Mobile Robot Sensor Pod with Rotating Volumetric Point Cloud
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile robots face challenges in indoor navigation due to the limited positioning and obstructive mechanical and electrical structures of spinning LIDAR sensors, which are not suitable for indoor operations.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robot design featuring a sensor pod with a collar rotatably supported by the robot body, housing a volumetric point cloud sensor that captures three-dimensional volumetric point clouds of obstacles, allowing for 360-degree observation with a curved wall sweeping about a vertical axis, and optionally including multiple sensors for comprehensive obstacle detection and avoidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a spinning LIDAR sensor is used for obstacle detection, then the robot can detect obstacles in its environment, but the sensor's positioning on top with mechanical structures passing through creates obstructions and limits its field of view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sensor from the traditional top-mounted position and relocates it to a collar structure that rotates with the robot body. This separates the sensor from the obstructive mechanical structures, allowing the sensor to observe the environment without being blocked by the robot's own components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional scanning approach (spinning LIDAR) to a three-dimensional volumetric sensing approach using a point cloud sensor. This dimensional change allows the sensor to capture spatial information in all directions simultaneously, eliminating blind spots caused by mechanical obstructions.
2Productivity
If a spinning LIDAR sensor rotates at high speed (600 RPM) to achieve 10 Hz frame rate, then the sensor can capture environmental data frequently, but it becomes unsuitable for indoor operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical spinning LIDAR system with a volumetric point cloud sensor that can capture three-dimensional data without high-speed rotation. This substitution eliminates the mechanical vibrations and noise associated with fast-spinning components, making the system suitable for sensitive indoor environments.
3Loss of information
If the collar rotates 360 degrees about the vertical axis to provide complete perimeter observation, then the sensor achieves comprehensive environmental coverage, but the rotating portions of the sensor extend beyond the collar's outermost point creating potential interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the sensor assembly to be nested within the collar structure. The volumetric point cloud sensor and its rotating components are contained inside the collar's outermost boundary, allowing 360-degree rotation without any part extending beyond the collar. This nesting eliminates potential interference while maintaining complete observational coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile robot including a robot body, a drive system supporting the robot body, and a controller in communication with the drive system. The robot also includes an actuator moving a portion of the robot body through a volume of space adjacent the mobile robot and a sensor pod in communication with the controller. The sensor pod includes a collar rotatably supported and having a curved wall formed at least partially as a surface of revolution about a vertical axis. The sensor pod also includes a volumetric point cloud sensor housed by the collar and observing the volume of space adjacent the robot from within the collar along an observation axis extending through the curved wall. A collar actuator rotates the collar and the volumetric point cloud sensor together about the collar axis.