Cleaning Robot Floor Image Detection for Off-Track Dust Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cleaning robots cannot detect dust accumulated next to their moving track unless it is swept up, limiting their ability to recognize and clean dust in real-time as they move.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning robot equipped with a front camera and a control unit that uses image processing algorithms, such as the watershed algorithm and edge extraction, to detect foreign substances on the floor and adjust its path to clean detected dust, allowing it to move towards and clean dust outside its initial cleaning trajectory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the robot moves along a predetermined moving track to clean the floor, then the cleaning path is stable and systematic, but the robot cannot detect and clean dust accumulated next to the moving track
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs preliminary dust detection using a front camera and image processing algorithms before completing the cleaning pass. By detecting dust accumulation ahead of time and deviating from the predetermined track to clean detected dust, the system maintains systematic coverage while adding adaptability for unexpected dust locations
2Device complexity
If the robot uses a conventional dust detecting device to detect dust in the dust container, then the dust detection is simple and direct, but the robot cannot recognize dust until after it has been swept up by the brush
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical dust detection method (sensing dust in the container after brushing) with an optical detection system (front camera and image processing). This allows the robot to detect dust on the floor in real-time before the brush contacts it, eliminating the detection delay while maintaining relatively simple device complexity through software-based image analysis
Solution Approach 2:
The front camera acts as an intermediary between the robot's navigation system and the physical dust particles. By capturing images of the floor and processing them to identify dust locations, the system creates an intermediate detection layer that provides early warning of dust accumulation before the mechanical brush encounters it
3Productivity
If the robot follows a fixed moving track for cleaning, then the cleaning coverage is predictable and systematic, but the robot cannot deviate to clean dust outside its trajectory
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the predetermined moving track based on real-time dust detection. When dust is detected by the front camera and image processing, the robot temporarily deviates from the fixed track to clean the detected area, then returns to the systematic path. This creates a dynamic cleaning process that maintains overall systematic coverage while allowing local adaptations to dust locations
Data Source
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AI summary
A cleaning robot may have a body, a moving unit provided on the body to move the body in a cleaning space, a cleaning unit provided on the body to clean a floor of the cleaning space, a floor image obtaining unit configured to obtain a floor image of the cleaning space, and a control unit configured to determine if foreign substance is present on the floor of the cleaning space based on the floor image, and control the moving unit to move the body to a position of the foreign substance, in which the cleaning robot, by obtaining an image of a floor to be cleaned, detects the foreign substance that is not positioned on a moving track of the cleaning robot, and when the foreign substance is detected, moves to the position of the foreign substance to perform cleaning.