Search

KR-20260063574-A - A small mobile robot-linked serving robot system with object detection and location information detection functions

KR20260063574AKR 20260063574 AKR20260063574 AKR 20260063574AKR-20260063574-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a serving robot system used to deliver tableware (or tableware containing food) or items necessary for a meal to a guest, and more specifically, to a small unmanned mobile robot-linked serving robot system comprising a small mobile robot capable of carrying food and boarding or disembarking from the serving robot.

Inventors

  • 이상민
  • 최남호

Assignees

  • 이상민

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241030

Claims (8)

  1. A small unmanned mobile interlocking serving robot system comprising a serving robot (100); and a small mobile robot (200) that gets on and off the serving robot, wherein The above serving robot is configured to include at least one moving plate (120) that provides a plane on which a small mobile robot can ride and move on the serving robot, a camera (130) that acquires image information (131) of a space including a plane (Table-1) on which the small mobile robot is waiting to ride, an analysis unit (140) that detects location information (141a) of an object including the small mobile robot based on the acquired image information, and a moving plate driving unit (150) that moves the moving plate up and down. The analysis unit additionally calculates height information (142a) of a movable plate on which a small mobile robot can board a serving robot based on location information. A small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system characterized by a drive unit that moves a movable plate up and down in response to height information calculated by an analysis unit.
  2. In paragraph 1, The above serving robot is configured to additionally include at least one tray (110) for loading tableware. The above tray (110) has at least one incision (111) that is continuously vertically penetrating from the outer end to the inner direction. The above small mobile robot includes a mobile drive unit (210) for movement, an upper plate (220) for loading tableware containing food, and a coupling unit (230) for mechanically connecting the drive unit and the upper plate. A small unmanned mobile vehicle-linked serving robot system characterized in that at least a portion of the above-mentioned joint has an outer diameter shorter than the minimum width of the cut portion, so that the joint portion of the small mobile robot can board and disembark from the serving robot along the cut portion.
  3. In paragraph 2, The above analysis unit further detects location information (141b) of tableware carried by a small mobile robot and calculates height information (142b) of a moving plate and tray on which the small mobile robot carrying tableware can board a serving robot. A small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system characterized by the above-described drive unit moving and positioning a moving plate and a tray up and down in response to height information calculated by the analysis unit.
  4. In paragraph 2, The above analysis unit further detects location information (141c) of food contained in a dish carried by a small mobile robot and calculates height information (142c) of a moving plate and tray on which the small mobile robot carrying the dish containing the food can board a serving robot. A small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system characterized by the above-described drive unit moving and positioning a moving plate and a tray up and down in response to height information calculated by the analysis unit.
  5. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 4, A small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system characterized in that at least a portion of the above tray has a multi-stage structure with varying thickness and/or height.
  6. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 4, A small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system characterized in that at least a portion of the last tier of the tray abutting the above-mentioned cut section has a thickness and/or height that increases from the outer end towards the center.
  7. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 4, A small unmanned mobile interlocking serving robot system characterized by the above-mentioned small mobile robot additionally including a coupling driving unit (240) that moves the coupling unit up and down.
  8. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 4, A small unmanned mobile interlocking serving robot system characterized in that one or more of the above trays also serve as a movable plate

Description

A small mobile robot-linked serving robot system with object detection and location information detection functions The present invention relates to a serving robot system used to deliver tableware (or tableware containing food) or items necessary for a meal to a guest, and more specifically, to a small unmanned mobile robot-linked serving robot system comprising a small mobile robot capable of carrying food and boarding or disembarking from the serving robot. A serving robot is a type of food tech robot that utilizes autonomous driving technology to recognize objects, including people, in spaces such as restaurants, and performs the role of delivering and retrieving food or items necessary for a meal to the place (table) where the orderer is located. Serving robots of various sizes, shapes, and functions have been developed and released both domestically and internationally, and in Korea, not only small and medium-sized enterprises but also major corporations in the home appliance and telecommunications sectors have been competing to launch diverse types of serving robots and related services. For example, LG Electronics’ CLOi ServeBot recognizes space using a LiDAR sensor and a 3D camera, expands the driving range, and enables communication between robots without an AP, allowing more than 10 robots to be operated stably in the same space. Although the adoption of serving robots is rapidly increasing due to social factors such as the development of artificial intelligence and communication technologies related to serving robots, represented by autonomous driving, the spread of contactless culture triggered by COVID-19, and increased labor costs, the function of loading and unloading tableware (or tableware containing food) or items necessary for meals onto and off serving robots has not yet been implemented. However, although serving robots equipped with one or more robot arms or serving robots that operate in conjunction with separately installed robot arms have been presented through research and development reports and patent literature, it is known that they have not yet reached full-scale commercialization due to the need for high-spec robot arms to load and unload tableware of various shapes and various items required for meals onto the serving robot. Such functional limitations of serving robots are acting as one of the major factors hindering their widespread adoption, despite the popularization of contactless culture and the continuous increase in labor costs. Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram of a small mobile robot-linked serving robot system having object detection and location information detection functions. The present invention will be described in detail as follows with reference to the attached drawings, FIG. 1, claims, etc. The present invention relates to a small unmanned mobile-linked serving robot system comprising a serving robot and a small mobile robot that boards and disembarks from the serving robot, wherein the serving robot comprises at least one movable plate that provides a plane on which the small mobile robot can board and move on the serving robot, a camera that acquires image information of a space including a plane (Table-1) on which the small mobile robot is waiting to board, an analysis unit that detects position information of an object including the small mobile robot based on the acquired image information, and a movable plate driving unit that moves the movable plate up and down, wherein the analysis unit further calculates height information of the movable plate on which the small mobile robot can board the serving robot based on the position information, and the driving unit moves and positions the movable plate up and down in correspondence with the height information calculated by the analysis unit. Here, the serving robot is a serving robot with autonomous driving capabilities that is developed, manufactured, and sold by numerous domestic and international manufacturers. Components such as cameras and analysis units are also widely used in serving robots. The camera can be composed of RGB cameras, spectroscopic cameras, LiDAR sensors, etc., and the analysis unit can be composed of various computing devices including CPUs, GPUs, NPUs, and microprocessors. A processor with minimal functions can be installed in the serving robot, and it can be configured to operate in conjunction with a processor located in a high-spec computer installed outside the serving robot via a communication device. Additionally, various artificial intelligence models including YOLO, SSD, EfficientDet, and R-CNN can be utilized to detect objects and analyze location information. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a small unmanned mobile interlocking serving robot system characterized in that the serving robot is configured to additionally include at least one tray for loading tableware, and the tray has at least one incision that is continuously vertically penetrating from an ou