CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is the National Phase of PCT International Application No. PCT/KR2019/000080 filed on Jan. 3, 2019, the entirety of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a robot system and a method of controlling the same, and more particularly to a robot system capable of performing cooperative work using a plurality of robots and providing various services and a method of controlling the same.

BACKGROUND ART

Robots have been developed for industrial use to administrate some parts of factory automation. Recently, the application fields of robots have further expanded, leading to the development of medical robots, aerospace robots, etc. and the manufacture of robots used in general homes for domestic uses. Among such robots, an autonomous mobile robot is referred to as a mobile robot.

With the increase in the use of robots, the demand for robots capable of providing various types of information, entertainment, and services in addition to the repeated performance of simple functions has increased.

Accordingly, robots for use in a home, stores, and public facilities so as to communicate with people are being developed.

In addition, services using a mobile robot that is capable of autonomously traveling have been proposed. For example, the cited reference (Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2008-0090150, Published on Oct. 8, 2008) proposes a service robot capable of providing a service based on a current position thereof while moving in a service area, a service system using the service robot, and a method of controlling the service system using the service robot.

However, although the number and type of proposed robots increase, the operation and service that is capable of being performed by a single robot has been intensively researched and developed.

Therefore, there is a need for a system for cooperation between robots that is capable of providing various services to customers using a plurality of robots and that is improved in terms of cost and efficiency.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a robot system capable of providing various services using a plurality of robots and a method of controlling the same.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a low-cost, high-efficiency robot system capable of minimizing intervention of an administrator and a method of controlling the same.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a robot system capable of efficiently providing the optimal service using different types of robots and a method of controlling the same.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a robot system capable of selecting a combination suitable for the type of the service and a place at which a service is provided and providing the service using a minimum number of robots and a method of controlling the same.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a robot system capable of effectively administrating a plurality of robots and a method of controlling the same.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a robot system capable of using data acquired through a plurality of robots and a method of controlling the same.

It is a further object of the present disclosure to provide a robot system operatively associated with an external server to provide various services and a method of controlling the same.

Technical Solution

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a robot system and a method of controlling the same, wherein a plurality of robots cooperates with each other and provides various services. In particular, different types of robots can be used to provide the optimal service satisfying the request of a customer.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a method of controlling a robot system, including receiving user input including a request for a predetermined service, by a first robot, transmitting information based on the user input to a server, by the first robot, identifying a support robot for supporting a task corresponding to the service request, by the server, making a request to the second robot identified to be the support robot for the task, by the server, and performing the task, by the second robot, wherein the first robot and the second robot are different types. For example, the first robot can be a guide robot for guiding a user to a predetermined destination, and the second robot can be a porter robot that moves while carrying a load of the user.

The server can select the support robot among a plurality of robots based on at least one of whether the robots currently perform tasks, distances between the robots and the first robot, or a time at which the robots are expected to finish current tasks, and thus can select a support robot suitable for performing a task corresponding to the service and can efficiently administrate robots.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a method of controlling a robot system, including receiving input including a user request, by a first robot, calling a different type of second robot, by the first robot, and performing a task corresponding to the user request, by the second robot.

In this case, the second robot for performing the task can be identified among a plurality of robots according to a predetermined reference including at least one of whether a task is currently performed, a distance with a position of the first robot, or a time at which a current task is expected to be finished. The first robot can receive user speech input or touch input corresponding to the user request or receiving a signal including the user request from the server.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a method of controlling a robot system, which provides a service after the second robot moves to a position at which the first robot is positioned when the second robot selected as the support robot is positioned in a place that is not a place in which the service is provide or the service is started.

The second robot can report task completion to the first robot by the second robot after the task is finished, and the sever can update data corresponding to the first and second robots based on the report on the task completion, and thus can efficiently administrate robots and can use data acquired from the robots.

In some embodiments, the first robot can identify load of the user based on an image acquired through an image acquisition unit.

In this case, the first robot can transmit information on the identified load to the server, and the server can select a type and number of the support robots based on the identified load, and thus can select a support robot suitable for performing a task corresponding to the service and can efficiently administrate robots.

The first robot can select the type and number of the support robots directly or based on information on the identified load.

When the plurality of second robots performs the same task, any one of the plurality of second robots can travel autonomously and remaining robots can perform following travel of moving to follow the robot that travels autonomously.

Advantageous Effects

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, various services can be provided using a plurality of robots, thereby improving use convenience.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a low-cost, high-efficiency system for cooperation between robots capable of minimizing intervention of an administrator can be embodied.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the optimal service can be efficiently provided using different types of robots.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a combination suitable for the type of the service and a place at which a service is provided can be selected and the service can be provided using a minimum number of robots.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a plurality of robots can be effectively administered and data acquired through a plurality of robots can be used.

In addition, according to at least one of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a robot system that is operatively associated to an external server to provide various services can be embodied.

Various other effects of the present disclosure will be directly or suggestively disclosed in the following detailed description of the disclosure.

