Abstract:
The present invention provides an apparatus with surface information displaying, wherein a skin unit comprising a flexible display is covered on the surface of a moving object of the apparatus such that the surface of the apparatus is capable of displaying the information such us color, pattern or text immediately by software control. Meanwhile, the flexible display further has a layer of tactile sensing unit for detecting input of interacting signal. In addition, the moving object further integrates an environmental sensing device, an information identifying device or a combination of both and uses the environmental status, text information or audio/video, which are generated from the environmental sensing device or information identifying device, as an input signal through cable or wireless technology so as to generate responsive action through the flexible display or mechanism of the apparatus so that interactivities of the apparatus can be increased.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to an interactive apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus capable of utilizing a flexible skin unit covering on the surface of a moving object of the apparatus to display interactive information. Preferably, the moving object further integrates sensing units, such as an tactile sensor, environmental sensing device or an information identifying device, for using the same to recognize an environmental status, a text, a pattern or a sound and thus convert those into corresponding signals or data to be used as input signals and transmitted to the apparatus by a wired or wireless means, by which the apparatus is enabled to response interactively and integratedly to those different input signals through the flexible skin unit and mechanism of the apparatus and thus the interactivities of the apparatus is increased. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    With the prevalence of interaction moving objects and robots in our daily life, in contrast to current work in robotics that focus on motion control of robot, we want to build robots that can engage in meaningful interactions with humans, and thus concentrates on human-robot interactions. Most of the human-robot interaction studies use indication lamps, display panels, or movable mechanisms for imitating and simulating gestures, postures or facial expressions of a living being, however, they all overlook the workability of the shell surface of a robot, which accounts for most of the robot&#39;s appearance. 
         [0003]    Generally, shell of any machine can only provide basic functions of covering, protecting, molding, etc., which is rarely capable of displaying messages or being used for interacting with operators. There are already many studies focus on broadening the usability of robot&#39;s shell. One of which is a robot disclosed in JP Pat. Pub. No. 2005-66766, in that the usability of the aforesaid robot&#39;s shell is broadened by the attachment of a displaying apparatus upon the shell of the robot. It is noted that, by the attaching of the displaying apparatus upon the robot&#39;s shell, not only an operator of the robot can acquired information monitoring by the robot at any viewing angle, but also the robot can be camouflaged by enabling the displaying apparatus to apply an inverse protection technique and thus coat a layer of protective color on the shell of the robot. However, the displaying apparatus can not generate patterns or colors on the shell of the robot in response to the robot&#39;s statuses, skin colors, or moods that can be used to interact with users. In addition, another such study reveals another robot, disclosed in JP Pat. Pub. No. 2006-026761, which has a plurality of flat panel displays attached upon the shell thereof. Although the usability of the aforesaid robot&#39;s shell is broadened by the plural flat panel displays, it is restricted by the rigid shapes of those flat panel displays and can only be used for message displaying. 
         [0004]    Although there is a technique of human-robot interaction disclosed in JP Pat. Pub. No. 2003-265869, which provide a robot embellished with facial feature mechanism including eyebrows, ears, eyeballs, and eyelids, the mechanical control of such facial feature mechanism for expressing emotions and interacting with human is very complicated and difficult to achieve. 
         [0005]    Therefore, it is in need of an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability that is freed from the shortcomings of prior arts. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The primary object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability, that has a flexible display covering on the shell of the apparatus so as to utilize the flexibility of flexible displays for enabling the lifeless apparatus to express a variety of emotions and patterns by generating responsive actions through the flexible display and thus enhancing the interactivities of the apparatus. 
         [0007]    It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability, that has a flexible display covering on the shell of the apparatus so as to use the flexible display to achieve human-robot interaction while being used as human machine interface since the flexible displays, which is the flexible and slice, can be integrated easily with a plurality of tactile sensors. 
         [0008]    Yet, another object of the invention to provide an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability, which integrates sensing units, such as an environmental sensing device or an information identifying device, for recognizing an environmental status, a text, a pattern or a sound and thus converting those into corresponding signals to be used as input signals and transmitted to the apparatus by a wired or wireless means, by which the apparatus is enabled to response interactively and integratedly to those different input signals and thus the interactivities of the apparatus is increased. 
         [0009]    One another object of the invention to provide a lot of apparatuses with surface information displaying and interaction capability, all being networked to a communication network for enabling each to communicate with one another, within the network that each is capable of recognizing and integrating various information sensed from other apparatuses and operators and using the recognized information actively as its interactive inputs for enabling the apparatus to generate responsive actions through a flexible display covering the shell thereof that further enhance the interaction therebetween, either robot-to-robot, or robot-to-human. 
         [0010]    To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability, comprising: a moving object; a skin unit, covering at least a part of the exterior surface of the moving object while having a flexible display formed therein; a perception unit, disposed on the moving object for receiving various perceptible signals; and a control unit, disposed on the moving object for controlling movements of the moving object and for controlling the skin unit to display an interactive information based on the signals of the perception unit. 
         [0011]    In another preferred aspect, the present invention further provides an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability, comprising: a moving object; a skin unit, covering at least a part of the exterior surface of the moving object while having a flexible display formed therein; an environmental sensing device, capable of detecting an ambient environment of the moving object and thus generating a sensing signal accordingly; and a control unit, disposed on the moving object for controlling movements of the moving object and for controlling the skin unit to display an interactive information based on the sensing signals from the environmental sensing device. 
         [0012]    In further another preferred aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability, comprising: a moving object; a skin unit, covering at least a part of the exterior surface of the moving object while having a flexible display formed therein; an information identifying device, for receiving and analyzing an electrical data and thus generating a resulting signal of the analysis accordingly; and a control unit, disposed on the moving object for controlling movements of the moving object and for controlling the skin unit to display an interactive information based on the resulting signal of the analysis. 
         [0013]    Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability according to the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2A  is a cross sectional view of a skin unit used in an apparatus of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2B  is a schematic diagram showing a tactile sensing unit used in an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2C  is a schematic diagram showing a tactile sensing unit used in an apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a function block diagram depicting a control unit used in an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 4A  is a schematic diagram showing facial expressions capable of being displayed by an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4B  is a schematic diagram showing an operating apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5A  is a function block diagram depicting a perception input unit used in an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 5B  and  FIG. 5C  are schematic diagrams respectively showing a perception input unit communicating with an apparatus in a wired manner and a wireless manner. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram showing an operating apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram showing a group of apparatuses being networked to a network according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0025]    For your esteemed members of reviewing committee to further understand and recognize the fulfilled functions and structural characteristics of the invention, several preferable embodiments cooperating with detailed description are presented as the follows. 
         [0026]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability according to the present invention. In  FIG. 1 , the apparatus  1  comprises a moving object  10 , a perception unit  11  and a control unit, in which the moving object  10  either can be a robot, integrating a plurality of body modules for motion expression, selected from the group consisting of an industrial robotic arm, a mobile robot, an interactive robot, a guidance robot, a security robot, a homecare robot, an education robot, and an entertainment robot, or can be a device selected from the group consisting of a toy with motion expression ability, a portable electronic device with motion expression ability, a billboard of complicated curved surfaces with motion expression ability, and a device with specific motion expression ability. 
         [0027]    As seen in  FIG. 1 , a skin unit  11  is adhere on the surface, or partial surface of the moving object  10 , which substantially is composed of a flexible display for information displaying. In a preferred aspect, the flexible display can be a flexible OLED display or a flexible paper-like display that is thin, light-weighted and flexible, but is not limited thereby. Moreover, the flexible display is used for displaying an interaction data, including colors, patterns and text, but also is not limited thereby. It is noted that the patterns can be two-dimensional planar patterns or three-dimensional patterns. 
         [0028]    Please refer to  FIG. 2A , which is a cross sectional view of a skin unit used in an apparatus of the invention. As the flexible display  110  is flexible and slice, the skin unit  11  can be fixedly adhere upon the moving object  10  by an adhesive  111  or other adhesive means. As seen in  FIG. 2A , after adhering the flexible display  110  on the planer surface or curved surface of the moving object&#39;s shell, a layer of perception unit, including a tactile sensing unit  112 , is further formed on the flexible display  110  that is used for detecting a touch contacting the skin unit  11  and generating a contact signal accordingly. In a preferred aspect, a protective layer  113  is further formed on the tactile sensing unit  112  for protecting the whole skin unit  11  form being damaged by scratch or bumping. When a touch is sensed by the tactile sensing unit  112  and the exact position of the touch is recognized by the tactile sensing unit  112 , the moving object  10  can be enabled to respond to the touch by displaying colors, patterns or texts, etc., on the surface thereof. Thus, it is noted that a tactile sensing unit capable of recognizing the exact position of a touch can improve the interaction of the apparatus  10  with its ambient environment. 
         [0029]    In a preferred embodiment, the tactile sensing unit  112  can be a thin film touch panel, selected from the group consisting of a resistive touch panel, a capacitive touch panel, an acoustic touch panel, an optical touch panel, and an electromagnetic induction touch panel, that can convert an exact position of a touch detected thereby into a contact signal. In addition, the tactile sensing unit  112  can be an array of tactile sensors, that is capable of measuring and detecting the magnitude and position of the touch while transmitting data of the touch relating to its magnitude and position to the control unit to be used as a basis of a logical decision performed by the control unit. It is noted that the array of tactile sensors can select to use either a single-point mechanical ON/OFF two-state switch or a multiple-point spring switch. Moreover, the tactile sensor array can be a device, capable of detecting the magnitude of a touch which outputting a contact signal accordingly, selected from the group consisting of a piezoelectric tactile sensor, a resistive tactile sensor, a capacitive tactile sensor or deformation of an elastic object. The aforesaid tactile sensors are all prior-arts to those skilled in the art and thus are not described further herein. 
         [0030]    Please refer to  FIG. 2B , which is a schematic diagram showing a tactile sensing unit used in an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. As seen in  FIG. 2B , the tactile sensing unit  112  is composed of an array of plural tactile sensors  1120 , together capable of mapping a pressure distribution caused by a touch while transmitting data of the touch relating to its magnitude and position to the control unit to be used as a basis of a logical decision performed by the control unit. 
         [0031]    Please refer to  FIG. 2C , which is a schematic diagram showing a tactile sensing unit used in an apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. The tactile sensing unit  112   a  of  FIG. 2C  is a sensor having a plurality of flexible airbags  1121  distributed therein, each being used as a soft interface, capable of measuring and mapping a pressure distribution caused by the touch and detecting the position of the touch while transmitting data of the touch relating to its magnitude and position to the control unit  13  to be used as a basis of a logical decision performed by the control unit  13 . As seen in  FIG. 2C , each airbag  1121  is connected to a pressure supply  1123  by a channel  1122 , whereas a pressure sensor  1124  is mounted on the channel  1122  of each airbag  1121  that is used for detecting a pressure exerting on the corresponding airbag  1121  and the position thereof while converting the detection into a signal to be received by the control unit  13 . 
         [0032]    Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which is a function block diagram depicting a control unit used in an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. As seen in  FIG. 3 , the control unit  13  is arranged on the moving object  10  for controlling the moving object  10  to perform the movement as well as the series of movements while controlling the skin unit  11  to display an interaction data in terms of a circumstance. Moreover, the control unit  13  is enabled to receive sensing signals from a tactile sensing unit  112  and input signals detected by other sensors as well as communication signals so as to issue a command of interaction effect accordingly. 
         [0033]    In this embodiment, the control unit  13  is comprised of: a processor  130 , for processing signals received by the control unit  13  and thus controlling the display of a skin unit  11  interactively; a display interface  131 , used for connecting a flexible display  110  of the skin unit  13  to the processor  130 ; a sensor interface  132 , used for connecting a tactile sensing unit  112  to the processor  130 ; an input/output (I/O) interface  133 , for connecting other perception input unit  14  to the processor  130 ; a command output interface  134 , for outputting a command of the processor  130  to a driving circuit unit  100 ; a memory  135 , for data storage and registration; and a communication interface  136 , connecting an antenna module  15  to the processor  130 ; wherein commands issued by the control unit  13  is send to an actuator  101  corresponding to the command by the use of the command output interface  134  and the driving circuit unit  100 . 
         [0034]    Please refer to  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B , which are respectively a schematic diagram showing facial expressions capable of being displayed by an apparatus with surface information displaying and interaction capability of the present invention, and a schematic diagram showing an operating apparatus of the invention. When a touch is sensed by the tactile sensing unit  112  of the skin unit  11  and the magnitude and position of the touch contacting the skin unit  112  is measured thereby, the control unit  13  is able to interact to the touch basing on the magnitude and position of the touch by issuing a command to corresponding actuators  101  for controlling the moving object  10  to perform a movement in response to the touch, or by enabling the flexible display  110  to display patterns of skin softness, textures, colors for mimicking a facial expression in response to the touch, as seen in  FIG. 4A . Thus, the tactile sensing unit  112  is not only acting as a human-machine interface, but also as a human-robot interface. 
         [0035]    As seen in  FIG. 4A , when an operator touch the tactile sensing unit  112  of the skin unit  11 , the skin unit  11  can respond to the touch by display a facial expression, such as happy, angry, sad, joy or embarrassing. When the moving object is substantially a toy, the joy of playing with such toy can be enhanced as the body color or even the dress of the toy can be changed simply by a touch. When the moving object is substantially a service robot, as seen in  FIG. 4B , the robot is able to provide a more humanly and friendly service simply by changing the pattern shown on the flexible display for enable the robot to appear as it is wearing a tuxedo with welcoming smile on its face. 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIG. 5A , which is a function block diagram depicting a perception input unit used in an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The perception input unit  14  is connected to the control unit  13  through the I/O interface  133 , whereas the perception input unit  14  is arranged on the moving object  10 , as seen in  FIG. 5B . In  FIG. 5A , the perception unit  14  is comprised of an environmental sensing device  140  and an information identifying device  141 ; in which the environmental sensing device  140  is capable of detecting an ambient environment of the moving object  10  and thus generating a sensing signal to the control unit  13  for enabling the same to control the skin unit  11  to response interactively in terms of a circumstance basing upon the sensing signals. 
         [0037]    It is noted that the environmental sensing device  140  is capable of being enabled to detect one phenomenon selected from the group consisting of ambient temperature, ambient sound, ambient color, ambient atmosphere content, and ambient vibration and the combination thereof. For instance, when the environmental sensing device  140  is enabled to detect ambient temperature and detects a low temperature, the control unit  13  will direct the skin unit  11  to show a facial expression of shivering and a body of wearing heavy clothing. In  FIG. 5B , the environmental sensing device  140  is further comprised of an input interface, used for receiving the input of a signal selected form the group consisting of a physiological signal of an operator, a signal relating to a mood change of the operator, and the combination thereof. For instance, when an operator is attached by a sensing pad  1401  or is wearing a sensing wrist band  1402 , the physiological statuses of the operator, such as nervous or angry, can be detected and recognized by the apparatus  1  and consequently the apparatus can respond to such physiological statuses interactively by enabling its skin unit  11  to show colors and patterns corresponding to the physiological statuses for comforting, encouraging, or pacifying the operator&#39;s emotion. In  FIG. 5B , the communication between the sensing pad  1401  and the sensing wrist band  1402  with the apparatus  1  is enabled by a wireless means, however, it can be enabled by a wired means also, as seen in  FIG. 5C . 
         [0038]    Moreover, the information identifying device  141  is capable of receiving and analyzing an input data and thus generating a resulting signal of the analysis to the control unit  13  so that the control unit  13  is able to base on the resulting signal of the analysis for controlling the skin unit  11  to response interactively to a movement and an interaction data in terms of a circumstance. In a preferred aspect, the information identifying device  141  is able to obtain the input data through Internet or a network, and the input information can be a text data, a vocal data, a video data or the combination thereof, e.g. an image of the ambient environment of the apparatus, an alarm for alerting the apparatus to aware a drop or elevation on the way it is moving toward, an alarm for alerting the apparatus to aware a narrowing on the way it is moving toward, a sound of a defined vocal signal, voice command, and so on. When receiving a text input, the information identifying device  141  is capable of recognizing and analyzing the text while defining the meaning of the text or the categorizing result of the text as the resulting signal of the analysis. When receiving a vocal input, the information identifying device  141  is capable of recognizing and analyzing the vocal data to specify designated words and sounds while defining the meaning of the words/sounds or the categorizing result of the words/sounds as the resulting signal of the analysis. Moreover, when receiving a video input, the information identifying device  141  is capable of recognizing and analyzing the video input, no matter it is a dynamic video data or static image picture, to specify designated patterns and features while defining the meaning of the patterns/features or the categorizing result of the patterns/features as the resulting signal of the analysis. 
         [0039]    Please refer to  FIG. 6 , which is a schematic diagram showing an operating apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. As seen in  FIG. 6 , an apparatus is networked to a plurality of input devices, such as the computer  40 , the cellular phone  41 , the PDA  43  and the camera  42 , through a network  90  in a wireless manner or a wired manner. In a preferred aspect, the antenna module  15  of the apparatus  1  can be used for enabling data communication in a wireless manner. By the aforesaid network  90 , the plural input devices are able to transmit data of text, audio, video to the apparatus  1  and thus the apparatus  1  can respond to those data by performing the interactive gesture and posture or by displaying an interactive data on its skin unit. 
         [0040]    Please refer to  FIG. 7 , which is a schematic diagram showing a group of apparatuses being networked to a network according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. In  FIG. 7 , a group of apparatuses is being networked to a network  90 , whereas each of such apparatuses is comprised of a moving objects for perform a single movement or a series of movements and each apparatus  5  is able to communicate with one another by a communication signal. In this preferred embodiment, the apparatus  5  is substantially a robotic dog having a skin unit  50  covering the surface thereof. It is noted that the skin unit  50  is similar to those illustrated hereinbefore and thus is not described further herein. The moving object of each robotic dog is further comprised of a control unit, capable of controlling the moving object to perform the movement as well as the series of movements while performing an analysis upon the communication signal for controlling the group of the robotic dogs to interact with one another. It is noted that the control unit is similar to that illustrated in  FIG. 3  and thus is not described further herein. 
         [0041]    In  FIG. 7 , the interaction between the group of apparatuses and that between each apparatus with operators can be enabled by a wireless manner or a wired manner, by which signals of interaction can be transmitted therebetween and consequently causes the skin unit of each apparatuses to display an interaction information on its flexible display  50 . It is noted that each of the group of apparatuses is able to communicate with one another through the network  90 . Similarly, each of the group of apparatuses can be equipped with aforesaid tactile sensing unit, environmental sensing device and information identifying device, by which each is capable of recognizing and integrating various information sensed from other apparatuses and operators and using the recognized information actively as its interactive inputs for enabling the apparatus to generate responsive actions through a flexible display covering the shell thereof that further enhance the interaction therebetween, either robot-to-robot, or robot-to-human. 
         [0042]    To sum up, the apparatus of the invention has a flexible display covering on the shell of the apparatus so as to utilize the flexibility of flexible displays for enabling the lifeless apparatus to express a variety of emotions and patterns by generating responsive actions through the flexible display and thus enhancing the interactivities of the apparatus. Moreover, as the perception sensing unit can be a thin film touch panel, a tactile sensing unit, an environmental sensing device, an information identifying device or the combination thereof, a variety of perceptions can be detected by the apparatus and thus the interaction ability of the apparatus is enhanced. 
         [0043]    While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiment of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.