Cleaning Robot Grid Routing for Complete Floor Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional smart floor mopping robots operate inefficiently due to lack of planned cleaning routes, leading to random cleaning patterns and incomplete coverage of areas, especially in complex terrains, as they typically construct a map before cleaning rather than simultaneously mapping and cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A method that starts from an original point, cleans grid zones systematically, constructs a map of the entire region, identifies and cleans uncleaned areas, and then focuses on peripheral areas to ensure comprehensive coverage, using a bionic algorithm that simulates human planning for intelligent route planning and execution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional randomized algorithms are used for cleaning, then the robot can operate simply without complex planning, but cleaning efficiency is very low and coverage is incomplete
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning area is divided into grid zones that are cleaned systematically one by one. The robot segments the entire region into manageable grid cells, cleaning each zone in sequence rather than moving randomly, which significantly improves cleaning efficiency and coverage while maintaining manageable computational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot performs preliminary mapping of the entire region by cleaning grid zones and establishing a map before focusing on uncleaned areas. This preliminary action of mapping and systematic cleaning allows the robot to plan subsequent movements efficiently, avoiding random navigation while maintaining reasonable system complexity.
2Measurement precision
If SLAM technology with laser scan or visual navigation is used, then accurate mapping and high cleaning efficiency are achieved, but the cost is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a gyroscope-based solution instead of expensive laser scanners or visual navigation systems. The gyroscope is a relatively low-cost sensor that provides sufficient accuracy for route planning and navigation in cleaning applications, achieving good mapping accuracy without the high implementation cost of SLAM technology.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot creates a simplified grid-based map representation of the environment rather than using complex point-cloud or image-based maps. This copied, abstracted representation of the space is sufficient for route planning and navigation purposes, achieving practical mapping accuracy at lower computational and hardware cost.
3Productivity
If the robot constructs a map first before cleaning, then complete coverage can be ensured, but cleaning efficiency is reduced due to separate mapping and cleaning phases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the mapping process with the cleaning process by systematically cleaning grid zones and simultaneously establishing a map of the entire region. This combined approach eliminates the need for separate mapping and cleaning phases, significantly improving cleaning efficiency while ensuring complete coverage through the structured grid-based methodology.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot continuously performs both mapping and cleaning actions simultaneously while traversing the grid zones, rather than pausing to complete mapping before cleaning. This continuous dual operation maintains high productivity while ensuring reliable coverage through the systematic grid-based approach that inherently tracks visited and unvisited areas.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of planning a cleaning route for a cleaning robot: firstly, starting from an original point based on maps of grids, cleaning grid zones formed by the grids one by one until an entire region is cleaned, and then establishing a map of the entire region; secondly, searching the map of the entire region to find out uncleaned areas missed from cleaning, and then cleaning the uncleaned areas; thirdly, cleaning peripheral areas of the entire region based on the map of the entire region; and lastly, returning to the original point. A chip is also provided which stores procedures for controlling the cleaning robot to implement the method of planning a cleaning route.