Robot Light Projection System for Pedestrian Path Indication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous robots navigating shared spaces with humans, such as sidewalks and streets, lack intuitive indicators of their path and intentions, posing safety risks for both robots and pedestrians due to their non-humanoid form and inability to mimic human body language.
Innovation Solution
A light projection system mounted on the robot that projects illumination patterns onto the ground to indicate its path, direction, speed, and intentions, using a motorized mounting system and focusing system to adjust the light's direction and shape, providing clear and simple information about the robot's movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If an autonomous robot navigates shared spaces with humans, then the robot can perform autonomous travel tasks, but pedestrians cannot intuitively understand the robot's path and intentions due to its non-humanoid form
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses different colored lights (e.g., green, yellow, red) to convey different information about the robot's path and intentions. The light projection system changes colors to indicate various states such as moving forward, turning, accelerating, or slowing down, making the robot's intentions intuitively understandable to pedestrians
Solution Approach 2:
The light projection system creates visual copies of path information directly on the ground surface, projecting illumination patterns that represent the robot's intended trajectory. This allows pedestrians to see a visual representation of where the robot will go, compensating for the robot's non-humanoid form
2Loss of information
If the robot projects light patterns to indicate path and intentions, then communication with pedestrians is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The light projection system serves multiple functions: it projects the robot's path, indicates direction of travel, shows acceleration or deceleration states, and communicates intentions to pedestrians. By consolidating these communication functions into a single system, the patent reduces overall device complexity while maintaining comprehensive information transmission
Solution Approach 2:
The light projection system is designed to be dynamic, adjusting the illumination patterns in real-time based on the robot's current state and intended actions. The system can modify the projected patterns to indicate different movements such as turning, accelerating, or slowing down, providing continuous and adaptive communication without requiring separate systems for each function
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
Enhances the safety of navigation by clearly communicating the robot's path and intentions to pedestrians, allowing for smoother coexistence and reducing the risk of collisions by providing visual cues similar to human body language.
Implementation Method 1
a light projection device mounted to the body, and configurable to project light onto the ground in front of the robot
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a light projection system that can be used to indicate a robot's path of travel, a robot including the light projection system, and methods for projecting light to indicate a robot's path of travel. The light projection system can by mounted to the body of the robot, and can be configured to project light onto the ground in front of the robot. The light projection system can be configured to project different illumination patterns that can indicate whether the robot is moving forward, turning, accelerating, and/or slowing down, among other examples.