Outdoor Power Equipment Presence Detection for Human-Aware Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current outdoor power equipment, such as robots for lawn mowing and snow blowing, face challenges in efficient navigation and obstacle avoidance within their work areas, particularly in domestic settings where setup and operation can be complex and require advanced control systems to manage interactions with humans and pets.
Innovation Solution
A mobile outdoor power equipment machine equipped with a scanning system and control system that detects physical elements, determines their proximity and animate nature, and adjusts behavior accordingly to enhance navigation and obstacle avoidance, using methods like silhouette detection and facial feature recognition, allowing for improved area coverage and user-friendly operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional control systems are used for autonomous navigation, then basic navigation functionality is achieved, but navigation efficiency and obstacle avoidance capability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The scanning system divides the work area into multiple sections and independently detects physical elements in each section. This segmentation allows the robot to systematically navigate through different zones, improving both navigation efficiency and obstacle avoidance by handling each area methodically rather than as a single undifferentiated space
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary scanning and detection of the work area before the robot begins its main navigation task. By预先 identifying physical elements, animate beings, and work area boundaries through the scanning system, the robot can plan its navigation path in advance, avoiding obstacles more effectively and improving overall navigation efficiency
2Reliability
If advanced scanning and detection systems are added to improve presence detection, then obstacle avoidance and navigation are enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scanning system is designed to perform multiple functions: detecting physical elements, identifying animate beings, determining work area boundaries, and assessing proximity. By consolidating these detection capabilities into a single multi-functional scanning system rather than separate specialized sensors for each function, the patent reduces overall system complexity while maintaining high presence detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The control system integrates multiple detection and navigation functions into a unified control architecture. The scanning system data is processed centrally to simultaneously determine physical element presence, animate being detection, work area identification, and proximity assessment, reducing the complexity that would arise from multiple independent control systems
3Measurement precision
If the scanning system scans the entire area continuously, then detection accuracy is improved, but energy consumption and time loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The scanning system performs partial scanning by focusing detection efforts on specific sections of the work area rather than continuously scanning the entire area. The system divides the work area into sections and selectively scans areas where physical elements or animate beings are detected or where the robot plans to navigate, achieving sufficient detection accuracy while reducing scanning time and energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The scanning system operates periodically rather than continuously, performing detection scans at regular intervals during the robot's navigation. This periodic scanning approach maintains adequate detection accuracy for safety and navigation purposes while significantly reducing the time and energy spent on scanning compared to continuous operation
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile outdoor power equipment machine for performing a controlled task within a work area includes a drive system for providing movement of the machine, a working apparatus for performing the task, and a scanning system for scanning an area surrounding the machine. The scanning system is configured to provide detection of physical elements in the environment to aid in navigation of the machine. In an embodiment, the scanning system and a control system are configured to scan the area, determine the presence of a physical element in the area, determine that the physical element is located within the work area, determine the proximity of the physical element to the machine, determine a confidence level of whether the physical element is an animate being, and direct a behavior of the machine correlating to a combination of the confidence level and the proximity.