Mobile Robot State Detection During Server Communication Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control systems for mobile robots fail to detect abnormalities when the robot is unable to communicate with a server, leading to undetected operational issues.
Innovation Solution
A control system that utilizes sensors around the mobile robot, including cameras and microphones, to determine the robot's state and notify the server of abnormalities through display patterns or sound, enabling the server to detect and respond to issues even when communication is lost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mobile robot relies on wireless communication with the server for state monitoring, then the system structure is simple, but the server cannot detect abnormalities when communication is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces sensors around the mobile robot as an intermediary to capture abnormality information when communication is lost. These sensors act as mediators that collect data about the robot's state and transmit it to the server, enabling abnormality detection without direct robot-server communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by having sensors continuously monitor and capture abnormality information before communication failure occurs. When communication is lost, the pre-captured information is already available for the server to detect abnormalities, eliminating the need for real-time communication.
2Reliability
If sensors are installed around the mobile robot to detect abnormalities, then abnormality detection reliability improves, but the system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensors around the mobile robot are designed with multi-functionality, serving both as environmental perception devices for the robot's autonomous navigation and as abnormality detection tools when communication is lost. This universal usage reduces the need for dedicated sensors solely for abnormality detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The existing sensors in the environment (cameras, microphones, etc.) serve themselves by dual-purpose: they function as environmental sensors for the robot's operation and simultaneously as monitoring sensors for detecting robot abnormalities when communication fails, eliminating the need for additional dedicated monitoring infrastructure.
3Loss of information
If the mobile robot uses display devices or sound output devices to notify abnormalities, then the server can easily acquire abnormality information, but the robot's device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical notification system (display devices and sound output devices on the robot) with an information transmission system. Sensors capture images or sounds of the notification devices, and this captured information is transmitted to the server, substituting direct physical notification with indirect information transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring the server to directly receive abnormality information from the robot's notification devices, the system creates copies of the notification information through sensor capture (images or sounds). These copies are then transmitted to the server, enabling information acquisition without direct connection.
Data Source
AI summary
A control system configured to control a system including a mobile robot configured to move autonomously and a server configured to be connected to the mobile robot by wireless communication includes one or more processors configured to, when the mobile robot is unable to communicate with the server, determine a state of the mobile robot, including whether the mobile robot has an abnormality, based on information acquired by sensors around the mobile robot.