Autonomous Robot Control Zones for Repeated Obstacle Escapes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous mobile robots, such as cleaning robots, often encounter obstacles that trigger escape behaviors or cause them to become stuck, leading to inefficiencies and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
The method involves receiving sensor data from the autonomous mobile robot as it moves, identifying specific sensor events based on their locations, and providing data to a user device to define a recommended behavior control zone. This zone can restrict the robot's access to certain areas and trigger specific behaviors, such as avoidance or focused cleaning, based on user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the autonomous mobile robot autonomously navigates and cleans the environment, then the productivity is improved, but the robot may encounter obstacles that cause it to become stuck or trigger escape behaviors repeatedly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by identifying problematic locations during initial cleaning missions and creating keep-out zones before problems recur. Sensor events are analyzed and locations are marked for avoidance in advance, preventing repeated escape behaviors and getting stuck incidents in subsequent missions
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring sensor events during cleaning missions, analyzing escape behaviors and obstruction incidents, and using this information to dynamically adjust navigation by creating or modifying keep-out zones. This closed-loop feedback prevents repeated failures while maintaining cleaning productivity
2Reliability
If the robot triggers escape behavior frequently due to obstacles, then the reliability deteriorates, but the time lost due to escape behaviors and getting stuck increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-identifying problematic locations through sensor event analysis and establishing keep-out zones before the robot encounters obstacles again. This prevents repeated escape behaviors and the time loss associated with them
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies skipping by enabling the robot to rapidly navigate around problematic areas using keep-out zones rather than getting trapped in repeated escape behavior cycles. The robot skips over known problematic locations efficiently, reducing time loss
3Productivity
If the robot cleans all areas uniformly, then the productivity is maximized, but the robot may enter zones where it frequently encounters obstacles or gets stuck
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by differentiating cleaning zones based on local conditions. Problematic areas identified through sensor events are marked with keep-out zones, while safe areas continue to be cleaned. This localized approach prevents obstacle encounters in specific zones while maintaining overall cleaning productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the cleaning environment into safe zones and problematic zones based on sensor event analysis. Keep-out zones are created to partition the environment, allowing the robot to focus cleaning efforts on safe areas while avoiding segments where obstacles or getting stuck incidents occur
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving sensor data collected by an autonomous mobile robot as the autonomous mobile robot moves about an environment, the sensor data being indicative of sensor events and locations associated with the sensor events. The method includes identifying a subset of the sensor events based on the locations. The method includes providing, to a user computing device, data indicative of a recommended behavior control zone in the environment, the recommended behavior control zone containing a subset of the locations associated with the subset of the sensor events. The method includes defining, in response to a user selection from the user computing device, a behavior control zone such that the autonomous mobile robot initiates a behavior in response to encountering the behavior control zone, the behavior control zone being based on the recommended behavior control zone.