide their services.

On the other hand, in order for robots to provide various services or live in indoor spaces, they must be able to move freely or pass through the indoor spaces of buildings, and in some cases, they may need to use the various facility infrastructure provided in the building (e.g., elevators, escalators, access control gates, etc.).

The present invention provides a robot-friendly building, a robot that moves within the building, and a robot control system.

The present invention also aims to provide a robot-friendly building, robot control system, and method that allows for efficient operation of multiple robots in a space where multiple robots are operated. Specifically, the present invention aims to provide a multi-robot control system and control method that allows for efficient operation of multiple robots by multiple servers in a space where multiple robots are operated.

Furthermore, the robot-friendly building of the present invention can expand the types and range of services that robots can provide by providing a variety of robot-friendly facility infrastructure that robots can use.

Furthermore, the robot-friendly building of the present invention utilizes a cloud system that links multiple robots, allowing for organic control of multiple robots and facility infrastructure, thereby enabling more systematic management of the movement of robots that provide services. As a result, the robot-friendly building of the present invention can provide a variety of services to humans more safely, quickly, and accurately.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a robot control system that includes a main server that communicates with multiple sub-servers that are assigned to correspond to multiple areas included in a space, a first sub-server that controls a robot that travels in a first area of the multiple areas, and a second sub-server that controls a robot that travels in a second area of the multiple areas that is different from the first area, and the main server controls the first sub-server and the second sub-server so that the robot communicates with at least one of the first sub-server and the second sub-server depending on the robot's position.

The present invention also provides a robot control system including a main server that sets a travel path for a specific robot traveling within a space, a first sub-server that communicates with the main server and controls a robot located in a first area among multiple areas included in the space, and a second sub-server that communicates with the main server and controls a robot located in a second area among the multiple areas, wherein the main server transmits information about each of the robots connected to the first and second sub-servers, respectively, and each of the first and second sub-servers controls at least one of the robots based on the information about each of the robots received from the main server.

Furthermore, the present invention can provide a robot control system including a main server that controls robots traveling in a space having multiple floors; a first sub-server that communicates with the main server and controls a robot traveling on a first floor of the multiple floors; and a second sub-server that communicates with the main server and controls a robot traveling on a second floor different from the first floor of the multiple floors, wherein the main server transmits information regarding a handover event to at least one of the first and second sub-servers, in which a specific robot located on the first floor moves to the second floor, so that control authority for the specific robot is handed over from the first sub-server to the second sub-server upon the occurrence of the handover event.

Furthermore, the present invention can provide a robot that travels through space and communicates with a main server and at least one of a plurality of sub-servers that communicate with the main server. The robot may transmit its location information to the main server based on a task assignment from the main server, receive from the main server identification information of a first sub-server assigned to a first area corresponding to the location information, and, based on a handover event that occurs when the robot moves from the first area to the second area while connected to the first sub-server and controlled by the first sub-server, receive from the main server identification information of a second sub-server assigned to the second area, and connect to both the first sub-server and the second sub-server in a handover area where at least a portion of the first and second areas overlap.

Furthermore, the present invention can provide a building in which a robot controlled by a main server and at least one of a plurality of sub-servers travels. The building may include a plurality of areas in which the robot can travel, wherein a first sub-server among the plurality of sub-servers controls a robot traveling in a first area among the plurality of areas, and a second sub-server among the plurality of sub-servers controls a robot traveling in a second area among the plurality of areas that is different from the first area, and the main server communicates with the plurality of sub-servers assigned to correspond to each of the plurality of areas, and when a handover event occurs in which a specific robot communicating with the first sub-server moves from the first area to the second area, information regarding the handover event is transmitted to at least one of the first sub-server and the second sub-server so that control authority for the specific robot is handed over from the first sub-server to the second sub-server.

The robot-friendly building, robot control system, and method of the present invention use multiple servers to perform distributed control of robots, allowing multiple robots moving within a space to be appropriately distributed and controlled by multiple servers, enabling faster and more efficient control of the robots.

More specifically, in the robot-friendly building, robot control system, and method according to the present invention, multiple servers are assigned to correspond to the horizontal or vertical space of the building, so that robots traveling in the same or similar areas can be controlled by the same server. In this way, the present invention allows for flexible switching of control authority over robots between servers depending on the robot's location within the building.

In this way, according to the present invention, by having adjacent robots controlled by the same server, i.e., by having adjacent robots controlled by a single control entity, collisions between adjacent robots can be efficiently prevented, environmental information can be shared between adjacent robots, and overlapping movement paths of adjacent robots can be minimized.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, in a global network system, the main server can appropriately distribute robot control authority to multiple sub-servers by taking into account at least one of the robot's location and the number of robots connected to each of the multiple sub-servers. Therefore, by allowing one sub-server to control an appropriate number of robots, distributed control of multiple robots can be carried out efficiently.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, in a local network system, when a handover event occurs, the robot can identify the sub-server to which control authority should be handed over based on the strength of the wireless signal. In addition, the main server can improve the reliability of the handover between the robot and the sub-server by determining whether the sub-server to which the robot is attempting to connect has control authority over the robot. As a result, the present invention allows for flexible switching of control authority over the robot based on the strength and reliability of the wireless signal measured by the robot.

Furthermore, the robot-friendly building of the present invention utilizes technological convergence, which combines and connects robots, autonomous driving, AI, and cloud technologies, and can provide a new space where such technologies are organically combined with robots and the equipment infrastructure installed within the building.

Furthermore, the robot-friendly building of the present invention can more systematically manage the movement of robots that provide services by organically controlling multiple robots and facility infrastructure using a cloud server that links with multiple robots. As a result, the robot-friendly building of the present invention can provide a variety of services to humans more safely, quickly, and accurately.

Furthermore, in a building according to the present invention, the tasks and movement conditions assigned to the multiple robots placed in the building are taken into consideration, and their movement is controlled to take humans into consideration, allowing robots and humans to coexist naturally in the same space.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a system for controlling a robot traveling through a robot-friendly building and various facilities installed in the robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a system for controlling a robot traveling through a robot-friendly building and various facilities installed in the robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a system for controlling a robot traveling through a robot-friendly building and various facilities installed in the robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the equipment infrastructure provided in a robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the equipment infrastructure provided in a robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for estimating the position of a robot traveling in a robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for estimating the position of a robot traveling in a robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a method for estimating the position of a robot traveling in a robot-friendly building according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a robot controlled by a robot system according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a local network type robot control system. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a robot control method according to the present invention. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a robot control method according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a robot system that controls robots in areas divided by floor of a building. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing handover performed in response to inter-floor movement of a robot.

The embodiments disclosed herein will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, identical or similar components will be designated by the same or similar reference numerals regardless of the drawing number, and their description will be omitted. The suffixes "module" and "section" used in the following description are added or used interchangeably to facilitate the preparation of the specification and do not have any significance or utility in themselves. Furthermore, when describing the embodiments disclosed herein, if it is deemed that a detailed description of related publicly known technology may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed herein, that detailed description will be omitted. Note that the accompanying drawings are merely intended to facilitate understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, and the technical concepts disclosed herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that all modifications, equivalents, or alternatives within the concept and technical scope of the present invention are encompassed by the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., are used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one component from another.

When a component is referred to as being "coupled" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly coupled or connected to the other component, and that there may be additional components in between. Conversely, when a component is referred to as being "directly coupled" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no additional components in between.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless otherwise specified.

In this specification, the terms "comprise" and "have" are intended to specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof set forth in the specification, but should not be interpreted as precluding the presence or possibility of adding one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

This invention relates to a robot-friendly building, and proposes a robot-friendly building where humans and robots can coexist safely and where robots can provide useful services within the building.

More specifically, the present invention provides a method for providing useful services to humans using robots, robot-friendly infrastructure, and various systems for controlling them. In a building according to the present invention, various infrastructures (or facility infrastructures) can be provided that allow humans and multiple robots to coexist and multiple robots to move freely within the building.

In the present invention, a building is a structure constructed for sustainable habitation, living, business, etc., and takes various forms, such as a commercial building, industrial building, institutional building, or residential building. Furthermore, the building may be a multi-story building with multiple floors, or a single-story building. However, for the sake of convenience, the present invention will be described using infrastructure or facility infrastructure applied to a multi-story building as an example.

In this invention, infrastructure or facility infrastructure refers to facilities installed in buildings for the purposes of providing services, moving robots, maintaining functionality, maintaining cleanliness, etc., and comes in a wide variety of types and forms. For example, infrastructure installed in buildings can be a variety of things, such as moving equipment (e.g., robot movement paths, elevators, escalators, etc.), charging equipment, communications equipment, cleaning equipment, and structures (e.g., stairs, etc.). In this specification, such facilities are referred to as facilities, infrastructure, facility infrastructure, or facility infrastructure, and the terms may be used interchangeably in some cases.

Furthermore, in a building according to the present invention, the building, various equipment infrastructure installed in the building, and at least one of the robots are controlled in conjunction with one another, allowing the robots to provide various services within the building safely and accurately.

The present invention proposes a building equipped with various facility infrastructures that allow multiple robots to travel within the building, provide services according to their missions (or tasks), and support standby or charging functions as well as robot repair and cleaning functions as needed. Such a building provides an integrated solution (or system) for robots, and a building according to the present invention can be referred to by various modifiers. For example, a building according to the present invention can be described in various ways, such as i) a building equipped with infrastructure used by robots, ii) a building equipped with robot-friendly infrastructure, iii) a robot-friendly building, iv) a building where robots and humans live together, and v) a building that provides various services using robots.

In contrast, "robot-friendly" in this invention refers to buildings where robots coexist, and more specifically, means that the building allows robots to move around, that robots provide services, that infrastructure is in place for robots to use, and that infrastructure is in place to provide the functions required by robots (e.g., charging, repair, cleaning, etc.). In this case, "robot-friendly" in this invention is used to mean having an integrated solution for the coexistence of robots and humans.

The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 are conceptual diagrams illustrating a robot-friendly building according to the present invention, and Figures 4, 5, and 6 are conceptual diagrams illustrating a system for controlling robots that travel through the robot-friendly building and various facilities installed in the robot-friendly building according to the present invention. Figures 7 and 8 are conceptual diagrams illustrating the facility infrastructure installed in the robot-friendly building according to the present invention.

First, for ease of explanation, we will define some representative symbols.

In the present invention, the building is designated by the reference numeral "1000," and the spaces (indoor spaces or indoor areas) of building 1000 are designated by the reference numeral "10" (see Figure 8). Furthermore, the indoor spaces corresponding to the multiple floors that make up the indoor space of building 1000 are designated by the reference numerals 10a, 10b, 10c, etc. (see Figure 8). In the present invention, the term "indoor space" or "indoor area" refers to the inside of a building protected by exterior walls, as opposed to the exterior of the building, and is not limited to referring to space.

In addition, in this invention, robots are designated with the symbol "R," and even if a symbol is not written on the robot in the drawings or specification, all can be understood to be robot R.

Furthermore, in this invention, a human or person is designated by the symbol "U," and a human or person can also be referred to as a dynamic object. Here, a dynamic object does not necessarily mean only a person, but is also accepted to include moving things such as animals such as dogs and cats, or at least one other robot (e.g., a user's personal robot, a robot that provides other services, etc.), drones, and vacuum cleaners (e.g., a robot vacuum cleaner).

On the other hand, the building (edifice) 1000 described in this invention refers to a structure erected for people to live in, work in, raise animals in, or store goods in, and the type of structure is not particularly limited.

For example, building 1000 may be an office, office, officetel, apartment building, residential/commercial complex, residence, school, hospital, restaurant, government office, etc., and the present invention can be applied to various such buildings.

As shown in Figure 1, in a building 1000 according to the present invention, robots can move around and provide a variety of services.

One or more different types of robots may be located within building 1000, and such robots may travel within building 1000, provide services, and utilize various facility infrastructure provided in building 1000 under the control of server 20.

In the present invention, the server 20 can be located in various locations. For example, the server 20 can be located inside the building 1000 and/or outside the building 1000. That is, at least a portion of the server 20 can be located inside the building 1000, and another portion can be located outside the building 1000. Alternatively, the server 20 can be located entirely inside the building 1000, or can be located only outside the building 1000. Therefore, in the present invention, the specific location of the server 20 is not particularly limited.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the server 20 may be configured to use at least one of a cloud computing method (cloud server 21) and an edge computing method (edge server 22). Furthermore, the server 20 may be applied to the present invention using any method other than cloud computing or edge computing, as long as it is capable of controlling a robot.

Meanwhile, the server 20 according to the present invention may, in some cases, combine cloud computing and edge computing methods to control at least one of the robots and the equipment infrastructure installed within the building 1000.

On the other hand, the robot R is driven according to control commands. For example, the robot R can move its position or change its posture by changing its movements, and can perform software updates.

For ease of explanation, in this invention, the server 20 will be uniformly named "cloud server" and will be given the reference number "20." However, it goes without saying that such a cloud server 20 can also be referred to as an edge server 22 in edge computing.

In addition, the term "cloud server" can be changed to various terms such as cloud robot system, cloud system, cloud robot control system, and cloud control system.

Meanwhile, the cloud server 20 according to the present invention can perform integrated control of multiple robots traveling within the building 1000. That is, the cloud server 20 can i) monitor multiple robots R located within the building 1000, ii) assign tasks (or jobs) to the multiple robots, and iii) directly control the equipment infrastructure installed within the building 1000 so that the multiple robots R successfully complete their tasks, or iv) allow the equipment infrastructure to be controlled by communicating with a control system that controls the equipment infrastructure.

The cloud server 20 can also check the status information of the robots located in the building and provide (or support) various functions required by the robots. These various functions include charging the robots, cleaning the contaminated robots, and putting the robots on standby after completing their missions.

The cloud server 20 can control the robot so that it uses various equipment infrastructure provided in the building 1000 to provide various functions to the robot. Furthermore, the cloud server can directly control the equipment infrastructure provided in the building 1000 to provide various functions to the robot, or can control the equipment infrastructure by communicating with a control system that controls the equipment infrastructure.

In this way, the robot controlled by the cloud server 20 can provide a variety of services while traveling around the building 1000.

Meanwhile, the cloud server 20 can perform various controls based on the information stored in the database, and the present invention does not particularly limit the type or location of the database. The term "database" can be freely modified to refer to any means of storing information, such as memory, storage, cloud storage, external storage, or external server. Hereinafter, the term "database" will be used consistently.

On the other hand, the cloud server 20 according to the present invention can perform distributed control of robots based on various criteria, such as the type of service provided by the robot and the type of control over the robot. In such cases, the cloud server 20 may have subordinate sub-servers.

In addition, the cloud server 20 according to the present invention can control robots moving around the building 1000 based on various artificial intelligence algorithms.

Furthermore, the cloud server 20 performs artificial intelligence-based learning, utilizing data collected in the process of controlling the robot as learning data, and by utilizing this data to control the robot, the more control the robot receives, the more accurately and efficiently the robot can be operated. In other words, the cloud server 20 may be configured to perform deep learning or machine learning. Furthermore, the cloud server 20 can perform deep learning or machine learning through simulations, etc., and control the robot using the artificial intelligence model constructed as a result.

On the other hand, Building 1000 is equipped with various equipment infrastructures for the robots' movement, providing robot functions, maintaining robot functions, carrying out robot missions, and for the coexistence of robots and humans.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1(a), various facility infrastructures 1 and 2 are provided within building 1000 to support the movement (or movement) of robot R. Such facility infrastructures 1 and 2 can support horizontal movement of robot R within the floors of building 1000, or vertical movement such that robot R moves between different floors of building 1000. In this manner, facility infrastructures 1 and 2 can include a transportation system that supports the movement of the robot. By controlling robot R to utilize such various facility infrastructures 1 and 2, cloud server 20 can cause robot R to move within building 1000 to provide services, as shown in FIG. 1(b).

Meanwhile, the robot according to the present invention may be controlled based on at least one of the cloud server 20 and a control unit provided in the robot itself, and configured to move within the building 1000 or provide services corresponding to the assigned mission.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1(c), a building according to the present invention is a structure in which robots and humans coexist, and the robot is configured to travel while avoiding obstacles such as humans U, objects used by humans (e.g., strollers, carts, etc.), and animals, and may be configured in some cases to output notification information 3 regarding the robot's travel. The travel of such a robot may be performed to avoid obstacles based on at least one of the cloud server 20 and a control unit provided in the robot. The cloud server 20 can control the robot so that the robot moves within the building 1000 while avoiding obstacles, based on information received from various sensors provided in the robot (e.g., a camera (image sensor), proximity sensor, infrared sensor, etc.).

Furthermore, the robot that travels through the building through the processes shown in (a) to (c) of Figure 1 may be configured to provide services to people or target objects present within the building, as shown in (d) of Figure 1.

The types of services provided by robots vary from robot to robot. In other words, there are various types of robots depending on their purpose, robots have different structures depending on their purpose, and robots are equipped with programs suitable for their purpose.

For example, building 1000 may be equipped with robots that provide at least one of the following services: delivery, logistics, guidance, interpretation, parking assistance, security, crime prevention, guarding, public order, cleaning, disease prevention, disinfection, laundry, beverage production, food and beverage production, serving, firefighting, medical support, and entertainment services. The services provided by robots are diverse and include services other than those listed above.

Meanwhile, the cloud server 20 can assign appropriate tasks to the robots, taking into account the purpose of each robot, and control the robots so that they perform the assigned tasks.

At least a portion of the robots described in the present invention can move or perform tasks under the control of the cloud server 20, in which case the amount of data processed by the robot itself to move or perform tasks is minimized. In the present invention, such robots are also referred to as brainless robots. Such brainless robots rely on the control of the cloud server 20 for at least a portion of their control when performing actions such as moving, performing tasks, charging, waiting, and cleaning within the building 1000.

However, in this specification, brainless robots will not be classified into different names, but will all be referred to uniformly as "robots."

Figures 9 to 11 are conceptual diagrams illustrating a method for estimating the position of a robot traveling through a robot-friendly building according to the present invention.

As described above, in a building according to the present invention, the location of a robot can be extracted and monitored using various infrastructures installed in the building. Furthermore, by monitoring the location of such robots, the cloud server 20 can efficiently and accurately control the robots within the building.

On the other hand, the cloud server 20 described in the present invention may include at least one main server and at least one sub-server.

In the present invention, in order to efficiently manage robots traveling through a building, sub-servers may be assigned to different spaces (or areas) of the building from a spatial perspective, and each sub-server may control the robots located in the area that it manages.

In the present invention, the area may be an area divided in horizontal space corresponding to the same floor of a building, or an area divided in vertical space corresponding to different floors of a building.

However, the space to which this invention is applied does not necessarily have to be a space inside a building or indoors; it will be obvious to any ordinary engineer that this invention can also be applied to outdoor spaces. For the sake of convenience, only embodiments in which the invention is applied inside a building will be described below, but all of the embodiments described below can also be applied to outdoor spaces.

In addition, the main server can directly or indirectly control the sub-servers by communicating with them. Furthermore, the main server can control the robots, allowing it to control the robots in situations where the sub-servers cannot.

In addition, the main server can assist in connecting sub-servers with robots so that the robots are connected to and controlled by the appropriate sub-servers.

Before explaining the robot control method according to the present invention, we will explain the robot controlled by the robot control system according to the present invention.

Figure 12 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a robot controlled by the robot system of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12, the robot may include a communication unit 1201, a storage unit 1202, a driving unit 1203, a control unit 1204, and a sensor unit. The communication unit 1201 and the storage unit 1202 have been described above, so a detailed description will be omitted.

The running unit 1203 is configured to move the robot within space. The running unit 1203 is configured to be able to control at least one of the direction and speed of movement of the robot, and the control unit 1204 controls the running unit 1203 to allow the robot to move along a set movement path.

The traveling unit 1203 can be controlled by a control unit 1204 included in the robot and the cloud server 20. Unless otherwise specified in this specification, control of the robot by either the control unit 1204 included in the robot or the cloud server 20 can also be controlled by the other one. Here, the cloud server 20 may include at least one of a main server and a sub-server, as described above.

Next, the control unit 1204 may be configured to control the overall operation of the robot according to the present invention. The control unit 1204 may process signals, data, information, etc. input or output by the aforementioned components, and may also provide or process appropriate information or functions to the user. Unless otherwise specified in this specification, the control unit 1204 refers to a control unit provided in the robot.

On the other hand, in the present invention, a main server and multiple sub-servers can be used to perform distributed control of robots traveling through buildings.

The main server can assign tasks to the robot as it travels through the building and generate a path plan for the robot. Path planning refers to a plan for a global path (overall path) along which the robot will travel through the building to perform its mission. Such a global path may include information about multiple areas within the building through which the robot will pass or travel.

The sub-servers may be assigned to correspond to multiple areas within a building. Such multiple areas may also be referred to as multiple districts. The multiple areas may be divided within a horizontal space corresponding to the same floor of the building, or may be divided based on a vertical space corresponding to different floors of the building.

The horizontal space on the same floor may be divided into multiple areas according to preset criteria, and a different sub-server may be assigned to each of the multiple divided areas. When a robot moves from one area to another by moving through the horizontal space, control authority over the robot is handed over from one sub-server to another, which is referred to as a "handover" in the present invention.

In addition, different sub-servers may be assigned to each vertical space corresponding to a different floor. For example, in a building with multiple floors, a different sub-server may be assigned to each floor, and different servers may have control authority over the robot depending on which floor the robot is located on.

Therefore, when a robot moves from one floor to another, control authority for the robot is transferred from the sub-server assigned to one floor to the sub-server assigned to the other floor.

Each sub-server may control a robot located in the area assigned (or managed) to that sub-server. The sub-server may create local path plans for the robot within the area managed by that sub-server. Local path planning refers to planning the robot's path based on the conditions of each area (e.g., congestion level, location of obstacles, paths of other robots, etc.). The robot may be configured to navigate within a building based on a global path planned by the main server, and to navigate in detail based on local paths planned by each sub-server. A global path is a macroscopic path based on the area the robot must pass through or travel to perform its mission, while a local path is a detailed path from a microscopic perspective within each area included in the global path.

In this specification, "control authority" over a robot means the authority to control the robot through communication with the robot, and control authority over the robot may be given to at least one of multiple sub-servers. The control authority may be handed over from one sub-server to another sub-server upon the occurrence of a preset event, for example.

On the other hand, the main server always has control authority over the robot. In other words, even if the robot is controlled by a sub-server, it goes without saying that the main server also has control authority over the robot.

The transfer of control authority over a robot may be performed by the main server, or by communication between the sub-server transferring control authority and the sub-server to which control authority is transferred. Control authority over a robot may also be transferred by the robot from one sub-server to another.

In this specification, the term "handover" refers to the transfer of control authority for a robot from one sub-server to another. As described above, in this invention, sub-servers are assigned to correspond to different areas, respectively. Therefore, handover in this invention refers to the transfer of control authority from a server corresponding to a first area in a building to a server corresponding to a second area different from the first area. More specifically, a building may have multiple areas, and a sub-server may be assigned (or matched) to each of the multiple areas. When a robot is located in the first area of multiple areas in a building, control authority for the robot is held by the first sub-server, and control of the robot is exercised by the first sub-server.

On the other hand, in a building, when the robot moves from the first area to the second area, communication between the specific robot and the first sub-server may become difficult, or the robot may move out of the management area of the first sub-server. Therefore, in this invention, the control authority of the robot is handed over to the second sub-server corresponding to the second area, which is referred to as handover in this specification.

Also, when a handover is necessary due to a change in the robot's area, this is called a "handover event."

On the other hand, in this specification, a "handover area" may also refer to an area that serves as a criterion for determining whether or not a handover event has occurred.

As an example, the handover area in the horizontal space within a building may be an area where the first area and the second area overlap, or a pre-defined area located between the first area and the second area. In other words, the handover area in the horizontal space may be an area where different areas overlap, or an area located between different areas.

As another example, in a building with multiple floors, the handover area may be an area where equipment for moving the robot between floors of the building is located (e.g., an elevator or escalator). That is, the handover area in vertical space may be an area between different floors, or an area (or inside the equipment) connecting different floors.

In this specification, however, when performing distributed control of robots using multiple sub-servers, the sub-servers can be operated in two main ways.

In the first method, distributed control of the robot may be performed under the control of a main server. In this case, the main server can directly control multiple sub-servers, and as the robot moves, it can identify the sub-server that has control authority over the robot and control authority can be handed over between the sub-servers.

Here, the main server, multiple sub-servers, and robots may be connected to a single network, which is referred to in the present invention as a "global network system."

In a global network system, the robot control system may include a main server and multiple sub-servers, which are under the control of the main server.

The main server can control the multiple sub-servers so that the robot communicates with at least one of the multiple sub-servers depending on the robot's location.

More specifically, in a global network system, multiple robots located within a building are connected to a single network, and the main server can grant control authority for a specific robot to a specific sub-server among multiple sub-servers.

In the global network system, the main server can assign tasks to each of multiple robots, or generate and transmit to the robot a travel route (or global travel route) that includes information about at least one area, out of multiple areas contained in a building, that the robot must pass through to complete its mission. The main server can also identify at least one sub-server that has control authority over the specific robot based on the information about the at least one area included in the travel route.

On the other hand, the sub-server can perform the control necessary for the robot to perform its mission or perform detailed control for the robot to travel along a pre-set route. In other words, the main server controls the overall operation of multiple robots located within a building, and the sub-server can perform detailed control over the robots to which it has been assigned control authority. However, this is not limited to this.

As a second method, distributed control of robots may be performed using a method in which multiple sub-servers each manage an independent network (hereinafter referred to as a local network method). In the local network method, the robot control system may include a main server and multiple sub-servers. In the local network method, the main server and multiple sub-servers may form their own networks. In this case, the main server does not control the multiple sub-servers, but rather acts as an intermediary between the multiple sub-servers. More specifically, a robot located within a building may be connected to a network managed by one of the multiple sub-servers and controlled by the sub-server managing the connected network. More specifically, referring to FIG. 13, in the local network method, the main server 1310 is connected to a global network 1311, and the first sub-server 1320 and the second sub-server 1330 are each connected to the main server 1310. The first sub-server 1320 is connected to a first network 1321, and the second sub-server 1330 is connected to a second network 1331 different from the first network 1321. The first network 1321 is a network that can be connected via an AP (Access Point) provided in the first area 1322, and the second network 1331 is a network that can be connected via an AP provided in the second area 1332.

In the local network system, the "main server" can assign tasks to each of the multiple robots, or generate and send to the robots a travel route that includes information about at least one area, out of multiple areas contained within the building, that the robot must pass through to complete its mission.

On the other hand, the sub-server can perform the control necessary for the robot to perform its mission or perform detailed control for the robot to travel along a pre-set route. In other words, the main server controls the overall operation of multiple robots located within a building, while the sub-server can perform detailed control over the robots to which it has been assigned control authority.

On the other hand, in the local network method, the main server sends information about each of multiple robots to multiple sub-servers, and the multiple sub-servers can connect to one of the multiple robots, hand over control authority over an already connected robot to another sub-server, or control an already connected robot based on the information about the robot received from the main server.

Here, the information about each of the multiple robots may include at least one of the strength of the wireless signal detected by the robot, information about the robot's current location, information about the sub-server connected to the robot, and information determining whether the robot is connected to the appropriate server.

On the other hand, in the local network method, the robot measures the signal strength of each AP (Access Point) installed in the building and communicates wirelessly with the AP with the strongest signal strength. Each AP installed in the building is matched with one of multiple sub-servers, and the sub-server corresponding to the AP to which the robot is connected has control authority over the robot.

Each sub-server receives information about the strength of the radio signals detected by each of the robots, and can determine which of the robots to control based on the information about the strength of the radio signals.

The sub-server sends information about the robot connected to the sub-server (e.g., the robot's identification information) to the main server, and the main server can determine whether the robot is connected to the appropriate sub-server based on the information received from the sub-server.

As described above, the present invention enables multiple robots to be efficiently operated by multiple servers in a space where multiple robots are operated, using either a global network or a local network.

However, when controlling a robot using the system and method according to the present invention, a situation may arise in which control authority for the robot must be handed over from one server to another as the robot moves between areas within a space. The present invention provides a system and method that allows server control authority to be smoothly transferred as the robot moves between areas within a space.

This specification describes a robot control method and system that can be applied to either of the two different robot control methods described above. Unless otherwise specified, the robot control method described below can be applied to both the global network method and the local network method.

The present invention provides a method and system for controlling the movement of a robot, in which multiple servers perform distributed control of the robot and perform handover between servers depending on the robot's position. This will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating a robot control method according to the present invention, and Figure 15 is a conceptual diagram showing a robot control method according to the present invention.

In the robot control system according to the present invention, a step (S110) in which a first sub-server controls a robot traveling in a first area among a plurality of areas, and a step (S120) in which a second sub-server controls a robot traveling in a second area among the plurality of areas are performed. The order of these two steps is not particularly limited.

The first sub-server is a server that has control authority over robots located in a first area among multiple areas within the building, and controls the robots by communicating with the robots located in the first area. On the other hand, the second sub-server is a server that has control authority over robots located in a second area, different from the first area among multiple areas within the building, and controls the robots by communicating with the robots located in the second area.

In a global network system, the main server monitors the location of robots within a building, and when a specific robot is located in a first area, it assigns control authority for that specific robot to the first sub-server, and when the specific robot is located in a second area, it assigns control authority for that specific robot to the second sub-server.

On the other hand, in the local network method, a robot can communicate wirelessly with a sub-server that can be connected to at its current location. For example, a robot communicates wirelessly with a sub-server that corresponds to the AP (Access Point) with the strongest signal strength at its current location. When a specific robot connects, the sub-server sends identification information about the connected robot to the main server, and the main server can determine whether the connected robot is connected to the appropriate sub-server. If the robot is not connected to the appropriate sub-server, the robot itself can attempt handover to connect to another sub-server other than the one it is currently connected to. Specific embodiments of this will be described later.

Meanwhile, if a handover event occurs in which a specific robot communicating with the first sub-server moves (or enters) from the first area to the second area, a step (S130) is performed in which control authority for the specific robot is handed over from the first sub-server to the second sub-server. A handover event may occur when the specific robot is located in the handover area, or when another wireless signal of a predetermined strength or greater is detected by the specific robot. The method for handing over control authority for the specific robot differs depending on the network method. Below, methods for handing over control authority for a specific robot in each of the global network method and the local network method will be described.

First, we will explain how to transfer control authority over robots using a global network method.

In a global network system, when a handover event occurs, the main server can send information about the handover event to at least one of the first sub-server and the second sub-server so that control authority for the specific robot is transferred from the first sub-server to the second sub-server.

The main server can determine whether the handover event has occurred based on the location of the specific robot. Specifically, the main server can periodically monitor the location of the specific robot and determine that the handover event has occurred if the specific robot is located within a predetermined distance from a specific handover area formed by the overlap of the first area and the second area, or if the specific robot is located in the specific handover area.

Meanwhile, the main server can identify a sub-server to which control authority for the specific robot will be taken over based on the occurrence of the handover event. Specifically, if the robot is located within a predetermined distance from a specific handover area or is located in the specific handover area, the main server identifies multiple areas that form the handover area. The main server can identify one of the identified multiple areas to which the robot is expected to move, taking into account at least one of the robot's traveling direction, traveling path, and mission. The main server can identify a sub-server corresponding to one of the identified areas as the sub-server to which control authority for the specific robot will be taken over.

On the other hand, if the handover area is formed by a first area where the robot was located before the handover event occurred and a second area that is another area adjacent to the first area, the main server can identify the sub-server corresponding to the second area as the sub-server to which control authority for the specific robot will be taken over.

Meanwhile, the main server can transmit information regarding the handover event to at least one of the first and second sub-servers based on the occurrence of a handover event. The information regarding the handover event may include at least one of identification information regarding the specific robot, the region in which the handover event occurred, identification information regarding the sub-server currently having control authority over the specific robot, identification information regarding the sub-server to which control authority over the specific robot will be taken over due to the handover event, information informing the user that control authority over the specific robot will be taken over, and information regarding the control being performed on the robot. The information regarding the handover event may also include information regarding a control command transmitted to the specific robot from the sub-server that had control authority over the specific robot before the handover event occurred.

The main server can send first information to the first sub-server notifying that control authority over the specific robot will be handed over to the second sub-server, and can send second information to the second sub-server requesting control over the specific robot.

On the other hand, control authority for the specific robot can be held by both the first sub-server and the second sub-server until the predetermined handover conditions for the specific robot are met on the second sub-server.

The predetermined handover condition may relate to the degree of similarity between the first control command of the first sub-server for the specific robot and the second control command of the second sub-server for the specific robot. For example, if the control command sent from the first sub-server to the specific robot and the control command sent from the second sub-server to the specific robot are the same, the main server can determine that the predetermined handover condition is met and completely hand over control authority for the specific robot to the second sub-server. Alternatively, if the control command sent from the first sub-server to the specific robot and the control command sent from the second sub-server to the specific robot are different, the main server can maintain the state in which control authority for the specific robot is granted to each of the first and second sub-servers for a predetermined period of time.

Meanwhile, a robot can independently query the main server to connect to a specific sub-server. Specifically, a robot can query the main server to find out which sub-server it should connect to based on the robot's current location. When the main server receives a request for identification information from the specific robot regarding the sub-server to connect to, it transmits identification information regarding the specific sub-server assigned to the specific area of the multiple areas in which the specific robot is located, based on the specific robot's location. The specific robot can then establish communication with the specific sub-server based on the identification information regarding the specific sub-server.

When initially assigning a sub-server to a robot, the main server identifies one of multiple sub-servers based on at least one of the robot's current location and the number of robots connected to each sub-server, and sends information about the identified sub-server to the robot, allowing the robot to be controlled by that specific sub-server via wireless communication with the specific sub-server. In other words, the main server can set control authority so that the appropriate sub-server controls the robot, taking into account the robot's location and the computing power of each of the multiple sub-servers.

Meanwhile, the robot can connect to the first sub-server by transmitting its location information to the main server based on the assignment of a task from the main server, and receiving from the main server the identification information of the first sub-server assigned to the first area corresponding to the location information. Furthermore, the robot can receive from the main server the identification information of the second sub-server assigned to the second area based on a handover event that occurs when the robot moves from the first area to the second area while being controlled by the first sub-server, and can connect to both the first sub-server and the second sub-server in a handover area where at least a portion of the first and second areas overlap.

Meanwhile, the robot can determine its own location based on at least one of the following: the robot's own VL (Visual Localization), sensing information collected from sensors included in the robot, photos taken by the robot, the degree of movement of the robot's running part, and information about the AP connected to the robot, or it can guide the main server to determine the robot's location by sending at least one of these pieces of information to the main server.

On the other hand, robots can query the main server on an AP basis. Specifically, a robot can connect to the AP with the strongest signal while moving, and can query the main server about which sub-server it should connect to based on information about the connected AP. For example, if the AP with the strongest signal changes while the robot is moving, the robot can share information about the AP with the main server and query which sub-server it should connect to. This is because the sub-servers corresponding to the networks to which each AP belongs may be different.

The handover process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 15. The main server 1510 monitors the location of robot R, and when robot R is located in the first area 1522 corresponding to the first sub-server 1520, it grants control authority over robot R to the first sub-server 1520. When robot R enters the handover area 1540 where the first area 1522 and the second area 1532 corresponding to the second sub-server 1530 overlap, the main server 1510 transfers control authority over robot R to the second sub-server 1530, allowing robot R to be controlled by the second sub-server 1530 in the second area 1532.

As described above, in the global network system, if a handover event occurs for a specific robot, the main server can transfer control authority for the robot to another sub-server based on the robot's location, thereby enabling efficient distributed control of multiple robots.

Here, the main server takes into consideration the number of robots connected to each of the multiple sub-servers, and if more than a preset number of robots are connected to a specific sub-server, it can prevent any more robots from connecting to that specific sub-server, or it can hand over at least one robot connected to the specific sub-server to another sub-server.

The present invention therefore allows for flexible switching of control authority over robots depending on the robot's location within a building.

Next, we'll explain how to take over control of a robot using the local network method.

When a handover event occurs as a specific robot traveling along a travel path moves from the first area to the second area, control authority for the specific robot is handed over from the first sub-server to the second sub-server.

Here, a specific robot can receive control commands from each of the first sub-server and the second sub-server in at least a portion of the handover area formed by the first area and the second area.

While the specific robot is located in the handover area, the specific robot is connected to the network corresponding to the first sub-server and the network corresponding to the second sub-server, and can receive control commands from each of the first and second sub-servers. Therefore, the present invention can prevent interruptions in communication connections for the robot during the handover process.

Meanwhile, while the specific robot is connected to each of the first and second sub-servers, it can transmit information regarding a handover event to at least one of the first and second sub-servers, thereby allowing control authority for the specific robot to be handed over from one of the first and second sub-servers to the other.

A specific robot may be connected to at least one of a plurality of sub-servers assigned to correspond to each of the plurality of regions, and the sub-server connected to the specific robot may be identified based on the strength of a wireless signal sensed by the specific robot.

More specifically, multiple robots located within a building may be connected to the network via wireless communication with at least one of multiple APs installed within the building. Each of the multiple APs may be connected to one of multiple networks. Each of the multiple networks may be connected to one of multiple sub-servers, so that when a robot is connected to a specific AP, it is connected to one of the multiple networks and is further controlled by one of the specific sub-servers connected to one of the networks. Here, the specific sub-server may be a sub-server that provides the robot with a predefined access method within one of the networks, such as a fixed IP address or a predefined domain name.

The robot determines which AP to connect to based on the strength of each communication signal from multiple APs. In other words, control authority over the robot is granted based on the strength of each communication signal from multiple APs.

For example, the first sub-server is connected to a first network, and the first network is connected to an AP located in a first area. Meanwhile, the second sub-server is connected to a second network, and the second network is connected to an AP located in a second area.

The first sub-server may be connected to a first network having the strongest wireless signal strength among the wireless signal strengths sensed by a specific robot in the first area, and the second sub-server may be connected to a second network having the strongest wireless signal strength among the wireless signal strengths sensed by the specific robot in the second area.

As mentioned above, the robot determines the network and sub-server to which it connects by connecting to the AP with the strongest wireless signal at its current location.

On the other hand, a handover event occurs when the specific robot connected to the first sub-server senses a wireless signal of a predetermined strength or greater related to the two networks, and the specific robot can send a control request signal to the second sub-server based on the handover event.

When a robot moves through a building and detects that the wireless signal strength between an already connected AP and another AP is above a preset level, the specific robot can send information about a handover event to at least one of the sub-servers it is currently connected to and the sub-servers corresponding to the other APs.

Meanwhile, the robot can send a control request signal to the second sub-server based on a handover event. When the second sub-server receives a control request signal from the robot, the second sub-server can take over control authority for the robot by communicating with the first sub-server to which the robot is currently connected.

However, this is not limited to this, and the robot can send a control authority handover request signal to the currently connected first sub-server based on a handover event. When the first sub-server receives a control authority handover request signal from the robot, the first sub-server can hand over control authority for the robot by communicating with the second sub-server.

In the above-described method, the main server does not need to intervene in the process of handing over robot control authority. Therefore, reliability issues regarding handover may arise. To prevent this, the present invention allows the main server to monitor whether robot control authority has been handed over to the appropriate sub-server.

Specifically, the first sub-server and the second sub-server send identification information regarding the robots being controlled by the first sub-server and the second sub-server, respectively, to the main server, and the main server can confirm, based on the identification information, whether the first sub-server and the second sub-server have control authority over the robots being controlled by the first sub-server and the second sub-server, respectively.

The main server can confirm the control authority based on at least one of the location and travel path within the building of the robots being controlled by the first sub-server and the second sub-server.

The main server can confirm the control authority even if the robot does not send a control request signal to the second sub-server or a control authority handover request signal to the first sub-server. If the confirmation result shows that the first sub-server, which does not have control authority, is controlling the robot, the main server sends a control command regarding the handover of control authority to at least one of the first and second sub-servers so that the control authority of the robot is handed over to the second sub-server that must receive the handover of control authority.

The handover process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 15. When robot R is located in the first area 1522, robot R connects to the first sub-server 1520 corresponding to the AP in the first area 1522 with the strongest wireless signal strength based on the wireless signal strength. Therefore, control authority for robot R is given to the first sub-server 1520. In the local network method, the handover area 1540 of the first and second areas is defined as an area where a predetermined wireless signal strength is detected for each of the AP corresponding to the first sub-server 1520 and the AP corresponding to the second sub-server 1530. When the robot enters the handover area 1540 where a predetermined wireless signal strength is detected for each of the AP corresponding to the first sub-server 1520 and the AP corresponding to the second sub-server 1530, it can transmit information for handover of control authority to at least one of the first sub-server 1520 and the second sub-server 1530. During a portion of the time that the robot R remains in the handover area 1540, the robot R can receive control commands from each of the first sub-server 1520 and the second sub-server 1530.

Meanwhile, a specific robot in which a handover event has occurred can send information about the handover event to a second sub-server to take over control authority. The information about the handover event may include at least one of identification information about the specific robot, the area in which the handover event occurred, identification information about the sub-server currently having control authority over the specific robot, identification information about the sub-server to which control authority over the specific robot will be taken over by the handover event, information informing the user that control authority over the specific robot will be taken over, and information about the control being performed on the robot. The information about the handover event may also include information about a control command sent to the specific robot from the sub-server that had control authority over the specific robot before the handover event occurred.

On the other hand, if the control commands received from the first sub-server 1520 and the second sub-server 1530 are different, the robot R can prioritize and process the control commands from one of the servers (e.g., the first sub-server that is already connected).

In another embodiment, if the control commands received from the first sub-server 1520 and the second sub-server 1530 are different, the robot R can combine and process the control commands from both sub-servers.

On the other hand, if the control commands received from the first sub-server 1520 and the second sub-server 1530 are the same, robot R can determine that the handover was successful and terminate its connection with the first sub-server 1520.

Meanwhile, the main server 1510 periodically receives identification information regarding the robot connected to the sub-server from each of the first sub-server 1520 and the second sub-server 1530, and can determine whether the connection between the sub-server and the robot is properly established based on the received identification information.

As described above, in the local network method, when a handover event occurs, the robot identifies the sub-server to which control authority should be handed over based on the strength of the wireless signal, and transmits and receives data to hand over control authority. In addition, the main server improves the reliability of the handover by determining whether the appropriate sub-server has control authority for the robot. This allows the present invention to flexibly switch control authority for the robot based on the strength of the wireless signal measured by the robot.

Meanwhile, handover can be performed by the robot moving within a horizontal space, or by the robot moving to a space of a different height (different floor). For example, handover according to the present invention can be performed by the robot moving from one of multiple floors in a building to another. Below, we will specifically explain how handover can be performed by the robot moving between floors in a building.

Figure 16 is a conceptual diagram showing a robot system that controls robots in areas divided by floor of a building, and Figure 17 is a conceptual diagram showing handover that occurs as the robot moves between floors.

In this case, the main server controls the robot traveling through a building with multiple floors. The first sub-server communicates with the main server and controls the robot traveling through the first floor of the multiple floors. Meanwhile, the second sub-server communicates with the main server and controls the robot traveling through a second floor, which is different from the first floor, of the multiple floors. Here, the first floor and second floor are used to name two arbitrary different floors, and do not mean consecutive floors.

When a handover event occurs in which a specific robot located on the first floor moves to the second floor, the main server can send information about the handover event to at least one of the first sub-server and the second sub-server so that control authority for the specific robot is handed over from the first sub-server to the second sub-server.

Referring to FIG. 16, the building may be equipped with a moving means 1650 for moving the specific robot from the first floor to the second floor. For example, the moving means may be, but is not limited to, an elevator, an escalator, or a robot-specific elevator.

Meanwhile, each of the multiple floors 1622a to 1622c in the building corresponds to one of multiple sub-servers 1620a to 1620c. For example, the first floor 1622a corresponds to the first sub-server 1620a, and control authority for a robot located on the first floor 1622a is given to the first sub-server 1620a. When a robot moves between floors, control authority is handed over from the first sub-server 1620a to another sub-server by handover.

In the present invention, the first sub-server's control authority over the specific robot ends when the specific robot gets on the means of transportation on the first floor, and the second sub-server's control authority over the specific robot begins when the specific robot gets off the means of transportation on the second floor.

While the specific robot is moving from the first floor to the second floor by the moving means, control of the specific robot may be performed based on at least one of the main server and a facility server linked to the moving means.

When a robot moves between different floors, it is possible to prevent both the first sub-server and the second sub-server from having control authority over a specific robot in the handover area between different floors. In other words, in this case, at least one of the main server and the equipment server linked to the transportation means can have control authority over a specific robot.

For example, referring to FIG. 17, multiple sub-servers 1720a to 1720g are assigned (or matched) to each of multiple floors 1722a to 1722g included in a building. Each sub-server can communicate with the main server 1710. Robots can move between floors using a robot-only elevator 1750. When robot R is located on the first floor 1722a, control authority for robot R is given to the first sub-server 1720a. The first sub-server 1720a controls the robot within the area of the first floor 1722a and controls the robot's boarding of the elevator. When robot R boards elevator 1750, the first sub-server 1720a can send information to the main server 1710 informing that robot R has boarded elevator 1750. If the main server does not have information about the floor to which the robot is to move, the first sub-server 1720a can send information about the floor to which the robot is to move (fifth floor) to the main server 1710.

The main server 1710 can control the elevator 1750 so that the robot R travels on the elevator 1750. Furthermore, when the robot R gets off the elevator 1750 and travels to the fifth floor 1722e, the robot R can hand over control authority to the fifth sub-server 1720e corresponding to the fifth floor 1722e.

If control of the elevator 1750 is not performed by the main server 1710 but by another facility server, the main server 1710 can transfer control authority of robot R to the facility server when robot R enters the elevator 1750, and can transfer control authority of robot R from the facility server to the sub-server (e.g., the fifth sub-server 1720e) of the floor where the robot exited the elevator 1750 when robot R exited the elevator 1750. In this case, handover occurs between the sub-server that manages the space within the building and the facility server that manages the facility within the building. As described above, according to the present invention, when a robot moves between floors using inter-floor movement equipment installed in a building, when the robot enters the inter-floor movement equipment, the control authority of the sub-server is retrieved, and when the robot exits the inter-floor movement equipment, the control authority is handed over to another sub-server, allowing for flexible handover when the robot moves between floors.

As described above, according to the present invention, adjacent robots are controlled by the same server, thereby enabling efficient collaboration between the robots. Specifically, by controlling adjacent robots from a single control entity, the present invention prevents collisions between adjacent robots, allows adjacent robots to quickly share environmental information, and minimizes overlapping movement paths between adjacent robots.

Meanwhile, the present invention described above can be realized as a program that can be executed by one or more processes on a computer and stored on a computer-readable medium.

Furthermore, the present invention described above can be realized as computer-readable code or commands on a program recording medium. In other words, the various control methods according to the present invention can be provided collectively or individually in the form of a program.

On the other hand, computer-readable media includes any type of storage device that stores data that can be read by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable media include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state disks (SSDs), silicon disk drives (SDDs), ROMs, RAMs, CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices.

The computer-readable medium may also include storage and be a server or cloud storage that can be accessed by an electronic device via communication. In this case, the computer can download the program according to the present invention from the server or cloud storage via wired or wireless communication.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the aforementioned computer is an electronic device equipped with a processor, i.e., a central processing unit (CPU), and the type of the processor is not particularly limited.

However, the detailed description of the present invention is illustrative and should not be construed as limiting in any respect. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all modifications within the scope of the present invention are included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

The main server,
a plurality of sub-servers configured to communicate with the main server and assigned to correspond to a plurality of areas included in the space,
The main server
generating a global route including information about a specific area among the plurality of areas through which a specific robot must pass in order to perform a mission;
Identifying a first sub-server and a second sub-server that have control authority over the specific robot among the plurality of sub-servers based on information about the specific area included in the global route;
The first sub-server and the second sub-server include:
Depending on whether the robot is located in a first area to which the first sub-server is assigned or a second area to which the second sub-server is assigned, control authority over the specific robot is given or the given control authority is terminated;
the first sub-server performs detailed control over the specific robot so that the specific robot travels through the first area to perform the mission while the specific robot is located in the first area;
the second sub-server performs detailed control over the specific robot so that the specific robot travels through the second area to perform the mission while the specific robot is located in the second area;
the plurality of regions to which the plurality of sub-servers included in the space are respectively assigned form a handover region in which any one of the regions overlaps with at least one other region;
The main server determines that a handover event has occurred when the specific robot is located within a predetermined distance from a specific handover area formed by an overlap of the first area and the second area, or when the specific robot is located in the specific handover area . When a handover event occurs in the specific robot communicating with the first sub-server, the specific robot moves from the first area to the second area,
The main server
The robot control system of claim 1, characterized in that information regarding the handover event is sent to at least one of the first sub-server and the second sub-server so that control authority for the specific robot is handed over from the first sub-server to the second sub-server. The main server
determining whether the handover event has occurred based on the position of the specific robot;
The robot control system according to claim 2 , further comprising: a sub-server to which control authority for the specific robot is to be taken over based on the occurrence of the handover event; The main server
Based on the occurrence of the handover event,
transmitting first information to the first sub-server notifying that the control authority for the specific robot will be handed over to the second sub-server;
2. The robot control system according to claim 1 , wherein second information requesting control of the specific robot is transmitted to the second sub-server. The control authority for the specific robot is:
The robot control system according to claim 4 , characterized in that both the first sub-server and the second sub-server have the same until a predetermined handover condition for the specific robot is met in the second sub-server. The predetermined takeover conditions are:
The robot control system described in claim 5 , characterized in that it relates to the similarity between the first control command of the first sub-server for the specific robot and the second control command of the second sub-server for the specific robot. When a handover event occurs as a result of the specific robot traveling in the specific area along the global route moving from the first area to the second area, control authority for the specific robot is handed over from the first sub-server to the second sub-server;
The specific robot is
The robot control system of claim 1, characterized in that control commands are received from each of the first sub-server and the second sub-server in at least a portion of a handover area formed by the first area and the second area. The specific robot is
connected to at least one of a plurality of sub-servers assigned to correspond to the plurality of regions,
the sub-server connected to the specific robot is identified based on the strength of a wireless signal sensed by the specific robot;
The first sub-server
In the first area, the specific robot is connected to a first network having the strongest wireless signal strength among the wireless signal strengths sensed by the specific robot;
The second sub-server
2. The robot control system of claim 1, wherein the specific robot is connected to a second network having the strongest wireless signal strength among the wireless signal strengths sensed by the specific robot in the second area. In a building where a robot controlled by at least one of a main server and a plurality of sub-servers travels,
The building is
a plurality of areas in which the robot can travel;
The main server
generating a global route including information about a specific area among the plurality of areas through which a specific robot must pass in order to perform a mission;
Identifying a first sub-server and a second sub-server that have control authority over the specific robot among the plurality of sub-servers based on information about the specific area included in the global route;
The first sub-server and the second sub-server include:
Depending on whether the robot is located in a first area to which the first sub-server is assigned or a second area to which the second sub-server is assigned, control authority over the specific robot is given or the given control authority is terminated;
the first sub-server performs detailed control over the specific robot so that the specific robot travels through the first area to perform the mission while the specific robot is located in the first area;
the second sub-server performs detailed control over the specific robot so that the specific robot travels through the second area to perform the mission while the specific robot is located in the second area;
the plurality of areas to which the plurality of sub-servers included in the building are respectively assigned form a handover area in which any one of the areas overlaps with at least one other area;
The main server determines that a handover event has occurred when the specific robot is located within a predetermined distance from a specific handover area formed by the overlap of the first area and the second area, or when the specific robot is located in the specific handover area . 1. A robot control method for a building including a plurality of sub-servers configured to communicate with a main server and assigned to correspond to a plurality of areas included in the space, the method comprising:
generating, in the main server, a global route including information about a specific area among the plurality of areas through which a specific robot must pass in order to perform a mission;
In the main server, a step of identifying a first sub-server and a second sub-server that have control authority over the specific robot among the plurality of sub-servers based on information about the specific area included in the global route;
In the first sub-server among the plurality of sub-servers, detailed control of the specific robot is performed so that the specific robot travels through the first area to perform the mission while the specific robot is located in the first area;
and performing detailed control of the specific robot in the second sub-server among the plurality of sub-servers so that the specific robot travels in the second area to perform the mission while the specific robot is located in the second area;
The first sub-server and the second sub-server include:
Depending on whether the robot is located in a first area to which the first sub-server is assigned or a second area to which the second sub-server is assigned, control authority over the specific robot is given or the given control authority is terminated;
the plurality of regions to which the plurality of sub-servers included in the space are respectively assigned form a handover region in which any one of the regions overlaps with at least one other region;
The main server determines that a handover event has occurred when the specific robot is located within a predetermined distance from a specific handover area formed by an overlap of the first area and the second area, or when the specific robot is located in the specific handover area .