Mobile Home Robot Vision Mapping for Indoor IoT Device Location
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IoT hub devices are unable to accurately identify the location of IoT devices within the home, limiting their ability to provide optimized services, as they require manual input and registration for each device, especially when devices are moved or new ones are installed.
Innovation Solution
A mobile home robot equipped with a camera, communication interface, and processor that maps IoT device locations by capturing images and comparing them with stored device information, generating location information and updating it regularly, allowing for automatic identification and optimized service provision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a fixed-type IoT hub device is used, then the device structure is simple and stable, but it cannot automatically identify accurate locations of IoT devices and requires manual input
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile home robot autonomously moves through the home environment, captures images of IoT devices using its camera, and automatically processes this visual data to identify and locate devices without requiring user intervention. The robot independently performs navigation, image capture, device recognition, and location mapping functions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical input methods with optical recognition technology. The camera-based visual identification system substitutes for traditional manual device registration, using image processing and pattern recognition algorithms to automatically detect and locate IoT devices based on their visual characteristics
2Ease of operation
If manual input of IoT device locations is required, then the system structure remains simple, but user convenience deteriorates and time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile home robot proactively captures images of IoT devices and pre-processes location information during its navigation through the home, before any user command requires this data. The system performs preliminary device detection and location mapping continuously, so that when a user needs device information, it is already available without requiring additional user action
Solution Approach 2:
The robot autonomously performs the entire device registration process including moving to device locations, capturing images, processing visual data to identify devices, and storing location information in its map database, completely eliminating the need for users to manually register or input device locations
3Measurement precision
If the mobile home robot moves around to capture images, then automatic location identification is achieved, but device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile home robot is designed as a multi-functional platform that integrates navigation, image capture, device recognition, location mapping, and service provision into a single system. The same mobile platform and camera used for exploration serve dual purposes for both environmental mapping and device location identification, reducing the need for separate specialized components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a centralized map database as an intermediary data structure that stores and organizes spatial information about the home environment and IoT device locations. This map serves as a common reference framework that integrates visual data from the camera, spatial data from navigation, and device information, simplifying the complexity of coordinating multiple subsystems
4Adaptability or versatility
If IoT devices are mobile and change positions, then device versatility is improved, but the ability to track and identify their new locations deteriorates without automatic detection
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile home robot continuously navigates through the home environment and repeatedly captures images of IoT devices during its regular operations. This continuous exploration and image capture ensure that even when devices are moved to new locations, the robot will encounter and detect them during subsequent navigation cycles, maintaining up-to-date location information without requiring device-specific tracking mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the robot's navigation and image capture activities provide continuous information about device locations. When devices are moved, the robot's subsequent image capture and processing detect the new positions, and this information feeds back into the map database to update device locations, enabling the system to adapt to device mobility automatically
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile home robot is provided. The mobile home robot includes a storage configured to store in-home map data, a communication interface comprising communication interface circuitry, a camera, a user interface, and a processor configured to, based on device information of a plurality of Internet of things (IoT) devices installed in the home and an image captured through the camera while the mobile home robot moves around in the home, generate location information of each of the plurality of IoT devices, to map the generated location information with the map data, and in response to a user command being received through the user interface, to provide an IoT device location-based service based on the map data with which the location information is mapped.