Mobile Robot Hitch Identification for Multi-Cart Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current autonomous mobile robots require retrofitting of cart bases to navigate and interact with carts, which is labor-intensive, expensive, and limits their utility to specific cart types, compromising safety and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robot system that uses a universal hitch with a unique identifier to detect and adjust its behavior based on the attached to tow different cart types, dynamically adjusting sensor coverage and navigation protocols based on cart attributes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If retrofit cart bases are installed on existing carts to enable robot interface, then the robot can navigate and interact with carts, but labor costs and installation expenses increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal cart base design with standardized dimensions (48x40 inches) and a common attachment interface that can accommodate multiple cart types. The robot is equipped with a universal gripper system that can interface with this standard base, eliminating the need for custom retrofitting of each individual cart and enabling a single robot to handle diverse cart configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses adjustable gripper force parameters and lift heights to accommodate different cart weights and configurations. The robot can dynamically modify its operational parameters based on the specific cart being handled, allowing versatile operation without physical modifications to each cart.
2Measurement precision
If retrofit cart bases are used to establish known size for navigation, then the robot can calculate navigation envelope, but existing cart wheels are replaced unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The cart base is designed as a separate, modular platform that attaches to the existing cart body without replacing the cart's original wheels. This segmentation allows the robot to interface with a standardized attachment point while preserving the cart's existing mobility components, avoiding unnecessary wheel replacement.
3Device complexity
If a specific gripper modality is affixed to the robot for a uniform cart type, then the attachment mechanism is simplified, but the robot's utility is limited to single cart type
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper system is designed with dynamic adjustability, allowing the robot to modify its gripping mechanism's configuration based on the cart type being handled. The gripper can change its jaw spacing, closing force, and attachment point to accommodate different cart base configurations, maintaining operational simplicity while achieving versatility.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the robot pulls carts without fixed known size, then sensor coverage is obscured, but the robot can handle variable load dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of the cart type and retrieves pre-stored dimensional parameters from a database before the robot begins navigation. This advance preparation allows the robot to configure its sensor coverage and navigation path in advance, ensuring safe operation while accommodating variable load dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot uses sensor feedback during operation to continuously monitor the cart's position and dimensions, adjusting its navigation and sensor coverage dynamically to maintain safe operation with variable loads.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments relate to a robotic system having a plurality of sensors attached to a robot. The system includes an identifier attached to a receiver hitch of a cart. The identifier includes information related to a cart with which the identifier is attached. At least one sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to detect the identifier and transmit sensor data to a computing unit of the robot. The computing unit of the robot operates the robot and/or the plurality of sensors based on the cart information. Some embodiments include a facility sensor attached to a facility. The facility sensor is configured to detect presence or absence of a cart.