Autonomous Mower Return Control With Intermediate Waiting Position
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial teams face high labor costs and unstable working efficiency due to the manual operation of lawn mowers and other gardening tools across different homes, which also results in inconsistent cutting quality and increased operating time affected by weather, terrain, and vegetation growth.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous working apparatus and system that allows the autonomous working apparatus to return to a preset position outside the working area after completing a task, where it waits for a user operation to return to a transport vehicle, ensuring a safer traveling environment and reducing labor costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the autonomous working apparatus directly returns to the preset parking position after completing a task, then the working efficiency is improved, but the safety of pedestrians and the apparatus is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous working apparatus first travels to a preset position (which is different from the preset parking position) before returning to the preset parking position. This preliminary action of stopping at an intermediate position allows for safety checks or user interactions to be performed before the apparatus completes its return journey, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining high working efficiency and ensuring safety.
2Ease of operation
If manual operation of lawn mowers is used, then the apparatus can be controlled flexibly, but labor costs increase and working efficiency becomes unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous working apparatus performs tasks independently without requiring continuous manual operation. The apparatus autonomously navigates to working areas, executes mowing tasks based on stored map data, and returns to preset positions or parking areas automatically. This self-service capability eliminates the need for manual control while maintaining consistent working efficiency and reducing labor costs.
3Reliability
If the autonomous working apparatus waits for user operation at the preset parking position, then the safety is improved, but the working time is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus performs preliminary actions by traveling to a preset position before returning to the preset parking position. This allows user operations or safety checks to be conducted at an intermediate location rather than waiting at the final parking position, thereby reducing the overall time loss while still ensuring safety requirements are met.
Data Source
AI summary
The autonomous working apparatus is adapted to perform at least one working task in a working area. A control method includes: obtaining at least one working parameter when the autonomous working apparatus performs a current working task; determining, according to the at least one working parameter, whether the autonomous working apparatus needs to return to a preset parking position located outside the working area, and if a determining result is yes, controlling the autonomous working apparatus to travel to a preset position to wait for a user operation to be applied, where the preset parking position is different from the preset position; and enabling the autonomous working apparatus to return to the preset parking position based on the applied user operation, and switching to a state of waiting to perform a next working task or shutting down.