Robotic Vehicle Gas Hazard Detection for Safe Self-Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic systems face hazards from invisible hazardous environments such as flammable or poisonous gases, which can cause damage without visible warning, and existing systems lack effective methods to protect robots and their payloads.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize hazardous environment detectors to sense gas presence, airflow, and predict concentrations, directing robots to safe locations or replacing them with capable robots when thresholds are exceeded, using AI and historical data to manage robotic operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If robots operate in hazardous environments without protection, then productivity is maintained, but reliability deteriorates due to damage from invisible hazardous gases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of hazardous gases and wind conditions before the robot enters or operates in potentially hazardous areas. The hazardous environment detector continuously monitors gas concentrations and wind parameters, allowing the system to predict hazardous conditions in advance and direct the robot to safe locations before exposure occurs, thus maintaining both productivity and reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback by monitoring hazardous gas concentrations, wind speed, and wind direction in real-time. This feedback loop allows the control system to dynamically adjust robot operations, issue warnings, or redirect the robot to safe locations when thresholds are exceeded, ensuring robot safety without unnecessarily interrupting productivity
2Reliability
If protected robots are deployed in hazardous environments, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a hazardous environment detector and control system as intermediaries between the robot and the hazardous environment. These intermediary components detect hazardous conditions and mediate the robot's exposure by directing it to safe locations or replacing it with capable robots, providing protection without requiring complex modifications to the robot itself
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables robots to self-protect by equipping them with hazardous environment detectors that monitor conditions in real-time. When hazardous gas concentrations or wind conditions exceed thresholds, the robot's control system automatically directs the robot to safe locations or initiates replacement procedures, allowing the robot to serve its own protection needs without external intervention
3Reliability
If real-time hazardous gas detection and prediction is implemented, then robot safety improves, but loss of time increases due to monitoring and response actions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection and prediction of hazardous conditions using the hazardous environment detector and wind parameters. By predicting future hazardous gas concentrations based on current readings and wind flow data, the system can proactively direct the robot to safe locations before actual exposure occurs, minimizing response time while maintaining high detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
When hazardous conditions are detected or predicted, the system rapidly transitions the robot from its current operation to safe location without unnecessary intermediate steps. The control system prioritizes quick redirection to safe areas, minimizing the time the robot spends in or near hazardous environments while maintaining accurate monitoring capabilities
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively protects robots and payloads by avoiding hazardous environments, minimizing damage, and optimizing resource use by deploying protected robots only when necessary, enhancing safety and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
detecting, with a hazardous environment detector, a presence of a hazardous gas within a bounded environment
Implementation Method 2
detecting a wind flow speed and wind flow direction proximate the hazardous environment detector
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented system and method protect a robot in a hazardous environment. The method comprises detecting, with a hazardous environment detector, the presence of a hazardous gas within a bounded environment defining the boundaries of the hazardous environment, and detecting a wind flow speed and wind flow direction proximate the hazardous environment detector. The method further comprises determining a hazardous gas concentration (HGC) that is at least one of a present HGC and a predicted future HGC, and reading, from a database, a maximum HGC for at least one of the robot and a payload of the robot. Conditioned upon the HGC exceeding a threshold value of the maximum HGC, the method directs the robot to move to a safe location in which the HGC does not exceed the threshold value of the maximum HGC.