KR20170112487A - Intelligent service robot system for restaurant - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention develops a system in which a waiter robot can move along a travel path between each table of a restaurant hall and thereby identify a real time position at a counter, guide a guest, receive menu orders, A restaurant hall in which a plurality of tables are fixedly installed, a moving path is formed between each of the tables, a restaurant hole in which a moving line is formed on the bottom surface of the moving path, A waiter robot including a frame, a moving part provided at a lower portion of the frame to move the frame along the moving line, and a manipulator provided at the frame and having a gripper for gripping a tray containing food, Is provided adjacent to an entrance of a restaurant hall, A robot control unit installed in a frame of the waiter robot and performing wireless communication with the counter control unit and controlling the waiter robot in accordance with a control signal of the counter control unit, .

Description

[0001] INTELLIGENT SERVICE ROBOT SYSTEM FOR RESTAURANT [0002]

The present invention relates to an intelligent service robot system for a restaurant that performs a service activity by replacing a waiter of a restaurant, guiding a table to a guest, and receiving food after receiving an order.

Robots can be divided into industrial robots, service robots, and special purpose robots depending on their applications.

Industrial robots are robots that assemble and inspect products on behalf of human beings in the industrial field. Service robots are robots that provide various services in human life such as cleaning, patient assistance, toys, training exercises, Robots are robots that can be used in war or extreme tasks in space, deep water, nuclear reactors, and so on.

Such a robot can be classified into a manually operated robot that is directly operated by a human, a sequence robot that performs a predetermined sequence, a playback robot that follows human behavior, a numerically controlled robot that can change programs at any time, It can be categorized as an intelligent robot with ability and judgment ability.

Among these, the intelligent robot refers to a robot that recognizes the external environment and judges the situation by itself and operates autonomously. The situation determination function is divided into the environment recognition function and the position recognition function, and the autonomous operation function can be divided into the operation control function and the autonomous movement function.

In the case of intelligent service robots, one of the most popular cleaning robots is the robots which are in contact with the needs of customers and robot technology. Intelligent robots that provide services to human beings seem to be highly utilized in a space like a restaurant besides the home, and studies of a robot system suitable for the robot are being actively carried out.

Restaurants can be categorized as service type restaurants and self service type restaurants. Service type restaurants are serviced by waiter, while self service type restaurants do all services themselves. Self-service restaurants are more cost effective than service restaurants, but they are not attractive to customers.

In this respect, a restaurant intelligent service robot system that performs service activities such as replacing a waiter, guiding a table to a guest, and receiving food after receiving an order is required. For example, a 'customer service and calculable intelligent traveling robot' of Patent No. 10-1119026, a 'serving robot having a customer entertaining function' of Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0008528, and a patent document No. 10-1083700 'Robot System for Serving Restaurants'.

However, the intelligent service robots or robotic systems of restaurants according to the prior art focus on various functions of the robot itself, and in order to perform each function, the user has to drag the serving robot directly. In this respect, a system in which a serving robot can move between tables of a restaurant hall in relation to a counter, an algorithm for guiding guests while checking real-time positions, receiving menu orders, fetching ordered food, and returning need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention, which is conceived in view of the above, to develop a system in which a waiter robot can move along a moving path between tables of a restaurant hall, It is an object of the present invention to provide a restaurant intelligent service robot system having an algorithm for receiving a menu order, fetching and returning ordered food.

Other objects, specific advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In order to achieve the above object, a restaurant intelligent service robot system according to the present invention includes a plurality of tables fixedly installed, a traveling path formed between each of the tables, and a traveling line formed on a bottom surface of the traveling path A manipulator having a restaurant hall, a frame, a moving part provided at a lower portion of the frame for moving the frame along the moving line, and a gripper for gripping a tray containing food, A counter control unit installed adjacent to an entrance of the restaurant hall for transmitting respective control signals so as to control the waiter robot; a wireless communication unit installed in a frame of the waiter robot and performing wireless communication with the counter control unit A robot for controlling the waiter robot in accordance with a control signal of the counter control unit It comprises a fisherman.

The waiter robot may further include a line sensor for sensing a movement line of the restaurant hall. The robot controller may control the robot controller to move the waiter robot along the movement line from the line detection signal received from the line sensor And controls the moving unit.

The waiter robot further includes position transmitting means provided in the frame for transmitting a real time position of the frame to the counter control unit, wherein the counter control unit receives the signal transmitted from the position transmitting means of the waiter robot And a counter display for displaying a real time position of the waiter robot on a screen mapped with the restaurant hall according to a signal received from the position receiving means.

The position transmitting means of the waiter robot is an ultrasonic oscillator for oscillating an ultrasonic signal toward the position receiving means of the counter control portion and the position receiving means of the counter control portion receives the ultrasonic wave outputted from the ultrasonic oscillator of the waiter robot Wherein the counter control unit confirms the real time position of the waiter robot using the arrival time of the ultrasonic wave received by the ultrasonic receiver and displays the real time position on the counter display.

The waiter robot further includes a head unit mounted on the frame, the head unit having a human face shape. The head unit includes an eye mounted with a camera for photographing an external image, a speaker And an ear mounted with a microphone for sensing an external voice, wherein the counter control unit receives an image photographed from a head part of the waiter robot and an external voice to be sensed, And the voice can be sent out.

The waiter robot further includes a touch panel type robot display installed on the front surface of the frame for displaying menu information and receiving the order and transmitting menu information ordered to the counter control unit.

In addition, the waiter robot makes a welcome greeting through the speaker of the head portion when the guest enters the entrance of the restaurant hall, and guides the guest along the movement line to the table instructed by the counter control unit Displays the menu information through the robot display, receives the order, transmits the menu information ordered to the counter control unit, and delivers the tray containing the ordered food from the kitchen to the table.

Further, the waiter robot further includes a battery charging holder for charging the battery of the waiter robot, which is disposed adjacent to the counter control unit, for supplying power, and on which the waiter robot is mounted, The remaining capacity information of the battery is displayed on the counter display upon receipt of the battery remaining amount information of the waiter robot.

Further, the counter control unit displays the position of the robot charging station on the counter display.

In addition, the counter control unit may calculate a distance from the real-time position information of the waiter robot to the position of the robot charging station, and display the calculated distance on the counter display.

The counter control unit may calculate a return consumption amount of the battery necessary for returning from the real-time position information of the waiter robot to the robot charging and mounting unit with respect to the separation distance, and output the calculated return consumption amount of the battery to the counter display And displays the image.

The counter control unit may calculate a movable amount that is a difference value between the remaining amount information of the battery and the return consumption amount, and display the calculated movable amount of the battery on the counter display.

Further, the counter control unit may display a return warning signal on the counter display when the movable amount of the battery is within 10% of the total amount.

The intelligent service robot system of a restaurant according to the present invention is characterized in that the robot control unit and the counter control unit can control the waiter robot with a control signal by mutual wireless communication while the waiter robot moves along the movement line designated in the travel path, The real-time position of the waiter robot can be confirmed through the position transmitting means and the position receiving means, so that the counter controller can monitor the current state of the waiter robot in real time.

In addition, the waiter robot can guide the guest, receive the menu orders, and bring the ordered food, thereby replacing the clerk of the restaurant and presenting an optimized system and algorithm.

Particularly, while monitoring the current position of the waiter robot and the returning position to the robot charging / fixing unit in relation to the robot charging / mounting unit capable of charging the battery based on the remaining amount information of the battery of the waiter robot, You can safely return without being isolated.

1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an intelligent service robot system of a restaurant according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing each component of the embodiment of FIG. 1,
Fig. 3 is a front view showing an embodiment of the waiter robot in the embodiment of Fig. 2,
4 is a view showing each information displayed on the counter display of the counter control unit in the embodiment of FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an intelligent service robot system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 4, the intelligent service robot system according to the present invention includes a restaurant hall 100, a waiter robot 200, a counter control unit 300 and a robot control unit 400, And may further include a mounting portion 500.

1, a plurality of tables 110 are fixedly installed in a restaurant hall 100, a moving path 120 is formed between each of the tables 110, and a bottom surface of the moving path 120 A transfer line 130 is formed. The table 110 is for a guest to sit and eat, and a moving path 120 is formed between the tables 110 so that a guest can move. 1, a moving line 130 is formed on the bottom surface of the moving path 120. The moving line 130 is for specifying a moving path of the waiter robot 200, which will be described later.

The waiter robot 200 includes a frame 210 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and a moving part 210 provided at a lower portion of the frame 210 to move the frame 210 along the moving line 130 And a manipulator 230 provided on the frame 210 and equipped with a gripper 231 for gripping a tray (not shown) containing food.

The frame 210 is an outer appearance to which various components constituting the waiter robot 200 are attached and coupled. The frame 210 protects the inner components from the outside and has a square body shape in the drawing. However, other shapes . Such a frame 210 can be moved to a desired direction or place by driving the moving unit 220.

The moving unit 220 is installed below the frame 210 to move the frame 210 along the movement line 130. The moving unit 220 is shown as a wheel type in the drawing, but it is not limited thereto and may be a biped, a multi-legged, or a track or a crawler. In other words, any configuration may be employed as long as it can move the waiter robot 200 from one point to another point along the movement line 130.

The manipulator 230 is provided with a gripper 231 installed on the frame 100 to grip a tray containing food. The manipulator 230 has a function similar to that of a human arm. The manipulator 230 is an apparatus capable of gripping an object, raising or lowering the object, manipulating the object such as forward and backward movement and rotation, that is, moving the object spatially. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tray containing the food is gripped or released from the tray through the gripper 231 provided at the end, and a joint-type multi-degree of freedom Is provided.

The manipulator 230 may have a manual or automatic mode according to a control method, and may select a manual or automatic mode of the manipulator 230 under the control of a counter control unit 300 described later. The operation and configuration of the manipulator 230 and the gripper 231 together with the specific configuration and function thereof are well known and may be sufficient to operate the manipulator 230 in a manual or automatic mode according to a desired work object and environment.

The robot controller 200 can be specifically optimized so that the customer can be guided more comfortably through the characteristic configuration and algorithm of the counter control unit 300 and the robot control unit 400 described below so as to more specifically control the waiter robot 200, Carrying of the ordered food can be carried out.

The counter control unit 300 is installed adjacent to the entrance of the restaurant hall 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and transmits control signals to control the waiter robot 200. The robot controller 400 is installed in the frame 210 of the waiter robot 200 and wirelessly communicates with the counter controller 300 to control the waiter robot 300 in accordance with the control signal of the counter controller 300 200).

The counter control unit 300 transmits respective control signals to control the waiter robot 200 according to a user's input signal or a voice command. In the case of voice commands, DTW (Dynamic Time Warping), which recognizes pattern matching by distance, HMM (Hidden Markov Model), which is a statistical recognition method, And NN (Neural Network), which is a method of modeling the structure of a speaker, and can be divided into a speaker dependent type applied to one person and a speaker independent type applied to various people according to a recognition method.

According to the present invention, the DTW can be applied to only the user of the counter control unit 300 in a crowded environment of a restaurant, and the DTW can be recognized as a speaker dependent type with a relatively high recognition rate. It would be desirable to apply the ART2 (Adaptive Reason Theory 2) algorithm, which is used as a classifier, to the autonomic neural network that is designed not to lose the necessary flexibility as a later recognition algorithm.

The robot control unit 400 that performs wireless communication with the counter control unit 300 is installed in the frame 210 of the waiter robot 200 and controls the waiter robot 200 in accordance with the control signal of the counter control unit 300. [ . As a communication medium between the counter control unit 300 and the robot control unit 400, a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11b / g), that is, a short-range wireless communication network may be used. In addition, the short-range wireless communication network may include LF, XBee, ZigBee, BlueTooth, Beacon, etc. as a means for performing wireless communication. In addition, the LF (Low Frequency) frequency is 30 to 300 kHz and the wavelength is 10 to 1 km, which is also called a km wave or a long wave. There is a feature that it can communicate far by simple device.

2, the ROM (Read Only Memory) of the counter control unit 300 is a memory IC unit built in the counter control unit 300. The ROM (Read Only Memory) (Random Access Memory) is stored in the backup battery even if power is cut off due to basic control and commands necessary for driving and safety of the waiter robot 200. In addition, Is a memory IC unit incorporated in the counter control unit 300. When the waiter robot 200 is driven, various signals are sent to the counter control unit 300 through the robot control unit 400. The counter control unit 300, And temporarily stores various signals transmitted to the mobile station 100. The temporarily stored signals gradually disappear over time. All data will be lost.

2 and 3, the robot controller 200 includes a line sensor 240 for detecting a movement line 130 of the restaurant hall 100, And the robot control unit 400 controls the moving unit 220 to move the waiter robot 200 along the movement line 130 through the line detection signal received from the line sensor 240. [ . The line sensing sensor 240 senses the movement line 130 through the image recognition or detects the movement of the specific line of the movement line 130. [ And may detect the color and sense the movement line 130. The robot control unit 400 controls the moving unit 220 to move the waiter robot 200 along the movement line 130 through the signal sensed by the line sensor 240. [

In this case, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the waiter robot 200 may be installed on the frame 210 to allow the counter control unit 300 to check the real time position of the waiter robot 200, And a position transmitter 250 for transmitting the real-time position of the mobile terminal 200 to the counter control unit 300. The counter control unit 300 includes a position receiving unit 310 that receives a signal transmitted from the position transmitting unit 250 of the waiter robot 200, And a counter display 320 for displaying the real time position of the waiter robot 200 on the screen where the restaurant hall 100 is mapped.

The waiter robot 200 moves only along the movement line 130 of the waiter hole 100 and transmits the real time position to the counter control unit 300 through the position transmitting means 250 and the position receiving means 310 And the information thus confirmed displays the present position of the waiter robot 200 on the screen together with the map to which the restaurant hall 100 is mapped through the counter display 320. [

The position transmitting means 250 and the position receiving means 310 for confirming the real time position of the waiter robot 200 are performed through an ultrasonic oscillator and an ultrasonic receiver. That is, the position transmitting means 250 of the waiter robot 200 is an ultrasonic oscillator for oscillating an ultrasonic signal toward the position receiving means 310 of the counter control unit 300, (310) is a plurality of ultrasonic receivers for receiving ultrasonic waves outputted from the ultrasonic oscillator of the waiter robot (200). At this time, the counter control unit 300 confirms the real time position of the waiter robot 200 using the arrival time of the ultrasonic wave to be transmitted to the ultrasonic receiver, and displays the real time position on the counter display 320.

That is, when the ultrasonic oscillator of the waiter robot 200 oscillates at a predetermined time interval, a plurality of ultrasonic receivers of the counter control unit 300 receive ultrasonic waves, and the counter control unit 300 receives the ultrasonic waves And recognizes the real time position of the waiter robot 200 by calculating the distance and angle between the waiter robot 200 and the counter controller 300 according to the arrival time.

2 and 3, the waiter robot 200 further includes a head unit 260 mounted on the frame 210 and having a human face shape, and the head unit 260 Includes an eye 261 equipped with a camera for photographing an external image, an ear 262 equipped with a speaker for emitting sound to the outside, and an ear 263 equipped with a microphone for sensing an external sound. At this time, the counter control unit 300 receives the video image and the sensed external voice from the head unit 260 of the waiter robot 200, and transmits the voice to the outside through the speaker of the head unit 260 have. Accordingly, when a problem arises in relation to the customer and the waiter robot 200, the counter control unit 300 can directly monitor the current situation and solve the problem through conversation with the guest.

2 and 3, the waiter robot 200 is installed on the front surface of the frame 210 to display menu information, receives the order and transmits menu information ordered to the counter control unit 300 A robot display 280 of a touch panel type. A customer who is guided by the waiter robot 200 and seated on the designated table 110 can confirm the menu information while viewing the robot display 280 installed on the waiter robot 200. When ordering the menu by the touch method, The control unit 300 confirms the ordered menu information and commands cooking of the menu ordered in the kitchen. Accordingly, the cooked menu moves the waiter robot 200 to transport the tray containing the food to the guest by the operation of the manipulator 230.

That is, when the customer enters the entrance of the restaurant hall 100, the waiter robot 200 welcomes a greeting through the speaker of the head unit 260, and then drives the moving unit 220 130 to the table 110 instructing the counter control unit 300 and displaying the menu information through the robot display 280 and receiving the order and receiving the order from the counter control unit 300 Menu information is transmitted to the table 110, and the tray containing the ordered food is delivered from the kitchen and carried on the table 110.

The power source of the waiter robot 200 as described above is formed by an electric motor (not shown) provided in the moving part 220, not by the force of a person, and the electric power, that is, the battery 270 is required. That is, the battery 270 supplies power to the waiter robot 200 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In this case, the battery 270 can be automatically charged while the waiter robot 200 moves Needs to be. The robot charging station 500 is installed adjacent to the counter control unit 300 to charge the battery 270 of the robot 200. The robot charging station 500 is connected to the counter 270, The robot 200 is mounted. At this time, when the battery 270 is discharged during the operation, it is hard to drive the moving part 220 and it is hard to return for charging. For this, an algorithm is required to display and warn the counter control unit 300 so that the battery 270 can be returned to the charging state before the battery 270 is discharged during the operation of the waiter robot 200.

2 and 4, the counter control unit 300 receives the remaining battery information of the battery 270 of the waiter robot 200 and displays the remaining amount information of the battery 270 on the counter display 320 can do. Accordingly, the counter control unit 300 can see the counter display 320 displaying the remaining amount information of the battery 270 to determine how much power is consumed by the battery 270 of the robot control unit 200. However, it is difficult to determine whether the remaining amount information of the battery 270 can be returned to the charging position of the robot charging / deactivation unit 500. Therefore, a more robust algorithm is required.

4, the counter control unit 300 displays the position of the robot charging station 500 on the counter display 320, and calculates the position of the robot charging station 500 from the real time position information of the waiter robot 200 And displays the calculated distance on the counter display 320 by calculating a separation distance from the position of the stationary part 500. The count control unit 300 calculates the return consumption amount of the battery 270 required for returning to the robot charging and setting unit 500 from the real time position information of the waiter robot 200 with respect to the separation distance, The amount of recovery of the battery 270 can be displayed on the counter display 320.

4, the counter control unit 300 calculates a movable amount, which is a difference value between the remaining amount information of the battery 270 and the return consumption amount, and outputs the calculated movable amount of the battery 270 to the counter And the counter control unit 300 may display the alarm signal as a return warning signal to the counter display 320 when the movable amount of the battery 270 is within 10% of the total amount.

As described above, the intelligent service robot system according to the present invention is configured such that the robot controller 200 moves along the movement line 130 designated by the movement path 120 in the restaurant hall 100, The counter control unit 300 can control the waiter robot 200 as a control signal by mutual wireless communication and confirm the real time position of the waiter robot 200 through the position transmitting means 250 and the position receiving means 310 The counter control unit 300 can monitor the current state of the waiter robot 200 in real time.

In addition, the waiter robot 200 can guide the guest, receive the menu order, and bring the ordered food, thereby suggesting an optimized system and algorithm in place of the restaurant clerk.

Particularly, based on the remaining amount information of the battery 270 of the waiter robot 200, the waiter robot 200 is placed in the relation with the robot charging station 500 capable of charging the battery 270, The waiter robot 200 can be safely returned without being isolated while monitoring the current position of the robot 200 and the return position to the robot charging station 500.

The embodiments of the present invention described above and shown in the drawings should not be construed as limiting the technical idea of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is limited only by the matters described in the claims, and those skilled in the art will be able to modify the technical idea of the present invention in various forms. Accordingly, such improvements and modifications will fall within the scope of the present invention as long as they are obvious to those skilled in the art.

100: Restaurant Hall 110: Table
120: moving path 130: moving line
200: Waiter robot
210: frame 220: moving part
230: Manipulator 231: Gripper
240: Line detection sensor 250: Position transmission means
260: head part 261: eye
262: mouth 263: ear
270: Battery 280: Robot display
300:
310: Position receiving means 320: Counter display
400:
500: robot charging station

Claims (13)

A restaurant hall in which a plurality of tables are fixedly installed, a moving path is formed between each of the tables, and a moving line is formed on a bottom surface of the moving path,
A waiter robot including a frame, a moving part provided at a lower portion of the frame to move the frame along the moving line, and a gripper provided at the frame to grip a tray containing food,
A counter control unit installed adjacent to an entrance of the restaurant hall for transmitting respective control signals to control the waiter robot,
And a robot control unit installed in a frame of the waiter robot and performing wireless communication with the counter control unit to control the waiter robot according to a control signal of the counter control unit.
The method according to claim 1,
The waiter robot includes:
Further comprising a line detection sensor for detecting a movement line of the restaurant hall,
The robot controller may include:
And controls the moving unit so that the waiter robot moves along the movement line from the line detection signal received from the line sensor.
3. The method of claim 2,
The waiter robot includes:
And position transmitting means provided in the frame for transmitting a real time position of the frame to the counter control unit,
The counter control unit,
A position receiving means for receiving a signal transmitted from the position transmitting means of the waiter robot;
And a counter display for displaying the real time position of the waiter robot on the screen where the restaurant hall is mapped according to the signal received from the position receiving means.
The method of claim 3,
The position transmitter of the waiter robot includes:
An ultrasonic oscillator for oscillating an ultrasonic signal toward the position receiving means of the counter control unit,
The position receiving means of the counter control unit,
A plurality of ultrasonic receivers for receiving ultrasonic waves outputted from an ultrasonic oscillator of the waiter robot,
The counter control unit,
Wherein the real-time position of the waiter robot is confirmed using the arrival time of the ultrasonic wave received by the ultrasonic receiver, and displayed on the counter display.
The method according to claim 1,
The waiter robot includes:
Further comprising a head portion provided on an upper portion of the frame and having a human face shape,
Wherein:
An ear equipped with a camera for photographing an external image, and an ear equipped with a microphone for emitting sound to the outside and a microphone for sensing an external sound,
The counter control unit,
Wherein the robot receives the image photographed from the head portion of the waiter robot and the external voice to be sensed, and transmits the voice to the outside through the speaker of the head portion.
6. The method of claim 5,
The waiter robot includes:
Further comprising a touch panel type robot display installed on a front surface of the frame for displaying menu information and receiving the order and transmitting the menu information ordered to the counter control unit.
6. The method of claim 5,
The waiter robot includes:
Wherein the controller displays a welcome message through a speaker of the head unit when the guest enters the entrance of the restaurant hall, guides the guest to the table instructed by the counter control unit along the movement line by driving the moving unit, Displays the information, receives the order, transmits the menu information ordered to the counter control unit, delivers the tray containing the ordered food from the kitchen, and carries the tray on the table.
The method of claim 3,
The waiter robot includes:
And a battery for supplying power,
Further comprising: a robot charging station mounted adjacent to the counter control unit to charge the battery of the waiter robot and to which the waiter robot is mounted,
The counter control unit,
Wherein the controller displays the battery remaining amount information on the counter display upon receiving the battery remaining amount information of the waiter robot.
9. The method of claim 8,
The counter control unit,
And displays the position of the robot charging station on the counter display.
10. The method of claim 9,
The counter control unit,
Calculating a distance from the real-time position information of the waiter robot to the position of the robot charging station, and displaying the calculated distance on the counter display.
11. The method of claim 10,
The counter control unit,
Calculating a return consumption amount of the battery necessary for returning from the real-time position information of the waiter robot to the robot charging station with respect to the separation distance, and displaying the calculated return consumption amount of the battery on the counter display Intelligent Service Robot System.
12. The method of claim 11,
The counter control unit,
Calculates a movable amount which is a difference value between the remaining amount information of the battery and the return consumption amount, and displays the calculated movable amount of the battery on the counter display.
13. The method of claim 12,
The counter control unit,
And displays a return warning signal on the counter display when the movable amount of the battery is less than 10% of the total amount.

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