Method for operating an automatically moving vehicle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of self-moving cleaning robots face difficulties in orienting themselves within the environment due to the need to mentally align the displayed map with the actual spatial orientation, leading to discomfort and potential errors when manually controlling the vehicle.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dynamically aligning the displayed environmental map with the vehicle's orientation, ensuring it remains horizontally aligned with the floor surface, and updating the map's orientation as the vehicle changes direction, using detection data from sensors like laser distance sensors and odometry to maintain a correct spatial representation, and incorporating cleaning status information with different colors and patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the environmental map is displayed with a fixed orientation relative to the vehicle housing, then the display structure is simple, but the user has difficulty orienting themselves mentally when the vehicle changes direction
Solution Approach 1:
The display orientation is made dynamic by continuously adjusting the map orientation based on the vehicle's current heading. The map rotates to maintain a consistent spatial relationship with the environment, so that north on the map always corresponds to north in the real world, regardless of vehicle orientation. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by prioritizing user orientation ease while accepting the complexity of real-time orientation calculations and display transformations.
2Ease of operation
If the display plane is oriented horizontally parallel to the ground surface, then the user can easily recognize the surroundings, but the display orientation must continuously adapt to vehicle movement and terrain variations
Solution Approach 1:
The display plane dynamically adjusts its orientation to remain horizontal and parallel to the ground surface by compensating for vehicle pitch and roll angles. This is achieved through real-time measurement of vehicle orientation using sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes) and corresponding adjustments to the display orientation. This dynamic adaptation enables the display to maintain optimal viewing conditions across varying terrain and vehicle positions, resolving the contradiction between ease of recognition and adaptability requirements.
3Ease of operation
If the map orientation varies with vehicle orientation, then the user can easily align the map with actual spatial orientation, but the system must continuously calculate and update the map display based on detected vehicle position and orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where sensors detect vehicle position and orientation, the navigation device processes this data to determine current spatial orientation, and the display device adjusts the map orientation accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures the map continuously reflects the actual spatial orientation, providing users with accurate spatial alignment information while managing the complexity through automated real-time updates based on sensor feedback.
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
This approach simplifies user navigation and orientation by ensuring the displayed map accurately reflects the environment's spatial layout and cleaning status, reducing mental effort and improving ease of use by providing a realistic and intuitive representation of the surroundings.
Implementation Method 1
the detection device, which, for example, has an optical triangulation system with a light source and a receiver unit
Implementation Method 2
measure the travel path of a vehicle using odometry sensors, allowing the distance traveled and the direction traveled to be determined
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle (1), in particular a cleaning robot, which moves automatically within an environment (2), the vehicle (1) detecting environmental data on obstacles (3) while moving within the environment (2), wherein the vehicle (1) recognizes its current position and orientation within the environment (2) by comparing the detected environment data with map data of an environment map (4) and moves within the environment (2) using the environment map (4), the environment map ( 4) is shown on a display (5) of the vehicle (1). In order to make it easier for a user to orientate himself within the map of the surroundings (4), it is proposed that the map of the surroundings (4) be displayed on a display (5) that is horizontally aligned with respect to its display plane while the vehicle (1) is moving, with the orientation the environment map (4) is varied depending on a recognized orientation of the vehicle (1) within the environment (2).