Remote Camera Robot Guidance for Door-Level Path Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing property monitoring systems, particularly those using GPS navigation, are insufficient for guiding delivery robots to accurately navigate through complex terrain and around obstacles to reach a specific door, as they may not identify the door's location or account for varying terrain and obstacles effectively.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a remote camera-assisted guidance system that uses a separate camera, such as a doorbell camera, to capture images of the robot, identify its capabilities, and select a suitable path from stored candidate paths based on the robot's capabilities and terrain analysis, providing real-time guidance to the robot to avoid obstacles and reach the door.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS navigation is used for robot delivery, then the robot can navigate to the general location of the property, but it cannot accurately guide the robot to the specific door location or navigate around obstacles and difficult terrain
Solution Approach 1:
A remote camera system acts as an intermediary between the robot and the destination door. The camera captures images of the approach path and door location, which are then processed to generate guidance instructions sent back to the robot. This intermediary system enables precise door-level navigation without requiring complex onboard sensors or processing on the robot itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from two-dimensional GPS coordinate navigation to three-dimensional visual path analysis. By capturing images from the remote camera and analyzing them to identify terrain features, obstacles, and door locations, the system adds a visual dimension to navigation, enabling the robot to navigate complex terrain and reach specific door locations accurately.
2Measurement precision
If a remote camera system is implemented to capture images and provide visual guidance, then navigation accuracy to the door improves, but the system complexity and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing images of the approach path and door location before the robot arrives. These images are processed in advance to identify terrain types, obstacles, and the exact door location. Candidate paths are generated and stored for later use, reducing the computational burden on the robot when it needs to navigate.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of equipping the robot with complex onboard cameras and processing systems, the invention uses a remote camera system that creates a visual copy or representation of the environment. The robot receives guidance based on this external visual copy, which has already been analyzed for navigation purposes, thereby reducing the robot's own system complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If candidate paths are generated and stored based on observing robots with various capabilities, then the system can select appropriate paths for different robot types, but the data storage and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by storing and processing path data specific to different robot capabilities. Instead of storing all possible path variations for all robot types, the system generates and stores candidate paths tailored to specific robot capability profiles (e.g., wheeled robots vs. legged robots). This reduces the overall data volume while maintaining adaptability to different robot types.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus for remote camera-assisted robot guidance are disclosed. A method includes obtaining images of objects approaching a door of a property; identifying candidate paths to the door based on the images of the objects approaching the door of the property; determining movement capabilities of the objects; storing the candidate paths to the door labeled by the movement capabilities of the objects that took the paths; determining capability information for a robot at the property that indicates movement capabilities of the robot; selecting, from the candidate paths, a path for the robot to take to the door based on the movement capabilities of the robot and the labels of the candidate paths; and providing guidance information to the robot that guides the robot to the door along the selected path.