Autonomous Work Robot Boundary Setting by Battery-Aware Region Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional working robot systems require user-defined virtual boundaries, increasing user burden and risking incomplete work due to unknown workable time, especially when multiple regions are prioritized, leading to inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A working robot system that autonomously sets preferential working regions based on its current capacity, using GNSS and sensors to define boundaries considering battery life and memory, allowing efficient completion of tasks without user-defined virtual boundaries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the user sets virtual boundaries to define preferential working regions, then the working robot can perform work in designated areas, but the user burden increases and the work may not be completed efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The working robot autonomously determines its own preferential working region based on its current work capacity (battery level, memory status) without requiring user intervention. The robot calculates the optimal working region size and boundary automatically, transforming the system from user-configured to self-configured, thereby reducing user burden while ensuring reliable work completion.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot continuously monitors its own state (battery charge level, memory usage) and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust the preferential working region. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures that the working region is always appropriate for the robot's current capacity, preventing both incomplete work and unnecessary user intervention.
2Area of stationary object
If the preferential working region is set too large, then more area can be covered, but the work cannot be finished in the desired time due to unknown workable time
Solution Approach 1:
The robot dynamically changes the parameter of working region area based on its current work capacity. When battery level or memory status indicates limited remaining capacity, the robot automatically reduces the working region area to ensure completion within the remaining time. This dynamic parameter adjustment optimizes productivity by matching the working region size to the robot's actual capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The preferential working region is not fixed but dynamic, changing according to the robot's real-time state. The system transitions from static user-defined boundaries to dynamic self-adjusting boundaries that respond to changing conditions (battery discharge, memory filling), ensuring optimal work completion efficiency throughout the operation cycle.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple working regions are set with priority scheduling, then different areas can be managed separately, but it becomes impossible to know the working capacity at the end of each region's work
Solution Approach 1:
The robot autonomously tracks and manages its own work capacity information across multiple regions. Instead of requiring external monitoring or user awareness of remaining capacity, the robot self-monitors its state and uses this information to determine when to transition between regions or adjust the scope of work in each region, preserving work capacity information within the system itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot's controller acts as an intermediary that manages the relationship between multiple working regions and the robot's limited resources. It calculates and balances the work distribution across regions based on current capacity, serving as a mediator that prevents information loss by continuously computing the optimal allocation of remaining work capacity among prioritized regions.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention: reduces the amount of settings a user must perform prior to work commencing; eliminates situations whereby work is not completed within a set work region; and efficiently completes work within a prioritized work region. This work robot system comprises: a work robot; and a settings unit that sets a work region inside which the work robot performs work while moving autonomously. The work robot comprises: a machine body comprising a travel unit that can travel autonomously; a work unit that performs work along a travel path for the machine body; a drive unit that drives the travel unit and the work unit; and a battery that serves as a power source for the drive unit. The settings unit sets a work boundary line that demarcates a prioritized work area in which work can be completed, setting same on the basis of position information for a prioritized location for which settings have been input and taking into consideration the work capacity of the work robot.