Robot Cleaner Curved Path Traveling to Reduce Direction-Change Stops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robot cleaners increase cleaning time due to frequent stops when changing traveling directions, which hampers efficiency in covering the cleaning area.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a control method that allows the robot cleaner to change its traveling direction through curved motion without stopping, using a combination of position data, path map generation, and obstacle sensing to predetermine cleaning paths, including zigzag patterns, and employing feature maps for navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the robot cleaner stops to change traveling direction during cleaning, then it can accurately follow predetermined cleaning paths, but the cleaning time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner executes curved traveling instead of sharp angular turns to change direction. By using curved paths with calculated radius and angle, the robot can transition between cleaning segments smoothly without stopping, maintaining path following accuracy while eliminating time loss from stops and rapid direction changes
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit calculates curved traveling parameters (radius and angle) in advance before the robot reaches the turning point. By pre-computing the curved path parameters based on current position and target position, the robot can smoothly execute the curved transition without stopping or hesitation, maintaining continuous motion while accurately following the intended cleaning path
2Productivity
If the robot cleaner executes straight traveling with frequent stops to change direction, then it can clean the entire area systematically, but the cleaning efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner maintains continuous motion by executing curved traveling between cleaning segments instead of stopping. The control unit ensures the robot travels along curved paths that connect different straight cleaning segments, allowing the cleaning operation to proceed continuously without interruption, thereby improving overall cleaning efficiency while still covering the entire area systematically
Data Source
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AI summary
A robot cleaner which does not stop to change a traveling direction thereof, and a control method thereof includes setting a territory about which cleaning will be performed based on position data acquired during traveling about a cleaning area, predetermining a cleaning path to clean the territory about which cleaning will be performed, and if the cleaning path includes a zigzag traveling path, changing the traveling direction of the robot cleaner by executing curved traveling of the robot cleaner during traveling along the zigzag traveling path, thus decreasing the time required to clean an area during a change of the traveling direction of the robot cleaner.