Image capture devices for autonomous mobile robots and related systems and methods
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous mobile robots, such as cleaning robots, face challenges in navigating and interacting with their environment effectively, particularly in avoiding obstacles like area rugs, due to limited sensory feedback and control options for users.
Innovation Solution
Equipping autonomous cleaning robots with a forward-facing camera to capture imagery of the floor surface, allowing the robot to detect obstacles and features, and providing users with visual representations of the environment through a user computing device for enhanced control and obstacle avoidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the robot uses basic sensors for obstacle detection, then the device complexity is low, but the measurement precision and reliability of obstacle detection are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces basic mechanical/contact-based obstacle detection sensors with a camera-based vision system. The camera captures images of the environment, and image processing algorithms identify obstacles, replacing traditional mechanical proximity sensors or contact sensors with optical detection, thereby improving measurement precision while managing device complexity through software-based processing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the robot autonomously navigates without user input, then the extent of automation is high, but the adaptability to user preferences and environmental nuances is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the camera continuously captures environmental images, processes them to detect obstacles and features, and uses this information to adjust the robot's navigation path in real-time. This closed-loop system allows the robot to adapt to detected environmental features and user-defined preferences while maintaining autonomous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation system dynamically adjusts the robot's behavior based on real-time image analysis. When obstacles or features of interest are detected, the robot modifies its path dynamically rather than following a fixed pre-programmed route, enabling adaptability to changing environmental conditions while maintaining high-level autonomous navigation.
3Loss of information
If the robot captures and processes detailed imagery, then the loss of information about the environment is reduced, but the use of energy and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information needed for navigation from the captured images. Image processing algorithms identify and extract key features such as obstacles, floor boundaries, and points of interest, discarding redundant visual data. This selective extraction reduces the amount of data that needs to be processed and stored, thereby lowering energy consumption while maintaining sufficient environmental awareness for safe navigation.
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous cleaning robot includes a drive system to support the autonomous cleaning robot above a floor surface, an image capture device positioned on the autonomous cleaning robot to capture imagery of a portion of the floor surface forward of the autonomous cleaning robot, and a controller operably connected to the drive system and the image capture device. The drive system is operable to maneuver the autonomous cleaning robot about the floor surface. The controller is configured to execute instructions to perform operations including initiating, based on a user-selected sensitivity and the imagery captured by the image capture device, an avoidance behavior to avoid an obstacle on the portion of the floor surface.