AMR Resource Access Control Using Real-Time Entity Availability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in managing autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in changing facilities, particularly in maintaining exclusive ownership of entities like locations and resources, as the state of both the facility and AMRs is constantly changing, leading to difficulties in agreeing on ownership and access control.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising industrial controllers coupled with presence detectors that communicate entity availability to a management system, allowing for real-time registration and selective granting of temporary, exclusive access to AMRs, ensuring that only one AMR has access to a location at a time by denying access when the entity is occupied and releasing access when the AMR completes its task.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a management system grants exclusive access to entities in a dynamic environment, then resource ownership is maintained, but system complexity increases due to constant state changes and access coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an access control module as an intermediary between industrial controllers and AMRs. This module manages entity availability states and coordinates access requests, acting as a mediator that simplifies the interaction complexity while maintaining reliable resource ownership through centralized state management
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically updates entity availability states based on real-time conditions in the facility. The access control module responds to state changes from industrial controllers and adjusts access permissions accordingly, allowing the system to adapt to constant environmental changes while maintaining organized control
2Measurement precision
If the system tracks real-time state of entities and AMRs, then access control accuracy is improved, but information processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The access control module extracts and processes only the critical availability state information from industrial controllers, rather than handling all data generated in the system. This selective information extraction maintains accurate access control decisions while reducing the overall information processing burden
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where the access control module continuously monitors entity availability states from industrial controllers and updates access permissions accordingly. This real-time feedback mechanism ensures accurate access control while processing information incrementally rather than all at once
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided that monitor and control, in real time, access to a plurality of resource entities usable by robotic vehicles during workflow. The system can comprise a plurality of industrial controllers each coupled to at least one presence detector configured to detect a state of availability of an entity from a plurality of entities. The system can further comprise management system configured to register a state of availability of each entity in an environment and to selectively grant temporary, exclusive access of an entity to an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) based on the state of availability of the entity. If the state indicates an entity is unoccupied access can be granted, else access is denied. Each controller is registered in the management system in association with at least one uniquely identified entity.