Cleaning Robot Camera Positioning for Visual SLAM Without Lidar
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cleaning robots suffer from low cleaning efficiency due to random cleaning modes that miss uncleaned zones and repeat cleaned zones, and rely on expensive and bulky Lidar sensors for mapping and navigation.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning robot equipped with a monocular camera at an acute angle relative to its forward moving direction, combined with motion sensors and a data processing device, enhances localization and mapping accuracy, allowing for improved path planning and object recognition while avoiding the need for costly Lidar sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If Lidar sensors are used for mapping and navigation, then localization and mapping accuracy is improved, but cost and device volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of Lidar (distance measurement and environmental mapping) and implements it through alternative, simpler components: monocular camera for visual feature extraction, ultrasonic sensors for distance measurement, and inertial measurement units for motion tracking. This removes the expensive Lidar hardware while preserving the core navigation functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses visual features from the monocular camera to create a virtual map of the environment, copying the mapping function traditionally performed by Lidar. The system captures images, extracts feature points, and builds a visual SLAM map that replicates the spatial understanding capability of Lidar sensors at lower cost and complexity.
2Productivity
If random cleaning mode is used, then the cleaning robot can operate without complex navigation, but cleaning efficiency decreases due to missed zones and repeated cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the visual SLAM system continuously tracks the robot's position and the cleaning status of different zones. This feedback information is used to dynamically adjust the cleaning path, ensuring that uncleaned areas are identified and cleaned while avoiding already-cleaned zones, thereby improving overall cleaning efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary mapping and localization using visual features before the cleaning process begins. By pre-establishing the environmental map and identifying accessible zones, the robot can plan an optimal cleaning path in advance, avoiding random movement and ensuring comprehensive coverage of all cleanable areas.
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning robot is provided. The cleaning robot includes a motion device configured to move the cleaning robot in an environment, and an exterior housing. The cleaning robot also includes a motion sensor configured to obtain parameters relating to a motion of the cleaning robot, and a storage device configured to store data including at least one of the one or more images or the one or more motion parameters. The cleaning robot also includes a camera configured to capture one or more images of the environment. The camera is disposed internal to a slant surface located at a front end of the exterior housing and is pivotable relative to the slant surface. The slant surface inclines upwardly with respect to a forward moving direction. The camera and the slant surface face substantially a same direction. A direction of the camera and the forward moving direction form an acute angle.