Robot cleaner and control method therefor

Abstract

This robot cleaner comprises: at least one sensor; a wet brush; a driving unit; at least one memory for storing at least one instruction; and at least one processor for executing the at least one instruction, wherein the processor acquires information about a liquid present on a floor surface through the at least one sensor while the robot cleaner travels forward, determines, on the basis of the information about the liquid, a travel path for cleaning up the liquid, and controls the driving unit such that the robot cleaner travels backward along the travel path, the wet brush being oriented in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the robot cleaner during forward traveling, and being oriented in the traveling direction of the robot cleaner during backward traveling.

Description

Robot vacuum cleaner and control method thereof

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a robot vacuum cleaner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a robot vacuum cleaner capable of cleaning liquid on a floor surface and a control method thereof.

[0002] Technological advancements in robotic vacuum cleaners that can automatically move along a driving path to clean a floor are continuing, and recently, there has been a growing need for technology that can perform cleaning in an appropriate manner by taking into account the various types of floor surfaces and the various types of objects present on the floor.

[0003] When there is liquid on the floor, such as drinks or pet urine, a different cleaning method is required for the robot vacuum cleaner to perform effective cleaning than when there is dry cleaning objects, such as dust, on the floor.

[0004] For example, if a robot vacuum cleaner includes a wet brush (i.e., a mop), it may be more effective to clean using a wet brush for wet cleaning than to clean using a dry brush for dry cleaning.

[0005] However, the wet brush of a robot vacuum cleaner may be positioned, for example, at the rear, opposite the forward direction of the robot vacuum cleaner, more specifically, behind the dry brush, suction port, and wheels of the robot vacuum cleaner. One reason for this configuration is that if the wet brush is positioned at the front, the moisture contained in the wet brush may interfere with the operation of the dry brush, suction port, and wheels.

[0006] Therefore, if the wet brush is placed at the back of the robot cleaner, there is a problem that when the robot cleaner moves forward and cleans the liquid, the dry brush, suction inlet, wheels, etc. may become contaminated by the liquid before the liquid is cleaned through the wet brush, and this problem may also lead to a breakdown of the robot cleaner.

[0007] A robot cleaner and a control method thereof capable of cleaning liquid on a floor surface in an effective and efficient manner are provided.

[0008] Additional aspects will be disclosed in part in the following description, and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the embodiments presented.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a robot cleaner includes at least one sensor, a wet brush, a driving unit, at least one memory storing at least one instruction, and at least one processor executing the at least one instruction, wherein the processor obtains information about a liquid existing on a floor surface through the at least one sensor when the robot cleaner is performing forward driving, determines a driving path for cleaning the liquid based on the information about the liquid, and controls the driving unit so that the robot cleaner performs backward driving along the driving path, wherein the wet brush faces a direction opposite to a moving direction of the robot cleaner when the forward driving is performed, and faces a moving direction of the robot cleaner when the backward driving is performed.

[0010] The at least one processor can store information about the driving path in the at least one memory, and control the driving unit to perform the reverse driving based on the information about the driving path stored in the at least one memory.

[0011] The information about the liquid may include at least one of information about the location of the area of ​​the liquid on the floor surface, information about the size of the area of ​​the liquid, information about the shape of the area of ​​the liquid, and information about the amount of the liquid.

[0012] The at least one processor may determine the driving path so that the robot cleaner passes through at least a portion of the area of ​​the liquid based on information about the location of the area of ​​the liquid.

[0013] The at least one processor may identify the size of the area of ​​the liquid based on information about the size of the area, and if the size of the area is less than or equal to the threshold size, determine the driving path to drive through the center point of the area, and if the size of the area exceeds the threshold size, identify a polygon corresponding to the area based on information about the shape, and determine the driving path to pass through a vertex among a plurality of vertices included in the polygon that is closest to the robot cleaner.

[0014] The at least one processor can detect an outline of the area based on information about the shape of the area of ​​the liquid, and perform simplification on the detected outline to identify the polygon corresponding to the area.

[0015] The at least one processor can identify a horizontal length of the region and a vertical length of the region based on information about the shape of the region of the liquid, and determine the driving path to pass through the center point of the region if the horizontal length and the vertical length are less than or equal to a preset threshold length.

[0016] The at least one processor may determine the driving path to pass through a line segment corresponding to the first length if a first length among the horizontal length and the vertical length exceeds the preset threshold length and a second length among the horizontal length and the vertical length is less than or equal to the preset threshold length.

[0017] The at least one processor determines the driving path to pass through the endpoint that is closest to the robot cleaner among the two endpoints of the line segment corresponding to the first length when the horizontal length and the vertical length exceed the preset threshold length, and when the robot cleaner passes the endpoint, second information about the liquid can be obtained through the at least one sensor.

[0018] Meanwhile, the at least one processor may determine whether to replace the wet brush based on information about the amount of the liquid while the robot cleaner is performing the backward driving along the driving path, and if it is determined to replace the wet brush, control the driving unit so that the robot cleaner moves to a preset position, and if the wet brush is replaced, control the driving unit so that the robot cleaner performs the backward driving along the driving path.

[0019] The robot cleaner further includes a communication unit, and the at least one processor can control the communication unit to transmit at least some of the information about the liquid, the information about the driving path, and the information indicating whether the wet brush needs to be replaced to an external device.

[0020] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for controlling a robot cleaner including a wet brush includes the steps of: obtaining information about a liquid existing on a floor surface through at least one sensor while the robot cleaner is performing forward driving; determining a driving path for cleaning the liquid based on the information about the liquid; and controlling the robot cleaner so that the robot cleaner performs backward driving along the driving path, wherein the wet brush faces a direction opposite to a moving direction of the robot cleaner while the forward driving is performed, and faces a moving direction of the robot cleaner while the backward driving is performed.

[0021] The method for controlling the robot cleaner may further include a step of storing information about the driving path, and the step of controlling the robot cleaner may include a step of controlling the robot cleaner to perform the backward driving based on the stored information about the driving path.

[0022] The information about the liquid may include at least one of information about the location of the area of ​​the liquid on the floor surface, information about the size of the area of ​​the liquid, information about the shape of the area of ​​the liquid, and information about the amount of the liquid.

[0023] The step of determining the driving path may include a step of determining the driving path so as to pass through at least a portion of the area where the liquid is distributed, based on information about the location of the area where the liquid is distributed.

[0024] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a robot cleaner includes at least one sensor on a first side corresponding to a front of the robot cleaner, a wet brush on a second side corresponding to a rear of the robot cleaner, a driver, at least one memory storing at least one instruction, and at least one processor configured to execute at least one instruction, wherein the at least one processor executes at least one instruction to obtain information about a liquid on a floor through the at least one sensor, determine a driving path for cleaning the liquid based on the information about the liquid, and control a driving unit so that the robot cleaner performs backward driving along the driving path, and in a state where the backward driving is performed, the wet brush faces the rear.

[0025] The information about the liquid includes information about the location of the area of ​​the liquid, and the at least one processor can determine a travel path passing through at least a portion of the area of ​​the liquid based on the information about the location of the area of ​​the liquid.

[0026] The information about the liquid includes information about the size of an area of ​​the liquid, and the at least one processor determines a driving path passing through a center point of the area if the size of the area is less than a threshold size, and identifies a polygon corresponding to the area based on the shape of the area of ​​the liquid if the size of the area exceeds the threshold size, and determines a driving path passing through a vertex closest to the robot cleaner among a plurality of vertices included in the polygon.

[0027] The at least one processor can identify a horizontal length of the region and a vertical length of the region based on the shape of the region of the liquid, and if the horizontal length and the vertical length are less than a preset threshold length, determine a travel path passing through the center point of the region.

[0028] The at least one processor determines the driving path passing through the line segment corresponding to the first length if the first length among the horizontal length and the vertical length exceeds a preset threshold length and the second length among the horizontal length and the vertical length is less than the preset threshold length,

[0029] If the horizontal length and the vertical length exceed a preset threshold length, the driving path passing through the endpoint closest to the robot cleaner among the two endpoints of the line segment corresponding to the first length is determined, and if the robot cleaner passes the endpoint, second information about the liquid is obtained through the at least one sensor, and a second driving path for cleaning the liquid can be determined based on the second information about the liquid.

[0030] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of specific embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0031] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a robot vacuum cleaner according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG. 2 is a drawing for explaining the operation of a robot vacuum cleaner according to one or more embodiments;

[0033] FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a method for obtaining information about a liquid according to one or more embodiments;

[0034] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a driving path of a robot cleaner based on information about the size of a liquid, according to one or more embodiments;

[0035] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are drawings for explaining a driving path of a robot cleaner determined based on information about the size of a liquid according to one or more embodiments;

[0036] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a driving path of a robot cleaner based on information about the shape of a liquid, according to one or more embodiments;

[0037] FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are drawings for explaining a driving path of a robot cleaner determined based on information about the shape of a liquid according to one or more embodiments;

[0038] FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method related to replacing wet brushes while performing reverse driving according to one or more embodiments;

[0039] FIG. 13 is a drawing showing in detail the configuration of a robot vacuum cleaner according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, and

[0040] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a robot vacuum cleaner according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0041] The present embodiments may be modified and have various embodiments, and some embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the scope to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that various modifications, equivalents, and / or alternatives of the embodiments of the present disclosure are included. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar components.

[0042] In describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a specific description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0043] Additionally, the following embodiments may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the technical concepts of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. Rather, these embodiments are provided to further faithfully and completely convey the technical concepts of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0044] The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the rights. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0045] In this disclosure, various expressions such as “has,” “can have,” “includes,” or “may include” indicate the presence of a corresponding feature (e.g., a component such as a number, function, operation, or part), and do not exclude the presence of additional features.

[0046] In this disclosure, expressions such as “A or B,” “at least one of A and / or B,” or “one or more of A or / and B” can include all possible combinations of the listed items. For example, “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” or “at least one of A or B” can all refer to (1) including at least one A, (2) including at least one B, or (3) including both at least one A and at least one B.

[0047] The expressions “first,” “second,” “first,” or “second,” etc., used in this disclosure can describe various components, regardless of order and / or importance, and are only used to distinguish one component from another, but do not limit the components.

[0048] When it is said that a component (e.g., a first component) is “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with / to” or “connected to” another component (e.g., a second component), it should be understood that said component may be directly coupled to said other component, or may be coupled via another component (e.g., a third component).

[0049] On the other hand, when it is said that a component (e.g., a first component) is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component (e.g., a second component), it can be understood that no other component (e.g., a third component) exists between said component and said other component.

[0050] The expression "configured to" as used in the present disclosure may be used interchangeably with, for example, "suitable for," "having the capacity to," "designed to," "adapted to," "made to," or "capable of." The term "configured to" may not necessarily mean only "specifically designed to" in terms of hardware.

[0051] Instead, in some contexts, the phrase "a device configured to" may mean that the device, in conjunction with other devices or components, is "capable of" performing A, B, and C. For example, the phrase "a processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C" may refer to a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing those operations, or a general-purpose processor (e.g., a CPU or application processor) that can perform those operations by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory device.

[0052] In the embodiments, a 'module' or 'part' performs at least one function or operation, and may be implemented as hardware or software, or as a combination of hardware and software. Furthermore, a plurality of 'modules' or 'parts' may be integrated into at least one module and implemented as at least one processor, except for a 'module' or 'part' that needs to be implemented as a specific hardware.

[0053] Meanwhile, the various elements and areas in the drawings are schematically drawn. Therefore, the technical concept of the present invention is not limited by the relative sizes or spacing depicted in the attached drawings.

[0054] Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail so that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains can easily implement the present disclosure.

[0055] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a robot cleaner (100) according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the robot cleaner (100) according to one or more embodiments. The following description will be made with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 together.

[0056] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the robot cleaner (100) may include at least one sensor (110), a wet brush (120), a driving unit (130), a memory (140), and a processor (150).

[0057] At least one sensor (110) can detect various information inside and outside the robot cleaner (100). The at least one sensor (110) may include an image sensor and an object detection sensor, and can detect various information about objects placed outside the robot cleaner (100), i.e., in the cleaning space.

[0058] The term "image sensor" is a general term for sensors that detect light and convert it into an image. That is, in the present disclosure, the term "image sensor" is used to mean a camera including an image sensor and a vision sensor that performs image processing based on the image sensor.

[0059] The term 'object detection sensor' is a general term for sensors that can recognize the presence of objects and the characteristics of objects placed in the environment surrounding a robot cleaner (100). The object detection sensor may include various types of sensors that can obtain information about objects by emitting light and receiving light reflected by the object. For example, the object detection sensor may include a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensor, a ToF (Time of Flight) sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, etc. The object detection sensor can obtain various information such as the distance between the robot cleaner (100) and the object, the size of the object, the shape of the object, the color of the object, etc.

[0060] The processor (150) can obtain information about the liquid present on the floor surface through at least one sensor (110). That is, in one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the object detected through at least one sensor (110) may be a liquid present on the floor surface among the foreign substances to be cleaned.

[0061] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may acquire an image of a floor surface existing on the floor surface through an image sensor. Then, the processor (150) may acquire information about a liquid existing on the floor surface by analyzing the image of the floor surface. The processor (150) may identify that a liquid exists on the floor surface based on the size, shape, color, etc. of an object included in the image of the floor surface, and may acquire information about the location, size, and shape of an area where the liquid is distributed on the floor surface, and may also acquire information about the amount of the liquid.

[0062] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may obtain information about a liquid present on the floor through an object detection sensor. The object detection sensor may detect the liquid as an object to be detected. That is, the object detection sensor may obtain various information, such as the distance between the liquid present on the floor and the robot cleaner (100), the size, shape, color, reflectivity, etc. of the liquid.

[0063] The processor (150) may also obtain information about the liquid by inputting an image of the floor surface to a trained neural network model. For example, the processor (150) may identify that liquid exists on the floor surface by inputting an image of the floor surface to a neural network model trained to identify the type of object included in the input image. Furthermore, the processor (150) may obtain information about the liquid by inputting an image of the floor surface to a neural network model trained to output information about the liquid included in the input image. The criteria (i.e., domain or class) by which the neural network model classifies the input image and the type of the neural network may be determined in various ways depending on the embodiment.

[0064] In the present disclosure, the term "liquid existing on the floor" is used as a general term to refer to all foreign substances having liquid properties among foreign substances existing on the floor, which is the cleaning space of the robot cleaner (100). Specifically, the liquid existing on the floor may be a foreign substance that cannot be sucked through the suction port of the robot cleaner (100), or may contaminate or cause malfunction of the suction port and multiple wheels, etc., if suction is attempted.

[0065] The 'state of matter' existing on the floor is not necessarily required to be liquid. Even if a foreign substance is currently present on the floor in a solid form, it may be a liquid that is subject to cleaning according to the present disclosure when it falls on the floor. Conversely, even if a foreign substance is currently present on the floor in a liquid form, it may be a solid when it falls on the floor. For example, the liquid existing on the floor may include various types of foreign substances, such as water, stains caused by drinks left on the floor for a certain period of time, traces of melted ice cream, etc.

[0066] In the present disclosure, the term "information about liquid" is used to collectively refer to information about liquid present on a floor surface. The information about liquid may include at least one of: information about the location of an area where liquid is distributed on the floor surface; information about the size of an area where liquid is distributed on the floor surface; information about the shape of an area where liquid is distributed on the floor surface; and information about the amount of liquid.

[0067] The various ways in which the processor (150) obtains information about the liquid through at least one sensor (110) are described in more detail in the description of the processor (150).

[0068] A 'wet brush (120)' refers to a brush that can clean a floor surface with water while it is wet, and may be referred to by terms such as 'mop' or 'wet mop'. That is, among the various types of brushes that may be included in a robot cleaner (100), any brush that can be used to perform wet cleaning may correspond to a wet brush (120) according to the present disclosure.

[0069] For example, the wet brush (120) may receive water from a user or a water tank, detach contaminants adsorbed on the floor surface while the water is wet, and sweep away the detached contaminants so that the suction port of the robot cleaner (100) can easily capture the detached contaminants. The operation of performing cleaning using the wet brush (120) may be briefly referred to as 'wet cleaning', and the operation of cleaning liquid using the wet brush (120) may also be referred to as 'liquid cleaning mode'.

[0070] FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of a robot cleaner (100) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the arrows in FIG. 2 indicate a portion of the travel path of the robot cleaner (100). FIGS. 5, 6, and 8 to 11 also illustrate the appearance of the robot cleaner (100) and a portion of the travel path in the same manner as FIG. 2.

[0071] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the wet brush (120) may have a circular shape and may have two wet brushes. The wet brush (120) may be configured to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the floor surface while performing wet cleaning on the floor surface. However, there are no particular limitations on the shape, number, and function of the wet brush (120) according to the present disclosure.

[0072] The wet brush (120) can be distinguished from the dry brush (160), which is a configuration that enables dry cleaning, and the 'dry brush (160)' refers to a brush that can clean the floor without getting water wet. For example, the dry brush (160) can sweep away contaminants such as dust placed on the floor, so that the suction port of the robot cleaner (100) can easily capture the contaminants. The operation of performing cleaning using the dry brush (160) can be simply referred to as 'dry cleaning', and the operation of performing cleaning using the dry brush (160) can also be referred to as 'normal cleaning mode' to distinguish it from the 'liquid cleaning mode'.

[0073] When the robot cleaner (100) includes both a dry brush (160) and a wet brush (120) and is implemented so as to be able to control the position of the wet brush (120), the robot cleaner (100) can perform cleaning without using the wet brush (120) when operating in dry mode, and can perform water cleaning using the wet brush (120) by automatically controlling the position of the wet brush (120) when operating in wet mode.

[0074] According to one or more embodiments, the wet brush (120) may face in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward, and may face in the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving backward.

[0075] Here, 'forward driving' means that the robot cleaner (100) drives so that the front of the robot cleaner (100) faces the destination, and 'backward driving' means that the robot cleaner (100) drives so that the rear of the robot cleaner (100) faces the destination. Here, the destination refers to an intermediate destination or a final destination on the driving path. In addition, in the present disclosure, the direction in which the wet brush (120) is arranged is defined as the 'rear' of the robot cleaner (100), and the direction opposite to the direction in which the wet brush (120) is arranged can be defined as the 'front' of the robot cleaner (100). The words 'front' and 'rear' can be replaced with terms such as 'front', 'rear', and 'front'.

[0076] As described above, forward driving means driving with the front of the robot cleaner (100) toward the destination, and thus, during forward driving, the wet brush (120) positioned at the rear of the robot cleaner (100) faces in the opposite direction to the direction in which the robot cleaner (100) is moving. In addition, as described above, backward driving means driving with the rear of the robot cleaner (100) toward the destination, and thus, during backward driving, the wet brush (120) positioned at the rear of the robot cleaner (100) faces in the direction in which the robot cleaner (100) is moving.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 2, a suction port, multiple wheels, and a wet brush (120) may be arranged on the lower surface of the robot cleaner (100). In addition, the wet brush (120) may be arranged at the rear of the suction port. As illustrated in image 210 of FIG. 2, when the robot cleaner (100) moves forward, the wet brush (120) may face backward in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100). On the other hand, as illustrated in image 230 of FIG. 2, when the robot cleaner (100) moves backward, the wet brush (120) may face forward in the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100).

[0078] The driving unit (130) can control the operation of the robot cleaner (100). The driving unit (130) can include a plurality of wheels and at least one motor, and at least one motor can include a suction motor, a brush control motor, a wheel motor, etc. At least one motor included in the driving unit (130) can be implemented as various types of motors, such as a DC (Direct Current) motor, an AC (Alternative Current) motor, and a BLDC (Brushless DC) motor.

[0079] A "suction motor" refers to a motor capable of generating suction pressure. When a control signal is received from the processor (150) and power is supplied from the power supply, the impeller can rotate by driving the suction motor. Suction pressure is generated by the rotation of the impeller, and air containing contaminants can be sucked into the suction port of the robot cleaner (100) by this suction pressure. As the speed of the suction motor increases, the suction pressure can increase.

[0080] A 'brush motor' refers to a motor capable of controlling the position and operation of at least one of a plurality of brushes included in a robot cleaner (100). For example, the processor (150) may control the brush motor so that the wet brush (120) rotates around an axis perpendicular to the floor surface while performing wet cleaning on the floor surface using the wet brush (120).

[0081] Additionally, the processor (150) may control the brush motor to lower the position of the wet brush (120) in order to clean the floor surface using the wet brush (120). Additionally, the processor (150) may control the brush motor to raise the position of the wet brush (120) in order to not clean the floor surface using the wet brush (120).

[0082] The 'wheel motor' can control the operation of the wheel included in the robot cleaner (100). The wheel motor can control the direction of movement and speed of the wheel included in the robot cleaner (100). When the robot cleaner (100) includes two wheels, a left wheel and a right wheel, the wheel motor can include a left wheel motor and a right wheel motor, and the left wheel motor and the right wheel motor can control the direction of rotation and speed of the left wheel and the right wheel, respectively.

[0083] At least one instruction regarding the robot cleaner (100) may be stored in the memory (140). In addition, an O / S (Operating System) for operating the robot cleaner (100) may be stored in the memory (140). In addition, various software programs or applications for operating the robot cleaner (100) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may be stored in the memory (140). In addition, the memory (140) may include a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory or a magnetic storage medium such as a hard disk.

[0084] The memory (140) may store various software modules for operating the robot cleaner (100) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, and the processor (150) may control the operation of the robot cleaner (100) by executing the various software modules stored in the memory (140). That is, the memory (140) is accessed by the processor (150), and data reading / recording / modifying / deleting / updating, etc. may be performed by the processor (150).

[0085] In the present disclosure, the term memory (140) may be used to mean memory (140), ROM, RAM in the processor (150), or a memory card (e.g., micro SD card, memory stick) mounted in the robot cleaner (100).

[0086] In one or more embodiments, the memory (140) may store information about liquid present on the floor, information about the travel path of the robot cleaner (100), data about a neural network model, and the like. In addition, various information for achieving the purpose of the present disclosure may be stored in the memory (140), and the information stored in the memory (140) may be updated as received from an external device or input by a user.

[0087] The processor (150) can control the overall operation of the robot cleaner (100). For example, the processor (150) can be connected to a configuration of the robot cleaner (100) including at least one sensor (110), a driving unit (130), and a memory (140), and can control the overall operation of the robot cleaner (100) by executing at least one instruction stored in the memory (140) as described above.

[0088] The processor (150) may be implemented in various ways. For example, the processor (150) may be implemented as one or more processors, such as at least one of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an embedded processor, a microprocessor, hardware control logic, a hardware finite state machine (FSM), and a digital signal processor (DSP). In the present disclosure, the term "processor (150)" may be used to mean a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), and a Micro Processor Unit (MPU).

[0089] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may acquire information about liquid present on the floor surface while performing forward driving, and perform cleaning of the liquid present on the floor surface by performing backward driving. Various embodiments implemented under the control of the processor (150) will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2.

[0090] The processor (150) can obtain information about a liquid existing on the floor through at least one sensor (110) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward. For example, the processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) so that the robot cleaner (100) can move forward. The processor (150) can also control the driving unit (130) so that the robot cleaner (100) can perform wet cleaning using the wet brush (120), and can control the driving unit (130) so that the robot cleaner (100) can perform dry cleaning using the dry brush (160). In addition, the processor (150) can obtain information about a liquid within a detection range of at least one sensor (110) through at least one sensor (110) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward.

[0091] Image 210 of Fig. 2 illustrates an operation in which the robot cleaner (100) performs forward movement. As illustrated in image 210, while the robot cleaner (100) performs forward movement, the wet brush (120) may face in a direction opposite to the direction in which the robot cleaner (100) is moving.

[0092] Image 220 of FIG. 2 illustrates a process of acquiring information about a liquid through at least one sensor (110) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward. As illustrated in image 220, at least one sensor (110) can acquire information about an object within a detection range in front of the robot cleaner (100) and can acquire information about a liquid existing within the detection range. However, the detection range by at least one sensor (110) is not necessarily limited to the front area of ​​the robot cleaner (100).

[0093] The processor (150) can determine a driving path for cleaning the liquid based on information about the liquid. The processor (150) can determine the driving path based on at least one of information about the location of the area where the liquid is distributed on the floor surface, information about the size of the area where the liquid is distributed on the floor surface, information about the shape of the area where the liquid is distributed on the floor surface, and information about the amount of the liquid.

[0094] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may determine a driving path for the robot cleaner (100) to pass through at least a portion of the area where the liquid is distributed based on information about the location of the area where the liquid is distributed. In other words, the processor (150) may determine a driving path for the robot cleaner (100) to pass through the area where the liquid is distributed, rather than avoiding the area where the liquid is distributed.

[0095] For example, the processor (150) may store information about the liquid in the form of a grid map as illustrated in image 220 of FIG. 2. The grid map of image 220 may include a plurality of grids corresponding to each location in the cleaning space, and may indicate whether an object exists at a location corresponding to each of the plurality of grids and the type of the object, etc. When information about the liquid is acquired as in the grid map of image 220, the processor (150) may determine a travel path to pass through at least one of the plurality of grids corresponding to the location of the liquid.

[0096] Whether to pass through any point at each location in the area where the liquid is distributed can be determined based on information about the size of the area where the liquid is distributed on the floor surface, information about the shape of the area where the liquid is distributed on the floor surface, etc.

[0097] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may identify whether the size of the area where the liquid is distributed is less than or equal to a threshold size based on information about the size of the area where the liquid is distributed. If the size of the area where the liquid is distributed is less than or equal to the threshold size as a result of the identification, the processor (150) may determine a travel path so that the robot cleaner (100) travels through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed. In one embodiment, if the size of the area where the liquid is distributed exceeds the threshold size, the processor (150) may determine a travel path based on information about the shape of the liquid distribution. A related embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

[0098] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may identify the horizontal length and the vertical length of the area where the liquid is distributed based on information about the shape of the area where the liquid is distributed. In addition, the processor (150) may identify whether the horizontal length and the vertical length of the area where the liquid is distributed are equal to or less than a preset threshold length. If the horizontal length and the vertical length are equal to or less than the threshold length as a result of the identification, the processor (150) may determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) passes through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed. In one embodiment, if at least one of the horizontal length and the vertical length is equal to or greater than the threshold length, the processor (150) may determine a driving path based on the shape of the liquid distribution. One or more embodiments related thereto will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11.

[0099] The processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) to cause the robot cleaner (100) to drive backwards along a driving path. That is, when a driving path for cleaning liquid is determined based on information about the liquid, the robot cleaner (100) can drive backwards along the determined driving path. Therefore, in the present disclosure, the term "driving path" can mean a backward driving path of the robot cleaner (100).

[0100] As described above, the processor (150) can determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) passes through at least a portion of the area where the liquid is distributed. However, in this case, if the robot cleaner (100) performs forward driving, contamination, performance degradation, or failure of multiple wheels, dry brushes (160), etc. may occur due to the liquid.

[0101] As described above, since backward driving refers to driving with the rear of the robot cleaner (100) facing the destination, the wet brush (120) arranged at the rear of the robot cleaner (100) faces the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100) while performing backward driving. In this case, in order to reduce the possibility of contamination, performance degradation, or malfunction of the plurality of wheels, dry brushes (160), etc., due to liquid, the processor (150) may control the driving unit (130) to perform backward driving when the robot cleaner (100) passes through at least a portion of the area where the liquid is distributed.

[0102] The processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) to cause the wet brush (120) to face the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100) in order to perform backward driving, and accordingly, the robot cleaner (100) can be rotated so that the wet brush (120) faces the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100). When the robot cleaner (100) is rotated so that the wet brush (120) faces the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100), the processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) so that the robot cleaner (100) performs backward driving according to a driving path determined based on information about the liquid.

[0103] Image 230 of FIG. 2 illustrates an operation in which the robot cleaner (100) performs a backward movement. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the robot cleaner (100) can rotate the robot cleaner (100) so that the wet brush (120) faces the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100) in order to perform the backward movement. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the angle at which the robot cleaner (100) rotates for the backward movement is 180 degrees, but it is of course possible that the angle at which the robot cleaner (100) rotates for the backward movement may vary depending on the current position of the robot cleaner (100) and the position on the driving path for the robot cleaner (100) to perform the backward movement.

[0104] When the robot cleaner (100) is rotated so that the wet brush (120) faces the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100), the detection range that at least one sensor (110) can detect may be limited to the opposite direction of the direction in which the robot cleaner (100) moves backward. That is, while the robot cleaner (100) performs backward driving, the processor (150) may not additionally detect information about the liquid through the at least one sensor (110). Therefore, the processor (150) may store information about the driving path in the memory (140) and control the driving unit (130) to perform backward driving based on the information about the driving path stored in the memory (140).

[0105] Depending on the embodiment, the detection range of at least one sensor (110) may be implemented to extend to the direction in which the robot cleaner (100) moves backwards, and in this case, the processor (150) can of course obtain information about the liquid through at least one sensor (110) even while the robot cleaner (100) is moving backwards.

[0106] According to one or more embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, when a liquid present on a floor surface is detected while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward, the wet brush (120) can clean the liquid by moving backward in the direction in which the robot cleaner (100) is moving, thereby cleaning the liquid on the floor surface in an effective and efficient manner.

[0107] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one or more embodiments related to a method for obtaining information about a liquid.

[0108] As described above, the processor (150) can obtain information about liquid present on the floor through at least one sensor (110) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward. The processor (150) can obtain an image of the floor surface present on the floor through an image sensor, and can obtain information about liquid present on the floor surface by analyzing the image of the floor surface. In addition, the processor (150) can obtain information about liquid present on the floor surface through an object detection sensor.

[0109] Information about a liquid may include information obtained not only through the information obtained through at least one sensor (110), but also information obtained based on information obtained through at least one sensor (110). For example, information about a liquid may include at least one of information about a location of an area where liquid is distributed on a floor surface, information about a size of an area where liquid is distributed on a floor surface, information about a shape of an area where liquid is distributed on a floor surface, and information about an amount of liquid. Hereinafter, one or more embodiments for obtaining information about various types of liquids based on information obtained through at least one sensor (110) will be described.

[0110] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may obtain information about the location of the area where the liquid is distributed. As illustrated in image 310 of FIG. 3, the processor (150) may obtain information about the location of the area where the liquid is distributed by identifying a rectangle (311) corresponding to the location of the area where the liquid is distributed.

[0111] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may detect an outline of an area where liquid is distributed. As illustrated in image 320 of FIG. 3, the processor (150) may detect an outline (321) of an area where liquid is distributed using various types of outline detection methods. For example, the outline detection methods may include various techniques such as a Canny-Edge Detector, a Sobel operator, a Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG), a Roberts Cross Operator, and the like.

[0112] Here, the Canny-Edge Detector may include the steps of applying a Gaussian filter to remove noise from the image, calculating the gradient of each pixel in the image to identify the point of greatest change in the image, examining the image based on the direction of the gradient to keep only the edges in the direction of the greatest gradient at each pixel and remove the rest, using two thresholds to distinguish between strong edges and weak edges, and finally generating a complete edge map by tracing the weak margins associated with the strong edges.

[0113] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may perform simplification on the detected outline to identify a polygon corresponding to the area where the liquid is distributed. As illustrated in image 330 of FIG. 3, the processor (150) may perform simplification on the detected outline (321) as illustrated in image 320 of FIG. 3 to identify a polygon (331) corresponding to the area where the liquid is distributed. For example, the simplification technique for the outline may include various techniques such as Ramer-Douglas-Peucker, Douglas-Peucker Algorithm, Visvalingam's Algorithm, etc.

[0114] Here, Ramer-Douglas-Peucker may include the steps of selecting a start point and an end point from a given outline (set of points), finding the farthest point among all points between the start point and the end point, splitting the outline into two subsets by a line segment containing the point if the distance to the farthest point is greater than a given threshold (precision), recursively repeating the above process for the two split subsets, and repeating until all subsets fall within the given precision.

[0115] The processor (150) can identify the horizontal and vertical lengths of the area where the liquid is distributed based on the information about the shape. Here, the first length among the horizontal and vertical lengths may be the distance between points having the longest distance among points included in the area where the liquid is distributed, and the second length among the horizontal and vertical lengths may be the distance between points having the longest distance among points included in the area where the liquid is distributed and which are perpendicular to the first length.

[0116] For example, if a rectangle (311) representing an area where liquid is distributed is detected, the horizontal length and the vertical length may be the horizontal length (312) and the vertical length (313) of image 310 of FIG. 3. If an outline (321) representing an area where liquid is distributed is detected, the horizontal length and the vertical length may be the horizontal length (322) and the vertical length (323) of image 320 of FIG. 3. If a polygon (331) representing an area where liquid is distributed is detected, the horizontal length and the vertical length may be the horizontal length (332) and the vertical length (333) of image 330 of FIG. 3. In addition, the horizontal length and the vertical length of an area where liquid is distributed may be determined according to various criteria.

[0117] The above describes in order the processes of identifying rectangles, outlines, and polygons corresponding to the locations of areas where liquid is distributed. These processes may be performed sequentially in the described order or independently.

[0118] In the above, one or more embodiments for obtaining information about a liquid have been described. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11, one or more embodiments related to determining a driving path of a robot cleaner (100) based on information about a liquid will be described.

[0119] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining one or more embodiments related to determining a driving path of a robot cleaner (100) based on information about the size of a liquid, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are drawings for explaining a driving path of a robot cleaner (100) determined based on information about the size of a liquid.

[0120] As described above, the processor (150) can obtain information about liquid present on the floor surface through at least one sensor (110) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward (S410).

[0121] The processor (150) can identify the size of the area where the liquid is distributed based on information about the size of the liquid (S420). For example, if a rectangle, outline, polygon, etc. representing the area where the liquid is distributed is detected as described above with reference to FIG. 3, the processor (150) can identify the size of the area where the liquid is distributed by calculating the size of the rectangle, outline, polygon, etc. representing the area where the liquid is distributed.

[0122] If the size of the area where the liquid is distributed is less than or equal to a critical size (S430-Y), the processor (150) can determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) passes through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed (S440). Here, the 'critical size' can be determined based on the size of the wet brush (120). For example, the critical size can be determined to be the same size as the size of the wet brush (120), and the critical size can be determined based on various other criteria. In addition, the critical size can be changed according to the settings of the user or developer.

[0123] For example, if the critical size is determined to be the same size as the size of the wet brush (120), and if the size of the area where the liquid is distributed is smaller than or equal to the size of the wet brush (120), there is a high possibility that the wet brush (120) will complete cleaning of the area where the liquid is distributed by passing through the area where the liquid is distributed only once. Therefore, the processor (150) may determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) passes through the center point (52) of the area where the liquid is distributed, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5. Here, the 'center point of the area where the liquid is distributed' may be the center of gravity of a shape representing the area where the liquid is distributed, and the center point may also be determined based on various other criteria. As shown in FIG. 5, a driving method in which the wet brush (120) passes through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed may be simply referred to as center-point-oriented driving.

[0124] In one embodiment, if the size of the area where the liquid is distributed exceeds a threshold size (S430-N), the processor (150) can identify a polygon corresponding to the area where the liquid is distributed based on information about the shape (S450), and determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) passes through one of the plurality of vertices included in the polygon that is closest to the robot cleaner (100) (S460).

[0125] For example, if the critical size is determined to be the same size as the size of the wet brush (120), and the size of the area where the liquid is distributed exceeds the size of the wet brush (120), it is unlikely that the wet brush (120) will complete cleaning of the area where the liquid is distributed by passing through the area where the liquid is distributed only once. Therefore, the processor (150) may determine a travel path so that the robot cleaner (100) travels by passing through one of the plurality of vertices included in the polygon (61) that is closest to the robot cleaner (100), as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6.

[0126] If the size of the area where the liquid is distributed exceeds the critical size, when the robot cleaner (100) drives through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed, liquid remains on both sides of the area where the robot cleaner (100) passed, making it difficult to efficiently clean the remaining liquid. On the other hand, when the robot cleaner (100) drives through one vertex included in the polygon corresponding to the area where the liquid is distributed, liquid remains on one side of the area where the robot cleaner (100) passed, making it possible to efficiently clean the remaining liquid.

[0127] The operation of the robot cleaner (100) after passing through one of the vertices included in the polygon that is closest to the robot cleaner (100) will be described later with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0128] FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining one or more embodiments related to determining a driving path of a robot cleaner (100) based on information about the shape of a liquid, and FIGS. 8 to 11 are drawings for explaining a driving path of a robot cleaner (100) determined based on information about the shape of a liquid.

[0129] As described above, the processor (150) can obtain information about liquid present on the floor surface through at least one sensor (110) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward (S710). In addition, the processor (150) can identify the horizontal and vertical lengths of the area where the liquid is distributed based on the information about the shape of the liquid (S720).

[0130] If both the horizontal length and the vertical length are less than or equal to a critical length (S730-Y), the processor (150) may determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) passes through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed (S740). Here, the 'critical length' may be determined according to the width of the wet brush (120). For example, the critical length may be determined to be the same length as the width of the wet brush (120) (82 in FIG. 8), and the critical size may also be determined based on various other criteria. In addition, the critical length may be changed according to the settings of the user or developer.

[0131] The meaning of determining a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) drives through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed has been described above with reference to FIG. 5. For example, if the critical length is determined to be the same length as the width of the wet brush (120), and if both the horizontal and vertical lengths are less than or equal to the critical length, there is a high possibility that the wet brush (120) will complete cleaning of the area where the liquid is distributed by passing through the area where the liquid is distributed only once. Accordingly, the processor (150) may determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) drives through the center point (52 of FIG. 5) of the area where the liquid is distributed (51 of FIG. 5), as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 5.

[0132] If one of the horizontal and vertical lengths is less than or equal to a critical length and the other exceeds the critical length (S750-N), the processor (150) can determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) passes through a line segment corresponding to the first length exceeding the critical length (S760).

[0133] As illustrated in FIG. 8, if the first length (83) among the horizontal and vertical lengths of the area (81) where the liquid is distributed exceeds the critical length (82), and the second length (84) among the horizontal and vertical lengths, which is different from the first length, is less than or equal to the critical length (82), the processor (150) may determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) drives through a line segment corresponding to the first length (83). In FIG. 8, the driving path (one-way arrow) of the robot cleaner (100) and the first length (83) are illustrated as being spaced apart from each other in order to distinguish them. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the driving method in which the wet brush (120) drives through the horizontal or vertical length of the area where the liquid is distributed may be simply referred to as 'linear driving' or 'long-axis driving'.

[0134] If both the horizontal length and the vertical length exceed the critical length (S750-Y), the processor (150) can determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) passes through one of the two endpoints of the line segment corresponding to the first length exceeding the critical length, which is the closest endpoint to the robot cleaner (100) (S770).

[0135] As illustrated in 910 of FIG. 9, if both the horizontal length (93) and the vertical length (94) of the area (91-1) where the liquid is distributed exceed the critical length (92), the processor (150) can determine a driving path so that the robot cleaner (100) drives through the identified one endpoint (96) among the two endpoints (95, 96) of the line segment corresponding to the first length (93) exceeding the critical length (92), since the horizontal length and the vertical length both exceed the critical length, if the robot cleaner (100) drives through the endpoint of the line segment corresponding to the first length exceeding the critical length, efficient cleaning can be achieved because liquid remains on one side of the area passed by the robot cleaner (100).

[0136] When the robot cleaner (100) passes through one identified end point, cleaning of the liquid remaining on one side of the area that the robot cleaner (100) passed through may be required. Accordingly, the processor (150) can again obtain information about the liquid existing on the floor surface through at least one sensor (110) (S780). Then, the processor (150) can again identify the horizontal and vertical lengths of the area where the liquid remaining on the floor surface is distributed based on the information about the shape of the liquid, and repeat the operations (S720 to S770) of determining the driving path of the robot cleaner (100) based on whether the horizontal length and / or vertical length are less than or equal to a threshold length.

[0137] For example, after the robot cleaner (100) passes through one end point (96) identified along the driving path of image 910 of FIG. 9, the processor (150) can obtain information about the liquid remaining on the floor surface, as shown in image 920 of FIG. 9, and identify the horizontal length (97) and vertical length (98) of the area (91-2) where the liquid remaining on the floor surface is distributed based on the information about the shape of the liquid.

[0138] In the example of FIG. 9, since both the horizontal length (97) and the vertical length (98) of the area (91-2) where the liquid is distributed exceed the critical length (92), the processor (150) can determine a travel path so that the robot cleaner (100) travels through one of the two endpoints (99) of the line segment corresponding to the first length (97) exceeding the critical length (92) and having the closest distance to the robot cleaner (100).

[0139] If the robot cleaner (100) drives through one end point (99) identified according to the driving path of image 920 of FIG. 9 and then repeats the operations of S720 to S770 to complete cleaning of the area (10) where the liquid is distributed, the driving path may be in a zigzag shape as shown in FIG. 10. Of course, if both the horizontal and vertical lengths of the area where the liquid is distributed are less than or equal to a threshold length at the time when information about the liquid present on the floor surface is acquired through at least one sensor (110), the processor (150) may cause the robot cleaner (100) to drive through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed and complete cleaning of the area where the liquid is distributed.

[0140] In some examples, the processor (150) may determine the driving path in a zigzag shape as shown in FIG. 11, rather than in a zigzag shape as shown in FIG. 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, if both the horizontal length (13) and the vertical length (14) of the area (11) where the liquid is distributed exceed the critical length (12), but the vertical length (14) is less than twice the critical length (12), the processor (150) is likely to complete cleaning of the area where the liquid is distributed by passing through the area (11) where the liquid is distributed twice. Therefore, in this case, the processor (150) may determine the driving path in a zigzag shape as shown by the arrows in FIG. 11.

[0141] Additionally, the processor (150) may determine a travel path based on the ratio of the horizontal length and vertical length of the area where the liquid is distributed. For example, the processor (150) may determine a travel path to travel in a zigzag pattern in a direction parallel to the horizontal length (13) based on the fact that the horizontal length (13) is longer than the vertical length (14) of the area where the liquid is distributed, as illustrated in FIG. 11.

[0142] As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the driving method in which the wet brush (120) passes through the area where the liquid is distributed in a zigzag pattern can be briefly referred to as 'zigzag driving'.

[0143] In the above, various embodiments in which the robot cleaner (100) determines a driving path based on information about the liquid have been described, but the above-described embodiments are all exemplary and the present disclosure is not limited by the above-described embodiments.

[0144] As described above, when a driving path is determined, information about the determined driving path can be stored in the memory (140), and the information about the driving path stored in the memory (140) can be used when determining the driving path of the robot cleaner (100) after the driving path is stored in the memory (140), or can be used as learning data for a neural network model trained to obtain information about a liquid or a neural network model trained to obtain information about a driving path.

[0145] Even if the robot cleaner performs liquid cleaning while moving along the determined driving path as described above, there is a possibility that the liquid cleaning may not be completed. For example, even if both the horizontal and vertical lengths are identified as being below a critical length, and the robot cleaner (100) thus moves past the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed, the liquid cleaning may not be completed depending on the amount and properties of the liquid. Furthermore, whether the liquid cleaning is completed may vary depending on the value set for the critical length, the moisture absorption capacity of the wet brush (120), etc.

[0146] Accordingly, the processor (150) can, of course, repeat the operations of the embodiments described above after performing liquid cleaning while moving along the determined driving path as described above. In addition, when the liquid cleaning is completed according to the embodiments described above, the processor (150) can subsequently perform dry or wet cleaning of an area where no liquid is distributed.

[0147] In the above, only the process of determining the driving path of the robot cleaner (100) has been described, but as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the robot cleaner (100) can perform cleaning of liquid while the wet brush (120) moves backward in the direction of travel of the robot cleaner (100) according to the determined driving path. That is, when the driving path of the robot cleaner (100) is determined as described above, the processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) so that the robot cleaner (100) performs backward driving according to the determined driving path. In other words, the driving path determined according to the above-described embodiments may mean a backward driving path of the robot cleaner (100).

[0148] According to one or more embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11, the robot cleaner (100) can determine a backward travel path for cleaning liquid by considering the size, shape, etc. of the liquid, thereby cleaning the liquid on the floor in a more effective and efficient manner.

[0149] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating one or more embodiments related to replacing a wet brush (120) while performing reverse driving.

[0150] Referring to FIG. 12, the processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) to cause the robot cleaner (100) to drive backward along the driving path (S1210). Accordingly, the robot cleaner (100) can perform wet cleaning on liquid distributed on the floor while driving backward. While the robot cleaner (100) drives backward along the driving path, the processor (150) can determine whether to replace the wet brush (120) based on information about the amount of liquid (S1220).

[0151] Here, 'replacement of the wet brush (120)' may include not only replacing the wet brush (120) itself with another wet brush (120), but also changing the state of the wet brush (120) to facilitate cleaning with liquid by removing moisture from the same wet brush (120). In addition, replacement of the wet brush (120) may be automatically performed by the robot cleaner (100) and an external device, or may be manually performed by a user.

[0152] The processor (150) can obtain information about the amount of liquid based on at least one of the size of the area where the liquid is distributed and the height of the area where the liquid is distributed. For example, the processor (150) can obtain information about the amount of remaining liquid after performing reverse driving along a driving path as illustrated in FIG. 9, and determine whether to replace the wet brush (120) based on the information about the amount of liquid before performing reverse driving along a driving path as illustrated in FIG. 10.

[0153] In Fig. 12, an example is described in which the robot cleaner (100) determines whether to replace the wet brush (120) while driving backward along the driving path, but the processor (150) may also determine the timing of replacing the wet brush (120) after obtaining information on the amount of liquid before driving backward.

[0154] For example, the robot vacuum cleaner (100) may include a moisture sensor capable of measuring the amount of moisture contained in the wet brush (120). The processor (150) may also determine whether to replace the wet brush (120) based on the amount of moisture obtained through the moisture sensor.

[0155] If it is not determined to replace the wet brush (120) (S1230-N), the processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) so that the robot cleaner (100) performs reverse driving according to the driving path (S1210). In other words, if it is not determined to replace the wet brush (120), the robot cleaner (100) can continue to drive backward according to the predetermined driving path.

[0156] If it is determined to replace the wet brush (120) (S1230-Y), the processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) to move the robot cleaner (100) to a preset location (S1240). Here, the preset location may be the location of an external device (i.e., a charging station) that performs charging of the robot cleaner (100), or may also be a location designated by the user.

[0157] When the robot cleaner (100) moves to a preset location, the wet brush (120) can be replaced by the user. In addition, if an external device that performs charging of the robot cleaner (100) is implemented to be able to replace the wet brush (120), the wet brush (120) can also be replaced by the external device.

[0158] When the wet brush (120) is replaced (S1250), the processor (150) can control the driving unit (130) to cause the robot cleaner (100) to drive backward along the driving path (S1210). In other words, when the replacement of the wet brush (120) is completed, the robot cleaner (100) can continue driving backward along the predetermined driving path.

[0159] Meanwhile, as described above, replacing the wet brush (120) may include not only replacing the wet brush (120) itself with another wet brush (120), but also changing the state of the wet brush (120) to facilitate cleaning with liquid by removing moisture from the same wet brush (120). For example, when the robot cleaner (100) moves to a preset position, moisture contained in the wet brush (120) may be removed by the user. In addition, if an external device that performs charging of the robot cleaner (100) is implemented to be able to remove moisture from the wet brush (120), moisture contained in the wet brush (120) may also be removed by the external device.

[0160] When it is determined that the wet brush (120) needs to be replaced, the processor (150) may provide a notification to the user to inform them that the wet brush (120) needs to be replaced (or moisture removed from the wet brush (120)). Here, the notification may be provided to the robot cleaner (100), an external device, or the user terminal, and the method of providing the notification may be various, such as text or voice.

[0161] According to one or more embodiments described above with reference to FIG. 12, the robot cleaner (100) can determine whether to replace the wet brush (120) (or remove moisture from the wet brush (120)) by considering the amount of liquid present on the floor surface, thereby cleaning the liquid on the floor surface in a more effective and efficient manner.

[0162] FIG. 13 is a drawing showing in detail the configuration of a robot vacuum cleaner (100) according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0163] As illustrated in FIG. 13, the robot cleaner (100) may further include at least one sensor (110), a wet brush (120), a driving unit (130), a memory (140), and a processor (150), as well as a dry brush (160), a communication unit (170), an input unit (180), and an output unit (190). However, the configurations illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 13 are merely exemplary, and it is to be understood that new configurations may be added or some configurations may be omitted in addition to the configurations illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 13 when implementing the present disclosure.

[0164] A dry brush (160) refers to a brush that can clean a floor surface without getting wet. The dry brush (160) can sweep away contaminants such as dust placed on the floor surface, allowing the suction port of the robot cleaner (100) to easily capture the contaminants. The operation of performing cleaning using a dry brush (160) can be simply referred to as "dry cleaning."

[0165] When the robot cleaner (100) includes both a dry brush (160) and a wet brush (120) and is implemented so as to be able to control the position of the wet brush (120), the robot cleaner (100) can perform cleaning without using the wet brush (120) when operating in dry mode, and can perform water cleaning using the wet brush (120) by automatically controlling the position of the wet brush (120) when operating in wet mode.

[0166] The communication unit (170) includes a circuit and can perform communication with an external device. For example, the processor (150) can receive various data or information from an external device connected via the communication unit (170) and can also transmit various data or information to the external device.

[0167] The communication unit (170) may include at least one of a WiFi module, a Bluetooth module, a wireless communication module, an NFC module, and an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) module. The WiFi module and the Bluetooth module may each perform communication in the WiFi or Bluetooth manner. When using a WiFi module or a Bluetooth module, various connection information, such as an SSID, may be first transmitted and received, and then communication may be established using this, after which various pieces of information may be transmitted and received.

[0168] In addition, the wireless communication module can perform communication according to various communication standards such as IEEE, Zigbee, 3G (3rd Generation), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), LTE (Long Term Evolution), 5G (5th Generation), etc. And, the NFC module can perform communication in the NFC (Near Field Communication) method using the 13.56MHz band among various RF-ID frequency bands such as 135kHz, 13.56MHz, 433MHz, 860~960MHz, 2.45GHz, etc. In addition, the UWB module can accurately measure ToA (Time of Arrival), which is the time it takes for a pulse to reach a target, and AoA (Ange of Arrival), which is the pulse arrival angle at the transmitting device, through communication between UWB antennas, and accordingly, precise distance and location recognition is possible within an error range of several tens of centimeters indoors.

[0169] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may control the communication unit (170) to transmit at least some of the following information to an external device (e.g., a user terminal): information about the liquid, information about the travel route, and information indicating that it has been decided to replace the wet brush (120) (e.g., a notification to guide the user to replace the wet brush (120) or remove moisture from the wet brush (120). In addition, the processor (150) may control the communication unit (170) to transmit an image of the liquid to a server providing a neural network model, thereby obtaining information about the liquid from the server.

[0170] The input unit (180) includes a circuit, and the processor (150) can receive a user command to control the operation of the robot cleaner (100) through the input unit (180). For example, the input unit (180) can be configured with components such as a microphone, a camera, and a remote control signal receiving unit. In addition, the input unit (180) can also be implemented in a form included in a display as a touch screen. In one embodiment, the microphone can receive a voice signal and convert the received voice signal into an electrical signal.

[0171] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may receive user input for starting / stopping / ending a cleaning operation through the input unit (180), and may receive various types of user inputs, such as user input for setting / changing a driving path, user input for setting a position for replacing a wet brush (120), etc.

[0172] The output unit (190) includes a circuit, and the processor (150) can output various functions that the robot cleaner (100) can perform through the output unit (190). In addition, the output unit (190) can include at least one of a display, a speaker, and an indicator.

[0173] The display can output image data under the control of the processor (150). The display can output an image previously stored in the memory (140) under the control of the processor (150). A display according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure can also display a user interface stored in the memory (140). The display can be implemented as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display Panel), an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes), etc., and in some cases, the display can also be implemented as a flexible display, a transparent display, etc. However, the display according to the present disclosure is not limited to a specific type.

[0174] The speaker can output audio data under the control of the processor (150). The indicator can be turned on under the control of the processor (150). For example, the indicator can be turned on in various colors under the control of the processor (150). For example, the indicator can be implemented as a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display panel (LCD), a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD), etc., but is not limited thereto.

[0175] In one or more embodiments, the processor (150) may output a notification via the output unit (190) to indicate that the wet brush (120) needs to be replaced or that moisture from the wet brush (120) needs to be removed. For example, the processor (150) may control a display to display a message or user interface to indicate that the wet brush (120) needs to be replaced or that moisture from the wet brush (120) needs to be removed. In addition, the processor (150) may control a speaker to output a voice to guide that the wet brush (120) needs to be replaced or that moisture from the wet brush (120) needs to be removed. In addition, the processor (150) may output information about the liquid, information about the driving route, etc. via the output unit (190).

[0176] FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a robot vacuum cleaner (100) according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0177] As illustrated in FIG. 14, the robot cleaner (100) can obtain information about liquid present on the floor surface through at least one sensor (110) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward (S1410).

[0178] The robot cleaner (100) can control the robot cleaner (100) to perform forward driving. The robot cleaner (100) can also control the robot cleaner (100) to perform wet cleaning using a wet brush (120) while the robot cleaner (100) performs forward driving, and can control the robot cleaner (100) to perform dry cleaning using a dry brush (160). In addition, the robot cleaner (100) can obtain information about liquid while the robot cleaner (100) performs forward driving.

[0179] The robot cleaner (100) can determine a driving path for cleaning the liquid based on information about the liquid (S1420). The robot cleaner (100) can determine the driving path based on at least one of information about the location of the area where the liquid is distributed on the floor, information about the size of the area where the liquid is distributed on the floor, information about the shape of the area where the liquid is distributed on the floor, and information about the amount of the liquid.

[0180] In one or more embodiments, the robot cleaner (100) may determine a driving path such that the robot cleaner (100) passes through at least a portion of the area where the liquid is distributed based on information about the location of the area where the liquid is distributed. In other words, the robot cleaner (100) may determine a driving path such that the robot cleaner (100) passes through the area where the liquid is distributed, rather than avoiding the area where the liquid is distributed.

[0181] In one or more embodiments, the robot cleaner (100) may identify whether the size of the area where the liquid is distributed is less than or equal to a threshold size based on information about the size of the area where the liquid is distributed. If the size of the area where the liquid is distributed is less than or equal to the threshold size as a result of the identification, the robot cleaner (100) may determine a travel path such that the robot cleaner (100) travels through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed. Conversely, if the size of the area where the liquid is distributed exceeds the threshold size, the robot cleaner (100) may determine a travel path based on information about the shape of the liquid distribution.

[0182] In one or more embodiments, the robot cleaner (100) can identify the horizontal length and the vertical length of the area where the liquid is distributed based on information about the shape of the area where the liquid is distributed. In addition, the robot cleaner (100) can identify whether the horizontal length and the vertical length of the area where the liquid is distributed are equal to or less than a preset threshold length. If the horizontal length and the vertical length are equal to or less than the threshold length as a result of the identification, the robot cleaner (100) can determine a travel path so as to travel through the center point of the area where the liquid is distributed. Conversely, if at least one of the horizontal length and the vertical length is equal to or greater than the threshold length, the robot cleaner (100) can determine a travel path based on the shape of the liquid distribution.

[0183] The robot cleaner (100) can control the robot cleaner (100) to drive backwards according to the driving path (S1430). As described above, driving backwards means driving so that the rear of the robot cleaner (100) faces the destination, and thus, while driving backwards, the wet brush (120) arranged at the rear of the robot cleaner (100) faces the direction in which the robot cleaner (100) is moving. In this case, in order to reduce the possibility of contamination, performance degradation, or malfunction of the multiple wheels, dry brushes (160), etc. due to liquid, the robot cleaner (100) can control the robot cleaner (100) to drive backwards when the robot cleaner (100) passes through at least a portion of an area where liquid is distributed.

[0184] In order to perform backward driving, the robot cleaner (100) can control the driving unit (130) so that the wet brush (120) faces the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100), and accordingly, the robot cleaner (100) can be rotated so that the wet brush (120) faces the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100). When the robot cleaner (100) is rotated so that the wet brush (120) faces the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100), the robot cleaner (100) can control the driving unit (130) so that the robot cleaner (100) performs backward driving according to a driving path determined based on information about the liquid.

[0185] The wet brush (120) may face in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving forward, and may face in the moving direction of the robot cleaner (100) while the robot cleaner (100) is moving backward.

[0186] The control method of the robot cleaner (100) according to the above-described embodiment may be implemented as a program and provided to the robot cleaner (100). The program including the control method of the robot cleaner (100) may be stored and provided in a non-transitory computer readable medium.

[0187] In a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including a program for executing a method for controlling a robot cleaner (100) including a wet brush (120), the method for controlling the robot cleaner (100) may include a step of obtaining information about a liquid existing on a floor surface through at least one sensor (110) while the robot cleaner (100) performs forward driving, a step of determining a driving path for cleaning the liquid based on the information about the liquid, and a step of controlling the robot cleaner (100) so that the robot cleaner (100) performs backward driving according to the driving path, wherein the wet brush (120) may face in a direction opposite to a direction of movement of the robot cleaner (100) while the forward driving is performed, and may face in a direction of movement of the robot cleaner (100) while the backward driving is performed.

[0188] In the above, the control method of the robot cleaner (100) and the computer-readable recording medium including the program for executing the control method of the robot cleaner (100) have been briefly described, but this is only to omit redundant description, and various embodiments of the robot cleaner (100) can of course also be applied to the control method of the robot cleaner (100) and the computer-readable recording medium including the program for executing the control method of the robot cleaner (100).

[0189] The artificial intelligence-related functions according to the present disclosure can be operated through the processor (150) and memory (140) of the robot vacuum cleaner (100).

[0190] The processor (150) may include one or more processors (150). At this time, the one or more processors (150) may include at least one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphic Processing Unit), and an NPU (Neural Processing Unit), but is not limited to the examples of the processors (150) described above.

[0191] The CPU is a general-purpose processor (150) capable of performing not only general calculations but also artificial intelligence calculations. Its multi-layer cache structure allows for the efficient execution of complex programs. The CPU is advantageous in a serial processing method, enabling organic linking of previous and subsequent calculation results through sequential calculations. The general-purpose processor (150) is not limited to the examples described above, except in cases where it is specifically referred to as a CPU.

[0192] A GPU is a processor (150) for large-scale calculations such as floating point calculations used in graphics processing, and can perform large-scale calculations in parallel by integrating a large number of cores. Compared to a CPU, a GPU may be advantageous in parallel processing methods such as convolution operations. In addition, a GPU may be used as a co-processor (150) to supplement the functions of a CPU. The processor (150) for large-scale calculations is not limited to the above-described examples, except in cases where it is specified as a GPU as described above.

[0193] An NPU is a processor (150) specialized in artificial intelligence operations using an artificial neural network, and each layer constituting the artificial neural network can be implemented with hardware (e.g., silicon). At this time, since the NPU is designed specifically according to the required specifications of the company, it has a lower degree of freedom compared to a CPU or GPU, but it can efficiently process the artificial intelligence operations requested by the company. As a processor (150) specialized in artificial intelligence operations, the NPU can be implemented in various forms such as a Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), an Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU), a Vision Processing Unit (VPU), etc. The artificial intelligence processor (150) is not limited to the above-described examples, except in cases where it is specified as the above-described NPU.

[0194] Additionally, one or more processors (150) may be implemented as a System on Chip (SoC). In this case, the SoC may further include, in addition to one or more processors (150), a memory (140), and a network interface such as a bus for data communication between the processor (150) and the memory (140).

[0195] When a plurality of processors (150) are included in a SoC (System on Chip) included in a robot cleaner (100), the robot cleaner (100) can perform operations related to artificial intelligence (e.g., operations related to learning or inference of an artificial intelligence model) by using some of the plurality of processors (150). For example, the robot cleaner (100) can perform operations related to artificial intelligence by using at least one of a GPU, an NPU, a VPU, a TPU, and a hardware accelerator specialized in artificial intelligence operations such as convolution operations and matrix multiplication operations among the plurality of processors (150). However, this is merely an example, and it is of course possible to process operations related to artificial intelligence by using a CPU or a general-purpose processor (150).

[0196] In addition, the robot cleaner (100) can perform calculations for functions related to artificial intelligence by utilizing multiple cores (e.g., dual cores, quad cores, etc.) included in a single processor (150). The robot cleaner (100) can perform artificial intelligence calculations, such as convolution operations and matrix multiplication operations, in parallel by utilizing multiple cores included in the processor (150).

[0197] One or more processors (150) are controlled to process input data according to predefined operation rules or artificial intelligence models stored in memory (140). The predefined operation rules or artificial intelligence models are characterized by being created through learning.

[0198] Here, "created through learning" means that a predefined set of behavioral rules or an AI model with desired characteristics is created by applying a learning algorithm to a large number of learning data. This learning may be performed on the device itself, where the AI ​​according to the present disclosure is implemented, or through a separate server / system.

[0199] An artificial intelligence model may include multiple neural network layers. At least one layer has at least one weight value and performs its operation through the operation result of the previous layer and at least one defined operation. Examples of neural networks include a convolutional neural network (CNN), a deep neural network (DNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), deep Q-networks, and a transformer. The neural networks in the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described examples unless otherwise specified.

[0200] A learning algorithm is a method for training a target device (e.g., a robot) using a large amount of learning data, enabling the target device to make decisions or predictions on its own. Examples of learning algorithms include supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning. Unless otherwise specified, the learning algorithms in this disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned examples.

[0201] A device-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, the term "non-transitory storage medium" simply means a tangible device that does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves). This term does not distinguish between cases where data is permanently stored in the storage medium and cases where data is temporarily stored. For example, a "non-transitory storage medium" may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

[0202] According to one or more embodiments, the methods according to the various embodiments disclosed in the present document may be provided as included in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a commodity between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) via an application store (e.g., Play Store™) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product (e.g., downloadable app) may be temporarily stored or temporarily generated in a machine-readable storage medium, such as a memory (140) of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0203] Each of the components (e.g., modules or programs) according to the various embodiments of the present disclosure as described above may be composed of a single or multiple entities, and some of the sub-components described above may be omitted, or other sub-components may be further included in the various embodiments. Alternatively or additionally, some components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single entity, which may perform the same or similar functions as those performed by each of the respective components prior to integration.

[0204] According to various embodiments, operations performed by a module, program or other component may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively or heuristically, or at least some operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or other operations may be added.

[0205] Meanwhile, the terms "part" or "module" used in the present disclosure include units composed of hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as logic, logic block, component, or circuit. A "part" or "module" may be an integrally composed component, a minimum unit performing one or more functions, or a portion thereof. For example, a module may be composed of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0206] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as software including commands stored in a machine-readable storage medium that can be read by a machine (e.g., a computer). The device is a device that can call commands stored in the storage medium and operate according to the called commands, and may include an electronic device (e.g., a robot vacuum cleaner (100)) according to the disclosed embodiments.

[0207] When the above instruction is executed by the processor, the processor may perform the function corresponding to the instruction directly or by using other components under the control of the processor. The instruction may include code generated or executed by a compiler or interpreter.

[0208] Although the above has illustrated and described preferred exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from the gist of the present disclosure, and such modifications should not be understood individually from the technical idea or prospect of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. In robot vacuum cleaners, At least one sensor; wet brush; drive unit; At least one memory storing at least one instruction; and At least one processor executing at least one instruction; The above processor, While the robot cleaner is moving forward, information about liquid present on the floor is obtained through at least one sensor, Based on the information about the liquid, a driving path for cleaning the liquid is determined, The driving unit is controlled so that the robot cleaner moves backward along the driving path. The above wet brush, A robot cleaner facing in a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the robot cleaner when the forward driving is performed, and facing in the direction of travel of the robot cleaner when the backward driving is performed.

2. In paragraph 1, At least one processor of the above, storing information about the above driving route in at least one memory, A robot cleaner that controls the driving unit to perform the reverse driving based on information about the driving path stored in at least one memory.

3. In paragraph 1, A robot cleaner wherein the information about the liquid includes at least one of information about the location of the area of the liquid on the floor surface, information about the size of the area of the liquid, information about the shape of the area of the liquid, and information about the amount of the liquid.

4. In paragraph 3, At least one processor of the above, A robot cleaner, wherein the robot cleaner determines the driving path so as to pass through at least a portion of the area of the liquid, based on information about the location of the area of the liquid.

5. In paragraph 4, At least one processor of the above, Based on information about the size of the area of the liquid, identifying the size of the area, If the size of the above area is less than or equal to the critical size, the driving path is determined to drive through the center point of the above area, A robot cleaner that identifies a polygon corresponding to the area based on information about the shape when the size of the area exceeds the threshold size, and determines the driving path to pass through the vertex that is closest to the robot cleaner among a plurality of vertices included in the polygon.

6. In paragraph 5, At least one processor of the above, Based on the information about the shape of the region of the liquid, the outline of the region is detected, A robot cleaner that identifies the polygon corresponding to the area by performing simplification on the detected outline.

7. In paragraph 6, At least one processor of the above, Identifying the horizontal length of the region and the vertical length of the region based on information about the shape of the region of the liquid, A robot cleaner that determines the driving path to pass through the center point of the area if the horizontal length and the vertical length are less than or equal to a preset threshold length.

8. In paragraph 7, At least one processor of the above, A robot cleaner that determines the driving path to pass through a line segment corresponding to the first length when a first length among the horizontal length and the vertical length exceeds the preset threshold length and a second length among the horizontal length and the vertical length is less than or equal to the preset threshold length.

9. In paragraph 8, At least one processor of the above, If the horizontal length and the vertical length exceed the preset threshold length, the driving path is determined to pass through the endpoint with the closest distance to the robot cleaner among the two endpoints of the line segment corresponding to the first length, A robot cleaner that obtains second information about the liquid through the at least one sensor when the robot cleaner passes the endpoint.

10. In paragraph 9, At least one processor of the above, While the robot cleaner is performing the reverse driving along the driving path, it is determined whether to replace the wet brush based on the information about the amount of the liquid, When it is decided to replace the above wet brush, the driving unit is controlled so that the robot cleaner moves to a preset position. A robot cleaner that controls the driving unit to perform backward driving along the driving path when the wet brush is replaced.

11. In paragraph 1, The above robot vacuum cleaner, including the Department of Communications; At least one processor of the above, A robot cleaner that controls the communication unit to transmit at least some of the information about the liquid, information about the driving path, and information indicating whether the wet brush needs to be replaced to an external device.

12. A method for controlling a robot vacuum cleaner including a wet brush, A step of obtaining information on liquid existing on the floor through at least one sensor while the robot cleaner is moving forward; A step of determining a driving path for cleaning the liquid based on information about the liquid; and A step of controlling the robot cleaner so that the robot cleaner performs backward driving along the driving path; The above wet brush, A control method for a robot cleaner facing in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the robot cleaner when the forward driving is performed, and facing in the direction of movement of the robot cleaner when the backward driving is performed.

13. In paragraph 12, The control method of the above robot vacuum cleaner is: A step of storing information about the driving route; further comprising: The steps for controlling the above robot vacuum cleaner are: A method for controlling a robot cleaner, comprising: a step of controlling the robot cleaner to perform the reverse driving based on information about the stored driving path; 14. In paragraph 12, A method for controlling a robot cleaner, wherein the information about the liquid includes at least one of information about the location of the area of the liquid on the floor, information about the size of the area of the liquid, information about the shape of the area of the liquid, and information about the amount of the liquid.

15. In paragraph 14, The step of determining the above driving route is: A method for controlling a robot cleaner, comprising: a step of determining a driving path so as to pass through at least a portion of an area where the liquid is distributed, based on information about a location of an area where the liquid is distributed;

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