Mobile robot and control method thereof
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile robots, such as domestic cleaners, often cause discomfort due to noise, light, and vibration, especially when users are asleep or engaged in tasks, and existing solutions require manual intervention or fixed disturbance prohibition modes that do not consider the user's current situation or environment changes during recharging.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robot that measures illumination values before and after recharging, comparing them to reference values to determine whether to resume a task, and uses image analysis or electronic appliance operation states to assess the presence of users, adjusting its operation to minimize disturbance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the mobile robot executes cleaning tasks continuously, then productivity is improved, but user disturbance increases due to noise, light, and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The robot uses illumination sensors to detect ambient light levels and interprets darkness as a feedback signal that the user may be sleeping or engaged in activities requiring minimal disturbance. Based on this feedback, the robot automatically adjusts its operation by pausing cleaning tasks during dark periods and resuming when illumination levels indicate the user is active.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot dynamically changes its operational state between active cleaning and paused states based on real-time environmental conditions. The cleaning task execution is made adaptable by continuously monitoring illumination levels and transitioning between different operational modes rather than maintaining a fixed schedule.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the robot performs recharging during cleaning tasks, then energy sustainability is improved, but task completion time increases and may cause user disturbance
Solution Approach 1:
The robot monitors battery charge levels in advance and proactively navigates to the charging station before complete power depletion occurs. This preliminary charging action prevents interruption of cleaning tasks and maintains continuous operation, thereby avoiding time loss from mid-task charging interruptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot maintains continuous cleaning operation by performing quick top-up charges during natural pauses in the cleaning path or between rooms. The charging action is integrated into the continuous cleaning workflow rather than being a separate interrupting event, minimizing disruption to task completion.
3Ease of operation
If the robot operates in fixed time-based modes, then ease of operation is improved, but adaptability to user situation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The robot autonomously determines appropriate cleaning schedules by itself interpreting illumination sensor data without requiring user programming or manual mode selection. The system self-adjusts its operation based on detected environmental conditions, eliminating the need for complex user configuration while maintaining high adaptability to actual user situations.
4Productivity
If the robot resumes cleaning after recharging, then productivity is improved, but user disturbance may increase if the environment has changed
Solution Approach 1:
Before resuming cleaning tasks after charging, the robot again checks illumination levels to confirm the user is still active and no disturbance-sensitive period has begun. This feedback verification ensures that task resumption occurs only when environmentally appropriate, preventing user disturbance while maintaining productivity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure discloses a mobile robot and a control method thereof which are characterized by comparing an illumination in an initial stage of a task with an illumination at a time when recharging performed due to power shortage of a battery is completed, and additionally determining whether or not there is a person in a travel area, thereby determining whether or not the task incompletely executed before the recharging should be subsequently executed.