Remote Robot Environment Modeling With Element-Level Change Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in asset inspection using remote-controlled robots is the high volume of data that needs to be transmitted in real-time for effective human observation and control, particularly in scenarios with high latency communications, which can hinder the accuracy and speed of updating the environment representation for the human operator.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a robot with sensors and a processing component that generates and maintains a dynamic model by comparing an updated model with a reference model, communicating only element-by-element changes to a remote location, where a second simulator maintains a remote model based on this data, reducing the data transfer required for a virtual reality representation of the environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If all sensor data is transmitted in real-time to the remote location, then the human operator can observe and control the robot accurately, but the data transmission volume becomes excessively large, especially in high latency communication scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential elements needed for accurate environment representation. Instead of transmitting all sensor data, the system identifies and transmits only key environmental elements and their changes, separating critical information from redundant data to reduce transmission volume while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The environment is segmented into discrete elements that can be independently tracked and transmitted. By dividing the environment into manageable components and only transmitting changes to specific elements rather than complete environment data, the system reduces overall data transmission volume while preserving representation accuracy.
2Reliability
If complete environment data is transmitted frequently, then the remote model remains synchronized with the real environment, but the communication bandwidth requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous data transmission, the system employs periodic updates only when environmental elements change. The differential model approach triggers transmissions based on detected changes rather than on a fixed schedule, reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining model synchronization reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback mechanisms where the robot identifies changes in environmental elements and only transmits data when changes occur. This feedback-driven approach ensures the remote model remains synchronized with the real environment while minimizing unnecessary data transmissions and bandwidth usage.
3Loss of information
If detailed sensor data is transmitted to maintain accurate environment representation, then the human operator has complete situational awareness, but the transmission time and latency impact increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential environmental information needed for situational awareness. By identifying and transmitting only relevant environmental elements and their changes rather than complete sensor data sets, the system reduces transmission time while preserving the completeness of information necessary for effective remote operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot preliminarily processes sensor data on-board to identify and extract only the changed environmental elements before transmission. This preliminary processing at the source reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted, thereby reducing transmission time while maintaining information completeness for the remote operator.
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with certain implementations of the present approach, a reduced, element-by-element, data set is transmitted between a robot having a sensor suite and a control system remote from the robot that is configured to display a representation of the environment local to the robot. Such a scheme may be useful in allowing a human operator remote from the robot to perform an inspection using the robot while the robot is on-site with an asset and the operator is off-site. In accordance with the present approach, an accurate representation of the environment in which the robot is situated is provided for the operator to interact with.