Intelligent Grounds Management System for Autonomous Yard Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current yard maintenance systems require significant manual interaction to monitor and manage growing conditions, limiting efficiency and effectiveness in providing optimal care for lawns and gardens.
Innovation Solution
A system that integrates sensor equipment, task performance equipment, and a yard maintenance manager, assisted by a robotic rover, to autonomously monitor conditions, compare them to desirable parameters, and direct operations for optimal growing conditions, including tasks like watering, mowing, and fertilizing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If sensor equipment and task performance equipment are deployed for yard maintenance, then monitoring capability and task automation are improved, but device complexity and manual interaction requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic rover is designed as a multi-functional platform that can perform multiple yard maintenance tasks including sensor deployment, data collection, and task execution (watering, mowing, fertilizing). This universal design consolidates multiple functions into a single system, reducing the need for separate devices and interfaces, thereby managing complexity while maintaining high automation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The yard maintenance manager system serves as an intermediary that coordinates between the robotic rover, sensor equipment, and task performance equipment. It receives sensor data, processes information, and directs task execution, thereby managing system complexity through centralized intelligence rather than requiring direct manual coordination of multiple devices
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors and task performance equipment are deployed across the parcel, then monitoring precision and task effectiveness are improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to coordination complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where sensors monitor conditions (soil moisture, grass height, etc.), the yard maintenance manager processes this data against desirable conditions, and automatically directs task performance equipment to correct deviations. This closed-loop feedback system eliminates the need for manual monitoring and decision-making, maintaining ease of operation while achieving high precision through multiple sensors
Solution Approach 2:
The yard maintenance system operates autonomously by self-monitoring conditions through distributed sensors and self-correcting through automated task execution. The robotic rover and equipment perform tasks based on sensor data without requiring manual intervention for coordination, allowing the system to serve itself and eliminating operational complexity for users
Data Source
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AI summary
A system may include sensor equipment, task performance equipment, a yard maintenance manager and a robot. The sensor equipment may include one or more sensors disposed on a parcel of land. The task performance equipment may be configured to perform a task on the parcel. The task may be associated with generating a result that is enabled to be monitored via the sensor equipment. The yard maintenance manager may be configured to interface with the sensor equipment and the task performance equipment to compare measured conditions with desirable conditions to direct operation of the task performance equipment. The robot may be configured to work the parcel and perform at least one of acting as one of the one or more sensors, acting as a device of the task performance equipment, or interacting with the sensor equipment or the task performance equipment.