JP-7856227-B1 - Point cloud processing device

Abstract

The point cloud processing device includes a point cloud input unit (2) for inputting a point cloud (20), a division unit (3) for dividing a region containing the point cloud (20) and a moving object (100) into divided regions (15), a first calculation unit (5) for calculating a first shape (21) based on the shape of the moving object (100) included in each divided region (15), a second calculation unit (6) for calculating a second shape (22) based on the point cloud (20) included in each divided region (15), an evaluation value calculation unit (7) for calculating an evaluation value based on the first shape (21) and second shape (22) corresponding to each divided region (15), and a point cloud extraction unit (8) for extracting the point cloud (20) of the divided region (15) corresponding to the target evaluation value.

Inventors

• 渡辺 隆之助
• 岡本 僚太

Assignees

• 三菱電機株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260511

Application Date

20250519

Priority Date

20250220

Claims (14)

1. A point cloud input unit that inputs point cloud information, which is information about obstacles around a moving object, A division unit that divides the region including the point cloud and the moving body according to predetermined division conditions to form a divided region, A first calculation unit calculates a first shape corresponding to each of the divided regions based on the shape of the moving body included in each of the divided regions, A second calculation unit calculates a second shape corresponding to each of the divided regions based on the point cloud included in each of the divided regions, An evaluation value calculation unit that calculates an evaluation value corresponding to each of the divided regions based on the first and second shapes corresponding to each of the divided regions, A point cloud extraction unit selects target evaluation values from the evaluation values based on predetermined selection conditions and extracts the point cloud of the divided region corresponding to the target evaluation value, Equipped with , The second shape is characterized in that, in each of the divided regions, the size of the region includes at least a portion of the region from the moving body to the point cloud .
2. A point cloud input unit that inputs point cloud information, which is information about obstacles around a moving object, A division unit that divides the region including the point cloud and the moving body according to predetermined division conditions to form a divided region, A first calculation unit calculates a first shape corresponding to each of the divided regions based on the shape of the moving body included in each of the divided regions, A second calculation unit calculates a second shape corresponding to each of the divided regions based on the point cloud included in each of the divided regions, An evaluation value calculation unit that calculates an evaluation value corresponding to each of the divided regions based on the first and second shapes corresponding to each of the divided regions, A point cloud extraction unit selects target evaluation values from the evaluation values based on predetermined selection conditions and extracts the point cloud of the divided region corresponding to the target evaluation value, Equipped with , The aforementioned evaluation value is the ratio of the size of the first shape to the size of the second shape, The point cloud processing device is characterized in that the point cloud extraction unit sets the largest of the evaluation values as the target evaluation value .
3. The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that at least one of the first shape and the second shape is a dynamically changeable shape.
4. The point cloud processing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first calculation unit calculates the first shape based on the changed shape of the moving body when the characteristics of the shape of the moving body have changed since the last time the first shape was calculated.
5. The point cloud processing device according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the point cloud input unit inputs the point cloud as a three-dimensional point cloud.
6. The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the point cloud extraction unit extracts the point cloud of the divided region corresponding to the target evaluation value as a three-dimensional point cloud or a two-dimensional point cloud.
7. The first calculation unit compresses the first shape into a plane set in each of the divided regions, The second calculation unit compresses the second shape into a plane set in each of the divided regions, The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the evaluation value calculation unit calculates the evaluation value based on the first shape after compression and the second shape after compression.
8. The first calculation unit compresses the first shape into a plane set in each of the divided regions, The second calculation unit compresses the point clouds included in each of the divided regions into a plane set in each of the divided regions, and calculates the second shape based on the compressed point clouds. The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the evaluation value calculation unit calculates the evaluation value based on the first shape after compression and the second shape after compression.
9. The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second calculation unit calculates the second shape such that it is tangent to the obstacle based on the point cloud included in each of the divided regions, or is separated by a predetermined distance from the obstacle based on the point cloud included in each of the divided regions.
10. The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that at least one of the first shape and the second shape is a primitive shape.
11. The point cloud processing device according to claim 10 , characterized in that the second calculation unit calculates the second shape as the shape with the maximum size.
12. The aforementioned evaluation value is the ratio of the size of the first shape to the size of the second shape, The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 , characterized in that the point cloud extraction unit sets the largest of the evaluation values as the target evaluation value.
13. The aforementioned evaluation value is the shortest distance in the first shape and the second shape. The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 , characterized in that the point cloud extraction unit sets the smallest evaluation value among the evaluation values as the target evaluation value.
14. The point cloud processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the division portion divides the region including the point cloud and the moving body based on the shape characteristics of the moving body to form the division region.

Description

This disclosure relates to a point cloud processing apparatus for processing point clouds. Point cloud processing devices are used for planning the motion of moving objects. In particular, there is a need to perform efficient motion planning by considering the surrounding environment and the shape of the moving object. Therefore, the surrounding environment of the moving object is acquired as a point cloud using sensors, and the acquired point cloud is processed to perform motion planning. Patent Document 1 discloses a method of dividing the height range from a reference plane on which a robot device moves to the height of the robot device into multiple layers (divided regions) corresponding to predetermined height ranges, creating an obstacle environment map showing the occupation status of obstacles present in each layer, and planning a path based on an enlarged environment map obtained by expanding the obstacle occupation area of the obstacle environment map according to the shape of the mobile robot device in each layer. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-239844 Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a point cloud processing device according to Embodiment 1.Figure 2 is an external view of the mobile body and its surroundings according to Embodiment 1.Figure 3 is a top view of the moving body and the area surrounding the moving body for each divided region according to Embodiment 1.Figure 4 shows the first and second shapes of each divided region according to Embodiment 1.Figure 5 shows the external view of the moving object and its surroundings when the shape of the moving object and the point cloud surrounding the moving object change.Figure 6 shows top views of the moving object and its surroundings in each divided region when the shape of the moving object and the point cloud around the moving object change.Figure 7 shows the first and second shapes of each divided region when the shape of the moving object and the point cloud around the moving object change.Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the point cloud processing device according to Embodiment 1.Figure 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of a point cloud processing device according to Embodiment 2.Figure 10 shows the first and second shapes of each divided region according to Embodiment 2.Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the point cloud processing device according to Embodiment 2.Figure 12 is a diagram showing the configuration of a point cloud processing device according to Embodiment 3.Figure 13 shows the first and second shapes of each divided region according to Embodiment 3.Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the point cloud processing device according to Embodiment 3.Figure 15 shows the hardware configuration of the point cloud processing device in embodiments 1 to 3. The mobile unit is, for example, a robot that autonomously drives to supply parts to a production line in a factory, and is controlled to avoid obstacles such as pillars. The mobile unit may be a robot that travels within a limited travel area such as in a factory, or it may be like an automobile, where the travel path is predetermined but the travel range is not restricted. In this disclosure, the mobile body includes a point cloud processing device. However, the point cloud processing device does not necessarily have to be installed on the mobile body; it may be installed in an external device separate from the mobile body. Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of the point cloud processing device 110 according to Embodiment 1. Figure 2 is an external view of the area around the moving body 100. Figure 1 shows a point cloud sensor 1, a control device 10, a point cloud processing device 110, and a motion planning device 300. The point cloud sensor 1 can be, for example, a (3D-)LiDAR sensor mounted on the moving object 100, and any distance measuring sensor capable of measuring the distance between the moving object 100 and the obstacle 200. The point cloud sensor 1 outputs a point cloud 20 that includes coordinate information of the position of the obstacle 200. The control device 10 controls the operation of at least a part of the mobile body 100. As will be described later, when the shape of the mobile body 100 changes, the control device 10 inputs information regarding the control of the mobile body 100 into the storage unit 3. The point cloud processing device 110 according to Embodiment 1 comprises a point cloud input unit 2, a storage unit 3, a division unit 4, a first calculation unit 5, a second calculation unit 6, an evaluation value calculation unit 7, and a point cloud extraction unit 8. The point cloud extraction unit 8 includes a selection unit 9. The point cloud processing device 110 processes the point cloud 20 input from the point cloud sensor 1, etc., and extracts a portion of the point cloud 20 for use in planning the movement of the moving