Mobile Robot Queue Length Detection via Image Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In public places, users in waiting lines face inconvenience due to lack of accurate information about waiting line lengths and congestion, leading to increased time for tasks like ticketing, immigration, and payment, as existing technologies do not provide means to determine line lengths or offer relevant information to users.
Innovation Solution
A moving robot equipped with an image acquisition unit to photograph waiting line regions, a driving unit to move along a route, and a controller to detect the end point of waiting lines, calculate line lengths, and set operation modes based on congestion levels, providing information to users through displays and sound outputs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If no means to determine waiting line length is provided, then device complexity is reduced, but information accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual waiting line measurement with an automated image processing system. The controller captures images of the waiting line region, processes them to detect queue lengths and congestion levels, eliminating the need for physical measurement devices or human counting while achieving accurate real-time measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an image processing system as an intermediary between the waiting line and the information provision mechanism. The controller acts as an intermediary that captures visual data, processes it to extract queue length information, and uses this information to guide users, thereby enabling indirect measurement without direct physical contact or complex sensing.
2Ease of operation
If waiting line information is not provided to users, then loss of information is minimized, but user convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by continuously monitoring waiting line conditions through image processing and providing real-time information back to users. The controller analyzes queue length and congestion level, then communicates this information to users to help them make informed decisions about which waiting line to join, creating a closed-loop system that reduces information asymmetry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of waiting line conditions before users make their decision. The controller proactively captures images, processes them to determine queue lengths and congestion levels, and prepares information in advance, allowing users to receive ready-to-use guidance without having to wait or inquire manually.
3Productivity
If multiple waiting lines are monitored manually, then measurement precision is maintained, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal image processing system that can monitor multiple waiting lines simultaneously using a single controller and camera system. The controller captures images covering multiple queue regions, processes them to detect various queue lengths and congestion levels, and provides comprehensive information across all monitored lines, enabling one system to perform multiple monitoring functions efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional manual monitoring of individual queues to two-dimensional visual field monitoring. The image processing system captures spatial information across multiple waiting lines simultaneously in a visual plane, allowing the controller to analyze and compare queue conditions across different dimensions (multiple lines, different positions) in parallel, significantly improving monitoring efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a moving robot capable of recognizing a waiting line and a method for controlling the same. One embodiment provides a method for operating a moving robot, the method comprising: starting moving from a predefined moving start point toward a predefined moving end point; acquiring a waiting line region image by photographing a predefined waiting line region during the moving; searching for an end point of a waiting line formed in the waiting line region using the waiting line region image; terminating the moving when the end point of the waiting line is detected; setting an operation mode based on a length of the waiting line calculated using the end point of the waiting line; and operating in the set operation mode while returning to the moving start point.