Autonomous Locomotion Apparatus Path Prediction Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous locomotion systems for robots that coexist with people face challenges in efficiently navigating through spaces without colliding, as they often stop frequently, leading to decreased travel efficiency and causing unease among individuals due to unclear intentions and uncertain movement directions.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous locomotion apparatus equipped with a control unit that acquires environment information, detects humans, judges contact probabilities, generates guide operation information to present a predicted path, and controls movement speed and direction to avoid collisions while maintaining operational efficiency and user comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the robot uses potential-based collision avoidance to ensure safety, then collision avoidance capability is improved, but travel efficiency deteriorates due to frequent stopping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a display device as an intermediary between the robot and humans. This display device shows the robot's intended movement direction and status, mediating the interaction to reduce unnecessary stopping while maintaining safety. The display acts as a communication channel that allows the robot to convey its intentions without physically stopping, thus resolving the contradiction between safety and efficiency.
2Reliability
If the robot frequently stops to avoid collisions, then safety is improved, but operational efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs preliminary actions by displaying its intended movement path and status before actually moving. This allows humans to anticipate the robot's actions and adjust their behavior accordingly, preventing collisions before they occur. By communicating intentions in advance through the display device, the robot avoids unnecessary stopping while maintaining safety.
3Loss of information
If the robot rotates its head or moves display device to indicate direction, then intention communication is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display device serves multiple functions: it shows the robot's intended movement direction, displays operational status, and provides collision avoidance information. By making the display device multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for separate components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while improving intention communication.
Data Source
AI summary
The autonomous locomotion apparatus has a human information acquisition unit which detects a person. When there is probability of contact between the detected person and the autonomous locomotion apparatus based on movement information of the person, the autonomous locomotion apparatus controls a traveling speed or a rotational speed of the autonomous locomotion apparatus to perform a guide operation which presents a path of the autonomous locomotion apparatus which is intended to cause the person to predict, so that it causes the person to avoid the path without giving the person a sense of uneasiness.