Robot Boundary Cleaning Planning Without a Prior Map
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robot cleaning methods face challenges such as large differences between framed and actual terrain, leading to inefficient navigation and slow cleaning, or require prior maps for effective cleaning, which can be cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
An area cleaning planning method where a robot travels along the boundary of a predefined cleaning area, dividing room cleaning subareas in real-time based on preset wall environment conditions, allowing for efficient cleaning without the need for a complete global map, and ensuring complete coverage by moving to new starting points until all areas are cleaned.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the robot uses rectangular frame area cleaning mode without prior map, then no prior map is needed, but the difference between framed area and actual terrain is large causing many navigation paths and slow cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning area is segmented into multiple grid cells (M×N grids), and the robot cleans these grids in sequence while dynamically adjusting the boundary based on actual terrain detection. This segmentation allows the system to operate without a complete prior map while maintaining efficient cleaning paths by processing one grid at a time and adapting to real-world boundaries.
2Productivity
If the robot uses prior map based room division mode, then navigation paths are few and cleaning speed is accelerated, but prior map is needed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining grid structures and boundary detection algorithms that will automatically adapt during cleaning operations. Instead of requiring a pre-built map, the robot uses pre-programmed grid-based navigation logic that dynamically conforms to actual terrain as it encounters walls and obstacles, effectively creating the map structure on-the-fly during the cleaning process.
3Reliability
If the robot travels along boundary for long time without cleaning, then complete boundary coverage is achieved, but cleaning efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system ensures continuous useful action by integrating cleaning operations with boundary traversal. Instead of separating boundary detection from cleaning, the robot performs cleaning tasks within each grid cell while moving along boundaries, ensuring that every movement serves dual purposes: mapping the environment and cleaning the area. This eliminates idle boundary traversal time.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are an area cleaning planning method for robot walking along the boundary, a chip and a robot. The area cleaning planning method includes: on a laser map which is scanned and constructed by a robot in real time, the robot is controlled to walk along the boundary in a predefined cleaning area framed at the current planning starting point position, so that the robot does not cross out the predefined cleaning area in the process of walking along the boundary; meanwhile, according to the division condition of the room cleaning subareas that conform to the preset wall environment condition in the predefined cleaning area, the robot is controlled to walk along the boundary in a matched area, when the robot walks along the boundary in the matched area and returns to the planning starting point position, the robot is controlled to perform planned cleaning in the matched area.