Mobility Control Architecture for Balance and Obstacle Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobility devices compromise stability and ease of locomotion, lack reliable safety features, and fail to provide automatic responses to environmental obstacles and component failures, leading to user discomfort and potential instability.
Innovation Solution
A mobility device with enhanced safety features, including redundant sensors and motors, automatic responses to obstacles, and adjustable torque control, along with redundant inertial sensors and gyroscopes for stability, and user-configurable drive options to enhance reliability and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If stability control features are added to mobility devices, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into multiple independent processors (first processor, second processor, third processor) that each handle specific safety functions. This segmentation allows the complex safety system to be broken down into manageable, modular components that can be developed and maintained independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements nested processing levels where the first processor handles basic stability control, the second processor monitors the first processor's operations, and the third processor provides higher-level oversight. This nested architecture allows complex safety functions to be organized in hierarchical layers, reducing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If automatic response capabilities are implemented, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility device implements self-service through automatic stability correction. When the system detects instability or potential hazards, it automatically adjusts wheel commands and applies corrective forces without requiring user intervention. This maintains high reliability while keeping operation simple for the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors stability parameters and environmental conditions, then automatically adjusts control commands based on this feedback. This closed-loop control improves reliability by responding to changing conditions while maintaining ease of operation since the adjustments happen automatically without user input.
3Reliability
If redundant sensors and motors are added, then reliability is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements redundancy selectively rather than uniformly throughout the system. Critical components like the first and second processors and their associated sensors are redundant, while less critical components use single instances. This local application of redundancy improves reliability for essential functions while minimizing overall weight increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts its operational parameters based on detected conditions. When redundancy is available, the system can operate with higher safety margins and more conservative control parameters. When operating in a degraded mode with fewer resources, the system adapts its parameters to maintain acceptable performance, effectively managing the weight-reliability tradeoff.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobility device that can accommodate speed sensitive steering, adaptive speed control, a wide weight range of users, an abrupt change in weight, traction control, active stabilization that can affect the acceleration range of the mobility device and minimize back falls, and enhanced redundancy that can affect the reliability and safety of the mobility device.