System for evacuating one or more mobile robots

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for evacuating one or more mobile robots from a defined area. The system and method involve one or more mobile robots equipped with a sensor or receiver for receiving an evacuation command instructing the one or more mobile robots to leave the evacuation area and enter a position outside the evacuation area.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for evacuating one or more mobile robots from a defined area. Specifically, the system and method relate to one or more mobile robots equipped with sensors or receivers for receiving an evacuation command instructing the one or more mobile robots to leave the evacuation area and enter a position outside the evacuation area. Background Art

[0002] In a fleet of mobile industrial robots, situations may occur where it is necessary to keep certain areas free of one or more mobile robots. Such a situation may be a fire alarm, in which case the robot must leave the area of ​​the fire escape route or the area of ​​the fire escape exit. Another situation is in a hospital, in which case the transport of patients in narrow corridors needs to be prioritized and the caregiver must be able to ensure that the robot does not get in the way during the transport of the patient. Another situation is in a warehouse, in which case both robots and large trucks may use certain areas with limited visibility. Here, it may also be necessary to withdraw the robot from the area when a large truck enters the area.

[0003] Prior art systems typically address the above by dividing the relevant physical area into sub-areas that can all be individually set in two states; i) a state where the robot is allowed to enter the area, and ii) a state where the robot is not allowed to enter the area. Each robot then checks the state of each area before entering the area, and only enters the area if the state allows it. If the state changes while the robot is in the area, the robot simply stops. Alternatively, when driving in a restricted area, the robot uses audio and visual signals to enhance recognition of the robot's presence.

[0004] There is a need to optimize access to limited resources by robots operating in the same space. Optimized access will allow robots to move more efficiently within a common space and perform designated tasks more efficiently. Specifically, optimized access prioritizes resource allocation to minimize the total time robots wait in line to obtain resources required to move or perform tasks. To this end, it is necessary to coordinate resource allocation and reservations between robots. It is also necessary to enable robots to autonomously coordinate resource allocation and reservations without human intervention so that resources can be allocated efficiently in real time. Therefore, there is a need to supplement local navigation technology with global navigation technology and independent and autonomous robot operation achieved by coordinating resource allocation. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention solves the above problem by defining a plurality of separate evacuation zones and having the robot management system receive an evacuation alarm for each separate zone and then send a command to the robot to evacuate the specific zone as quickly as possible once this happens. During an alarm, evacuate only outside the evacuation zone or to a specific location.

[0006] Therefore, in a first aspect of the present invention, a system for evacuating one or more mobile robots from a specific zone in an area is provided, the system comprising: one or more mobile robots equipped with sensors or receivers for receiving one or more evacuation commands from a source that issues the evacuation commands, whereby the one or more mobile robots evacuate from one or more specific evacuation zones; wherein the system defines an evacuation action to be performed at an area where the evacuation of the one or more mobile robots is performed, the evacuation action instructing the one or more mobile robots to leave the evacuation area and enter a position outside the evacuation area in response to the one or more evacuation commands.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the one or more mobile robots are autonomous mobile robots. In some embodiments, the one or more mobile robots are controlled by a robot management system. The robot management system may be located remotely from the one or more mobile robots, and the robot management system may communicate with the one or more mobile robots via wireless communication. In addition, the robot management system may be configured to process information from the one or more mobile robots, such as including information about the status of which of the robots are in or out of the evacuation area.

[0008] Furthermore, the robot management system may be configured to process commands from external sources such as actuators or an ERP system, such as commands including activation of an alarm.

[0009] In a second aspect of the invention, a method for evacuating one or more mobile robots from a specific zone in a defined area is provided. The method involves issuing one or more evacuation commands from a source issuing the commands to the one or more mobile robots equipped with a sensor or receiver for receiving such evacuation commands, whereby the one or more mobile robots evacuate from one or more specific evacuation zones. Importantly, the method defines an evacuation action to be performed at the zone where the evacuation of the one or more mobile robots is performed. The evacuation action instructs the one or more mobile robots to leave the evacuation zone and enter a position outside the evacuation zone in response to the one or more evacuation commands. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing modules of a system suitable for use with the present invention.

[0011] Figure 2 A map with zones and locations suitable for use with the system of the present invention is shown.

[0012] Figure 3 A flow chart showing an evacuation process suitable for use with a system of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] In the following detailed description, many details, examples, and embodiments are set forth and described. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of this specification, the system of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth, and the system may be practiced without some of the specific details and examples discussed. In addition, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific embodiments in which autonomous coordination of robots may be practiced. It should be understood that other embodiments may be used and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments described herein.

[0014] See also Figure 1 , showing a local area network and different devices used for communication. A local area network connects many different systems and devices that need to communicate with each other. Thus, in the figure it can be seen that the robot management system is integrated into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which handles sales orders, financial and logistics issues. The robot management system is also connected to a fire alarm system, alarm buttons for different physical areas that may need to be evacuated, and a WIFI router connected to the mobile robot. This enables the robot management system to receive alarms from physical buttons or via the ERP or fire alarm system, and send instructions to the mobile robot to evacuate a specific area.

[0015] See also Figure 2 , shows a map of a small physical area in which the mobile robot operates. In this map, there is an evacuation zone and 3 evacuation locations. These locations are where the mobile robot moves to when it evacuates from the evacuation zone when the alarm is activated. The evacuation zone is assigned 2 different evacuation directions, and these evacuation directions are indicated by arrows named "evacuation directions". This means that when the evacuation alarm sounds, the mobile robot will evacuate in different directions depending on its position within the evacuation zone when the alarm sounds.

[0016] See also Figure 3 , shows an event graph that shows a possible implementation of the logic for evacuation. In this example, the robots in the area to be evacuated calculate their preferred route to a location outside the evacuation area and transmit this planned route to the robot management system, which will identify possible conflicts and direct some of the robots to alternative locations to resolve the conflicts. In another implementation, the robot management system indicates the route / direction and evacuation location and transmits these instructions to all robots, and all robots only follow the evacuation instructions.

[0017] The system of the invention can be used in particular for evacuation purposes in factories, warehouses, hospitals or service / repair workshops or similar areas. Within the scope of the invention, one or more mobile robots are configured to transport parts from A to B or perform tasks at various locations in the area. A wireless communication system (such as a local area network with WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave or the like) can be used to control the robot. Alternatively, there is a network such as LORA, NB-loT or LTE.

[0018] The system also includes a robot management system, which is a SW program that handles and prioritizes jobs for the robot fleet. The robot management system communicates with all robots in the area using a wireless communication system.

[0019] The robot management system has an application programmable interface (API) through which other systems can interact with the robot management system. For example, this could be a physical alarm button connected to wireless communication, or it could be a fire alarm system that is also connected to the local area network.

[0020] When the evacuation alarm for a given area sounds, the robot can move out of the area in different ways. One way is to move to a specific location outside the area for the robot. Another way is to leave the area to the nearest evacuation location among multiple different evacuation locations outside the area. Another way is to move out of the area in a specific direction and then locate at the nearest evacuation location outside the area.

[0021] If multiple robots are evacuated at the same time, they can move to the same location outside the area, or if each location can only be occupied by one robot, they can move to different locations. There can also be a combination where each robot finds the shortest or fastest route to an outside location, but only one robot is allowed to park at each location, so the robot management system can communicate with each robot calculating the time or distance to different locations outside the area and sending this information back to the robot management system, which decides which robot will move to which location based on an assessment of the fastest way to evacuate the entire area, and still only parks one robot at each location.

Claims

1. A system for evacuating a plurality of mobile robots from an evacuation zone, the system comprising: a robot management system configured to control the plurality of mobile robots, the robot management system configured to receive evacuation routes from the evacuation zone from the plurality of mobile robots, identify conflicts in the evacuation routes of the plurality of mobile robots, and output evacuation commands to the plurality of mobile robots based on resolution of the conflicts in the evacuation routes and deciding which robot will move to which location based on an evaluation of the fastest way to evacuate the entire evacuation zone, wherein the evacuation command indicates a route / direction and an evacuation location; as well as The plurality of mobile robots are configured to receive the evacuation command, the evacuation command defining an evacuation action to be performed by the plurality of mobile robots in the evacuation zone, the evacuation action being used to cause the plurality of mobile robots operating in the evacuation zone to leave the evacuation zone and enter one or more locations outside the evacuation zone.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of mobile robots comprises a plurality of autonomous mobile robots.

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the robot management system is remote from the plurality of mobile robots.

4. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the robot management system is configured to communicate with the plurality of mobile robots wirelessly.

5. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more locations are specific locations within or outside a defined area.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of mobile robots are programmed to move to an alternative location if the particular location is occupied or if a path to the particular location is blocked.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the specific location comprises at least one of a dedicated parking lot, a specific compartment, or a parking point for the plurality of mobile robots.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the defined area is a building.

9. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the robot management system is configured to process information from the plurality of mobile robots, the information including status regarding whether the plurality of mobile robots are within or outside the evacuation zone.

10. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the robot management system is configured to process commands from an external source, the commands being used to activate one or more alarms.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the external source comprises an actuator or an ERP system.

12. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of mobile robots or the robot management system is configured to determine a shortest path or a quickest path out of the evacuation zone.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of mobile robots are configured to exit the evacuation zone based on the shortest path or the fastest path.

14. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of mobile robots are restricted from entering the evacuation zone during a prescribed time after exiting from the evacuation zone.

15. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of mobile robots are configured to delete information about the evacuation zone after exiting the evacuation zone, and are configured to reset to a pre-evacuation state.

16. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the evacuation zone comprises at least one of a corridor, a fire emergency area, an emergency exit, a fire escape exit, or an elevator.

17. A method for evacuating a plurality of mobile robots from an evacuation zone, the method comprising: receiving, at a robot management system, from the plurality of mobile robots, an evacuation route from the evacuation zone; identifying, at the robot management system, conflicts in the evacuation routes of the plurality of mobile robots; outputting, from the robot management system, a evacuation command to the plurality of mobile robots, wherein the evacuation command indicates a route / direction and an evacuation location, based on a resolution of the conflict in the evacuation route and a decision as to which robot will move to which location based on an assessment of the fastest way to evacuate the entire evacuation zone; The plurality of mobile robots include sensors or receivers that receive the evacuation command, the evacuation command instructing the plurality of mobile robots to leave the evacuation zone; as well as In response to the evacuation command, the plurality of mobile robots leave the evacuation zone and enter one or more locations outside the evacuation zone.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the robot management system is remote from the plurality of mobile robots.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein: The plurality of mobile robots exit the evacuation zone based on a shortest path or a quickest path to the one or more locations.

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