JP3075546B2 - 6 DOF pointing device using tactile sensor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a six-degree-of-freedom pointing device using a tactile sensor used as, for example, a computer or an input device to a control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are the following devices as pointing devices of computers and control devices.

(1) A two-axis instruction data device such as a mouse and a trackball using the direction of rotation.

(2) A two-axis joystick utilizing distortion and a three-axis joystick with a rotation axis around the stick axis.

(3) A device in which the number of rotations of a button is set as a variation and buttons for a required number of degrees of freedom are prepared.

(4) A sensor using magnetism.

[0007]

In a system for processing three-dimensional data such as a three-dimensional CAD system, an instruction having six degrees of freedom is required. The existing six-degree-of-freedom pointing device using magnetism has a disadvantage that it is unstable near a display in which an electromagnetic field fluctuates.

[0008] Further, in a device in which a pointing device having two or three degrees of freedom is combined, it is necessary to give an instruction for each degree of freedom, and the operability is poor.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and provides a six-degree-of-freedom pointing device using a tactile sensor capable of instructing six axes of translation and movement in a three-dimensional space by a simple operation without taking up space. The purpose is to provide.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention utilizes a spherically mounted tactile sensor, and detects a contact position of the tactile sensor with respect to a spherical surface on which the tactile sensor is mounted. A conversion device for converting the contact data into an angle with respect to a coordinate axis fixed to the sphere, and converting the angle information into six-axis direction indication information of three-dimensional translational motion and rotational motion. is there.

[0011]

According to the present invention, a tactile sensor for sensing contact can be mounted in a spherical shape to detect translational and rotational information in a three-dimensional world. Therefore, it is possible to control the position and orientation with six degrees of freedom in an environment where the electromagnetic field changes and where the installation space is limited.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, by contacting the spherical surface on which the tactile sensor is attached, the position of the contact point can be determined in the form of a roll angle (θ) and a pitch angle (ψ).

As shown in FIG. 3, the translational movement direction is brought into contact with one point on the spherical surface in the direction to be moved.
Contact points p0 (θ, ψ) are calculated from (u _x, u _y, u
The direction of _z ) is the translation direction.

The instruction of the amount of translation is performed in proportion to the contact time.

As shown in FIG. 4, the instruction of the rotation direction comes in contact with two points that determine the direction of the rotation axis. Contact point p1
(U _1x , u _1y , u _1z ) and p2 (u _2x , u _2y , u _2z ) (v _x = u _{1x −u 2x} , v _y = u _{1y −u 2y} , v _z = u _1z −
The direction of u _2z ) is the direction of the rotation axis. The point of first contact
Let p1 be the point contacted later, and p2 be the point contacted later. The rotation direction is set in advance to the right or left with respect to the rotation axis.

The instruction of the amount of rotation is performed in proportion to the contact time.

The mode switching instruction is issued when a plurality of points are simultaneously touched (that is, when the points are grasped).

FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an image thereof.
That is, the spherical position detecting device 1 attaches a tactile sensor to a spherical shape surface and a shape surface including points that can correspond one-to-one with points on the spherical surface, and detects a position on the spherical surface by touching the tactile sensor. Based on the roll angle (θ) and the pitch angle (ψ) with respect to the designated coordinate axis output from the spherical position detection device 1, the conversion device 2 touches a point on the spherical surface to determine the translation direction with respect to the designated coordinate axis. Touching two points on the sphere and the amount of movement converts it into rotational momentum. The output of the conversion device 2 is output to the computer 3 in a general-purpose format such as an RS232C interface.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a spherical position detecting device 101 using an array tactile sensor. That is, an array-like tactile sensor is mounted on a spherical surface in the same manner as the latitude and longitude of the earth. The position of the array, that is, the roll angle (θ) and the pitch angle (ψ) of the contact point can be calculated from the change in voltage due to the contact.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a spherical position detecting device 102 using a pressure sensor. That is, the pressure sensor is uniformly mounted on the spherical surface. The pressure sensor and the mounted position (θ, ψ) on the spherical surface have a one-to-one correspondence. When a certain sensor is turned on by touch, a roll angle (θ) and a pitch angle (ψ) of a contact point can be calculated.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the conversion device 2. Here, contact point information data (pi = (θ) sent from the spherical position detection device 1 at a cycle of h times per second
Based on i, ψi), i = 1,..., n), instruction data for the translation direction, translation amount, rotation direction, rotation amount, and mode switching is created.

That is, when the contact point information data (pi, i = 1,..., N) is sent from the spherical position detecting device 1 within the sampling time (1 / h), the converting device 2 Perform processing according to the number of measured contact points. When the operation mode is 1, the translation direction, the rotation direction, and the mode are switched. If the contact is continued for several sampling times, the amount of movement will depend on the contact time.
The operation mode can be set according to the application.

Thus, the contact point information data (pi, i = 1,..., N) exists within the sampling time (1 / h). =
And moving the _{(u x, u y, u} z) direction, only Δd in two-point contact _{¯v = (v x, v y} , v z) is rotated in a direction to the rotation axis, the operation mode in multipoint contact To change.

When the operation mode is 2 to n, processing specified according to the application is performed.

As an application field of this embodiment, in addition to the input device of the computer, a remote robot and a device for controlling the device can be considered.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the tactile sensor for sensing the contact is mounted in a spherical shape, so that the information of the translational motion and the rotational motion in the three-dimensional world can be detected. Therefore, it is possible to control the position and orientation with six degrees of freedom in an environment where the electromagnetic field changes and where the installation space is limited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a roll angle and a pitch angle of the spherical position detecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing one point contact of the spherical position detecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing two-point contact of the spherical position detecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a spherical position detection device using an array-shaped tactile sensor according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a spherical position detecting device using a pressure sensor according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a conversion device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 101, 102: spherical position detecting device, 2: converting device, 3: computer.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI G05D 3/12 G05D 3/12 M (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/03 315 G06F 3 / 03 380 B25J 13/02 B25J 19/02 G05D 3/12

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A spherical position detecting device for mounting a tactile sensor on a spherical shape surface and a shape surface including points that can correspond one-to-one with points on a spherical surface, and detecting a position on the spherical surface by touching the tactile sensor. Touching a point on the sphere based on the roll angle and pitch angle with respect to the specified coordinate axis output from the spherical position detecting device, touching the translation direction and amount of movement with respect to the specified coordinate axis, and touching two points on the sphere And a conversion device for converting into a rotary momentum by using the tactile sensor.