Mobile Robot Dual-Map Navigation for Simultaneous Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile robots require separate processes for position recognition, map creation, and coverage-path planning, leading to extended cleaning times and inaccuracies due to the limitations of inexpensive obstacle sensors, especially when using wall-following methods with short sensing distances.
Innovation Solution
A dual structure map approach, combining a feature map for position recognition and a path map with obstacle information, allows simultaneous cleaning and map creation, using an image-capturing unit, position-measuring unit, obstacle-detecting unit, and motion-control unit to efficiently navigate and clean spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If separate position-recognizing, map-creating, and coverage-path-planning processes are performed sequentially, then each process can be completed thoroughly, but cleaning time is significantly lengthened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the position-recognizing process, map-creating process, and coverage-path-planning process into a single integrated simultaneous execution framework. The mobile robot performs all three functions concurrently by maintaining a feature map for position recognition and a path map for coverage planning together, eliminating the sequential execution overhead and reducing total cleaning time while preserving the accuracy requirements of each individual process.
2Device complexity
If wall-following method is used for map creation, then the robot can operate with simple sensors, but it is difficult to create comprehensive maps when sensors have short sensing distances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional two-dimensional wall-following map creation to a three-dimensional feature-based mapping approach. By extracting and utilizing three-dimensional feature information from the environment and maintaining a structured feature map with spatial relationships, the system achieves comprehensive map coverage even with short-range sensors, as the 3D feature data provides additional spatial context that compensates for limited sensing distance.
3Ease of manufacture
If inexpensive obstacle sensors are used, then device cost is reduced, but the accuracy requirement for map creation and coverage-path planning cannot be met
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the environment through feature extraction and map generation, allowing the robot to navigate and plan coverage paths based on this digital representation rather than relying solely on real-time obstacle sensor data. This copying approach enables the use of inexpensive obstacle sensors while maintaining high positioning and navigation accuracy through the pre-built feature map and path map structures.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an apparatus, method, and medium for allowing a mobile robot to simultaneously perform a cleaning process and a map-creating process. The apparatus includes a feature-map-creating unit creating a feature map for recognizing the position of a mobile robot; a path-map-creating unit creating a path map including a plurality of cells, each having information about whether an obstacle exists and path information, on the basis of information on the pose of the mobile robot that is obtained from the feature map; and a motion-control unit moving the mobile robot on the basis of the information about whether the obstacle exists and the path information.