Robot Cleaner Bumper Sensor Failure Detection After Repeated Collisions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robot cleaners fail to avoid obstacles properly when the bumper sensor is not functioning correctly, leading to continuous collisions and unnecessary power consumption due to unreset sensors.
Innovation Solution
A robot cleaner with a controller that detects repeated collisions and measures the number of times it backs up, comparing this count to a reference number to determine sensor failure, and stops operation, further informing the user through a sound or display unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the bumper sensor continuously operates to detect collisions, then the robot cleaner can avoid obstacles, but the robot cleaner repeatedly backs up and consumes excessive power when the sensor is not reset properly
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs preliminary actions by measuring and counting the number of times the robot backs up before actually determining sensor failure. This preliminary measurement allows the system to distinguish between normal collision avoidance and sensor malfunction, preventing unnecessary continuous operation and power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the backup count and comparing it against a predetermined threshold. When the backup count exceeds the threshold, the controller determines sensor breakdown and stops operation, creating a closed-loop control system that prevents excessive power consumption while maintaining reliable obstacle avoidance.
2Reliability
If the robot cleaner stops operation when backup count exceeds threshold, then continuous collisions are prevented, but the device complexity increases due to additional control logic
Solution Approach 1:
The controller pre-establishes a threshold value for the backup count and uses this predetermined criterion to determine when to stop operation. This preliminary setup simplifies the control logic by providing a clear, objective stopping condition rather than requiring complex real-time analysis of collision patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors changes in the backup count parameter and triggers a state change (operation stop) when the parameter exceeds a predetermined threshold. This parameter-based control approach simplifies the decision-making logic while ensuring operation stability.
3Device complexity
If the robot cleaner operates without sensor breakdown detection, then the device complexity remains low, but the robot cleaner continuously collides with obstacles when the bumper sensor fails
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurement of the backup count to detect sensor breakdown before continuous collisions occur. This preliminary detection mechanism prevents harmful continuous collisions while using simple counting logic that adds minimal complexity to the control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The feedback mechanism monitors the backup count and triggers a stop command when the sensor likely fails. This simple feedback loop prevents continuous collision damage while maintaining low device complexity through straightforward count-threshold comparison logic.
Data Source
AI summary
A control method for a robot cleaner that includes: driving a driving part to move the robot cleaner by a predetermined distance in an opposite direction to a proceeding direction thereof when a bumper sensor detects a collision with an obstacle, measuring the number of times in which the robot cleaner repeats moving in real-time, comparing the measured number with a predetermined reference number, and stopping the robot cleaner when the measured number is more than the reference number. With this method, the robot cleaner can diagnose a breakdown of the bumper sensor to stop the cleaner, and inform a user of the breakdown.