Robot Cleaner Positioning With Marker-Based User-Centered Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robot cleaning systems lack the ability to intuitively grasp the positional relationship between a user and the robot cleaner, limiting user-centered services and control capabilities due to the absence of technologies to determine the robot's attitude and position relative to the user.
Innovation Solution
A robot cleaning system and method that utilize a mobile terminal to acquire images of the robot cleaner and its surroundings, identify markers, define a horizontal plane, and determine the robot's position relative to a reference point, allowing for intuitive control of the robot's travel based on projected areas or paths on a coordinate system centered on the mobile terminal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional SLAM methods are used to generate a map of the surrounding area, then the robot cleaner can navigate autonomously, but the system cannot grasp the positional relationship between the user and the robot cleaner
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces markers as intermediary objects attached to the robot cleaner and a mobile terminal with camera and inertial sensors as a mediator device. The mobile terminal captures images of the markers and uses inertial sensor data to calculate the robot's position and attitude relative to the user, bridging the information gap without requiring complex modifications to the robot cleaner itself
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical positioning systems with an optical-mechanical hybrid approach. Instead of using sophisticated mechanical sensors or communication systems on the robot to determine user position, the system uses visual markers captured by a camera and processes the data computationally using inertial sensor information from the mobile terminal
2Measurement precision
If the robot cleaner uses markers for position determination, then the system can grasp user position, but the number of markers required increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses only two markers on the robot cleaner instead of requiring multiple markers distributed throughout the environment. This partial approach (using minimal markers) is sufficient when combined with inertial sensor data from the mobile terminal, reducing the complexity of marker deployment and processing while maintaining accurate position and attitude determination
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional image coordinates to three-dimensional spatial coordinates by incorporating inertial sensor data (acceleration, orientation) from the mobile terminal. This dimensional transformation allows the system to calculate the robot's position and attitude in 3D space using only two markers, as the inertial sensors provide additional spatial context
3Ease of operation
If the system uses a coordinate system centered on the mobile terminal, then user-centered control is achieved, but the control system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile terminal serves multiple functions: it acts as the user interface for control, the positioning system for determining robot location, the attitude reference for orientation calculation, and the communication device for sending commands. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems, reducing overall complexity while enabling user-centered control through a familiar device
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method of controlling a robot cleaner. The control method includes acquiring an image of the robot cleaner and a surrounding area of the robot cleaner at a reference position, the robot cleaner having two markers spaced apart from each other by a given distance, extracting the two markers from the acquired image, defining a horizontal plane of an actual space in which the two markers are located, based on positions of the two markers displayed on the acquired image and an actual distance between the two markers, acquiring position information of the robot cleaner relative to the reference position, based on position information of the two markers in the horizontal plane, and controlling travel of the robot cleaner based on the position information of the robot cleaner relative to the reference position.