Automatic pool cleaning device, control method and computer storage medium thereof

Abstract

The invention provides an automatic pool cleaning device, a control method and a computer storage medium thereof.The automatic pool cleaning device comprises a laser radar, and the control method comprises the steps that the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to advance at the pool bottom, and in the advancing process, position information or walking direction information of the automatic pool cleaning device is obtained; the laser radar is controlled to acquire point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the automatic pool cleaning device; based on the point cloud data, whether a terrain causing the automatic pool cleaning device to fall exists at the front pool bottom or not is judged, and if yes, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to execute anti-falling operation based on the position information or the walking direction information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of cleaning devices, and in particular to an automatic pool cleaning device, a control method and a computer storage medium thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the popularity of swimming pools and the significant progress of robotics technology, more and more consumers tend to use automated pool cleaning robots to perform pool cleaning tasks. At present, when performing cleaning tasks in underwater environments, pool cleaning robots mainly rely on ultrasonic sensors to detect environmental information such as terrain and obstacles on the side and in front of the robot to maintain a stable motion trajectory. However, this multi-sensor layout has many problems: on the one hand, in order to simultaneously perceive environmental information on the side and in front of the robot, it is necessary to deploy multiple sensors in the internal space of the robot, which increases the complexity of the robot's structural design; on the other hand, the sensor module is easily interfered with in the underwater environment, which makes the sensor's perception range, perception angle and perception accuracy limited for complex terrain that is prone to cause the pool cleaning robot to fall, resulting in the robot being prone to damage, failure, collision or path planning errors. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a new implementation method to avoid the above problems and ensure that the pool cleaning robot can perform cleaning tasks efficiently and stably. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the deficiencies of the above-mentioned prior art, the present application provides a control method for an automatic pool cleaning device, wherein the automatic pool cleaning device includes a laser radar, and the control method includes: controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to move on the pool bottom, and during the movement, obtaining the position information or walking direction information of the automatic pool cleaning device, and controlling the laser radar to obtain point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the automatic pool cleaning device; based on the point cloud data, determining whether there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that may cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall, and if so, controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-fall operation based on the position information or the walking direction information.

[0004] Furthermore, judging whether there is any terrain on the front pool bottom that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall is based on the point cloud data, including evaluating the integrity of at least one frame of point cloud data and judging the terrain based on the integrity.

[0005] Furthermore, based on the point cloud data, it is determined whether there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that can cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall, including determining whether the predetermined scanning area of ​​the laser radar can sense the pool bottom. If not, there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that can cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0006] Furthermore, controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-fall operation includes controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to turn so as to avoid terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0007] Furthermore, controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-fall operation includes controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to retreat so as to avoid terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0008] Furthermore, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-fall operation based on the position information or the walking direction information, including confirming the position or direction of the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall based on the current position information or the walking direction information, and avoiding the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall based on the position or direction of the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0009] Furthermore, the scanning direction of the laser radar intersects with the horizontal plane, and the laser radar includes a one-line or multi-line laser radar.

[0010] Furthermore, the location information is obtained through an inertial measurement unit, a distance measuring sensor, a historical walking path or a pool contour map.

[0011] Furthermore, the controlling of the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-fall operation includes controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to turn, controlling the laser radar to continue collecting point cloud data of the pool bottom in front during the turning process, and judging based on the point cloud data whether the terrain area causing the automatic pool cleaning device to fall has increased, and if so, controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to stop turning.

[0012] The present application also discloses an automatic pool cleaning device, which can execute the control method described in any embodiment of the present application.

[0013] The present application also discloses a computer storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the control method described in any embodiment of the present application is implemented.

[0014] The embodiments described in this application have the following beneficial effects: The control method of the automatic pool cleaning device provided in the present application can obtain the position information or walking direction information of the automatic pool cleaning device when the automatic pool cleaning device is moving on the pool bottom, and obtain the point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the automatic pool cleaning device through a laser radar, and judge based on the point cloud data whether there is a terrain on the pool bottom in front of the robot that may cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall. If so, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-fall operation based on the position information or the walking direction information.

[0015] By obtaining point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the automatic pool cleaning device through LiDAR, it is possible to accurately determine whether there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that may cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall, such as steps, steep slopes, edges, etc. on the pool bottom. Once the above dangerous terrain is detected, the automatic pool cleaning device can be promptly controlled to perform anti-fall operations in combination with the location information and walking direction information of the automatic pool cleaning device to prevent the automatic pool cleaning device from being damaged due to falling, which not only extends the service life of the equipment, but also helps the automatic pool cleaning device to more accurately locate its position in the pool, thereby achieving more reasonable path planning, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency of the automatic pool cleaning device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. The drawings described below are only exemplary embodiments of the present application.

[0017] Figure 1 is a flow chart showing a control method of an automatic pool cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 Schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ; Figure 3 Schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ; Figure 4 Schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 3 ; Figure 5 Schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 4 ; Figure 6 Schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 5 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The technical solutions in this application will be described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work belong to the protection scope of this application. It should be noted that the embodiments in this application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0019] The present application provides a control method for an automatic pool cleaning device, an automatic pool cleaning device using the control method, and a computer storage medium. The automatic pool cleaning device of the present application can clean a pool. The pool is, for example, a pool-shaped building. The pool-shaped building can be a swimming pool, a reservoir, a spa pool, a water tank, a water tank, etc. The automatic pool cleaning device can be a device such as an automatic cleaning device, a pool cleaning robot, etc., which can clean a pool-shaped building. The present application does not limit the specific presentation of the automatic pool cleaning device and the pool-shaped building, as long as the principle of the present application can be realized. In the following, if not otherwise specified, the robot will be used as an example of the automatic pool cleaning device, and the swimming pool will be used as an example of a pool or a pool-shaped building. In the following, if not otherwise specified, the terms "pool bottom", "pool bottom", and "pool bottom" all refer to the bottom surface of the swimming pool.

[0020] The automatic pool cleaning device disclosed in the present application includes a laser radar.

[0021] LiDAR is a laser-based environmental perception sensor used to detect objects and environmental information around the robot. The perception area of ​​LiDAR can cover the side area and the front area of ​​the robot. LiDAR can obtain point cloud data and environmental information of the side area and the front area of ​​the robot in real time by emitting a laser beam (for example, a single-line laser beam or a multi-line laser beam, etc.) and receiving the reflected signal, so as to ensure that the robot can monitor the spatial information of the side and the front at the same time, thereby providing accurate data support for the path planning, obstacle detection and boundary recognition of the robot during movement. The following will describe in detail the application of LiDAR in this application in conjunction with specific embodiments.

[0022] The control method 100 of the automatic pool cleaning device of the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 A flow chart showing a method for controlling an automatic pool cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown; Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ; Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ; Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 3 ; Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 4 ; Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing a laser beam emitted by a laser radar according to an embodiment of the present application Figure 5 The control method 100 includes steps S101 to S103. Figures 1 to 6 Steps S101 to S103 are described.

[0023] In step S101, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to move on the pool bottom, and during the moving process, the position information or walking direction information of the automatic pool cleaning device is obtained, and the laser radar is controlled to obtain point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the automatic pool cleaning device.

[0024] For example, the robot can be controlled by the control system to move along a "bow"-shaped path, a "return"-shaped path, a "Y"-shaped path, a "U"-shaped path or other paths at the bottom of the pool. The control system may include: a perception module, a control module and an execution module. The perception module may include: a flow rate sensor, a pressure sensor and an image sensor, etc., which are used to monitor the water flow in the pool, the distribution of dirt and the movement state of the robot in real time. The control module may be composed of a control chip and related circuits, which is responsible for receiving sensor data and processing signals, and generating corresponding control commands according to a preset control strategy. The execution module may include: a motor drive system and a cleaning mechanism. The motor drive system can adjust the speed and direction of the motor according to the control command to control the movement speed and movement path of the robot; the cleaning mechanism (for example, a sewage suction port, a belt conveyor and a rotating brush, etc.) can remove dirt during the movement of the robot.

[0025] During the robot's movement, the robot's specific coordinate position in the pool, i.e., position information, can be obtained through sensors (e.g., GPS, ranging sensors, visual sensors, or inertial measurement units, etc.), or historical walking paths, or pool contour maps. At the same time, the robot's current moving direction, i.e., walking direction information, can also be determined by a magnetometer or by analyzing the speed difference of the robot's driving wheels. In addition, the laser radar will continuously emit laser beams (e.g., single-line laser beams or multi-line laser beams, etc.) during the robot's movement, and receive signals returned by the robot in the side area and the front area. The laser radar processes these signals into point cloud data and transmits the point cloud data to the robot's control system. The point cloud data consists of a large number of points, and the point cloud data can accurately perceive the robot's environmental information in the side area and the front area, such as the boundaries of the pool, steps, decorations, the shape of the pool bottom, slopes, and obstacles. The above-mentioned position information, travel direction information, and point cloud data of the front pool bottom can provide important basis for the robot's subsequent path planning, obstacle avoidance, and anti-fall operations, thereby improving the robot's cleaning efficiency and safety.

[0026] It should be noted that the terms "path planning", "bow"-shaped path, "U"-shaped path, "Y"-shaped path, "U"-shaped path" or other paths do not necessarily require the robot to plan a moving trajectory in advance and store the information corresponding to the moving trajectory in the robot's memory. Path planning in this field generally means planning a given movement rule. The robot can use a path planning algorithm to obtain the robot's moving path; it can also obtain the robot's moving path by updating and iterating historical paths; the robot's moving path can also be provided or set by the user; the robot's moving path can also be pre-stored in the robot's memory. The above description of the method for obtaining the robot's moving path is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art can select the robot's moving path according to actual conditions, as long as the technical principles of the present application can be implemented.

[0027] In step S101, the scanning direction of the laser radar intersects with the horizontal plane, and the laser radar includes a one-line or multi-line laser radar.

[0028] For example, the laser radar can be set on the head or side of the robot. The head of the robot refers to the front part of the robot body, that is, the front end of the robot in the moving direction, and also includes the front part of the top of the robot. The side of the robot refers to the side part of the robot body. Specifically, the laser radar can be set on the head of the robot to scan the front area of ​​the robot in advance, provide the robot with environmental information of the front area, and facilitate the robot to plan the path and avoid obstacles in advance, while taking into account the detection of obstacles in the side area of ​​the robot. The laser radar can also be set on the side of the robot, so that the laser radar can better cover the side area of ​​the robot, reduce the risk of collision between the robot and the side obstacles, and take into account the detection of obstacles in the front area of ​​the robot. Specifically, the laser radar can be set in the middle of the head of the robot, or it can be set at a position close to the side (left or right) of the head of the robot, that is, the laser radar can be set in the area where the head of the robot is connected to the side, so that the laser radar can simultaneously sense the area on the side and front of the machine, avoiding the robot's own structure (for example, cleaning brushes and water inlets, etc.) blocking part of the scanning area, thereby expanding the scanning range of the laser radar. In addition, the laser radar can also be set on the side (left or right) of the robot near the head, that is, the laser radar can be set at the front end of the side of the robot, rather than the middle or rear end of the side, so that the laser radar can not only perceive the environmental information on the side and front of the robot at the same time during the movement of the robot, but also avoid interference with the laser radar scanning by other components in the middle or rear end of the side of the robot (for example, cleaning brushes and filtering systems, etc.).

[0029] The scanning direction of the laser radar intersects with the horizontal plane, including: the laser beam emitted by the laser radar can intersect with the horizontal plane after tilting downward by a first angle value along the vertical direction; the laser beam emitted by the laser radar can also intersect with the horizontal plane after tilting downward by a second angle value along the vertical direction and rotating clockwise or counterclockwise by a third angle value. The laser beam angle of the laser radar, that is, the scanning direction of the laser radar, can be set by setting the installation angle of the laser radar or setting the emission angle of the laser beam emitted by the laser radar transmitter. It is understandable that the direction of the laser beam can be changed by rotating the laser radar (for example, rotating the laser radar transmitter) or adjusting the posture of the laser radar.

[0030] Specifically, Figure 2 FIG. 1 shows a top view of a laser beam emitted by a laser radar tilted downward along a vertical direction at a first angle and intersecting a horizontal plane, as shown in FIG. Figure 2As shown, the laser radar can be set in front of or to the side of the robot and tilted downward along the vertical direction at a first angle value (for example, in the range of 5 to 50 degrees), so that the laser beam emitted by the laser radar can also be tilted downward along the vertical direction at a first angle value and intersect with the horizontal plane, so as to better obtain the dangerous terrain (for example, cliffs or steep slopes, etc.) at the bottom of the pool in the front area or side area of ​​the robot, which is conducive to the robot to avoid obstacles and plan paths in advance. The term "cliff" in this application means the edge of a plane, and there is a second plane at a certain distance below the edge of the plane. The cliff will be further explained below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific examples.

[0031] Figure 3 FIG. 1 shows a top view of a laser beam emitted by a laser radar after it is tilted downward by a second angle along the vertical direction, and then rotated clockwise by a third angle and intersecting with the horizontal plane, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, the laser radar can be set in front of or on the side of the robot, and after being tilted downward in the vertical direction by a second angle value (for example, in the range of 5 to 50 degrees), it is rotated clockwise by a third angle value and intersects with the horizontal plane, so that the laser beam emitted by the laser radar is also tilted downward in the vertical direction by a second angle value (for example, in the range of 5 to 50 degrees), and then rotated clockwise by a third angle value and intersects with the horizontal plane. Figure 4 FIG. 1 shows a top view of a laser beam emitted by a laser radar after it is tilted downward by a second angle along the vertical direction, and then rotated counterclockwise by a third angle and intersecting with the horizontal plane, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown, the laser radar can be set in front of or on the side of the robot, and tilted downward along the vertical direction by a second angle value (for example, within the range of 5 to 50 degrees), and then rotated counterclockwise by a third angle value and intersected with the horizontal plane, so that the laser beam emitted by the laser radar is also tilted downward along the vertical direction by a second angle value (for example, within the range of 5 to 50 degrees), and then rotated counterclockwise by a third angle value and intersected with the horizontal plane. Through the above two methods, the laser radar can better detect the different height positions of the bottom obstacles. At the same time, the laser radar can not only sense the distance between the bottom obstacles and the machine, but also better sense the inclination or bending state of the height direction of the obstacles, so as to sense whether the robot encounters an irregular pool bottom, such as an arc pool bottom, a bowl-shaped pool bottom, a slope or a cliff, so as to more accurately identify the type of obstacles and adjust the robot's walking strategy in time.

[0032] LiDAR can include a single-line LiDAR or a multi-line LiDAR. A single-line LiDAR contains only one laser transmitter and one receiver, and can only send and receive laser pulses in one direction at a time, and the scanned data is two-dimensional (2D). A multi-line LiDAR contains multiple laser transmitters and multiple receivers, and can simultaneously send and receive multiple laser beams, and the scanned data is three-dimensional (3D).

[0033] It should be noted that the above description of the setting position of the laser radar and the robot and the type of laser radar is only exemplary. Those skilled in the art can adjust the setting position of the laser radar and the robot according to actual conditions or select the type of laser radar that meets the needs, as long as the technical principles of this application can be implemented.

[0034] In step S101, the location information is obtained through an inertial measurement unit, a distance measuring sensor, a historical walking path or a pool contour map.

[0035] For example, during the movement of the robot, the robot's position information can be obtained through a variety of sensors and data sources to achieve accurate obstacle avoidance and navigation. Specifically, the robot's position information can be obtained through an inertial measurement unit (IMU), which is usually composed of a three-axis accelerometer and a three-axis gyroscope. It can be used to measure the acceleration and angular velocity of the robot during movement, and then calculate the robot's position information, posture information and movement direction based on the acceleration and angular velocity. The distance between the robot and the surrounding obstacles can also be measured through ranging sensors (for example, lidar or ultrasonic sensors, etc.). Through ranging sensors, the robot can perceive the surrounding environment in real time and determine whether there are obstacles, cliffs, slopes and other complex terrains in front of or to the side of the robot, thereby helping the robot to adjust the robot's moving path in time when encountering obstacles, cliffs, slopes and other complex terrains to ensure the smooth progress of the cleaning process. When the robot is performing cleaning tasks, it will record its historical walking paths in real time. When encountering cliffs, slopes or other dangerous terrain, the robot can also refer to the historical walking paths and choose areas that have not been passed through to turn, thereby avoiding dangerous areas. This not only ensures the safety of the robot in complex environments, but also improves the robot's cleaning efficiency. The robot's current position can also be accurately determined by comparing the pool contour map that pre-stores the pool's boundaries, depth changes and other important features with the robot's moving path, and the robot's next move can be planned based on the map information. For example, the pool contour map can instruct the robot to slow down or adjust its direction in advance when approaching the edge of the pool, thereby preventing the robot from falling.

[0036] It should be noted that the above description of obtaining location information is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art may select a method for obtaining location information according to actual conditions, as long as the technical principles of the present application can be implemented.

[0037] Next, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, it is determined based on the point cloud data whether there is any terrain on the front pool bottom that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0038] For example, in order to meet the needs of users, a pool can have a variety of platforms of different heights, thereby forming deep water areas and shallow water areas in the pool, wherein the shallow water area is closer to the water surface and farther from the pool bottom. When the robot moves to clean the shallow water area at the bottom of the pool, if the robot moves to the edge of the area but fails to change the moving path in time due to errors or failures, it may cause the robot to fall from the edge of the shallow water area. Therefore, based on the point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the robot acquired by the laser radar, it can be judged whether there is a terrain that causes the robot to fall at the bottom of the pool in front of the robot. Specifically, the point cloud data can be filtered (for example, voxelized grid filtering) and data segmented to remove noise points in the point cloud data and extract the point cloud of the pool bottom surface. And by using methods such as principal component analysis, the corresponding surface curvature of each point in the point cloud data is calculated to identify the concave and convex features of the pool bottom. The elevation changes in the point cloud data are analyzed by the concave and convex characteristics to determine whether there are cliffs or steep slopes that are prone to causing the robot to fall. Among them, the high curvature area may indicate that there are obstacles or unevenness on the bottom of the pool ahead, while the area with large elevation changes may indicate that there are cliffs or steep slopes on the bottom of the pool ahead, which may easily cause the robot to fall.

[0039] In step S102, it is determined based on the point cloud data whether there is any terrain on the front pool bottom that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall, including evaluating the integrity of at least one frame of point cloud data and determining the terrain based on the integrity.

[0040] For example, the laser radar obtains the point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the robot by emitting a laser beam and measuring the time difference of the reflected light. One frame of point cloud data refers to all the point cloud data collected by the laser radar within one rotation or one cycle. The integrity of the point cloud data refers to the integrity and continuity of the point cloud data corresponding to the current frame. High integrity means that the point cloud data can completely cover the pool bottom area in front, while low integrity may mean that some areas of the pool bottom in front are not scanned, or the number of scanned points is small.

[0041] Figure 5 The figure shows the schematic diagram of the laser beam emitted by the laser radar when there is no dangerous terrain in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall. Figure 5As shown, if there is no cliff or other dangerous terrain in the pool bottom area in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall, the laser beam emitted by the lidar can completely cover the pool bottom area in front within the maximum perception range of the lidar, so that the number of points corresponding to the point cloud data collected by the lidar is also large, that is, the integrity of the point cloud data is also high.

[0042] Figure 6 The figure shows the schematic diagram of the laser beam emitted by the laser radar when there is dangerous terrain in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall. Figure 6 As shown in the figure, if there is a cliff or other dangerous terrain in the pool bottom area in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall, the laser beam emitted by the laser radar cannot be reflected back outside the edge of the dangerous terrain within the maximum perception range of the laser radar, so that the number of points corresponding to the point cloud data collected by the laser radar is also small, that is, the integrity of the point cloud data is also low. Therefore, the number of points of the point cloud data corresponding to the current frame can be compared with the number of points of the point cloud data collected normally before (that is, the number of points of the point cloud data corresponding to the historical frame) or the average number of points of the point cloud data after smoothing. If the difference between the two is large (for example, more than 20%), it can be considered that the point cloud data corresponding to the current frame is incomplete, that is, there may be dangerous terrain at the bottom of the pool in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall.

[0043] In step S102, it is determined based on the point cloud data whether there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that can cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall, including determining whether the predetermined scanning area of ​​the laser radar can sense the pool bottom. If not, there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that can cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0044] For example, when the laser radar is working, it will scan at a certain angle and range. The predetermined scanning area refers to the scanning area that the laser radar can cover under normal working conditions, which may include at least a part of the pool bottom area in front of or on the side of the robot. Under normal circumstances, when the laser radar scans the pool bottom, in other words, when the laser radar can sense the pool bottom, it will receive the laser signal reflected from the pool bottom and generate point cloud data. These point cloud data can depict the terrain features of the pool bottom, such as the flatness, slope and other environmental information of the pool bottom. If the laser radar does not receive the laser signal reflected from the pool bottom in the predetermined scanning area, in other words, the laser radar cannot sense the pool bottom, it means that there may be a cliff or other dangerous terrain in front of the pool bottom that may cause the robot to fall. For example, when the robot approaches the edge of the pool or encounters dangerous terrain such as steep slopes or cliffs, the laser beam of the laser radar may not reach the pool bottom, or the reflected signal from the pool bottom is too weak to be detected. Therefore, it can be determined whether the predetermined scanning area of ​​the laser radar can sense the pool bottom to determine whether there is a terrain in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall.

[0045] Finally, the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, if there is a terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-fall operation based on the position information or the walking direction information.

[0046] For example, when it is determined that there is terrain at the bottom of the pool in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall, the robot can be controlled to perform anti-fall operations through the robot's position information or walking direction information, such as controlling the robot to stop moving forward, or controlling the robot to retreat a certain distance, or controlling the robot to adjust the direction of movement, that is, controlling the robot to turn, etc., so as to avoid the dangerous area and continue to perform the cleaning task.

[0047] In step S103, the controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-falling operation includes controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to turn so as to avoid terrain that may cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0048] For example, when it is detected that there is dangerous terrain (e.g., cliffs, steep slopes, etc.) at the bottom of the pool in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall, the robot needs to be controlled so that it can take appropriate measures to avoid the risk of falling. Specifically, the robot's direction of travel can be adjusted, in other words, the robot can be controlled to turn so that the robot can avoid dangerous areas and enter safe areas. The direction to avoid dangerous terrain can be calculated based on the robot's position information and walking direction information. For example, if the robot is heading towards a cliff, the robot can turn 90 degrees and choose a safe path perpendicular to the current direction of travel to continue moving.

[0049] It should be noted that if the robot is on a slope, turning on the slope may cause the robot to slip and lose control. Therefore, in this case, the robot can be controlled to retreat a certain distance before turning. At the same time, the robot's turning speed needs to be controlled during turning to prevent the robot from losing balance due to turning too fast.

[0050] In step S103, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-fall operation, including controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to turn, controlling the laser radar to continue collecting point cloud data of the pool bottom in front during the turning process, and judging based on the point cloud data whether the terrain area causing the automatic pool cleaning device to fall has become larger, and if so, controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to stop turning.

[0051] For example, when it is detected that there is dangerous terrain (e.g., cliffs, steep slopes, etc.) at the bottom of the pool in front that may cause the robot to fall, the robot can be controlled to turn to avoid the above dangerous terrain. During the robot's turning process, the laser radar can be controlled to continue to collect point cloud data of the bottom of the pool in front of the robot so as to monitor the terrain changes of the bottom of the pool in front in real time. Specifically, the integrity of the point cloud data can be evaluated to determine whether the dangerous terrain area has become larger. If the integrity of the point cloud data continues to decrease, it means that the dangerous area at the bottom of the pool in front may be expanding. It is also possible to determine whether the dangerous terrain area has become larger by monitoring whether the bottom contour of the pool appears in the predetermined scanning area of ​​the laser radar. If the bottom contour of the pool does not appear in the predetermined scanning area, it means that the dangerous terrain area may be expanding. If it is determined that the dangerous terrain area is expanding, the robot needs to be controlled to stop turning to avoid entering a larger dangerous area. By using the laser radar to continuously collect point cloud data to evaluate the safety of the environment during the turning process, the risk of the robot falling is effectively reduced and the safety of the robot is ensured.

[0052] In step S103, the controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-falling operation includes controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to retreat so as to avoid terrain that may cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0053] For example, when it is detected that there is dangerous terrain (e.g., cliffs, steep slopes, etc.) at the bottom of the pool in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall, the robot needs to be controlled so that it can take appropriate measures to avoid the risk of falling. Specifically, the robot's drive system can be controlled to move in the opposite direction of the current direction of travel. In other words, the robot can be controlled to retreat so that the robot can avoid dangerous areas and enter safe areas. The distance the robot needs to retreat can be calculated based on the robot's position information and travel direction information as well as the specific location of the dangerous terrain. For example, if the robot is close to a cliff, it needs to retreat a longer distance to ensure safety.

[0054] It should be noted that during the robot's backward movement, the robot's backward movement speed needs to be controlled to avoid the robot losing balance or control due to excessive speed. At the same time, other sensors can also be used to obtain information about the robot's surrounding environment during the robot's backward movement to ensure the safety of the robot's backward movement path.

[0055] In step S103, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-fall operation based on the position information or the walking direction information, including confirming the position or direction of the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall based on the current position information or the walking direction information, and avoiding the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall based on the position or direction of the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

[0056] For example, when it is detected that there is dangerous terrain (e.g., cliffs, steep slopes, etc.) at the bottom of the pool in front of the robot that may cause the robot to fall, the robot needs to be controlled so that it can take corresponding measures to avoid the risk of falling. Specifically, the robot's position information can help the robot determine its specific position in the pool, so as to judge the distance from the dangerous terrain; the robot's walking direction information can help the robot determine whether it is heading towards the dangerous terrain. When the missing or abnormal part of the point cloud data is identified by analyzing the point cloud data collected by the laser radar, that is, after determining the terrain that caused the robot to fall, the position and direction of the terrain that caused the robot to fall can be accurately determined by combining the robot's position information and walking direction information. Then, according to the position and direction of the terrain that caused the robot to fall, the robot's travel direction is adjusted to avoid the dangerous terrain. For example, the robot can be controlled to turn, retreat, detour or stop, etc., to replan the path, avoid the terrain that caused the robot to fall, and ensure the safety and reliability of the robot.

[0057] The control method 100 of the automatic pool cleaning device provided in the present application can obtain the position information or walking direction information of the automatic pool cleaning device when the automatic pool cleaning device is moving on the pool bottom, and obtain the point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the automatic pool cleaning device through a laser radar, and determine based on the point cloud data whether there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front of the robot that may cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall. If so, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-fall operation based on the position information or the walking direction information.

[0058] By obtaining point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the automatic pool cleaning device through LiDAR, it is possible to accurately determine whether there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that may cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall, such as steps, steep slopes, edges, etc. on the pool bottom. Once the above dangerous terrain is detected, the automatic pool cleaning device can be promptly controlled to perform anti-fall operations in combination with the location information and walking direction information of the automatic pool cleaning device to prevent the automatic pool cleaning device from being damaged due to falling, which not only extends the service life of the equipment, but also helps the automatic pool cleaning device to more accurately locate its position in the pool, thereby achieving more reasonable path planning, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency of the automatic pool cleaning device.

[0059] The present application also discloses a computer storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the control method described in any embodiment of the present application is implemented.

[0060] It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the computer storage medium may be located in at least one of the multiple network servers of the computer network. Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may include, but is not limited to, various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a mobile hard disk, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0061] It should be noted that the sequence of the above embodiments of the present application is only for description and does not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0062] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example" or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of different embodiments or examples, unless they are contradictory.

[0063] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0064] In the present application, unless otherwise specified, directional words such as "up" and "down" are generally used with reference to the directions shown in the drawings, or with reference to the vertical, perpendicular or gravity direction; similarly, for ease of understanding and description, "left" and "right" are generally used with reference to the left and right shown in the drawings; "inside" and "outside" refer to the inside and outside relative to the outline of each component itself, but the above directional words are not used to limit the present application.

[0065] The above is only an exemplary embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various changes or substitutions within the technical scope recorded in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A control method for an automatic pool cleaning device, characterized in that: The automatic pool cleaning device includes a laser radar, and the control method includes: Control the automatic pool cleaning device to move on the pool bottom, obtain the position information or walking direction information of the automatic pool cleaning device during the moving process, and control the laser radar to obtain point cloud data of the pool bottom in front of the automatic pool cleaning device; Based on the point cloud data, it is determined whether there is any terrain on the front pool bottom that may cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall. If so, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-fall operation based on the position information or the walking direction information.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Based on the point cloud data, it is determined whether there is a terrain on the front pool bottom that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall. The method comprises evaluating the completeness of at least one frame of point cloud data and determining the terrain based on the completeness.

3. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Based on the point cloud data, it is determined whether there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that can cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall, including determining whether the predetermined scanning area of ​​the laser radar can sense the pool bottom. If not, there is any terrain on the pool bottom in front that can cause the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

4. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-fall operation includes controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to turn so as to avoid terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

5. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-fall operation includes controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to retreat so as to avoid terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

6. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-fall operation based on the position information or the walking direction information, including confirming the position or direction of the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall based on the current position information or the walking direction information, and avoiding the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall based on the position or direction of the terrain that causes the automatic pool cleaning device to fall.

7. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The scanning direction of the laser radar intersects with the horizontal plane, and the laser radar includes a one-line or multi-line laser radar.

8. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The position information is obtained through an inertial measurement unit, a distance measuring sensor, a historical walking path or a pool contour map.

9. The control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The controlling of the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-falling operation includes controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to turn, controlling the laser radar to continue collecting point cloud data of the pool bottom in front during the turning process, and judging based on the point cloud data whether the terrain area causing the automatic pool cleaning device to fall has become larger; if so, controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to stop turning.

10. An automatic pool cleaning device, characterized in that: The automatic pool cleaning device can execute the control method described in any one of claims 1-9.

11. A computer storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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