Coverage Robot Beacon Navigation Between Bounded Areas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous coverage robots face challenges in navigating and performing tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance, particularly in efficiently managing sensor-based and sequence-based enabling conditions to prioritize behaviors and navigate effectively.
Innovation Solution
A robot system featuring a chassis, wheeled drive, sensors, memory, and controller that executes a set of behaviors with sensor-based and sequence-based enabling conditions, prioritizing commands based on highest priority conditions, and using navigation beacons to define bounded areas and guide navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the robot executes multiple behaviors with sensor-based and sequence-based enabling conditions, then the robot's ability to adapt to complex environments is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The behavior management system is segmented into distinct components: sensor-based enabling conditions, sequence-based enabling conditions, and a priority-based arbiter. This segmentation allows complex adaptive behaviors to be broken down into manageable, independently controllable units that can be executed in a structured manner.
Solution Approach 2:
The behavior execution system dynamically adjusts which behavior is active based on real-time sensor inputs and sequence state. The arbiter continuously evaluates enabling conditions and prioritizes behaviors, allowing the robot to adapt its behavior dynamically rather than following a fixed sequence, thus managing complexity through dynamic decision-making.
2Productivity
If the robot uses priority-based arbitration for behavior execution, then the navigation efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arbiter automatically manages behavior prioritization and selection based on predefined priorities and enabling conditions. The system serves itself by autonomously determining which behavior should execute next without external intervention, improving navigation efficiency while containing complexity within the control software rather than requiring complex hardware.
3Reliability
If the robot resumes parent behavior sequences after completing child behavior sets, then the task completion reliability is improved, but the loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The parent behavior sequence is prepared and held in readiness before the child behavior set executes. When the child behavior completes, the system can immediately resume the parent sequence without re-initialization delays. This preliminary preparation ensures reliable task completion while minimizing time loss through pre-configured state maintenance.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of navigating an autonomous coverage robot between bounded areas includes positioning a navigation beacon in a gateway between adjoining first and second bounded areas. The beacon configured to transmit a gateway marking emission across the gateway. In some example, the navigation beacon may also transmit a proximity emission laterally about the beacon, where the robot avoids cleaning the migration within the proximity emission. The method also includes placing the coverage robot within the first bounded area. The robot autonomously traverses the first bounded area in a cleaning mode and upon encountering the gateway marking emission in the gateway, the robot remains in the first bounded area, thereby avoiding the robot migration into the second area. Upon termination of the cleaning mode in the first area, the robot autonomously initiates a migration mode to move through the gateway, past the beacon, into the second bounded area.