Real-Virtual Robot Coordination for Low-Cost Complex Interaction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robots for entertainment offer either high cost with limited interaction capabilities or low cost with basic functionality, limiting user engagement and interaction opportunities.
Innovation Solution
A robot platform with advanced degrees of freedom, actuated by suitable actuators, and controlled by a sophisticated control system that allows for complex interactions, combined with virtual robots for enhanced engagement, using a general-purpose computer to coordinate real and virtual robot interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If high-cost robots with advanced functionality are used, then interaction capabilities are improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a master controller that can control multiple different robot types (first type and second type robots) with different functionalities. The master controller serves as a universal control system that coordinates various robots for different entertainment scenarios, allowing one controller to manage diverse robot functions without requiring each robot to be individually expensive
Solution Approach 2:
The system divides the control architecture into a centralized master controller and multiple simpler slave robots. The complex control intelligence is segmented into the master controller, while individual robots have simpler control units. This segmentation allows cost distribution where the expensive computational resources are centralized rather than replicated in each robot
2Ease of manufacture
If low-cost robots with basic functionality are used, then cost is reduced, but interaction capabilities deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple simple robots under a single master controller to create complex coordinated behaviors. By combining the capabilities of multiple basic robots through centralized control, the system achieves interaction capabilities comparable to expensive single-robot solutions while maintaining lower individual robot costs
Solution Approach 2:
The master controller acts as an intermediary that translates user inputs and coordinates between multiple simple robots. This intermediary layer provides the sophisticated interaction logic without requiring it to be embedded in each individual robot, enabling basic robots to perform complex coordinated tasks
3Ease of manufacture
If a single robot is owned, then cost is reduced, but interaction opportunities are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The master controller is designed to support multiple robot types with different functions (e.g., walking robots, swimming robots, flying robots). This universal control system enables a single controller to manage diverse robots, creating multiple interaction opportunities without requiring the user to purchase expensive specialized robots for each function
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically assigns different robots to different tasks based on user needs and environmental conditions. The master controller can reconfigure which robots perform which functions, allowing the interaction opportunities to adapt and change rather than being fixed by hardware limitations
Data Source
AI summary
A system for controlling interactions between a plurality of real and virtual robots, includes one or more real robots present in the real environment, one or more virtual robots present in a virtual environment corresponding to the real environment, and a processing device operable to control interactions between one or more of the real robots and one or more of the virtual robots, where the interactions between the real and virtual robots are dependent upon at least the positions of the one or more real robots in the real environment and the positions of the one or more virtual robots in the virtual environment.