Mobile Robot Orientation-Based Virtual Barriers for Area Restriction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobile robots lack the ability to effectively restrict their movement to specific areas without physical barriers, posing risks of damage to objects and requiring continuous user monitoring.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a mobile robot that can generate virtual barriers based on its orientation and location, using sensors and markers to define non-traversable areas on an occupancy grid, allowing it to autonomously navigate and avoid restricted regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical barriers are erected to restrict robot movement, then the robot cannot enter restricted regions, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of physical barriers by projecting barrier information onto the occupancy grid map. Instead of requiring actual physical barriers and beacons, the system copies the restriction concept into digital form through visual indicators on the robot and corresponding markings on the environmental map, allowing the robot to recognize and avoid restricted areas without physical obstruction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of physical barriers and beacons with an information-based system. The controller uses visual indicators displayed on the robot's interface and corresponding representations on the occupancy grid to communicate restricted areas, substituting mechanical physical restrictions with digital visual information that the robot processes through its sensing and mapping systems.
2Reliability
If continuous user monitoring is implemented to prevent robot damage, then the risk of damage is reduced, but the ease of operation decreases due to constant attention required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the robot to autonomously identify and avoid restricted areas through its own sensing and mapping capabilities. The robot independently generates the occupancy grid, detects visual indicators marking restricted zones, and self-regulates its navigation to prevent entry into prohibited areas, eliminating the need for continuous external user monitoring while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously updating the occupancy grid map with detected barriers and visual indicators. The robot receives real-time information about restricted areas through its sensors and map processing, allowing it to adjust its navigation autonomously based on the environmental information it gathers, thereby preventing damage without requiring constant user oversight.
3Extent of automation
If virtual barriers are generated based on robot orientation and location, then the robot can autonomously navigate restricted areas, but the measurement precision and detection difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the one-dimensional concept of physical barriers into a two-dimensional representation on the occupancy grid map. By projecting barrier locations and robot positions onto the grid plane, the system creates a visual dimension that simplifies the relationship between robot orientation, location, and restricted areas, making barrier generation more robust to measurement variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing the occupancy grid map and pre-marking restricted areas with visual indicators before the robot begins navigation. This preliminary setup allows the robot to rely on pre-computed barrier information rather than requiring real-time precision calculations during movement, reducing the immediate measurement precision demands during autonomous operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot includes a body that is movable relative to a surface one or more measurement devices within the body to output information based on an orientation of the body at an initial location on the surface, and a controller within the body to determine an orientation of the body based on the information and to restrict movement of the body to an area by preventing movement of the body beyond a barrier that is based on the orientation of the body and the initial location.