Robot Blind Area Positioning for Attention Redirection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing robot control systems do not effectively prevent the perception of operator instructions by users, leading to reduced effectiveness in discipline support, as users remain focused on the operator rather than the robot's actions.

Innovation Solution

A remotely controllable apparatus equipped with a camera, driving mechanism, speaker, and processor determines if it is in a 'blind area' relative to the user, moving to this area if necessary and outputting speech to redirect the user's attention, thereby preventing perception of operator instructions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the robot remains in its current position, then the operator can easily control it, but the user may perceive the operator's instructions reducing discipline support effectiveness

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvediscipline support effectivenessVSAvoidoperator control convenience

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The robot proactively moves to the blind area before the user can see the operator's instructions. This preliminary positioning action ensures that when the operator issues commands, the user is already focused on the robot rather than the operator, preventing the user from perceiving the instructions and maintaining discipline support effectiveness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The blind area positioning acts as an intermediary mechanism that separates the user's visual attention from the operator. By positioning itself in the blind area, the robot creates a spatial barrier that prevents the user from seeing the operator's hand movements and device operations, thereby maintaining the illusion of autonomous operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If the robot moves to the blind area, then user attention is redirected to the robot, but the robot's position changes from its original location

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvediscipline support effectivenessVSAvoidrobot position

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLength of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The robot performs the position adjustment to the blind area as a preliminary action before the actual discipline support task begins. This ensures that the robot is optimally positioned to maintain user attention throughout the interaction, and the position change is made only once rather than continuously

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The robot utilizes the spatial dimension by moving to a specific location (blind area) that has geometric relationships with both the user and operator. The blind area is defined by angular relationships (45 degrees clockwise and counterclockwise from the line connecting user and operator), transforming a 2D positioning problem into a geometric spatial solution

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS10809715B2Apparatus, robot, method, and recording medium

Publication Date: 2020.10.20 PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO LTD

AI summary

When an application of an apparatus is remotely activated based on an instruction by a first user, whether a current position of the apparatus is included in a blind area of a second user is determined based on an image acquired by a camera. When the current position of the apparatus is not in the blind area, a target point included in the blind area is set, a driving mechanism is controlled, the apparatus is moved to the target point, and a speaker is caused to output speech corresponding to the application.