A modular mobile robot system based on master-slave collaboration and its control method

Abstract

This invention discloses a modular mobile robot system and its control method based on master-slave collaboration, belonging to the fields of intelligent robots and mobile charging technology. The system aims to solve the problems of insufficient battery life and lack of autonomous mobile interaction capabilities in existing mobile terminals. The system includes an intelligent mobile terminal as the master device, an intelligent mobile chassis as the slave device, and a support assembly connecting the two. The three components form a master-slave collaborative architecture through a hybrid magneto-electric interface and wireless communication: the intelligent mobile terminal is responsible for advanced decision-making and visual processing, the intelligent mobile chassis is responsible for autonomous mobile navigation and multi-degree-of-freedom pose adjustment, and the support assembly is responsible for physically connecting the intelligent mobile terminal and charging it. This invention also provides multiple control methods based on this system, including a follow-charging mode, a follow-talking mode, a follow-shooting mode, and a mobile monitoring mode. The system can autonomously plan paths and adjust the terminal's posture according to user commands or environmental perception information, realizing functions such as mobile charging, intelligent following, dynamic shooting, and remote monitoring, greatly expanding the application scenarios and interactive experience of intelligent terminals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent robots and mobile charging technology, and in particular to a modular mobile robot system based on a master-slave collaborative architecture. Specifically, it relates to a robot system and its control method that connects to an intelligent mobile terminal through a magneto-electric hybrid interface to achieve autonomous movement, charging assistance, intelligent photography, and remote monitoring. Background Technology

[0002] As smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices become core tools in people's daily lives and work, the contradiction between their battery life and mobile usage needs is becoming increasingly prominent. Traditional charging methods require users to fix their devices to charging sockets or wireless charging pads, which is extremely inconvenient when users need to move around, make calls, or shoot videos. Although magnetic power banks or portable chargers have emerged on the market, solving some of the mobile charging problems, they usually need to be held by hand or carried in a backpack, failing to truly free up users' hands and lacking complex posture adjustment functions. Existing mobile robots or autonomous following devices are often limited in function. Some devices only have a simple mobile chassis and lack the ability to deeply integrate with the terminal for interaction. While existing mobile phone gimbals can adjust angles, they are all static or handheld devices and cannot move autonomously. Currently, there is no modular system that can deeply integrate an "intelligent mobile chassis" with a "multi-functional adjustable bracket" and utilize the terminal's computing power to achieve master-slave collaborative control. Therefore, developing a robot system that can autonomously follow, deeply interact with intelligent terminals, and perform complex tasks is of great significance. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem this invention aims to solve is to overcome the shortcomings of existing charging devices, such as needing to be handheld, having limited functionality, and being unable to perform deep pose collaboration with smart terminals in mobile scenarios. This invention provides a modular, autonomously movable, integrated robot system and its control method that forms a master-slave collaborative relationship with smart terminals. To solve the above technical problems, this invention adopts the following technical solution: A modular mobile robot system based on master-slave collaboration includes: The mobile chassis, as a slave device of the system, integrates a collaborative control module to provide the system with autonomous movement and navigation capabilities; The bracket assembly is detachably connected to the magnetoelectric hybrid interface turntable of the mobile chassis for fixing the smart mobile terminal device and charging it; The drive module is detachably connected to the magnetoelectric hybrid interface turntables on both sides of the mobile chassis, and is used to drive the mobile chassis to move and adjust the pitch angle. The intelligent mobile terminal, as the main device of the system, is detachably installed on the coupling interface of the bracket assembly; The mobile chassis, the support assembly, and the smart mobile terminal are connected via hardware interfaces or wireless communication to form a master-slave collaborative architecture. The intelligent mobile terminal is configured to send control commands to the mobile chassis, and the mobile chassis responds to the control commands by driving itself to move and coordinating with the magneto-electric hybrid interface to adjust the pose of the intelligent mobile terminal so that the combined system can perform extended tasks.

[0004] Furthermore, the mobile chassis includes: The chassis body is used for the installation, fixing, electrical connection and overall support of each module; A perception and positioning module is installed on the chassis body and is used for environmental perception, autonomous positioning and mapping. The collaborative control module is electrically connected to the drive module, the sensing and positioning module, and the pose adjustment module, and is used to decouple the communication protocols between different modules to achieve efficient task scheduling and resource management. The posture adjustment module is located on the chassis body and consists of three built-in drive motors on the top and left and right sides that are electrically connected and coordinated to control the module. A hybrid interface turntable with magnetic adsorption and electrical conductive contacts is physically connected to the drive motor shaft of the posture adjustment module. The interface includes a powerful magnet array and Pogo Pin spring contacts, which provide mechanical fixation, electrical connection, data communication interface and posture adjustment when the bracket assembly and drive module are installed.

[0005] Furthermore, the support assembly includes: The bracket base is adapted to the mobile chassis by a hybrid interface turntable with magnetic adsorption function and electrical conduction contacts, and is used for fixing the bracket assembly and electrical connection path. A support rod, connected to the bracket base, is used for overall support of the bracket assembly and provides height adjustment function and electrical connection path; A magnetoelectric coupling interface is located at the end of the support rod and integrates a multi-mode charging unit inside. It is used to detachably attach and fix the smart mobile terminal and provide wireless charging.

[0006] Furthermore, the driving module includes: The driving body is adapted and connected to the hybrid interface turntable with magnetic adsorption function and electrical conduction contacts for fixing and electrical connection of the driving module. The drive wheel, connected to the drive body, is used to transmit driving force and braking force.

[0007] Furthermore, the collaborative control module includes a local collaborative main controller, which is located within the chassis body and is used to coordinate instruction and data communication between the intelligent mobile terminal, the support assembly, and the mobile chassis. It is also configured to run a chassis controller service middleware to achieve task scheduling and motion coordination.

[0008] Furthermore, the system also includes an independent charging dock with a charging interface that matches the mobile chassis; when the mobile chassis's battery level is below a threshold, the mobile chassis can autonomously navigate back to the independent charging dock for charging.

[0009] The present invention also provides a control method for the above-mentioned system, comprising: Follow charging mode: Receives low battery signal or wake-up command, obtains target location information, plans path and moves to the vicinity of the target; Follow Call Mode: In response to an incoming call, activate image recognition to lock onto the target user, move to a preset area, and dynamically adjust the pose based on facial information to make the screen face the user; Follow shooting mode: Set the shooting target, use the smart mobile terminal as the visual processing unit to calculate the target trajectory, and coordinate the control of the chassis and posture adjustment module to maintain stable tracking of the target; Mobile monitoring mode: Responds to remote access commands, establishes a connection, receives remote control commands to control the movement of the chassis, and transmits audio and video data back.

[0010] Beneficial Effects The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: Deep integration and hands-free operation: The mobile terminal is combined with the robot chassis through a hybrid interface turntable with magnetic adsorption and electrical conduction contacts. This not only enables mobile charging, but also completely frees the user's hands through the movement of the chassis and the adjustment of the bracket. Master-slave collaborative architecture: It uses the powerful computing power of smart terminals as the "brain" for visual recognition and decision-making, the chassis as the "legs" for movement, and the support as the "arms" for posture adjustment, thus achieving a synergistic effect of "1+1+1>3". Multi-functional scene coverage: A single hardware system, through software switching, achieves full scene coverage from power replenishment (charging) to entertainment (shooting) to security (monitoring); Modularity and ease of use: It adopts a quick-release design with a hybrid interface that combines magnetic adsorption and electrical conductive contacts, allowing users to use it without complicated installation. Each module is independent, making it easy to maintain and upgrade. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view of the overall structure of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the main body of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is an exploded view of the internal structure of the main body of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the left drive unit structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the right drive unit structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the support assembly structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the charging dock in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the smart mobile terminal (phone) in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10 is a system structure block diagram in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Explanation of the numbers in the diagram: 20 - Hybrid interface turntable with magnetic adsorption and electrical conduction contacts at the top (first); 21 - Hybrid interface turntable with magnetic adsorption and electrical conduction contacts on the left (second); 22 - Hybrid interface turntable with magnetic adsorption and electrical conduction contacts on the right (third); 23 - Sensing element (sensing and positioning module); 24 - Basic camera; 25 - Bracket electrical contacts; 26 - Drive electrical contacts; 30 - Power supply module; 31 - Local collaborative main controller (collaborative control module); 32 - Internal fixed bracket; 33 - The transmission disk of the hybrid interface turntable (first) with magnetic adsorption function and electrical conduction contacts, 34-left posture adjustment module drive motor (second), 35-right posture adjustment module drive motor (third), 36-top posture adjustment module drive motor (first), 40-bracket support rod, 41-magnetic coupling interface with integrated multi-mode charging unit, 42-bracket base, 50-left drive unit, 51-left front drive wheel, 52-left rear drive wheel, 60-right drive unit, 61-right front drive wheel, 62-right rear drive wheel. Detailed Implementation

[0013] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.

[0014] Example 1: Please refer to Figures 1 to 10 for the system hardware architecture. The modular mobile robot system based on master-slave collaboration provided by this invention mainly consists of three parts: Mobile chassis, support components, and smart mobile terminals (taking smartphones as an example): Mobile Chassis Structure: As shown in Figures 2, 5, and 6, the mobile chassis constitutes the motion base of the system. It includes a main chassis body, which integrates a power module 30, a local collaborative main controller 31, and a posture adjustment module. Symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the main chassis body are hybrid interface turntables with magnetic adsorption and electrical conduction contacts. These turntables are connected to the drive shaft of the posture adjustment module's drive motor. The left and right drive units are detachably adapted and connected to the hybrid interface turntables. Specifically, the interface includes a powerful magnet array and Pogo Pin spring contacts. When a drive unit approaches the turntable interface, it is automatically magnetically adsorbed and fixed, while the Pogo Pin conducts power and data signals. This mechanism not only magnetically adsorbs the drive units but also, under the differential motion of the posture adjustment module's drive motor, enables overall pitch angle adjustment of the mobile chassis and maintains driving stability. The left drive unit includes a left drive body 50, a left front drive wheel 51, and a left rear drive wheel 52; the right drive unit includes a right drive body 60, a right front drive wheel 61, and a right rear drive wheel 62. The drive wheels are driven by built-in drive motors, and forward, reverse, and steering are achieved using differential drive. A sensing and positioning module (labeled 23, 24) is also installed on the chassis body, including multiple sensing elements (such as ultrasonic or infrared ranging sensors) and a basic camera, used for obstacle avoidance, autonomous positioning, and mapping. The bracket assembly structure, as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 7, is fixed to a hybrid interface turntable 20 with magnetic adsorption and electrical conduction contacts on the upper part of the chassis via a bracket base 42. The magnetic-electric hybrid interface turntable mechanism 20 is connected to a drive transmission disk 33 and a drive motor 36 within the mobile chassis. Specifically, the interface includes a powerful magnet array and Pogo Pin spring contacts. When the bracket base 42 approaches the turntable interface, it is automatically magnetically adsorbed and fixed, while the Pogo Pin conducts power and data signals. This mechanism not only magnetically fixes the bracket base 42 but also has a horizontal angle adjustment function (driven by the motor 36 to rotate the transmission disk 33), achieving integration of mechanical fixation, electrical connection, and data communication. The end of the bracket assembly support rod is equipped with a magnetic-electric coupling interface, which integrates a multi-mode charging unit for providing mechanical fixation and wireless charging for the smart mobile terminal. These mechanisms work together to achieve precise adjustments to the horizontal angle, pitch angle, and height of the smart mobile terminal.

[0015] Example 2: The system's collaborative control is shown in Figure 10. The local collaborative master controller 31 runs a chassis controller service middleware based on the ROS 2 (Robot Operating System) architecture. This middleware acts as a "translator," responsible for decoupling the application layer instructions of the intelligent mobile terminal (master device) from the hardware layer instructions of the chassis (slave device). Specifically, the intelligent mobile terminal sends standardized JSON format task instructions (e.g., {Task:"Follow", Target_X: 1.5,Target_Y: 0.0}) through the APP; after receiving them, the middleware parses them into specific motor PWM duty cycle signals and servo angle signals. This architecture allows the intelligent mobile terminal to be unaware of the specific kinematic model of the chassis (such as differential, Ackermann steering, etc.), achieving complete decoupling between software and hardware. In addition, the system is equipped with a safety redundancy mechanism: when the local collaborative main controller 31 detects that the communication interruption with the smart mobile terminal exceeds a preset time (such as 10 seconds), the chassis will immediately trigger emergency braking or perform low-speed rotation in place to search for the signal, so as to ensure the safety of the equipment.

[0016] Example 3: Workflow (Follow-up Call Mode) The following describes the workflow of the system of this invention in detail, taking "Follow-up Call Mode" as an example: Wake-up and Connection: Users wake up the system via voice or an app. The smart mobile terminal and the smart mobile chassis establish a communication connection via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Target location: When the mobile phone receives an incoming call, it activates the front-facing camera to perform facial recognition and determine the user's (owner's) location coordinates. This coordinate information is then sent to the local collaborative main controller 31 in the chassis. Autonomous navigation: The collaborative control module 31 combines the target location sent by the mobile phone with the real-time data from its own sensors (23, 24), plans a path, controls the differential movement of the left and right drive wheels, and moves to the user's side; Dynamic pose adjustment: After the chassis is in place, the pose adjustment module and the drive module begin to work together to achieve overall multi-degree-of-freedom directional adjustment. The phone camera continuously detects the face position; if the face deviates from the center of the screen, the drive motor 36 adjusts the bracket angle; if the user moves, the chassis moves accordingly. Through this master-slave collaboration, the optimal call viewing angle is always maintained. Task complete: After the call ends, the system will automatically return to the charging dock or enter standby mode based on the battery level.

[0017] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A modular mobile robot system based on master-slave collaboration, characterized in that, include: The mobile chassis, as a slave device of the system, integrates a collaborative control module to provide the system with autonomous movement and navigation capabilities; The support assembly is detachably connected to the mobile chassis via a first hybrid interface turntable having magnetic adsorption function and electrical conductive contacts; The drive module is detachably connected to both sides of the mobile chassis via a second and a third hybrid interface turntable with magnetic adsorption function and electrical conduction contacts, and is used to provide driving force to the mobile chassis. The intelligent mobile terminal, as the main device of the system, is detachably mounted on the bracket assembly; The intelligent mobile terminal establishes a communication connection with the mobile chassis through a wireless signal or a wired connection interface, forming a master-slave collaborative architecture. The intelligent mobile terminal is configured to utilize its onboard heterogeneous computing resources to perform environmental perception, path planning, and task decision-making, and generate high-level control commands; the collaborative control module of the mobile chassis is configured to receive the high-level control commands, parse them into low-level motion control signals, drive the drive module to move, and coordinate with the pose adjustment module to adjust the multi-degree-of-freedom pose of the system to perform extended tasks.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein, The mobile chassis includes: The chassis body is used for the installation, fixing, and overall support of each module; The collaborative control module is electrically connected to the drive module, the sensing and positioning module, and the pose adjustment module. It is configured as a service middleware for the chassis controller to decouple the communication protocols between different modules and achieve efficient task scheduling and resource management. The perception and positioning module is mounted on the chassis body, and its sensor array includes at least one or more of LiDAR, depth camera and ultrasonic sensor, for environmental perception, autonomous positioning and mapping. The posture adjustment module is located on the chassis body and consists of three built-in drive motors electrically connected to a collaborative control module, which is used to drive the magneto-electric hybrid interface turntable to rotate. The first, second, and third hybrid interface turntables with magnetic adsorption function and electrical conduction contacts are physically connected to the motor drive shaft of the posture adjustment module, respectively, to provide mechanical fixation, electrical connection, high-speed data communication channel and rotation drive for the bracket assembly and drive module.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein, The support assembly includes: The bracket base is adapted and connected to the first hybrid interface turntable, which has magnetic adsorption function and electrically conductive contacts. The support rod is fixedly connected to the bracket base, and its length is adjustable. The magnetoelectric coupling interface at the end integrates a multi-mode charging unit. The magnetoelectric coupling interface is used to provide the intelligent mobile terminal with mechanical fixation, electrical connection, and high-speed data communication channel; The multimodal charging unit is configured to charge the smart mobile terminal via wired contacts or a wireless coil.

4. The system of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The driving module includes: The drive unit is adapted and connected to the second and third hybrid interface turntables with magnetic adsorption function and electrical conduction contacts. Under the coordination of the position adjustment module drive motor and the differential speed movement of the drive wheels, the pitch angle of the mobile chassis can be adjusted and driving stability can be maintained. The drive wheel, connected to the drive body, is used to transmit driving force and braking force; The drive module is a hub motor module, which integrates a motor controller and an encoder to precisely control the speed and torque of the drive wheels.

5. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The collaborative control module includes a local collaborative master controller, which is configured as follows: When the communication between the intelligent mobile terminal and the mobile chassis is interrupted or the signal quality is lower than a preset threshold, the local collaborative main controller controls the drive module to perform emergency braking based on the data from the sensing and positioning module, and drives the system to enter a preset safe area or maintain a standby state.

6. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, It also includes an independent charging dock with a charging interface that matches the mobile chassis; when the mobile chassis's battery level is below a threshold, the smart mobile terminal or the collaborative control module can trigger an autonomous recharging process, controlling the mobile chassis to navigate back to the independent charging dock for charging.

7. A control method for the system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Including a follow-charging mode, the method is executed by the mobile chassis in conjunction with the smart mobile terminal, and includes the following steps: Receives a low battery signal from the smart mobile terminal, or a wake-up command triggered by a user app or voice. Obtain the target location information identified by the intelligent mobile terminal through its visual sensor; Based on the target location information and its own environmental perception information, a path is planned and the drive module is controlled to move autonomously to the vicinity of the target.

8. A control method for the system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Including a follow-call mode, the method includes the following steps: When the smart mobile terminal is connected to the system, in response to an incoming call event, the image recognition module is activated with user authorization to lock onto the target user; Control the mobile chassis to move to the preset area where the target user is located; During a call, with the user's authorization, the pose adjustment module and the driving module are dynamically adjusted based on the facial information collected by the camera of the smart mobile terminal, so that the display surface of the smart mobile terminal screen faces the target user's face.

9. A control method for the system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Including a follow-shoot mode, the method includes the following steps: After enabling the shooting function, set the shooting target; The intelligent mobile terminal serves as a visual processing unit, calculating the motion trajectory of the captured target in real time. The pose adjustment module and the drive module are coordinated to move, and with user authorization, the camera of the smart mobile terminal maintains stable tracking of the target.

10. A control method for the system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Including a mobile monitoring mode, the method includes the following steps: In response to a remote access command, a connection is established between the system and the remote terminal; Receive remote control commands and control the mobile chassis to move according to a preset path or real-time commands; The environmental audio and video data collected by the camera of the smart mobile terminal is transmitted back to the remote terminal.

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