Cleaning Robot Sensor Mapping for Environmental Change Alarms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatically movable devices for monitoring and cleaning tasks lack an effective alarm system for detecting unusual changes in their environment, such as new objects or unauthorized presence, which can lead to security breaches.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a contact-free sensor system that performs all-round distance measurements using a rotating sensor system and ultrasonic or infrared scanners to detect deviations from a stored cartography, triggering an acoustic or visual alarm and allowing for wireless communication of alerts, enabling the device to monitor and report changes in its environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sensor system is used for detecting objects and obstacles, then the device can perform cleaning and mapping functions, but the device lacks an effective alarm system for detecting unusual changes in the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The existing sensor system (ultrasonic or infrared distance sensors, rotating sensor system) originally designed for obstacle detection and cartography creation is made multi-functional by adding alarm capability. The same sensors detect both obstacles for navigation and unusual environmental changes for security alerts, allowing one system to serve multiple purposes without adding separate dedicated alarm hardware
2Measurement precision
If the sensor system continuously monitors the environment and compares current cartography with stored cartography, then unusual changes can be detected, but this requires continuous power supply and user intervention
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the system performs periodic environmental scans at predetermined time intervals. The sensor system rotates and captures distance measurements at specific moments, comparing these periodic snapshots with stored cartography. This periodic operation significantly reduces power consumption while maintaining effective detection capability for unauthorized presence or environmental changes
3Reliability
If the device triggers an alarm immediately upon detecting any deviation from stored cartography, then security responses are timely, but false alarms may occur due to normal environmental variations
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where detected deviations are evaluated against predetermined criteria before triggering an alarm. The evaluation unit analyzes whether deviations represent genuine security concerns (unauthorized presence, significant environmental changes) or normal variations (temporary objects, minor positioning differences). This feedback loop filters out false alarms while maintaining timely response to actual threats
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for continuous, autonomous monitoring and alarm triggering without user intervention, ensuring timely detection of unauthorized access or environmental changes, even in the absence of power supply, and providing remote alert mechanisms.
Implementation Method 1
In this regard, it is also known to carry out ultrasonic or infrared distance measurements
Implementation Method 2
In this regard, it is also known to carry out ultrasonic or infrared distance measurements
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a self-propelled device (1), in particular a cleaning device for cleaning a floor (2), such as a vacuuming and/or sweeping robot, with non-contact and/or contact-based sensors (5) for detecting objects. To further improve a device of this type, preferably by utilizing synergies between the individual functions of the device, it is proposed that the detection of an object, possibly including a detection of the object that is deemed to be deviating (unusual) with regard to its movement or shape in comparison with data stored for that object, can be used as a trigger for, for example, an acoustic alarm or forwarded for verification.