Multi-Robot Route Planning With Virtual Driving Lines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for generating driving routes for multiple mobile robots either face inefficiencies in computation and collision avoidance, particularly in large-scale scenarios, where the centralized method's computational complexity increases exponentially and can lead to collisions or deadlocks due to obstacles and delays.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that generate virtual driving lines based on the size and turning radius of mobile robots, pattern driving behaviors to avoid collisions, and regenerate routes in real-time based on expected passage times through intersection points, prioritizing earlier passages to prevent collisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the centralized method is used to generate driving routes of all mobile robots simultaneously, then the optimality of driving routes is improved, but the computational complexity increases exponentially as the number of mobile robots increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the driving space into multiple virtual driving lines and divides the route generation problem into smaller sub-problems. Instead of considering all possible cases for all robots simultaneously, the system generates routes for each robot separately based on predefined virtual driving lines, reducing the exponential computational complexity while maintaining reasonable route optimality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-defining virtual driving lines in the driving space before actual route generation. These virtual driving lines serve as predetermined paths that constrain and guide the route planning process, eliminating the need to compute all possible routes from scratch and significantly reducing computational complexity
2Device complexity
If the decoupled method is used to generate driving routes individually for each mobile robot, then the computational complexity is reduced, but collision avoidance becomes difficult and may cause deadlocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces virtual driving lines as an intermediary structure that mediates between individual robot route planning and collision avoidance. These virtual driving lines serve as shared constraints that all robots must follow, enabling decentralized route generation while ensuring collision-free paths through the structured organization of driving corridors
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to route planning by organizing driving paths into structured virtual lines with specific geometries. This dimensional organization transforms the complex multi-robot coordination problem into a simpler problem of assigning robots to predefined spatial corridors, reducing computational complexity while maintaining safety
3Reliability
If driving routes are generated in advance considering all mobile robots, then optimal routes are obtained, but abnormal situations such as obstacles or delays may cause collisions or deadlocks during actual driving
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by enabling real-time regeneration of driving routes when abnormal situations occur. Instead of relying on static pre-computed routes, the system can dynamically recalculate routes based on current conditions such as obstacles or robot delays, maintaining adaptability while using the structured virtual driving lines to constrain the re-planning process and reduce computational overhead
Data Source
AI summary
A method of generating driving routes of a plurality of mobile robots including generating a plurality of virtual driving lines in a driving space, generating a pattern of driving behaviors of the mobile robots based on the plurality of generated virtual driving lines, inputting an initial position and a final position of each of the plurality of mobile robots, and generating respective driving routes from the initial position to the final position of each of the plurality of mobile robots on the plurality of generated virtual driving lines based on the generated pattern of the driving behaviors.