An autonomous mobile cleaning robot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous mobile cleaning robots face reliability issues with optical and ultrasonic sensors due to noise, dust, color, ambient light, and stray reflections, which affect their ability to accurately navigate and detect surface changes, particularly liquids and obstacles.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a radar sensor and signal processor in the autonomous mobile cleaning robot, which transmits radar signals, extracts features like amplitude, phase, spectral content, and delay from radar responses, and uses these to control the robot's movement and cleaning mode, enabling reliable surface monitoring and detection of liquids and obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If optical or ultrasonic sensors are used for surface scanning, then the robot can navigate and detect obstacles, but the reliability is reduced due to sensitivity to noise, dust, color, ambient light, and stray reflections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces optical and ultrasonic sensing systems with a radar-based electromagnetic sensing system. The radar sensor transmits electromagnetic signals and processes the responses to detect surface features, liquids, and obstacles. This substitution eliminates sensitivity to optical disturbances (light, color, dust) and acoustic noise, providing reliable operation in diverse environmental conditions while maintaining the navigation and detection functions.
2Reliability
If radar sensor is integrated inside the robot body, then the robot is protected from ambient conditions and collisions, but the sensor positioning flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the radar sensor with omnidirectional or multi-directional scanning capability, allowing a single internally mounted sensor to perform multiple detection functions in various directions. The sensor can scan the entire surrounding environment including front, back, left, and right areas, eliminating the need for multiple sensors positioned at different locations. This universal scanning capability maintains positioning flexibility while protecting the sensor inside the robot body.
3Reliability
If features of multiple radar responses are extracted and analyzed, then surface monitoring reliability is improved, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary feature extraction of radar response characteristics (amplitude, phase, spectral content, delay) during the signal acquisition phase. By pre-processing and extracting key features before full analysis, the system reduces the computational burden of subsequent surface monitoring and object detection. This preliminary action enables reliable surface monitoring while managing processing complexity through staged analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The radar signal processor automatically identifies and extracts relevant features from radar responses without requiring manual intervention or complex external processing systems. The system self-adapts to different surface conditions by analyzing feature patterns, enabling reliable monitoring while keeping the processing architecture streamlined and self-sufficient.
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 solution provides a more reliable and consistent navigation system that can accurately detect liquids and obstacles, reducing the risk of the robot entering harmful liquids and improving cleaning efficiency by modifying its movement and cleaning mode accordingly.
Implementation Method 1
a radar sensor configured to scan a surface, during a movement of the robot along the surface, by transmitting radar signals towards the surface and acquiring, at different positions along said movement, radar responses from the surface
Data Source
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AI summary
According to a first aspect of the present inventive concept there is provided an autonomous mobile cleaning robot, comprising: a radar sensor configured to scan a surface, during a movement of the robot along the surface, by transmitting radar signals towards the surface and acquiring, at different positions along said movement, radar responses from the surface, a radar signal processor configured to extract one or more features of each acquired radar response from the surface, and a controller configured to control an operation of the robot based on the extracted one or more features.