Coordinated Pool Cleaning Robots for Downtime-Resilient Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large swimming pools often require a single commercial pool cleaner, which can lead to downtime and inefficiencies if the cleaner needs servicing or repair, and there is a need for improved efficiency and reduced human intervention in pool cleaning processes.
Innovation Solution
A set of pool cleaning robots that can work together, including configurations with different cleaning units and propulsion systems, to clean pools simultaneously or in a cooperative manner, with features like collision and cable entanglement avoidance, and the ability to reallocate cleaning tasks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single commercial pool cleaner is used, then the pool cleaning task can be performed with one device, but the pool operator experiences downtime and inefficiency when the cleaner needs servicing or repair
Solution Approach 1:
The pool cleaning system is divided into multiple independent pool cleaning robots (master and slave) that can operate separately. Each robot is a self-contained unit with its own propulsion system, cleaning mechanisms, and control electronics, allowing one robot to continue cleaning while another is being serviced or repaired.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter from a single robot to multiple robots working in coordination. This parameter change allows the pool cleaning operation to maintain continuous availability by distributing the cleaning task across multiple units, so that maintenance of one unit does not halt overall cleaning operations.
2Reliability
If multiple pool cleaning robots are deployed, then pool cleaning availability is improved, but the system complexity and coordination requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
A master pool cleaning robot acts as an intermediary that coordinates and controls one or more slave pool cleaning robots. The master robot receives cleaning task assignments, processes them, and distributes appropriate sub-tasks to slave robots, thereby managing system complexity through hierarchical control rather than requiring complex peer-to-peer coordination among all robots.
Solution Approach 2:
The master and slave pool cleaning robots are designed with substantially the same hardware configuration and cleaning capabilities, creating equipotential units. This design simplifies the coordination system because all robots can perform the same functions, and the master robot can take over cleaning tasks from slave robots if needed, reducing the complexity of task allocation and robot differentiation.
3Productivity
If a single pool cleaner is used, then the device complexity is lower, but the cleaning efficiency and speed are limited
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple pool cleaning robots are merged into a coordinated cleaning system where they work simultaneously on different portions of the pool. The master and slave robots can clean adjacent or overlapping areas at the same time, effectively multiplying the cleaning throughput and reducing total cleaning time compared to a single robot working alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from single-robot sequential cleaning to multi-robot parallel cleaning, adding a dimensional aspect of simultaneous operation. Multiple robots can cover different spatial zones of the pool concurrently, effectively utilizing the third dimension of time by performing cleaning operations in parallel rather than sequentially, thereby increasing overall productivity.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
A set of pool cleaning robots (21-23) for cleaning a pool, wherein the set includes a master pool cleaning robot and a slave pool cleaning robot.