Positioning Method, Device, Equipment and Storage Medium for Mobile Robot Charging Stand

Abstract

This application discloses a method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for locating a mobile robot charging station. The method includes: when a mobile robot in a recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal, controlling the mobile robot to move to a preset distance from the charging station; controlling the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and storing all frames of radar data collected during the movement; obtaining radar signature data of the charging station based on the stored radar data; and obtaining the location information of the charging station based on the radar signature data. This method solves the technical problems of existing charging station positioning methods, such as high cost, limited applicability, and poor positioning accuracy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of mobile robots, and in particular to a positioning method, apparatus, device and storage medium for a mobile robot charging base. Background Art

[0002] With the development of science and technology, various mobile robots have gradually entered people's daily work and life, meeting people's needs for cleaning, navigation, catering, etc. Mobile robots are equipped with sensors to achieve functions such as positioning, mapping, and navigation.

[0003] When a mobile robot is recharging, it often uses LiDAR for feature recognition to obtain the location of the charging station. However, it is limited by the blind spots caused by the LiDAR protection device (such as Figure 1 (as shown), feature recognition errors often occur, resulting in low positioning accuracy and a low recharging and alignment success rate. To address the blind spot issues caused by lidar protective devices, existing approaches include reducing the size of the protective device or moving it to reduce the recharging blind spot and improve the positioning accuracy of the charging station. However, this approach increases the manufacturing difficulty and cost of the protective device and is incompatible with mobile robots equipped with existing protective devices.

[0004] Therefore, providing a method for positioning a charging base of a mobile robot with low cost, wide applicability and high positioning accuracy is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a method, device, equipment and storage medium for positioning a mobile robot charging base. When the positioning solution in the present application is used to position the charging base of the mobile robot during recharging, the cost is low, the applicability is wide, and the positioning accuracy is high.

[0006] In view of this, a first aspect of the present application provides a method for positioning a mobile robot charging station, comprising:

[0007] When the mobile robot in the recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset distance from the charging base;

[0008] Controlling the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and storing all frame radar data collected during the movement;

[0009] Acquiring radar characteristic data of the charging base according to the stored radar data;

[0010] The location information of the charging base is obtained according to the radar characteristic data.

[0011] Optionally, when the mobile robot in the recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal, controlling the mobile robot to move to a preset distance from the charging base specifically includes:

[0012] When the mobile robot enters the recharging state, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset area where it can receive the infrared recharging signal;

[0013] According to the received infrared recharging signal, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset distance from the charging base.

[0014] Optionally, the mobile robot located at a preset distance from the charging base moves toward the charging base.

[0015] Optionally, controlling the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and storing all frame radar data collected during the movement specifically includes:

[0016] The mobile robot is controlled to rotate in a preset direction by a preset angle, and all frame radar data collected during the rotation process are stored.

[0017] Optionally, obtaining radar characteristic data of the charging base according to the stored radar data specifically includes:

[0018] splicing the stored radar data to obtain spliced data;

[0019] Feature extraction is performed on the spliced data to obtain radar feature data of the charging base.

[0020] Optionally, the stored radar data is spliced to obtain spliced data, specifically including:

[0021] Determine the target coordinate system for stitching;

[0022] In the target coordinate system, the stored radar data are spliced to obtain spliced data.

[0023] Optionally, feature extraction is performed on the spliced data to obtain radar feature data of the charging station, specifically including:

[0024] The radar data of the preset shape in the spliced data is identified to obtain the angle information and distance information corresponding to the charging base.

[0025] A second aspect of the present application provides a positioning device for a mobile robot charging station, comprising:

[0026] a first control unit, configured to control the mobile robot to move to a preset distance from the charging base when the mobile robot in the recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal;

[0027] a second control unit, configured to control the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and store all frame radar data collected during the movement;

[0028] a feature acquisition unit, configured to acquire radar feature data of the charging base based on the stored radar data;

[0029] A positioning unit is used to obtain the position information of the charging base according to the radar characteristic data.

[0030] A third aspect of the present application provides a positioning device for a mobile robot charging station, the device comprising a processor and a memory;

[0031] The memory is used to store program code and transmit the program code to the processor;

[0032] The processor is configured to execute any one of the methods for positioning a mobile robot charging base according to the first aspect according to the instructions in the program code.

[0033] A fourth aspect of the present application provides a storage medium, wherein the storage medium is used to store program code, and the program code is used to execute any one of the positioning methods for a mobile robot charging base described in the first aspect.

[0034] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the embodiments of the present application have the following advantages:

[0035] The present application provides a positioning method for a mobile robot charging base. When a mobile robot in a recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset distance from the charging base; the mobile robot is controlled to move in a preset direction and store all frame radar data collected during the movement; radar feature data of the charging base is obtained based on the stored radar data; and location information of the charging base is obtained based on the radar feature data.

[0036] In the above method, the mobile robot moves after reaching a preset distance from the charging base and stores radar data during the movement. Then, based on the stored radar data, the complete radar feature data of the charging base can be obtained. The increase in the amount of information can improve the success rate of radar feature recognition and extract more location information of the charging base to improve the positioning accuracy of the charging base, thereby solving the technical problems of the existing charging base positioning method with high cost, narrow applicability and poor positioning accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0038] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of blind spot formation in the prior art;

[0039] Figure 2 This is a flow chart of a first embodiment of a method for positioning a charging base of a mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a flow chart of a second embodiment of a method for positioning a mobile robot charging station according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the blind area of the mobile robot after rotation in Example 2 of the present application;

[0042] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of an embodiment of a positioning device for a mobile robot charging base in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The embodiments of the present application provide a method, device, equipment and storage medium for positioning a mobile robot charging base. When the positioning solution in the present application is used to position the charging base of the mobile robot during recharging, the cost is low, the applicability is wide, and the positioning accuracy is high.

[0044] In order to help those skilled in the art better understand the present invention, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0045] See also Figure 2 , a flow chart of embodiment 1 of a method for positioning a mobile robot charging base in an embodiment of the present application.

[0046] A method for positioning a mobile robot charging station in this embodiment includes:

[0047] Step 201: When a mobile robot in a recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset distance from a charging base.

[0048] The mobile robot's recharging principle is that the charging base continuously emits infrared recharging signals, which are then picked up by a receiver on top of the robot, allowing it to eventually find its way "home." The charging base continuously emits infrared recharging signals while the mobile robot is operating. However, if the mobile robot is in a normal battery state and does not need recharging, it will ignore the received infrared recharging signals. However, if the mobile robot is in a low battery state and needs recharging, it will respond to the received infrared recharging signals.

[0049] It is understandable that the numerical value of the above-mentioned preset distance can be set as needed, and this embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0050] Step 202: Control the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and store all frames of radar data collected during the movement.

[0051] Once the mobile robot is at a preset distance from the charging station, it is controlled to move in a preset direction. During this movement, the mobile robot continuously collects radar data corresponding to the charging station. It should be understood that the aforementioned radar data refers to the point cloud data provided by the lidar, which contains the polar coordinates of all nearby obstacles, with the mobile robot's position as the coordinate origin.

[0052] like Figure 1 As shown in the figure, a radar frame refers to a frame of radar data. The dashed points in the figure represent the angle and distance information returned by the radar when it hits a real obstacle. Data loss occurs in blind spots where the robot's protective cover pillars obstruct the view. Rotating the robot in front of the charging station will cause the radar cover to rotate with it, illuminating areas not illuminated by the previous frame.

[0053] It should be noted that the above-mentioned movement can be translation, rotation, etc., and the translation can be left and right translation and / or front and back translation, that is, it can be movement in a single direction (for example, only left and right or only front and back), or it can be both left and right movement and front and back movement.

[0054] Step 203: Acquire radar characteristic data of the charging base according to the stored radar data.

[0055] The movement and storage in step 202 obtain more radar data of the charging station. The increase in the amount of information can extract more and more accurate radar feature data, thereby improving the success rate of radar feature recognition.

[0056] Step 204: Obtain the location information of the charging station based on the radar characteristic data.

[0057] The charging base can be located by obtaining the radar characteristic data, and the mobile robot can be controlled to perform recharging alignment based on the location information of the charging base.

[0058] In this embodiment, the mobile robot moves after reaching a preset distance from the charging base and stores radar data during the movement. Then, based on the stored radar data, the complete radar feature data of the charging base can be obtained. The increase in the amount of information can improve the success rate of radar feature recognition and extract more location information of the charging base to improve the positioning accuracy of the charging base, thereby solving the technical problems of the existing charging base positioning method, such as high cost, narrow applicability and poor positioning accuracy.

[0059] The above is Example 1 of a method for positioning a mobile robot charging base provided in an embodiment of the present application. The following is Example 2 of a method for positioning a mobile robot charging base provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] See also Figure 3 , a flow chart of embodiment 2 of a method for positioning a mobile robot charging base in an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] A method for positioning a mobile robot charging station in this embodiment includes:

[0062] Step 301: When the mobile robot enters the recharging state, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset area where an infrared recharging signal can be received.

[0063] It is understandable that when the mobile robot enters the recharging state, it may not be able to immediately receive the infrared recharging signal sent by the charging base due to distance limitations, so at this time it is necessary to control the mobile robot to move to a preset area where it can receive the infrared recharging signal.

[0064] In one embodiment, the movement control in step 301 can be achieved by navigation based on the positional relationship between the mobile robot's own position information and a built-in map. Generally, a mobile robot has a built-in map. The mobile robot, in the recharging state, determines a driving path based on its own position information and the built-in map, and then drives to a preset area based on the driving path.

[0065] Step 302: Control the mobile robot to move to a preset distance from the charging base according to the received infrared recharging signal.

[0066] When the mobile robot moves to the preset area, it can receive the infrared recharging signal, and then it can be controlled to move to the preset distance from the charging base.

[0067] It should be noted that, in one embodiment, the movement control in step 302 can be implemented based on the infrared recharging signal received by the mobile robot, and specifically based on the infrared positioning code value of the infrared recharging signal.

[0068] Step 303: Control the mobile robot to rotate in a preset direction by a preset angle, and store all frames of radar data collected during the rotation process.

[0069] In this embodiment, the movement of the mobile robot upon reaching the preset distance from the charging station is rotation. This rotation may be both left and right, or may be solely left or right. It is understood that the preset rotation angles can be configured as needed and are not specifically limited or elaborated upon herein.

[0070] It should be noted that in order to collect more radar data, the mobile robot located at a preset distance from the charging base moves toward the charging base.

[0071] like Figure 4 As shown, after rotating left and right, radar data that previously existed in the blind spot can be collected, and more radar data can be obtained.

[0072] Step 304: Splice the stored radar data to obtain spliced data.

[0073] After storing all the radar data frames and superimposing the reachable data of each frame, the data lost in the blind area can be obtained.

[0074] Specifically, the stored radar data is spliced to obtain spliced data, which specifically includes:

[0075] Determine the target coordinate system for stitching;

[0076] In the target coordinate system, the stored radar data are spliced to obtain spliced data.

[0077] It is understandable that when the mobile robot moves, a coordinate system with that position as the coordinate origin will exist for each position it moves to. Therefore, in order to splice the stored radar data, it is first necessary to determine a coordinate system, and then splice all the radar data under this coordinate system. It should be noted that, in one embodiment, the target coordinate system can be one of the above-mentioned multiple coordinate systems, that is, a coordinate system is selected from the coordinate systems constructed during the movement process as the target coordinate system. In another embodiment, the target coordinate system can also be a newly constructed coordinate system. The specific configuration of the target coordinate system can be set by those skilled in the art as needed, and will not be limited or elaborated here.

[0078] Step 305: Perform feature extraction on the spliced data to obtain radar feature data of the charging station.

[0079] Perform feature extraction on the spliced data to obtain the radar feature data of the charging station, including:

[0080] The radar data of the preset shape in the spliced data is identified to obtain the angle information and distance information corresponding to the charging base.

[0081] That is, after obtaining the spliced data, the spliced data is also the spliced radar data, in which the charging base and the wall within the preset distance will form a characteristic shape, and there is radar data corresponding to the specific shape in the spliced data (that is, the radar data of the preset shape mentioned above). Therefore, after identifying the radar data of the preset shape, the angle information and distance information corresponding to the charging base can be obtained.

[0082] Step 306: Obtain the location information of the charging station based on the radar characteristic data.

[0083] After obtaining the angle information and distance information of the charging base in step 305 , the position of the charging base in the spliced data can be located, and the position information of the charging base can be parsed.

[0084] Step 307: Control the mobile robot to move to a position corresponding to the position information to achieve recharging of the mobile robot.

[0085] After obtaining the location information of the charging base, the mobile robot can be controlled to move to the position corresponding to the above location information to recharge the mobile robot.

[0086] In this embodiment, the mobile robot moves after reaching a preset distance from the charging base and stores radar data during the movement. Then, based on the stored radar data, the complete radar feature data of the charging base can be obtained. The increase in the amount of information can improve the success rate of radar feature recognition and extract more location information of the charging base to improve the positioning accuracy of the charging base, thereby solving the technical problems of the existing charging base positioning method, such as high cost, narrow applicability and poor positioning accuracy.

[0087] The above is a second embodiment of a method for positioning a mobile robot charging base provided in an embodiment of the present application. The following is an embodiment of a positioning device for a mobile robot charging base provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0088] The following is an embodiment of a positioning device for a mobile robot charging station provided in the present application. Figure 5 .

[0089] An embodiment of a positioning device for a mobile robot charging station in an embodiment of the present application includes:

[0090] The first control unit 501 is configured to control the mobile robot to move to a preset distance from the charging station when the mobile robot receives an infrared recharging signal;

[0091] The second control unit 502 is used to control the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and store all frames of radar data collected during the movement;

[0092] A feature acquisition unit 503 is configured to acquire radar feature data of the charging station based on the stored radar data;

[0093] The positioning unit 504 is used to obtain the location information of the charging base according to the radar characteristic data.

[0094] Furthermore, the first control unit 501 specifically includes:

[0095] The first control subunit is used to control the mobile robot to move to a preset area where it can receive the infrared recharging signal when the mobile robot enters the recharging state;

[0096] The second control subunit is used to control the mobile robot to move to a preset distance from the charging base according to the received infrared recharging signal.

[0097] Furthermore, the mobile robot located at a preset distance from the charging base moves in a direction toward the charging base.

[0098] Furthermore, the second control unit 502 specifically includes:

[0099] The mobile robot is controlled to rotate in a preset direction and at a preset angle, and all frame radar data collected during the rotation are stored.

[0100] Furthermore, the feature acquisition unit 503 includes:

[0101] A splicing subunit, used for splicing the stored radar data to obtain spliced data;

[0102] The extraction subunit is used to extract features from the spliced data to obtain radar feature data of the charging base.

[0103] Furthermore, the splicing subunit specifically includes:

[0104] determining a sub-subunit for determining a target coordinate system for stitching;

[0105] The splicing sub-sub-unit is used to splice the stored radar data in the target coordinate system to obtain spliced data.

[0106] Furthermore, the extraction subunit is specifically used to identify the radar data of the preset shape in the spliced data to obtain the angle information and distance information corresponding to the charging base.

[0107] In this embodiment, the mobile robot moves after reaching a preset distance from the charging base and stores radar data during the movement. Then, based on the stored radar data, the complete radar feature data of the charging base can be obtained. The increase in the amount of information can improve the success rate of radar feature recognition and extract more location information of the charging base to improve the positioning accuracy of the charging base, thereby solving the technical problems of the existing charging base positioning method, such as high cost, narrow applicability and poor positioning accuracy.

[0108] An embodiment of the present application also provides a positioning device for a mobile robot charging base, the device including a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store program code and transmit the program code to the processor; the processor is used to execute the positioning method of the mobile robot charging base of embodiment one or embodiment two according to the instructions in the program code.

[0109] An embodiment of the present application further provides a storage medium for storing program code, and the program code is used to execute the positioning method of the mobile robot charging base of embodiment one or embodiment two.

[0110] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described devices and units can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0111] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of units is merely a logical function division. There may be other division methods during implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another power grid network to be installed, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0112] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected as needed to achieve the purpose of this embodiment.

[0113] In addition, the functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a processing unit, or may be physically separate units, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0114] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc., which can store program code.

[0115] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for positioning a mobile robot charging station, characterized in that: include: When the mobile robot in the recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset distance from the charging base; Controlling the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and storing all frame radar data collected during the movement; Acquiring radar characteristic data of the charging base according to the stored radar data; The acquiring of radar characteristic data of the charging base according to the stored radar data specifically includes: splicing the stored radar data to obtain spliced data; Performing feature extraction on the spliced data to obtain radar feature data of the charging station; The step of splicing the stored radar data to obtain spliced data specifically includes: Determine the target coordinate system for stitching; In the target coordinate system, the stored radar data are spliced to obtain spliced data; Extracting features from the spliced data to obtain radar feature data of the charging station specifically includes: Identifying radar data of a preset shape in the spliced data to obtain angle information and distance information corresponding to the charging station; The location information of the charging base is obtained according to the radar characteristic data.

2. The method for positioning a mobile robot charging station according to claim 1, wherein: When a mobile robot in a recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset distance from a charging base, specifically including: When the mobile robot enters the recharging state, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset area where it can receive the infrared recharging signal; According to the received infrared recharging signal, the mobile robot is controlled to move to a preset distance from the charging base.

3. The method for positioning a mobile robot charging station according to claim 2, wherein: The mobile robot located at a preset distance from the charging base moves in a direction toward the charging base.

4. The method for positioning a mobile robot charging station according to claim 1, wherein: Control the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and store all frame radar data collected during the movement, specifically including: The mobile robot is controlled to rotate in a preset direction by a preset angle, and all frame radar data collected during the rotation process are stored.

5. A positioning device for a mobile robot charging station, characterized in that: include: a first control unit, configured to control the mobile robot to move to a preset distance from the charging base when the mobile robot in the recharging state receives an infrared recharging signal; a second control unit, configured to control the mobile robot to move in a preset direction and store all frame radar data collected during the movement; a feature acquisition unit, configured to acquire radar feature data of the charging base based on the stored radar data; a positioning unit, configured to obtain position information of the charging base based on the radar characteristic data; The acquiring of radar characteristic data of the charging base according to the stored radar data specifically includes: splicing the stored radar data to obtain spliced data; Performing feature extraction on the spliced data to obtain radar feature data of the charging station; The step of splicing the stored radar data to obtain spliced data specifically includes: Determine the target coordinate system for stitching; In the target coordinate system, the stored radar data are spliced to obtain spliced data; Extracting features from the spliced data to obtain radar feature data of the charging station specifically includes: The radar data of the preset shape in the spliced data is identified to obtain the angle information and distance information corresponding to the charging base.

6. A positioning device for a mobile robot charging station, characterized in that: The device includes a processor and a memory; The memory is used to store program code and transmit the program code to the processor; The processor is configured to execute the method for positioning a mobile robot charging base according to any one of claims 1 to 4 according to instructions in the program code.

7. A storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium is used to store program codes, and the program codes are used to execute the positioning method for a mobile robot charging base according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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