Mobile robots with intelligent capacitive touch sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile robots with capacitive touch sensors are prone to detecting unintended inputs from environmental factors like large conductors or charged surfaces, which can lead to spurious activation during navigation, disrupting their operations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a mobile robot with a recessed well and capacitive sensors, where the controller determines the operating status using mobility sensors and selectively disregards inputs based on this status, altering detection thresholds and operations to reduce sensitivity to unintended inputs. This includes using conductive spring-type capacitors and active guards to concentrate electric field lines and increase detection precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If capacitive touch sensors are used for user interface input detection, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to spurious activation from environmental factors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic threshold adjustment where the capacitive sensor's detection threshold is not fixed but adapts based on environmental conditions. The system continuously monitors baseline capacitance values and adjusts the activation threshold dynamically to distinguish between intentional user inputs and environmental interference, thereby maintaining ease of operation while improving reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the electrical parameters of the capacitive sensing system by introducing guarded rings with adjustable voltages. These guarded rings modify the electric field distribution and capacitance characteristics around the sensor, allowing the system to filter out interference from conductive surfaces while maintaining sensitivity to genuine user inputs
2Ease of operation
If capacitive sensors have high sensitivity to detect user inputs, then ease of operation is improved, but object-affected harmful factors worsen due to detection of unintended inputs from environmental conductors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces guarded rings as intermediary elements between the capacitive sensor and the environment. These guarded rings act as electrostatic shields that can be independently controlled, creating a protective barrier that blocks interference from environmental conductors while allowing genuine user inputs to be detected. The guarded rings serve as a mediator that filters unwanted signals before they reach the sensor
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different electrical characteristics to different regions around the capacitive sensor. The guarded rings surrounding the sensor have different voltage potentials and capacitance values compared to the central sensing area, creating localized zones with different sensitivity characteristics. This allows the system to maintain high sensitivity at the center for user inputs while reducing sensitivity at the periphery where environmental interference occurs
3Reliability
If the robot deactivates input elements during navigation to reduce spurious activation, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation worsens due to reduced input responsiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of input element activation based on the robot's operational state. During navigation, the system doesn't completely deactivate capacitive sensors but adjusts their sensitivity thresholds and activation criteria dynamically. The system can quickly transition between different sensitivity modes, maintaining reliability during navigation while preserving the ability to respond to genuine user inputs when needed
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively reduces the detection of unintended inputs during navigation, ensuring the mobile robot operates reliably by requiring more precise inputs when necessary and deactivating irrelevant input elements, thus minimizing spurious activations and maintaining mission continuity.
Implementation Method 1
The touchpad can define a capacitor relative to other conductors in its vicinity. For example, the conductor of the touchpad may define a capacitor relative to the electrical ground plane of the sensing device
Implementation Method 2
as a user's finger is inserted into the space through which electric field lines flow between the touchpad and the ground plane of the sensing device, the capacitance (Cf) may increase due to the dielectric effect
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile robot includes a recessed well in a top surface of the mobile robot, at least one capacitive sensor underlying the recessed well and having a first region and a second region, one or more mobility sensors, and a controller coupled to the at least one capacitive sensor and the one or more mobility sensors. The controller is configured to determine an operating status of the mobile robot responsive to output signals from the one or more mobility sensors, and selectively disregard an input at a first portion of the recessed well corresponding to the first region of the at least one capacitive sensor based on the operating status of the mobile robot.