Robot Coverage Path Planning Using Rank Partitioning to Minimize Turns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotic path planning techniques fail to effectively minimize the number of turns made by autonomous mobile robots, which increases travel time and energy consumption due to the time spent on deceleration and acceleration during turns.
Innovation Solution
The system partitions the environment into long unit-width rectangles called ranks, with interior ranks oriented horizontally or vertically, and uses a novel heuristic to minimize the number of ranks, then converts this partition into a coverage path by solving the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) or its variants, reducing the number of turns and optimizing path planning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the robot uses conventional path planning techniques, then the coverage path can be generated, but the number of turns is not minimized, increasing travel time and energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The environment is partitioned into long unit-width rectangles called ranks, which are then organized into super-ranks. This segmentation allows the path planning problem to be broken down into smaller sub-problems, reducing the overall complexity while minimizing turns by creating longer linear segments between turns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension by organizing ranks into super-ranks, adding an additional layer of abstraction to the path planning problem. This dimensional change allows for more efficient path generation by operating at multiple levels of granularity, reducing the number of turns required.
2Productivity
If the robot makes frequent turns to cover the environment, then complete coverage is achieved, but acceleration and deceleration increase energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the environment into ranks and super-ranks, the robot can traverse longer linear distances between turns, reducing the frequency of acceleration and deceleration events while maintaining complete coverage efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The hierarchical rank structure enables the robot to maintain continuous linear motion for extended periods, reducing interruptions from turns and associated energy-consuming acceleration/deceleration cycles, thereby improving overall coverage efficiency.
3Speed
If the robot travels faster in straight lines, then traversal time is reduced, but more turns are required to achieve complete coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The environment partitioning into long ranks creates extended straight-line segments that allow the robot to travel at higher speeds for longer durations, reducing the proportion of time spent on turns while still achieving complete coverage through the hierarchical structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are systems and methods for operating a mobile robot in an environment according to a coverage path generated using an environment map. The path includes a set of linear path segments connected by a number of turns therebetween, and the path minimizes or reduces the number of turns that the robot makes as it traverses the environment. An exemplary system includes at least one controller that partitions the environment map into regions with respective orientations based on the region's dimensional information and neighboring regions' properties, decomposes the regions into parallel ranks, and generates a coverage path using the ranks. One or more mobile robots can accomplish designated missions such as cleaning in the environment when moving along their respectively identified path.