Access Point Sensing for Safe High-Speed Mobile Robot Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobile robotic systems face challenges in efficiently and safely navigating and operating in environments with humans and other robots due to limitations in localization, communication, and integration of mobile bases and manipulators, leading to suboptimal speeds and inefficient task performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing access point devices at fixed locations as nodes in a wireless local area network to provide network coverage, facilitate localization, and enhance safety monitoring, using signaling components like RF, RADAR, LIDAR, and cameras to track entities of interest, and integrating these with mobile robots for improved coordination and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If mobile robots operate at higher speeds to improve productivity, then productivity increases, but safety risks increase due to limited localization and communication capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the environment into multiple zones with different safety levels and robot speed limits. Access point devices are distributed throughout the environment, each managing a specific zone. The mobile robot base is segmented into multiple functional modules (manipulator, locomotion system, sensors) that can be independently controlled. This segmentation allows the robot to operate at high speeds in safe zones while slowing down or stopping in zones with humans or other robots, thus maintaining both high productivity and safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where access point devices constantly monitor robot positions, human positions, and environmental conditions. This feedback is transmitted to the controller which adjusts robot speed and operation in real-time. The controller receives feedback from sensors on the robot base and manipulator, and from access point devices in the environment, enabling dynamic speed adjustment to maintain safety while maximizing productivity.
2Reliability
If physical fixed guards and sensors are used to ensure safety, then safety improves, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces physical fixed guards (mechanical fencing) with virtual guards created through software-based geofencing and zone management. Instead of physical barriers, the system uses wireless communication signals and sensor data to define safe operating zones. This substitution dramatically reduces device complexity and space requirements while maintaining or improving safety through more flexible and reconfigurable virtual boundaries.
Solution Approach 2:
Access point devices serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide wireless network access, track robot positions, monitor human positions, define safety zones, and communicate with the controller. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated safety systems, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining comprehensive safety monitoring and control capabilities.
3Productivity
If fleets of mobile robots are deployed to improve productivity, then productivity increases, but coordination and communication challenges increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the control functions for multiple robots into a single centralized controller that manages the entire fleet. Access point devices serve as intermediate nodes that coordinate communication between the controller and multiple robots. This merging approach allows the system to manage fleet coordination through a unified control architecture, reducing the complexity that would arise from distributed peer-to-peer communication between robots while maintaining high productivity through coordinated multi-robot operations.
4Reliability
If access point devices are positioned in fixed locations to provide network coverage, then communication reliability improves, but adaptability to dynamic environments decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic zone definitions and dynamic speed limits that can be adjusted in real-time based on environmental conditions, robot positions, and human positions. While access point devices are physically fixed to provide stable network coverage, the virtual safety zones and operational parameters they enforce are highly dynamic and adaptable. The controller can reconfigure zones and speed limits on-the-fly without moving physical infrastructure, thus maintaining both reliable network coverage and environmental adaptability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the safety and efficiency of mobile robotic operations by enabling precise localization, improved communication, and dynamic task performance, allowing robots to operate at higher speeds while ensuring safety by detecting and responding to humans and other robots in the environment.
Implementation Method 1
a radio configured to emit radio waves that enable a plurality of wireless devices in an environment of the access point device to wirelessly access the wired network
Implementation Method 2
the at least one signaling component includes a RADAR system and/or a LIDAR system configured to sense a presence of mobile objects in the environment
Implementation Method 3
the at least one signaling component includes a RADAR system and/or a LIDAR system configured to sense a presence of mobile objects in the environment
Implementation Method 4
the at least one signaling component includes a camera module configured to capture information in the environment of the access point device
Implementation Method 5
the at least one signaling component includes a microphone configured to detect sound waves emitted by one or more objects in the environment
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for implementing signaling in access point devices is described. An access point device may include a network interface configured to be coupled to a wired network, a radio configured to emit radio waves that enable a plurality of wireless devices in an environment of the access point device to wirelessly access the wired network, and at least one signaling component, wherein the at least one signaling component is configured to transmit and/or receive signals, wherein the signals are different from the radio waves emitted from the radio.