Autonomous Robot Motion Selection Using Battery-Aware Activity Modes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robot technologies have not advanced to the point where they can autonomously select human-like or animal-like actions based on their internal state and external environment, limiting their ability to provide empathy and interaction with humans.
Innovation Solution
An autonomously acting robot equipped with an operation control unit, drive mechanism, and remaining battery charge monitoring unit that selects motions and adjusts behavior based on battery charge levels, recognizing events, and switching between normal and power-saving modes to optimize activity and interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the robot autonomously selects human-like or animal-like actions based on internal state and external environment, then empathy and interaction with humans is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot changes its behavioral parameters (activity level, interaction intensity) based on the remaining battery charge parameter. When battery charge is high, the robot exhibits more active human-like behaviors; when battery charge is low, it transitions to power-saving mode with reduced activity, creating a dynamic parameter adjustment system that enables autonomous adaptation without requiring complex decision-making architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The robot implements dynamic mode switching between normal mode and power-saving mode based on real-time battery charge monitoring. This dynamic behavior adjustment allows the robot to autonomously adapt its action selection capabilities to current energy constraints, providing versatile interaction patterns while maintaining manageable system complexity through predefined behavioral modes
2Productivity
If the robot operates in normal mode with full power supply, then activity amount and interaction capability is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot implements periodic monitoring of battery charge levels and transitions between normal mode and power-saving mode accordingly. This periodic assessment and mode switching creates a rhythm of high-activity periods (when battery is charged) and low-activity periods (when battery charge decreases), optimizing the balance between productivity and energy consumption through time-based behavioral adjustment
Data Source
AI summary
A robot includes an operation control unit that selects a motion of the robot, a drive mechanism that executes a motion selected by the operation control unit, and a remaining battery charge monitoring unit that monitors a remaining charge of a rechargeable battery. Behavioral characteristics of the robot change in accordance with the remaining battery charge. For example, a motion with a small processing load is selected at a probability that is higher the smaller the remaining battery charge. Referring to consumption plan data that define a power consumption pace of the rechargeable battery, the behavioral characteristics of the robot may be caused to change in accordance with a difference between the remaining battery charge scheduled in the consumption plan data and the actual remaining battery charge.