US 12,304,071 B2
Robot control system, robot control method, and control program
Shiro Oda, Anjo (JP); Tetsuya Taira, Nagakute (JP); Satoshi Toyoshima, Okazaki (JP); Yuta Watanabe, Toyota (JP); Takeshi Matsui, Nisshin (JP); Takayoshi Nasu, Okazaki (JP); Kei Yoshikawa, Nagoya (JP); Yusuke Ota, Nagakute (JP); Yutaro Ishida, Toyota (JP); Yuji Onuma, Nagoya (JP); and Kyosuke Arai, Toyota (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed on Mar. 16, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/696,331.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-071591 (JP), filed on Apr. 21, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0339779 A1, Oct. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. B25J 9/00 (2006.01); B25J 9/16 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 9/0084 (2013.01) [B25J 9/162 (2013.01); B25J 9/1674 (2013.01); B25J 9/1679 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A robot control system comprising:
a control device that includes a central processing unit, the central processing unit being configured to control a plurality of mobile robots by wireless communication, wherein
the plurality of mobile robots autonomously moves in a facility, and
the control device is configured to:
detect that two or more mobile robots from the plurality of mobile robots have malfunctioned or are stopped, and are in a recovery requiring state,
based upon the detection that the two or more mobile robots are in the recovery requiring state, determine a recovery priority for each of the two or more mobile robots, a first mobile robot from the two or more mobile robots having the highest recovery priority among the two or more mobile robots, a second mobile robot from the two or more mobile robots having the second highest recovery priority from the two or more mobile robots, and
while the two or more mobile robots are in the recovery requiring state, send a signal to the first mobile robot that causes the first mobile robot to provide a notification via at least one of a speaker or a monitor mounted on the first mobile robot, and
after a recovery operation of the first mobile robot is performed and the first mobile robot is recovered and no longer in the recovery requiring state, send a signal to the second mobile robot that causes the second mobile robot to provide a notification via at least one of a speaker or a monitor mounted on the second mobile robot, so that the notification by the first mobile robot and the notification by the second mobile robot are provided at different times from each other based on the recovery priority.
 
9. A robot control method comprising:
detecting an operating state of each of a plurality of mobile robots that moves autonomously in a facility by wireless communication;
detecting that two or more mobile robots from the plurality of mobile robots have malfunctioned or are stopped, and are in a recovery requiring state;
based upon the detection that the two or more mobile robots are in the recovery requiring state, determining a recovery priority for each of the two or more mobile robots, a first mobile robot from the two or more mobile robots having the highest recovery priority among the two or more mobile robots, a second mobile robot from the two or more mobile robots having the second highest recovery priority from the two or more mobile robots; and
while the two or more mobile robots are in the recovery requiring state, sending a signal to the first mobile robot that causes the first mobile robot to provide a notification via at least one of a speaker or a monitor mounted on the first mobile robot, and
after a recovery operation of the first mobile robot is performed and the first mobile robot is recovered and no longer in the recovery requiring state, sending a signal to the second mobile robot that causes the second mobile robot to provide a notification via at least one of a speaker or a monitor mounted on the second mobile robot, so that the notification by the first mobile robot and the notification by the second mobile robot are provided at different times from each other based on the recovery priority.
 
10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a code that causes a computer to execute:
a process of detecting an operating state of each of a plurality of mobile robots that moves autonomously in a facility by wireless communication;
a process of detecting that two or more mobile robots from the plurality of mobile robots have malfunctioned or are stopped, and are in a recovery requiring state;
based upon the detection that the two or more mobile robots are in the recovery requiring state, a process of determining a recovery priority for each of the two or more mobile robots, a first mobile robot from the two or more mobile robots having the highest recovery priority among the two or more mobile robots, a second mobile robot from the two or more mobile robots having the second highest recovery priority from the two or more mobile robots, and
while the two or more mobile robots are in the recovery requiring state, a process of sending a signal to the first mobile robot that causes the first mobile robot to provide a notification via at least one of a speaker or a monitor mounted on the first mobile robot, and
after a recovery operation of the first mobile robot is performed and the first mobile robot is recovered and no longer in the recovery requiring state, a process of sending a signal to the second mobile robot that causes the second mobile robot to provide a notification via at least one of a speaker or a monitor mounted on the second mobile robot, so that the notification by the first mobile robot and the notification by the second mobile robot are provided at different times from each other based on the recovery priority.