RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority of Japanese Application Number 2018-146907, filed Aug. 3, 2018, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to, for example, a collaborative operation support device for supporting a collaborative operation with a robot.

BACKGROUND

When an operator teaches a robot which includes a movable part driven by a servo motor such as an arm about an operation to be implemented by the robot, or when such a robot and the operator work in cooperation, the operator may cause the robot to implement a lead-through operation by manually changing a position or posture of the robot.

When the operator teaches the robot about the operation by means of a lead-through operation, the operator typically operates an input device called a teach pendant in order to confirm settings for movements of the robot or input control parameters for setting movements of the robot. However, to operate the teach pendant, the operator needs to temporarily stop the ongoing task, thereby reduces an operation efficiency. In view of this problem, there has been proposed a technique in which a keyword or phrase for instructing a robot about an operation are extracted from an operator's speech, and using the keyword or phrase, data for instructing the robot, about the operation are created (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2006-289543).

SUMMARY

However, even with the technique described above, it is not easy for the operator to intuitively understand how the robot will actually move for the control parameters that have been set. For example, even if a certain value of viscosity is set for a predetermined direction that is defined with a tool attached to the robot at the origin, it is difficult for the operator to intuitively understand which direction the predetermined direction is oriented in a real space and what extent movements of the robot is changed by the value of viscosity that has been set.

In one aspect, it is an object to provide a collaborative operation support device that facilitates an operator to intuitively understand settings for movements of a robot.

According to one embodiment, the collaborative operation support device is provided. The collaborative operation support device includes: a memory configured to store, for each operation mode of a robot when the robot and an operator collaboratively operate with each other, display data representing movements of the robot for the mode; a display device configured to be worn by the operator, wherein the operator can view the robot through a display area of the display device; a camera configured to image the robot or the operator and generate an image in which the robot or the operator is represented; and a processor configured to detect, based on the image, a position of a section of the robot in the display area when the operator looks at the robot through the display area, the section associated with an operation mode of the robot specified by means of an input device; select, according to the specified operation mode of the robot, display data corresponding to the specified mode among the display data stored in the memory; and display the selected display data in the display area of the display device in such a way that the selected display data is displayed at a position that satisfies a certain positional relationship with the position of the section of the robot in the display area.

