Dynamic Robot Route Approval System for Pedestrian Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing presence of delivery robots in populated areas lacks oversight, leading to potential safety and traffic issues, as well as disruptions to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
Innovation Solution
A robot management system that receives requested routes and times from robots, utilizes a dynamic map to determine approval or modification of these requests, and sends approval, modified approval, or disapproval messages to the robots, thereby managing and regulating their operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If robots are deployed frequently in populated areas for delivery services, then productivity and service coverage are improved, but safety risks and traffic disruptions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robot management system performs preliminary actions by receiving and approving routes before robots execute them. The system evaluates requested routes against dynamic maps containing information about other robots and traffic patterns, approving only those that meet safety criteria. This preventive approach ensures that robots operate only on pre-validated paths, reducing safety risks and traffic disruptions while maintaining high delivery capacity.
2Productivity
If robots operate autonomously according to operator interests, then commercial productivity is improved, but oversight and control are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The robot management system implements feedback by continuously monitoring robot operations and comparing them against approved routes. Robots periodically report their status and location to the management system, which can detect deviations and take corrective action. This feedback mechanism maintains commercial productivity while ensuring appropriate oversight and control without requiring complex manual management.
3Productivity
If multiple robots share the same route, then service coverage and productivity are improved, but robot density and potential conflicts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robot management system applies dynamics by adjusting route approvals based on real-time conditions. When evaluating a requested route, the system checks the dynamic map for the current number of robots already assigned to that route and adjusts approval decisions accordingly. This dynamic approach allows multiple robots to share routes when conditions permit, maximizing service coverage while preventing excessive robot density that could lead to conflicts and disruptions.
Data Source
AI summary
The techniques and systems herein enable robot management in populated areas. Specifically, a robot management system receives, from a robot system, a requested route and time for the robot system to travel. A dynamic map that includes dynamic and temporal information about an area of the requested route is then used to determine whether the requested route and time are approved, approved with a modified route or time, or disapproved. An approval message, a modified approval message, or a disapproval message is then generated and sent to the robot system. By using the described techniques, municipalities can monitor, manage, and regulate robots across various operators and locations. Doing so may prevent a high density of robots along various routes, disruptions to the services of such robots, and/or disruptions to surrounding pedestrians and vehicles.