Healthcare Robot Fleet Crossing Control for Emergency Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fleet-control systems for mobile robots in healthcare environments fail to meet safety requirements, lack established standards for secure and safe robot-fleet management, and do not consider integration of multiple robots, especially in emergency situations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for controlling a multi-robot fleet that includes a fleet-control device to estimate paths, identify crossing and emergency regions, and implement stop lists to manage robot traffic and ensure safe navigation during normal and emergency operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing fleet-control systems designed for logistic systems or outdoor environments are used, then device complexity is reduced, but safety requirements in healthcare environments cannot be met
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the healthcare environment into different operational modes (normal operation mode and emergency operation mode) with distinct traffic rules and protocols for each mode. This allows the system to meet safety requirements by having specialized control logic for each scenario without requiring a completely complex new system, as each segment can be independently designed and implemented.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining traffic rules, protocols, and route planning strategies for both normal and emergency operation modes before actual robot fleet deployment. This includes establishing emergency protocols and safety rules in advance, allowing the system to quickly respond to emergencies without complex real-time decision-making, thereby meeting safety requirements while maintaining manageable system complexity.
2Productivity
If multiple types of robots are integrated in indoor healthcare environment, then productivity is improved, but navigation and obstacle detection capabilities become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a universal fleet-control system that can manage multiple types of mobile robots (e.g., delivery robots, cleaning robots, patient transport robots) through a common set of traffic rules, protocols, and navigation principles. This multi-functional approach allows different robot types to operate efficiently in the healthcare environment without requiring separate complex navigation systems for each robot type, thereby improving productivity while controlling system complexity.
3Ease of operation
If fleet-traffic rules from warehouse-logistic systems are implemented, then ease of operation is improved, but protocols and route planning for medical emergencies are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts traffic rules and protocols based on the operational mode. During normal operation, the system applies standard fleet-management rules for efficient robot coordination. When an emergency is detected, the system dynamically switches to emergency operation mode with specialized protocols and route planning priorities. This dynamic adaptability allows the system to maintain ease of operation through consistent basic rules while ensuring reliability through mode-specific emergency protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of multi-robot fleet control by a network device is provided. The method may include estimating a path to a final target for a robot. The method may include determining whether the robot will traverse a crossing region based on the path to the final target. The method may include, in response to determining that the robot will traverse the crossing region, updating a stop list for the robot to include a stop point for the crossing region. The method may include causing the robot to move to and stop at the stop point for the crossing region until any other robot in the multi-robot fleet arriving at the crossing region prior to the robot has cleared the crossing region. The method may include causing the robot to move to and stop at the emergency stop line during an emergency-operation mode.