Robot-Guided Pickup Navigation for Mismatched Vehicle Locations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals with visual impairments, those in unfamiliar areas, and elderly or young people face difficulties in indoor and outdoor navigation, particularly in finding transportation vehicles when the expected pick-up location differs from the actual vehicle's location.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a server and a robot, where the server receives a request and location from a user's device, instructs a vehicle to move, obtains information about the robot's location, and transmits this information to the device, enabling the robot to identify and guide the user from the robot's location to the vehicle's location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vehicle waits at the expected pick-up location, then the person can request transportation service, but the person may have difficulty finding the vehicle when the expected location differs from the actual location
Solution Approach 1:
A robot acts as an intermediary between the vehicle and the person. The robot is deployed to the actual vehicle location and guides the person to the correct pick-up point, bridging the information gap between the expected location and actual location.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to the person's device about the robot's location and status. The server obtains information about the second location related to the robot and transmits it to the device, enabling real-time location tracking and guidance.
2Ease of operation
If the expected pick-up location is used, then the transportation service can be requested, but the actual vehicle location may differ causing navigation difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation process is segmented into two distinct phases: Phase 1 uses the expected pick-up location for service request and vehicle dispatch, while Phase 2 uses the robot at the actual location for precise guidance. This segmentation allows each phase to use the most appropriate location information.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot is preliminarily deployed to the actual vehicle location before the person arrives. This preliminary action ensures that the guidance mechanism is already in place at the correct location, ready to guide the person once they begin their journey.
3Device complexity
If traditional navigation methods are used, then the system is simple, but people with visual impairments and elderly or young people have hard time with indoor/outdoor navigation
Solution Approach 1:
The robot provides self-service guidance by autonomously navigating to the actual vehicle location and then guiding the person to the correct pick-up point. The robot independently performs the guidance function without requiring complex user operations or interventions.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot serves as a physical intermediary that provides tactile and visual guidance cues to the person. For visually impaired individuals, the robot can provide tactile guidance through contact or proximity, making navigation accessible without complex technological interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for guiding an object using a robot is provided. The system includes a server and a robot. The server is configured to receive a request and a location of an object from a device of the object, instruct a vehicle to move to a first location based on the location of the object in response to receiving the request, obtain information about a second location related to a robot, and transmit information about the second location to the device of the object. The robot is configured to identify the object at the second location, and guide the object from the second location to the first location in response to identifying the object at the second location.