Navigation of autonomous mobile robots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous cleaning robots face challenges in navigating and cleaning floor surfaces adjacent to obstacles, particularly in areas with complex geometries and narrow widths, where they may get stuck or fail to effectively cover the entire cleaning area.
Innovation Solution
The autonomous cleaning robot is designed with a forward portion, side surfaces, and a drive system that allows it to move along obstacles, turn, and adjust its path to cover areas adjacent to obstacles, using sensors to detect and navigate around complex geometries and narrow spaces, ensuring thorough cleaning without getting stuck.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the robot navigates along obstacle surfaces to clean adjacent floor portions, then cleaning coverage is improved, but the robot may get stuck in narrow areas between obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The robot reverses its driving direction to escape from narrow areas between obstacles. When the robot detects that it is trapped in a narrow space, it performs a reverse maneuver to back out and reposition itself, thereby maintaining mobility and avoiding permanent entrapment while continuing to clean adjacent surfaces
Solution Approach 2:
The robot dynamically adjusts its navigation path by turning at angles relative to obstacle surfaces. Instead of following a fixed path along obstacles, the robot calculates optimal turning angles to navigate around complex geometries and escape narrow passages, adapting its motion in real-time based on sensor feedback about obstacle positions and available space
2Adaptability or versatility
If the robot turns along arcuate trajectories to navigate complex geometries, then adaptability to obstacle arrangements is improved, but navigation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot employs arcuate (curved) trajectories instead of sharp angular turns to navigate around obstacles. By following curved paths, the robot smoothly transitions between different navigation segments, better adapts to complex obstacle geometries, and reduces mechanical stress on the drive system while maintaining navigational flexibility
3Manufacturing precision
If the robot repeatedly performs series of movements to clean narrow portions, then cleaning thoroughness is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs preliminary navigation actions to position itself optimally before cleaning operations. By pre-positioning the robot at strategic locations and orienting it correctly in advance, the system reduces the need for repeated back-and-forth movements during cleaning, thereby improving cleaning thoroughness while minimizing time consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The robot employs periodic sequences of movement and cleaning actions when navigating narrow portions. Instead of continuous random movements, the system executes structured periodic cycles of advancing, cleaning, retreating, and repositioning, which ensures thorough coverage of narrow areas while optimizing the time required through systematic repetition
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
An autonomous cleaning robot 100 includes a controller 109 configured to execute instructions to perform one or more operations. The one or more operations includes operating a drive system 110 to move the cleaning robot 100 in a forward drive direction along a first obstacle surface with a side surface of the cleaning robot facing the first obstacle surface 30b, then operating the drive system to turn the cleaning robot 100 such that the side surface of the cleaning robot 100 faces a second obstacle surface 30c, then operating the drive system 110 to move the cleaning robot 100 in a rearward drive direction along the second obstacle surface 30c, and then operating the drive system 110 to move the cleaning robot 100 in the forward drive direction along the second obstacle surface 30c.