Household Robot Excrement Detection to Prevent Floor Soiling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household robots, such as cleaning robots, often inadvertently spread animal or human excrement across floor areas due to their autonomous operation, leading to unpleasant situations and additional soiling.
Innovation Solution
Equipping household robots with detection means, such as infrared cameras or gas sensors, to identify soiled areas and control their running gear to avoid or bypass these areas, thereby preventing further distribution of excrement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the household robot operates autonomously to clean the floor area, then the productivity and ease of operation are improved, but the robot may inadvertently spread excrement and cause harmful effects
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs preliminary detection of excrement on the floor area before initiating cleaning operations. By detecting soiled areas in advance using detection means (such as cameras or sensors), the robot can identify and avoid these areas, preventing the spread of excrement before it occurs during the cleaning process.
2Reliability
If the robot continuously monitors the floor area to detect excrement, then the reliability of preventing excrement spread is improved, but the use of energy and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the robot performs periodic detection of excrement at intervals during its operation. The detection means are activated at specific moments (e.g., before cleaning cycles or at regular intervals) to check for excrement, which reduces energy consumption compared to continuous monitoring while still maintaining adequate detection capability.
3Measurement precision
If the robot uses advanced detection means to identify excrement, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates the detection function as a separate, dedicated component (detection means) within the robot system. This could be a specific camera, sensor array, or detection device that is distinct from the main cleaning mechanisms. By separating the detection function, the system achieves precise excrement identification without requiring the entire robot system to be overly complex.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces the spread of excrement, enhancing user satisfaction by minimizing soiling and maintaining cleanliness, even if partial prevention is achieved.
Implementation Method 1
detection means, such as infrared cameras or gas sensors, to identify soiled areas
Implementation Method 2
detection means, such as infrared cameras or gas sensors, to identify soiled areas
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a household robot, in particular an automatically movable cleaning robot for a floor area, having a housing, having running gear which is arranged on the underside of the housing, having a sensor system for detecting the area surrounding the housing and having a control for automatically controlling the running gear, in which the technical problem of preventing soiling by excrement from a living being is solved by providing detection element for detecting a sub-area of the floor area which has been soiled by excrement from a living being and by the control element changing the operating mode of the household robot dependent on an output signal from the detection element. The invention also relates to a method for operating a household robot.