JP7552347B2 - Autonomous Driving Cart - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an autonomous vehicle.

The autonomous traveling cart autonomously travels according to a route plan from a travel start position to a travel end position. The autonomous traveling cart is used in devices that are required to travel evenly throughout a specific area, such as cleaning robots and ball collecting machines at golf driving ranges.
In the case of a cleaning robot or a ball collecting machine, the autonomous traveling cart performs a teaching reproduction running. Teaching reproduction running means that the autonomous traveling cart runs based on a running route taught in advance by an operator.
One type of taught-data reproduction driving is copy driving, in which all driving routes are taught in advance by an operator, and the autonomous traveling vehicle reproduces those driving routes exactly (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
One type of taught reproduction driving is fill-in driving, in which an outer perimeter is taught by an operator, and the autonomous traveling vehicle creates and executes a fill-in route plan within that perimeter (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2014-219721 A International Publication No. 2018/043180

When teaching the filling perimeter, the worker operates the autonomous vehicle to teach it. In teaching, it is important to align the teaching start position and teaching end position to close the perimeter of the filling (if they are not aligned, the risk of hitting an obstacle increases), and to create a square-shaped perimeter for cleaning efficiency. To observe the above points, the worker manually operates the autonomous vehicle while referring to the surrounding walls and terrain.
However, while teaching the circumference for filling travel or teaching the route for copy travel, the operator has no means to check the taught route or the current position. Also, in an open space such as a golf driving range, there are no landmarks around, so it is difficult to grasp straight line travel and a sense of distance, and therefore it is difficult for the operator to accurately create the desired straight line route or circular route.
An object of the present invention is to enable an operator to accurately create a desired straight line path or circular path for an autonomous traveling vehicle.

In the following, several aspects will be described as means for solving the problems. These aspects can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.
The autonomous vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention executes a teaching travel mode in which a route traveled by manual operation of an operator is stored, and an autonomous travel mode in which the autonomous vehicle travels autonomously along a planned travel route. The autonomous vehicle includes a planned travel route creation unit, a current position estimation unit, a difference calculation unit, and a display unit.
The planned driving route creation unit creates a planned driving route from a taught route obtained in the taught driving mode.
The current position estimation unit estimates the current position of the autonomous traveling vehicle.
The difference calculation unit calculates differences between the position coordinates and the attitude of a current position relative to the position coordinates and the attitude of an arbitrary point as guide information to a travel destination point.
The display unit displays the above-mentioned difference as guide information.
This device allows an operator to know the coordinates and the difference in attitude of the autonomous vehicle between any point and the current position. Therefore, for example, during manual operation, the distance and angle from any point specified by the operator can be displayed, allowing the operator to accurately create a desired straight line or circular route.

The arbitrary point is a teaching start point in the teaching travel mode,
The difference calculation unit may calculate, as the difference, the amount of change in position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching start point to the current position while the teaching travel mode is being executed.
In this device, while the teaching travel mode is being executed, the above-mentioned change amount is displayed on the display unit, making it easy to create a path returning to the teaching start point (for example, a filled-in perimeter path with a closed perimeter or a filled-in perimeter path with a rectangular shape).
Furthermore, with this device, before the teaching travel mode is executed, movement to the teaching start point becomes simple and accurate.

During execution of the teaching travel mode when teaching the outer periphery of the filled-in area, if the change in position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching start point to the current position falls below a predetermined value, the display unit may display that a circular route can be created.
In this device, when the amount of change falls below a predetermined value (i.e., when the autonomous traveling vehicle is at the teaching start position), the display unit displays that a circular route can be created. Therefore, when the autonomous traveling vehicle is in a position where a circular route can be created, the operator can be sure to know this. The above display is performed, for example, by the operator's display operation or automatically.

During execution of the teaching travel mode when teaching the outer periphery of a filled-in area, if the change in position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching start point to the current position is not below a predetermined value at the end of teaching, the display unit may display warning information.
This device can prevent the operator from ending teaching if the autonomous traveling vehicle has not returned to the teaching start position.

The arbitrary point is the starting point of the autonomous driving,
The difference calculation unit may calculate, before autonomous driving, differences in position coordinates and attitude angle from a current location to a starting point of autonomous driving.
This device displays the difference between the current location and the autonomous driving start point, so the operator can know exactly how far the autonomous driving vehicle is from the autonomous driving start point before the autonomous driving starts. As a result, when manually aligning the position, the operator can smoothly move the autonomous driving vehicle to the autonomous driving start point.

The display unit may display a notification that autonomous driving can be started when the difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from the current location to the autonomous driving start point falls below a predetermined value.
As described above, this device displays a notification that autonomous driving can begin, so that when manually aligning, the operator can quickly know that the autonomous driving vehicle has reached the autonomous driving start position.

The arbitrary point is a teaching end point in the teaching travel mode,
The difference calculation unit may calculate the difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching end point to the current position while the teaching travel mode is being executed.
As a result, with this autonomous traveling vehicle, the operator can use the guide information during the teaching run to smoothly move the autonomous traveling vehicle to the teaching end point.

When creating a new taught travel path to replace an existing taught travel path or to add to an existing taught travel path, the difference calculation unit may calculate the difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching start point of the new taught travel path to the current position before executing the taught travel mode, and may calculate the difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching end point of the new taught travel path to the current position while executing the taught travel mode.
For example, in an embodiment in which a plurality of teaching travel routes are connected, a new teaching travel route may be created in order to replace a teaching travel route in the middle. In this case, with this autonomous traveling vehicle, the operator can smoothly move the autonomous traveling vehicle to the teaching start point using the guide information before teaching travel, and can smoothly move the autonomous traveling vehicle to the teaching start and end points using the guide information during teaching travel.

The autonomous vehicle of the present invention allows workers to accurately create desired straight or circular routes.

Schematic plan view of a golf driving range. Schematic perspective view of a ball collecting machine. Schematic perspective view of a ball collecting machine. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a control unit. 11 is a flowchart showing a control operation of a manual operation teaching mode for filling-in travel. 11 is a flowchart showing details of the steps for creating a ball collection route driving schedule. A schematic diagram showing the steps in which a ball collection path is created within a travel area. A schematic diagram showing the steps in which a ball collection path is created within a travel area. A schematic diagram showing the steps in which a ball collection path is created within a travel area. A schematic diagram showing the steps in which a ball collection path is created within a travel area. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a difference calculation unit and a display unit when a teaching travel mode is implemented. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display state of a display unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display state of a display unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display state of a display unit. 6 is a flowchart showing a guidance operation to an autonomous driving start position before an autonomous driving mode is executed. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display state of a display unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display state of a display unit. 13A and 13B are schematic diagrams showing successive operations of a copy teaching run, a fill teaching (outer periphery) run, a copy teaching run, a fill teaching (outer periphery) run, and a copy teaching run as teaching runs in a second embodiment. 13 is a schematic diagram showing successive operations of copy run, fill-in run, copy run, fill-in run, and copy run as teaching reproduction runs in the second embodiment. FIG. 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams showing a copy teaching run, a copy teaching run, a continuous operation of the copy teaching run, and a new copy teaching run for replacement; 13 is a diagram showing the difference in position coordinates and attitude angle between a travel destination point and a current location during copy teaching travel on the display unit. FIG.

Hereinafter, a ball collecting machine will be described as an example of the autonomous traveling cart. However, the present invention is not limited to the ball collecting machine, and can be applied to, for example, a cleaning machine and a traveling device of an attraction.
1. First embodiment (1) Basic configuration of the ball collecting machine A ball collecting machine 1 (an example of an autonomous traveling cart) will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a golf driving range. Figures 2 and 3 are schematic perspective views of the ball collecting machine.
In this embodiment, the ball collecting machine 1 is used in a golf driving range 2. In the golf driving range 2, a large number of golf balls B become scattered in a short period of time, and it is necessary to collect and reuse them.
The golf driving range 2 has a ball scattering area 3 in which a plurality of golf balls B are scattered, and a ball scouring area 7 where the collected golf balls B are discharged. In this embodiment, the ball scattering area 3 is planted with grass. The ball scouring area 7 is a groove provided in the ball scattering area 3. The golf balls B scouring the ball scouring area 7 are carried to a recovery pool (not shown) by the discharged water.

The ball collecting and throwing machine 1 is a device that collects and throws balls by running in a manner that reproduces instructions in a golf driving range 2. The "running in a manner that reproduces instructions" refers to running based on a route previously taught by an operator, and includes, for example, copy running, in which the machine runs the exact running route previously taught by the operator, and fill-in running, in which the control unit determines an autonomous running route within a frame previously taught by the operator.
The ball collecting machine 1 includes a main body 11, a memory unit 13 (FIG. 4), and a control unit 15 (FIG. 4).

The main body 11 has a running section 21 and a ball collecting section 23 that can collect golf balls B and discharge golf balls B. Specifically, the running section 21 is a device that runs the ball collecting machine 1. The running section 21 has, for example, a running motor 31 (FIG. 4) provided on the main body 11 and wheels 33.
The ball collecting machine 1 has a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 35 provided on the main body 11. The GNSS receiver 35 acquires information (position information) on the current position on the ground of the ball collecting machine 1. This allows the ball collecting machine 1 to travel outdoors while knowing its own position.
The ball collecting machine 1 may have a geomagnetic sensor (not shown) provided on the main body 11. The geomagnetic sensor measures the direction of the geomagnetism at the position of the ball collecting machine 1 in the golf driving range 2. This makes it possible to measure the direction in which the ball collecting machine 1 is facing in the golf driving range 2.
Alternatively, a pair of GNSS receivers 35 may be provided on the main body 11. For example, a pair of GNSS receivers 35 are arranged side by side on a predetermined axis of the main body 11 (for example, an axis parallel to the straight-line direction of the ball collecting machine 1). This allows the direction (orientation) of the main body 11 in the golf driving range 2 to be calculated from two coordinate values (a combination of latitude and longitude) obtained from the pair of GNSS receivers 35 (Moving Baseline method). As a result, by calculating the orientation using the coordinates obtained by the GNSS receiver 35, the orientation of the ball collecting machine 1 can be easily measured (calculated) without performing calibration for each location of use, which is necessary for accurate use of the geomagnetic sensor.

The ball collecting section 23 has a ball collecting section 24 that collects golf balls B, and a ball picking section 25 that picks up golf balls B. The ball collecting section 24 is a known technology, and is composed of a pickup rotor 24a that rotates with the movement of the main body 11. The ball collecting section 24 may be configured such that the pickup rotor 24a is rotated by a ball collecting section motor (not shown). The ball picking section 25 is a known technology, and has a ball picking section motor 25a (FIG. 4) and a ball picking gate 25b that is driven thereby.
The ball collecting section 23 is connected to the running section 21 by a traction structure 26.

In this embodiment, the memory unit 13 is provided in the control unit 15. The memory unit 13 is a part or all of the memory area of the storage device of the computer system constituting the control unit 15, and stores various information related to the ball collection machine 1. The memory unit 13 stores, for example, a ball collection path running schedule 101 and a ball collection path running schedule 103, as described below.

(2) Configuration of the Control Unit The control unit 15 is a computer system including a CPU, a storage device (RAM, ROM, hard disk drive, SSD, etc.), various interfaces, etc. The control unit 15 performs various controls related to the ball collection machine 1.

The configuration of the control unit 15 will be described in detail using FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the control unit. Note that all or part of the functional blocks of the control unit 15 described below may be realized by a program executable by the computer system that constitutes the control unit 15. In this case, the program may be stored in the memory unit and/or storage device. All or part of the functional blocks of the control unit 15 may be realized as a custom IC such as a SoC (System on Chip).

The control unit 15 may be configured with one computer system or multiple computer systems. When the control unit 15 is configured with multiple computer systems, for example, the functions realized by the multiple functional blocks of the control unit 15 can be allocated to the multiple computer systems in any ratio and executed.

The control unit 15 has a driving control unit 51. The driving control unit 51 controls the driving motor 31. A driving command is input to the driving control unit 51 from a driving command calculation unit 53 (described later). In addition, in the teaching driving mode, a driving command is input to the driving control unit 51 from a driving path teaching unit 37. The driving path teaching unit 37 is, for example, an operating means of the ball collecting machine 1 such as a handle. That is, the driving control unit 51 receives an operation by an operator via the driving path teaching unit 37.
Control unit 15 has a running command calculation unit 53. Running command calculation unit 53 outputs a running command to running control unit 51. The data given to running command calculation unit 53 is ball collection path running schedule 101 in the fill-in running mode, and is ball collection path running schedule 103 in the copy running mode. Running control unit 51 calculates a target rotation speed of running motor 31, and outputs driving power to running motor 31 for rotating running motor 31 at the target rotation speed.
The control unit 15 has a ball-playing control unit 58. The ball-playing control unit 58 controls the ball-playing unit motor 25a.
The control unit 15 has a position acquisition unit 55 (an example of a current position estimation unit). The position acquisition unit 55 acquires position information acquired by the GNSS receiver 35. This allows the control unit 15 to grasp the position of the ball collecting machine 1 in the ball scattering area 3. Specifically, the position acquisition unit 55 receives the absolute coordinates (latitude/longitude) of the current location obtained by RTK (Real Time Kinematic) positioning.

The control unit 15 has a ball collection path running schedule creation unit 57 (an example of a planned running path creation unit). The ball collection path running schedule creation unit 57 creates the above-mentioned ball collection path running schedule 101. The ball collection path running schedule 101 is a schedule for the ball collection machine 1 to run evenly (as if "filling in") the running area TA. The running area TA is the area in which the ball collection machine 1 runs in the running environment.
When the manual operation teaching mode is executed, the ball collection path running schedule creation unit 57 receives the position information input from the position acquisition unit 55 at predetermined time intervals (for example, at each control period in the control unit 15). As a result, the ball collection path running schedule creation unit 57 acquires a series of multiple position information points, and determines the running area TA based on the points.
Next, ball collection path travel schedule creation unit 57 creates a ball collection path travel schedule 101 within the travel area TA, and stores it in memory unit 13.

The control unit 15 has a ball path running schedule creation unit 59. The ball path running schedule creation unit 59 creates a ball path running schedule 103 based on the amount of rotation and direction of the handle input from the running path teaching unit 37 during the teaching running mode. The ball path running schedule 103 is a collection of passing times in the teaching running mode and passing point data corresponding to the passing times, and indicates the running route along which the ball collecting machine 1 moves autonomously when the reproduction running mode is executed. When the reproduction running mode is executed, the ball collecting machine 1 refers to the target position indicated in the ball path running schedule 103 and controls the running motor 31 to reach the target position.

With the above configuration, when the autonomous driving mode is executed, the driving command calculation unit 53 calculates a control command (reproduction driving control command) for the ball collection volleyball machine 1 to autonomously drive the driving route indicated in the driving schedule based on the information stored in the ball collection route driving schedule 101 or the ball volley route driving schedule 103 and the position information acquired from the position acquisition unit 55 as a reproduction driving control, and outputs the control command to the driving control unit 51.
As a result, when the autonomous driving mode is executed, the driving control unit 51 can autonomously move the ball collecting machine 1 by controlling the driving motor 31 based on the reproduced driving control command.

The ball collecting machine 1 has a ball teaching unit 39. The ball teaching unit 39 is, for example, an operation panel including push buttons and the like. The ball teaching unit 39 transmits, for example, the operation of the push buttons by the operator to the ball control unit 58.
The ball-picking control unit 58 receives a button operation from the ball-picking instruction unit 39 and converts the operation into a ball-collecting instruction or a ball-picking instruction. The ball-picking control unit 58 outputs the ball-picking instruction to the ball-picking unit motor 25a to drive the ball-picking gate 25b.
The ball collection conditions and the ball volley conditions are stored by the running command calculation unit 53 in association with the ball collection path running schedule 101 and the ball volley path running schedule 103, respectively.
When the autonomous driving mode is executed, the ball control unit 58 controls the ball motor 25a to open the ball gate 25b based on the ball conditions linked to the ball path driving schedule 103. This allows the ball collecting machine 1 to autonomously perform the ball collecting task and the ball vaulting task according to the ball conditions during the autonomous driving.

The control unit 15 has an autonomous driving route driving schedule creation unit 61 .
When the start point and the end point are obtained, the autonomous driving route travel schedule creation unit 61 calculates an optimal travel schedule and creates an autonomous driving route travel schedule based on the optimal travel schedule. Note that the route generation algorithm is a known one and is not particularly limited.
In the autonomous driving route driving mode, the driving command calculation unit 53 transmits driving commands to the driving control unit 51 based on the autonomous driving route driving schedule described above.

Although not shown, sensors and switches for detecting the state of each device, as well as an information input device, are connected to the control unit 15 .
For example, an encoder (not shown) is attached to the output rotary shaft of the traveling motor 31 .
Furthermore, a front detector and a rear detector (not shown) are attached to the main body 11. These are laser range finders (LRFs) with a detection range of 180° or more. The front detector and the rear detector may be a TOF (Time Of Flight) camera or the like.

The ball collecting machine 1 further has a display unit 71 (one example of a display unit) as shown in Fig. 4 (see also Figs. 12 to 14). The display unit 71 may be integrated with the main body 11 or may be separate. For example, the display unit 71 may be a display fixed to the main body 11, a portable display connected to the main body 11 by wire or wirelessly, or a portable display detachable from the main body 11.
The control unit 15 has a difference calculation unit 73. The difference calculation unit 73 calculates the difference between the position coordinates and the attitude of the current position relative to the position coordinates and the attitude of an arbitrary point designated by the worker. Specifically, the position coordinates and the attitude of the arbitrary point designated by the worker are stored in the control unit 15 or an external storage device. Then, the position coordinates and the attitude of the current position are obtained from the position acquisition unit 55. Based on these data, the difference calculation unit 73 calculates the above difference. The above difference is displayed by the display unit 71 (described later).
In this way, the operator can know the difference in the coordinates and posture of the ball collecting machine 1 between an arbitrary point and the current position by looking at the display unit 71. Therefore, for example, during manual operation, the operator can accurately create a desired straight line route or circular route by displaying the distance and angle from an arbitrary position specified by the operator.
Furthermore, in the playback teaching, the operator can refer to the position and angle of the ball collecting machine 1, allowing for straight line running and 180 degree U-turns. Therefore, a more efficient route can be created.

(3) Manual Operation Teaching Mode for Filling-In Travel The manual operation teaching mode for filling-in travel will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the manual operation teaching mode for filling-in travel.
The control flow charts described below are merely examples, and each step may be omitted or replaced as necessary. In addition, a plurality of steps may be executed simultaneously, or some or all of the steps may be executed in an overlapping manner.
Furthermore, each block in the control flowchart is not limited to a single control operation, but can be replaced with a plurality of control operations represented by a plurality of blocks.
The operation of each device is the result of commands from the control unit to each device, and these are represented by each step of the software application.

In step S1, the ball collection path travel schedule creation unit 57 acquires a sequence of points (coordinate values) of position information representing the travel area TA when the manual operation teaching mode is executed.
In step S2, ball collection route travel schedule creation unit 57 determines a travel area TA.
In step S3, ball collection route travel schedule creation unit 57 creates ball collection route travel schedule 101 including a filled-in route within travel area TA, and stores it in memory unit 13.

(4) Step of creating a ball collection route travel schedule Step S3 in Fig. 5 will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 6 to 10. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the details of the step of creating a ball collection route travel schedule. Figs. 7 to 10 are schematic diagrams showing the step by step state of creating a ball collection route within a travel area. Note that there are multiple methods for creating a ball collection route, and the following description is merely one example.
In step S4, as shown in Fig. 7, the ball collection route running schedule creation unit 57 divides the area into 2N rectangular areas. At this time, the longitudinal direction of each area is the main direction, and the direction perpendicular to it is the sub-direction. At this time, the width of the divided area is equal to or less than the width of the ball collection section 23.
In step S5, as shown in Figure 8, the ball collection path driving schedule creation unit 57 determines the driving order of the divided areas, such as the first area, the N+1th area, the second area, the N+2th area, etc.
In step S6, as shown in Fig. 9, ball collection route running schedule creation unit 57 sets a running route for each of the 2N areas. In this case, the running direction of the 1st to Nth areas is set to be opposite to the running direction of the N+1 to 2Nth areas.
In step S7, the routes are connected together as shown in Fig. 10. Specifically, the end point of the m (1, 2, ... N-1)th travel route is connected to the start point of the m+Nth travel route, and the end point of the m+Nth travel route is connected to the start point of the m+1th travel route. This connection operation is repeated, starting with m being 1 and incrementing by 1 until it becomes N-1.
Furthermore, the end point of the Nth travel route is connected to the start point of the 2Nth travel route, and then the end point of the 2Nth travel route is connected to the start point of the first travel route, thereby completing the generation of the partial travel route.

(5) Operation of the Difference Calculation Unit and Information Display (5-1) Operation of the Difference Calculation Unit and Information Display on the Display Unit When Executing the Teaching Travel Mode When Teaching the Outer Rim of the Filled-In Area An example of the operation of the difference calculation unit 73 and the display of information on the display unit 71 when executing the teaching travel mode when teaching the outer rim of the filled-in area will be described using Figures 11 to 14. Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the difference calculation unit and the display unit when the teaching travel mode is executed. Figures 12 to 14 are diagrams showing the display state of the display unit.
In the following operation, the operator manually runs the ball collecting machine 1 to the starting point of the teaching run mode when teaching the outer periphery of the filled-in area.

In step S101 in Fig. 11, the difference calculation unit 73 calculates "the amount of change in the position coordinates and the attitude angle from the teaching start point to the current position" (hereinafter referred to as "first amount of change"). In other words, when the teaching travel mode is executed, the position coordinates and the attitude are compared with the current position at the teaching start point. Then, it is determined whether the first amount of change is less than a predetermined value.
If the first change amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process repeats step S101. This means that the ball collecting machine 1 has not reached the teaching start point (the area where teaching can be started).
If the first change amount is less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S102. This means that the ball collecting machine 1 has reached the teaching start point.

In step S102, the display unit 71 displays whether or not the vehicle is in a position/area where it is possible to continue driving from the previous specified driving route, as shown in FIG. 12. Specifically, in FIG. 12, "You are in an area where it is possible to start creating a circular route" is displayed. Therefore, the operator can be sure to know the above information. The above display is performed, for example, by the operator's display operation, or automatically. In other words, step S102 may be performed by the operator based on a teaching start preparation operation, or may be performed automatically.

In step S103, it is determined whether or not a teaching operation start operation has been performed, for example, within a predetermined time. If the above operation has not been performed, the process returns to step S101. In other words, until a teaching operation start operation is performed, the indication that a circular path can be created continues to be displayed while the ball collecting machine 1 is at the teaching start point. If the above operation is performed, the process proceeds to step S104. From this point on, the teaching operation is executed.

In step S104, it is determined whether or not a teaching operation end operation has been performed. If the operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S105. If the operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S107.
In step S105, a first change amount is calculated. Specifically, the difference calculation unit 73 calculates the change amount of the position coordinates and the attitude angle from the teaching start point to the current position.
In step S106, as shown in Fig. 13, the first change amount is displayed on the display unit 71 during execution of the teaching travel mode. Specifically, the X coordinate, Y coordinate, and angle values relative to the teaching start point are displayed. This makes it easy to create a filled-in perimeter route with a closed perimeter or a filled-in perimeter route with a rectangular shape. After step S106, the process returns to step S104.

In step S107, it is determined whether the first change amount is less than a predetermined value. If it is less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S108. This means that the ball collecting machine 1 has returned to the teaching start position. If it exceeds the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S109. The above determination is made based on the "position coordinates from the current location to the autonomous driving start point."
In step S108, the teaching operation ends.
In step S109, as shown in FIG. 14, the display unit 71 displays warning information such as "The filled area is not closed. Do you want to end the map creation?". Therefore, it is possible to prevent the operator from ending the teaching when the ball collecting machine 1 has not returned to the teaching start point. After step S109, the process returns to step S104.

(5-2) Guidance method to autonomous driving start position before autonomous driving mode is executed Using Fig. 15 to Fig. 17, a guidance method to an autonomous driving start position before autonomous driving mode is executed will be described. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the guidance operation to the autonomous driving start position before autonomous driving mode is executed. Fig. 16 and Fig. 17 are diagrams showing the display state of the display unit.
In step S111 of FIG. 15, the difference calculation unit 73 calculates the "amount of change in position coordinates and attitude angle from the current location to the start point of autonomous driving (i.e., the driving destination point)" (hereinafter referred to as the "second amount of change") as the difference.
In step S112, it is determined whether the second change amount is less than a predetermined value. If it is not less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S113. This means that the ball collecting machine 1 has not reached the autonomous driving start point (area where autonomous driving may start). If it is less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S114. This means that the ball collecting machine 1 has reached the autonomous driving start point.

In step S113, the display unit 71 displays the second change amount as shown in FIG. 16. Specifically, the X coordinate, Y coordinate, and angle information for the autonomous driving start point are displayed. Therefore, the operator can accurately know the deviation of the ball collecting machine 1 from the autonomous driving start point when the autonomous driving starts. As a result, the operator can smoothly set the ball collecting machine 1 to the autonomous driving start point when manually aligning it. After that, the process returns to step S111.
In step S114, the display unit 71 displays a notification that the autonomous driving can be started, as shown in Fig. 17. Therefore, when manually aligning the position, the operator can quickly know that the ball collecting machine 1 has reached the autonomous driving start point. After that, the process proceeds to step S112.
The autonomous driving start point may be within a filled-in area inside the filled-in driving region.

3. Second embodiment In the first embodiment, guide information was displayed on the display unit during driving to the teaching run start point before the fill-in teaching run and during driving to the teaching run start point (= teaching run end point) during the fill-in teaching run. Also, in the first embodiment, guide information was displayed during driving to the autonomous driving start point before the autonomous driving.

The display of guide information can also be applied to other types of teaching travel. As such an example, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figs.
Fig. 18 is a schematic diagram showing successive operations of copy teaching run, fill teaching (outer circumference) run, copy teaching run, fill teaching (outer circumference) run, and copy teaching run as teaching runs in the second embodiment. Fig. 19 is a schematic diagram showing successive operations of copy run, fill run, copy run, fill run, and copy run as teaching reproduction runs in the third embodiment.
There is a known technology that combines multiple travel routes (maps) and allows an autonomous vehicle to travel multiple routes continuously. In this case, each travel route needs to be connected to the previous and next routes. Here, "connected" means that the end point and start point are spatially the same, or that the end point and start point are within the application area of the process that connects the travel routes.

In the example shown in FIG. 18, a first copy teaching travel path 201, a first fill teaching travel path 202, a second copy teaching travel path 203, a second fill teaching travel path 204, and a third copy teaching travel path 205 are combined from the start point Start to the end point End. The second copy teaching travel path 203 has a first volley point E1, and the third copy teaching travel path 205 has a second volley point E2. Manual travel 206 is performed from the end point of the first fill teaching travel path 202 to the start point of the second copy teaching travel path 203, and manual travel 207 is performed from the end point of the second fill teaching travel path 204 to the start point of the third copy teaching travel path 205.

As a result, as shown in Fig. 19, the following operations are continuously performed: copy run 208 from the starting point Start to the starting point of fill-in run 209, ball collection by fill-in run 209, ball throwing by copy run 210, ball collection by fill-in run 211, and ball throwing by copy run 212. This reduces the burden on the operator. Note that an autonomous run 213 is performed between the fill-in run 209 and copy run 210, and an autonomous run 214 is performed between the fill-in run 211 and copy run 212.
In addition, when connecting a copy run route to a fill-in run route, the start point of the copy run route is required to be within the route generation possible range within the fill-in area inside the fill-in teaching run area. The "route generation possible range" is the range in which a route can be generated when the ball collecting machine 1 runs autonomously from the end point of the fill-in run.

In FIG. 18, in the order of a first filling teaching travel route 202 → a second copy teaching travel route 203 → a second filling teaching travel route 204 → a third copy teaching travel route 205, guide information is displayed in manual travels 206 and 207 between them.
In the first copy teaching travel path 201 → first fill-in teaching travel path 202 → second copy teaching travel path 203 → second fill-in teaching travel path 204, the end point of the previous copy teaching travel path coincides with the start point of the subsequent teaching travel, so guide information does not need to be displayed during the previous teaching travel.

When connecting a copy run path to a copy run path, the end point of the previous copy run path must be near the start point of the subsequent copy run path; specifically, the difference in distance and posture required at the start point must be within a certain range. In this case, too, since the end point of the previous copy teaching run path and the start point of the subsequent teaching run are the same, no guide display is required during the previous teaching run.

On the other hand, there may be a need to change a part of a continuous travel route to change the layout, take measures against ruts, etc. In this case, it is necessary to place an autonomous traveling cart at the start point of the travel route to be replaced (the point connected to the end position of the previous travel route). And to check that point, it is necessary to actually make the autonomous traveling cart autonomously travel continuously along a series of continuous travel routes until just before the travel route to be replaced, and to check it, which means it is time-consuming to teach it.
For these reasons, when teaching a driving pattern that is intended to combine multiple driving sequences in succession, it is necessary to pay attention to continuity.

The replacement of teaching travel paths, specifically, copy teaching travel paths, will be described with reference to Fig. 20 and Fig. 21. Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing the continuous operation of copy teaching travel, copy teaching travel, and copy teaching travel, and a new copy teaching travel for replacement. Fig. 21 is a diagram showing the difference in position coordinates and attitude angle between the travel destination point and the current location during copy teaching travel, on the display unit. In Fig. 20, a path connecting the first copy teaching travel path 301 -> the second copy teaching travel path 302 -> the third copy teaching travel path 303 has already been created.
Here, it is assumed that the second copy teaching travel path 302 is replaced with a new fourth copy teaching travel path 304 due to the movement of an obstacle or the like.

In this case, the following two points need to match:
1) The start point Start 4 of the fourth copy teaching travel path 304 is aligned with the end point End 1 of the first copy teaching travel path 301 .
In this case, before the copy teaching run (i.e., before reaching the start point Start4), the display unit 71 displays the position coordinates and the difference in attitude angle from the start point Start4 of the fourth copy teaching run path 304 to the current position. Therefore, the operator can easily run the ball collecting machine 1 to the end point End1 by manual running.

2) The end point End 4 of the fourth copy teaching travel path 304 is aligned with the start point Start 3 of the third copy teaching travel path 303 .
The guide display displayed on the display unit 71 in this case is shown in FIG. 21. During the copy teaching run, in addition to the information C of the position coordinates and the difference in the attitude angle from the start point Start4 of the fourth copy teaching run path 304 to the current position, the information D of the position coordinates and the difference in the attitude angle from the current position to the start point Start3 of the third copy teaching run path 303 (i.e., the point that becomes the end point End4 of the fourth copy teaching run path 304) is displayed. Specifically, the information D includes the X coordinate, the Y coordinate, and the angle with respect to the start point Start3 of the third copy teaching run path 303. Therefore, the operator can accurately know the deviation of the ball collecting machine 1 from the start point Start3 of the third copy teaching run path 303 during the copy teaching run. As a result, the operator can smoothly run the ball collecting machine 1 to the start point Start3 of the third copy teaching run path 303 when manually aligning.
The guide display during teaching run is particularly important in the case of copy teaching run, because in the case of fill teaching run, the robot returns to the original position (the end point is specified).
Further, the guide information up to the end point during copy teaching travel can also be displayed during normal copy teaching travel.

3. Features of the Embodiments The first embodiment can also be described as follows.
The ball collecting machine 1 (an example of an autonomous traveling cart) executes a teaching traveling mode in which a route traveled by manual operation of an operator is stored, and an autonomous traveling mode in which the ball collecting machine 1 autonomously travels along a planned traveling route. The ball collecting machine 1 includes a ball collecting route traveling schedule creation unit 57, a position acquisition unit 55, a difference calculation unit 73, and a display unit 71.
The ball collection route driving schedule creation unit 57 (an example of a planned driving route creation unit) creates a planned driving route from the taught route obtained in the taught driving mode.
The position acquisition unit 55 (an example of a current position estimation unit) estimates the current position of the ball collection machine 1.
The difference calculation unit 73 (an example of a difference calculation unit) calculates the differences between the position coordinates and the orientation of the current position and the position coordinates and the orientation of an arbitrary point designated by the operator.
The display unit 71 displays the above difference (see FIG. 13).
With this device, the operator can know the difference in the coordinates and posture of the ball collecting machine 1 between any point and the current position. Therefore, for example, during manual operation, the operator can accurately create a desired straight line or circular route by displaying the distance and angle from an arbitrary position specified by the operator.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the invention. In particular, several embodiments and modifications described in this specification can be arbitrarily combined as necessary.
The present invention is not limited to a ball collecting machine, as long as it is an autonomous traveling cart. The present invention can also be applied to, for example, a cleaning machine or a traveling device for an attraction.
The difference may be displayed in terms of a direction (north, south, east, west) or a direction relative to a direction.

In the first embodiment, the technology for confirming the teaching start point (i.e., confirming that it is within the range in which map creation is possible) was used in the example of fill-in teaching run → copy teaching run, but the above technology can also be applied to the example of copy teaching run → copy teaching run and the example of copy teaching run → fill-in teaching run.
In the second embodiment, the replacement of the copy teaching travel path is described, but the same technique can be applied to the replacement of the fill teaching outer circumference path. The technique of the second embodiment can also be applied to the case where a new teaching travel path is created to be added to an existing teaching travel path.

This invention can be widely applied to autonomous vehicles.

1: Ball collection machine 2: Golf practice range 3: Ball scattering area 7: Ball location 11: Main body 13: Memory unit 15: Control unit 21: Running unit 23: Ball collection unit 24: Ball collection unit 24a: Pickup rotor 25: Ball collection unit 25a: Ball collection unit motor 25b: Ball gate 26: Traction structure 31: Running motor 33: Wheels 35: GNSS receiver 37: Running path teaching unit 39: Ball teaching unit 51: Running control unit 53: Running command calculation unit 55: Position acquisition unit 57: Ball collection path running schedule creation unit 58: Ball control unit 59: Ball path running schedule creation unit 61: Autonomous running path running schedule creation unit 71: Display unit 73: Difference calculation unit 101: Ball collection path running schedule 103: Ball path running schedule B: Golf ball

Claims (7)

In an autonomous traveling vehicle, a teaching traveling mode is implemented in which a route traveled by manual operation of an operator is stored, and an autonomous traveling mode is implemented in which the vehicle travels autonomously along a planned traveling route.
a planned driving route creation unit that creates a planned driving route from a taught route obtained in the taught driving mode;
a current position estimation unit that estimates a current position of the autonomous traveling vehicle;
a difference calculation unit that calculates differences between position coordinates and orientation of a current position and an arbitrary point;
a display unit that displays the difference as guide information;
Equipped with
When creating a new teaching travel path to replace an existing teaching travel path or to add to an existing teaching travel path, the difference calculation unit calculates a difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from a teaching start point of the new teaching travel path as the arbitrary point to a current position before execution of a teaching travel mode, and calculates a difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from a teaching end point of the new teaching travel path as the arbitrary point to the current position during execution of the teaching travel mode.
Autonomous driving cart. The arbitrary point is a teaching start point of a teaching travel mode,
The autonomous traveling vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the difference calculation unit calculates, as the difference, a change amount of a position coordinate and an attitude angle from the teaching start point to a current position during execution of the teaching traveling mode. The autonomous traveling vehicle according to claim 2, wherein, during execution of the teaching travel mode when teaching the periphery of a filled area, when the amount of change in the position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching start point to the current position falls below a predetermined value, the display unit displays that a circular path can be created. The autonomous traveling vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, wherein, during execution of the teaching travel mode when teaching the periphery of a filled-in area, if the amount of change in the position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching start point to the current position at the end of teaching is not below a predetermined value, the display unit displays warning information. The arbitrary point is an autonomous driving start point,
The autonomous traveling vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the difference calculation unit calculates a difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from a current location to a start point of the autonomous traveling before the autonomous traveling. The autonomous traveling vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the display unit displays a notification that autonomous traveling can start when the difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from the current location to the autonomous traveling start point falls below a predetermined value. The arbitrary point is a teaching end point of a teaching travel mode,
The autonomous traveling vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the difference calculation unit calculates a difference in position coordinates and attitude angle from the teaching end point to a current position during execution of the teaching traveling mode.

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