Mobile Robot Risk Area Mapping Using Traveling State Feedback

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing mobile robots struggle to accurately identify and respond to abnormal situations, such as stalling, wandering, and collisions, especially in complex environments, due to limitations in sensor detection and user-defined restricted areas, leading to potential damage and inconvenience.

Innovation Solution

A mobile robot system that analyzes traveling state information to identify risk areas by clustering points of abnormal situations, assigns weights to these areas based on multiple travels, and updates a base map with user-confirmed restricted areas to improve accuracy and adapt to user feedback.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a mobile robot uses sensor detection to identify obstacles, then it can detect certain types of obstacles, but it fails to detect atypical objects and situations difficult to detect by sensor, causing collisions and stalling

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveobstacle detection accuracyVSAvoidresponse to atypical objects

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by recording abnormal situations (collisions, stalling, wandering) that occur during robot operation, analyzing this feedback data to identify risk areas, and updating the base map with these risk areas to improve future navigation and avoid repeated incidents

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary action by proactively identifying and marking risk areas on the base map before actual collisions or stalling occur. Through analysis of traveling state information and clustering of abnormal situation points, the system prepares advance warnings that enable the robot to take preventive measures

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If a user directly sets a restricted area, then the setting process is simple, but an error may occur in the setting because the restricted area is set based on the user rather than based on the mobile robot

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverestricted area settingVSAvoidrestricted area accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service by allowing the mobile robot to automatically identify and mark risk areas based on its own operation data and abnormal situations. The robot autonomously analyzes its traveling state information and generates restricted area settings without requiring direct user intervention, thereby improving accuracy while maintaining ease of use through optional user confirmation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Device complexity

If a robot cleaner avoids only obstacles of certain height detected by distance sensor, then the detection process is straightforward, but it cannot respond to situations difficult to detect by sensor detection, causing collisions and stalling

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetection systemVSAvoidabnormal situation response

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system achieves multi-functionality by extending the robot's detection capability beyond physical obstacles. It now detects and responds to multiple types of abnormal situations including collisions, stalling, and wandering behaviors, transforming a simple obstacle avoidance system into a comprehensive abnormal situation response system that handles both physical and operational anomalies

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Productivity

If a robot cleaner wanders around for a long time in a complex space, then it may eventually clean the area, but it causes inconvenience to customers, such as damage to furniture and constant stalling

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning coverageVSAvoiddamage to furniture

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies preliminary action by identifying complex spaces and areas prone to wandering through analysis of traveling state information before the robot actually wanders. By marking these areas as risk areas on the base map in advance, the system enables the robot to take preventive measures and avoid furniture damage and stalling while maintaining cleaning coverage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20250224733A1Mobile robot and control method therefor

Publication Date: 2025.07.10 LG ELECTRONICS INC

AI summary

Provided in an embodiment of the present invention for accomplishing the objective is a mobile robot control method comprising the steps of: collecting traveling state information while traveling in a traveling zone according to a basic map of the traveling zone; analyzing the traveling state information so as to set, as a dangerous region, a position where a plurality of abnormal situations occur, thereby creating a prohibited region map in the traveling zone; overlapping the predetermined number of prohibited region maps so as to calculate prohibited region candidates, if the prohibited region map is created to satisfy a predetermined number; and reflecting at least one of the prohibited region candidates on the basic map as a prohibited region so as to update the basic map to be used for subsequent traveling in the traveling zone. Therefore, various abnormal situations that cannot be sensed by a sensor for a space in which traveling is necessary can be recognized, and the type of situation, from among restriction, wandering and collision, can be accurately recognized according to various determination schemes and can be handled according thereto.