Mobile Robot Visual Overlay for Arm Collision Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomously travelable robots with robotic arms often interfere with surrounding objects due to the lack of effective navigation and collision avoidance systems in conventional technologies.
Innovation Solution
A robot system and method that includes a self-propelled robot with a robotic arm, a manipulating part, a display, and circumference cameras, using processing circuitry to generate a simulated image of the robot's posture and environment, creating a synthesized image to help operators avoid collisions by visualizing the robot's movement and potential interferences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the robot is equipped with a robotic arm to perform manipulation tasks, then the functional capability is improved, but the risk of interfering with surrounding objects increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system generates a simulated image showing the robot's future posture and position before actual movement occurs. This allows the operator to predict potential collisions with surrounding objects and adjust the movement plan in advance, preventing interference before it happens.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time visual feedback by displaying the synthesized image that combines the actual camera view with the simulated robot posture. This feedback loop enables the operator to continuously monitor and adjust the robot's movement to avoid interfering with surrounding objects.
2Device complexity
If the operator relies only on conventional camera images to control the robot, then the system complexity is reduced, but the ability to avoid collisions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a simulated robot image as an intermediary between the camera feed and the operator's control decisions. This virtual representation provides additional spatial information about the robot's posture and potential movement paths, enhancing collision avoidance without requiring complex sensor modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a visual copy of the robot's current and future posture through simulated images. This copy is overlaid on the camera feed to provide the operator with predictive information about the robot's position relative to surrounding objects, improving safety without significantly increasing hardware complexity.
3Reliability
If the system generates and displays synthesized images combining real and simulated views, then the collision avoidance capability is improved, but the information processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system adds a temporal dimension to the visual information by displaying not only the current robot position but also the predicted future posture through simulated images. This time-based dimensionality allows the operator to anticipate collisions before they occur, improving safety without requiring complex real-time physics calculations.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot system includes a self-propelled robot, a manipulating part, a display, a circumference camera that is disposed in the self-propelled robot and images a situation around the self-propelled robot, and processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is adapted to generate a self-propelled robot simulated image, and generate a synthesized image including a circumference situation image captured by the circumference camera and the generated self-propelled robot simulated image.