Mobile robot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile robots lack the ability to detect floor materials, leading to issues such as getting stuck on carpets and increased cleaning time, as they cannot control their movement based on the material characteristics of the floor.
Innovation Solution
Equipping the mobile robot with an optical flow sensor, cliff sensor, and acceleration sensor to detect the material of the floor by analyzing image quality, reflectance, and load information, allowing the robot to perform an entry restriction operation to avoid troublesome regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the mobile robot travels autonomously on various floor surfaces, then the cleaning coverage is improved, but the robot may get stuck on carpets or troublesome surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The optical flow sensor and cliff sensor are positioned forward of the spin mop to detect floor material characteristics before the mop contacts them. This preliminary detection allows the robot to identify carpets and troublesome surfaces in advance and adjust its travel path accordingly, preventing the mop from getting stuck while maintaining broad cleaning coverage on suitable surfaces
2Adaptability or versatility
If the robot uses a spin mop for mopping operation, then the mopping capability is improved, but the mop may catch on carpets causing mechanism troubles
Solution Approach 1:
The optical flow sensor detects floor material characteristics before the spin mop contacts the floor surface. By analyzing image quality values, reflectance, and frame rates from the sensor data, the system identifies carpets and troublesome surfaces in advance, allowing the robot to avoid these areas before the mop can catch on them, thus maintaining mopping versatility while preventing mechanical issues
Solution Approach 2:
The optical flow sensor acts as an intermediary between the robot's navigation system and the physical spin mop. It provides advance information about floor material characteristics, enabling the control system to mediate between the desire to mop various surfaces and the need to prevent the mop from catching on carpets by adjusting travel paths
3Manufacturing precision
If the robot enters troublesome regions like carpets, then the cleaning thoroughness is improved, but the cleaning time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cliff sensor and optical flow sensor detect floor material characteristics before the robot enters a region. By identifying carpets and troublesome surfaces in advance through sensor analysis, the robot can proactively avoid these areas and plan efficient cleaning paths around them, ensuring thorough cleaning of suitable surfaces without wasting time on surfaces that would cause the mop to get stuck
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables the mobile robot to accurately determine floor materials and avoid carpets, reducing the risk of getting stuck and improving cleaning efficiency by proactively detecting and avoiding troublesome regions.
Implementation Method 1
extract an image quality value, the reflectance of a floor, and a frame rate from bottom-view image information, which is obtained by an optical flow sensor
Implementation Method 2
providing a driving force to a pair of spin mops; an optical flow sensor configured to obtain bottom-view image information
Implementation Method 3
determine the material of the floor based on floor image information, information on the load of a spin mop, acceleration information
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a mobile robot. The mobile robot includes a body, a pair of spin mops rotatably mounted to the body, a mop motor configured to provide a driving force to the pair of spin mops, an optical flow sensor configured to obtain bottom-view image information using light at a regular time interval, and a controller configured to determine whether the material of the floor is a troublesome material based on the bottom-view image information sensed by the optical flow sensor and to control, upon determining that the material of the floor is a troublesome material, the mop motor to perform an entry restriction operation.