Autonomous Lawn Mower Boundary Map Confirmation for Safe Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic lawn mower systems face safety issues due to inaccurate working area maps, which can lead to the mower traveling into unsafe areas or failing to reach intended areas, resulting in incomplete lawn cutting.
Innovation Solution
The system includes a self-moving device with a positioning device for detecting its current position, a storage unit for storing a working area map, and a map confirmation procedure that involves moving along the working area boundary under user confirmation to ensure map accuracy before executing tasks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a working area map is created using positioning devices to control the automatic lawn mower, then the arrangement of boundary lines is eliminated and operation ease is improved, but map accuracy deteriorates leading to safety issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by requiring a map confirmation procedure to be executed before the automatic lawn mower begins autonomous operation. During this procedure, the system pre-identifies boundary positions and unsafe areas, and pre-confirms the working area map with user input. This preliminary verification ensures map accuracy is established before automated operation commences, preventing safety issues while maintaining ease of operation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the safe working area indicated by the map is larger than the actual safe working area, then the mower can operate more freely, but safety deteriorates as the mower travels into unsafe areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by implementing a map confirmation procedure that proactively identifies and corrects potential safety issues before they occur. The system pre-determines accurate boundary positions and unsafe areas during the confirmation phase, and prevents the mower from entering unsafe zones by establishing correct operational boundaries in advance. This counteracts the risk of operating freedom leading to safety violations.
3Reliability
If the safe working area indicated by the map is smaller than the actual safe working area, then safety is improved by preventing entry to unsafe areas, but productivity deteriorates as parts of the lawn remain uncut
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by implementing a map confirmation procedure where the system presents the generated working area map to the user for verification. The user provides feedback on whether the mapped boundaries and unsafe areas accurately represent the actual environment. This feedback loop allows the system to correct map inaccuracies, ensuring both safety and complete lawn coverage by adjusting the working area definition based on user observation.
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic working system that includes a self-moving device and a positioning device. The self-moving device includes a movement module, a task execution module. The positioning device is configured to detect a current position of the self-moving device. The automatic working system includes: a storage unit, configured to store a working area map, and: a map confirmation procedure, which including: providing a drive circuit instruction to move along a working area boundary, and receiving a confirmation signal from a user to complete the map confirmation procedure; and a working procedure including providing a drive circuit instruction to move within a working area defined by the map and execute the working task; and a control module, configured to monitor an output of the positioning device to execute the map confirmation procedure and execute the working procedure after the map confirmation procedure is completed.