NFC Tag Robot Navigation Route Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for teaching robots to access multiple targets in automated environments are laborious, time-consuming, and prone to collisions due to reliance on manual input and imprecise sensor feedback, especially in congested areas.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing Near Field Communication (NFC) tags to determine target locations and generate routes for robots, allowing them to access areas and avoid obstacles without manual guidance, by receiving and processing location information from NFC tags to create a path for task completion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual guidance with control pad and sensor feedback is used to teach robot locations, then the robot can be taught to access targets, but the process becomes laborious, time-consuming and imprecise leading to collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical guidance system (operator using control pad) with an automated electromagnetic field-based system (NFC tags and readers). The NFC tags store location data and the robot's reader automatically retrieves this information, eliminating the need for manual control pad operation and significantly reducing teaching time while improving precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates digital copies of physical locations by placing NFC tags at target positions. These tags contain encoded location information that the robot can read and store in its memory, creating a digital map of the environment that guides future operations without requiring repeated manual teaching
2Ease of operation
If operator visually guides robot to targets, then the robot can access locations, but collisions with structures occur due to imprecise visual guidance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces visual guidance with electromagnetic field-based NFC communication. The robot's reader automatically detects NFC tags at target locations and retrieves precise location data, eliminating the imprecision of visual estimation and manual control while maintaining operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The NFC tags serve as intermediaries between the physical environment and the robot's navigation system. They encode precise location information that the robot can automatically read and interpret, providing a reliable intermediary layer that ensures accurate target acquisition and collision avoidance
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple targets are taught using manual input method, then the robot can perform multiple tasks, but the teaching process becomes excessively time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring NFC tags at all target locations before the robot begins operation. Each tag contains pre-encoded location and task information, allowing the robot to automatically acquire multiple targets in rapid succession without time-consuming manual input for each location
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses digital copying through NFC tags to replicate location and task information across multiple targets. The robot reads these digital copies automatically, enabling rapid programming of multiple tasks without the repetitive manual input process, thereby significantly improving teaching efficiency while maintaining multi-task versatility
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 approach significantly reduces the likelihood of collisions and streamlines the teaching process, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in guiding robots through automated environments.
Implementation Method 1
A method utilizing Near Field Communication (NFC) tags to determine target locations and generate routes for robots
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is provided for determining a path or route in which a robot may be guided to perform a task(s) and avoiding one or more obstacles or obstructions. The apparatus includes at least one memory and at least one processor configured to receive origin location information via a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag associated with a key in an instance in which the key is positioned in an origin location. The processor is also configured to receive target location information via the NFC tag associated with the key in an instance in which the key is positioned in a target location, at which a task is performed by a robot and may generate a route for the robot to traverse in order to complete the task based in part on the origin location information and the target location information. Corresponding computer program products and methods are also provided.