Patent ID: 8867022

Claim:
A movable body drive method in which a movable body is driven substantially along a two-dimensional plane, the method comprising: controlling at least one of a position of the movable body in a direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane and a tilt of the movable body with respect to the two-dimensional plane, using a detection device that has a plurality of detection positions placed within an operating area of the movable body and detects positional information of the movable body in a direction perpendicular to the two-dimensional plane when the movable body is located in at least one of the plurality of detection positions, whereby in the case a first state of the movable body where the movable body is positioned at a first detection position among the plurality of detection positions and is not positioned at a second detection position different from the first detection position and at least one of the position and attitude of the movable body is controlled using detection information at the first detection position, changes to a second state where the movable body is positioned at the second detection position and at least one of the position and the attitude of the movable body is controlled using detection information at the second detection position, a starting process using the detection information at the first detection position is performed, the starting process being performed for a switching of the detection positions in the control of at least one of the position of the movable body in the direction orthogonal to the two-dimensional plane and the tilt of the movable body with respect to the two-dimensional plane, and the starting process including specifying the second detection position based on positional information of the movable body within the two-dimensional plane.