Autonomous Lawn Mower Route Control for Even Full-Area Mowing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous lawn mowers often take longer to mow lawns inefficiently due to random mowing routes, leading to incomplete mowing and uneven grass cutting with visible traces.
Innovation Solution
A method and control system that instructs the lawn mower to follow a predefined route, using a series of controlled turns and movements to create unclosed trapezoidal paths, avoiding repeated mowing lines and ensuring even cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If random mowing mechanism is used, then the lawn mower can operate autonomously without manual operation, but it takes longer time to mow the entire lawn and cannot guarantee 100% coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The control system pre-defines a systematic mowing route before the mowing operation begins. The route is calculated based on the lawn area boundaries and mowing width, creating an optimized path that ensures complete coverage while minimizing travel distance and time.
Solution Approach 2:
The mowing route is dynamically adjusted by incorporating random offset values within acceptable ranges. This allows the systematic route to adapt slightly with each mowing cycle, preventing repeated mowing of the exact same lines while maintaining overall route efficiency and coverage completeness.
2Productivity
If systematic mowing with predefined route is used, then mowing efficiency is improved, but route overlap causes uneven grass cutting and visible mowing traces
Solution Approach 1:
Random offset values are introduced into the systematic mowing route, creating dynamic variations in the path taken during each mowing cycle. These offsets ensure that while the overall route remains efficient and systematic, the actual cutting lines do not perfectly repeat, thereby preventing visible mowing traces and achieving more uniform grass cutting.
Solution Approach 2:
The mowing route parameters are modified by adding random offset components to the predefined systematic path. This changes the exact coordinates and angles of the mowing lines while maintaining the systematic structure, ensuring that repeated passes do not follow identical trajectories and thus avoid visible traces.
3Adaptability or versatility
If random mowing route is used, then the lawn mower can adapt to different lawn shapes, but the mowing coverage is incomplete and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs preliminary calculation of the mowing route based on the detected lawn area shape and boundaries. This pre-planning ensures that the systematic route is specifically adapted to the particular lawn geometry, optimizing coverage efficiency while maintaining adaptability to different shapes.
Solution Approach 2:
The systematic mowing route algorithm is designed to be universally applicable to various lawn shapes and sizes. By combining boundary detection with a generalized route calculation method that incorporates random offsets, the system achieves both adaptability to different lawn geometries and efficient, complete coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A method performed by a control system for controlling a lawn mower to mow a predefined area, the method comprises: instructing the lawn mower to move substantially straight forward in a first direction for a first distance; instructing the lawn mower to turn a first angle in relation to the first direction); instructing the lawn mower to move substantially straight forward in a second direction for a second distance; instructing the lawn mower to turn a second angle in relation to the second direction; instructing the lawn mower to move substantially straight forward in a third direction for the first distance; instructing the lawn mower to turn a third angle in relation to the third direction; instructing the lawn mower to move substantially straight forward in a fourth direction for a third distance; instructing the lawn mower to turn a fourth angle in relation to the fourth direction.