Robot Environment Map Updates Using Region-Specific Time Windows
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing techniques for environmental information updates in mobile robots face challenges such as high computational resource requirements, difficulty in handling dynamic and static obstacles, and inefficient storage management, particularly in small robots and home environments where static obstacles frequently change.
Innovation Solution
An environmental information update apparatus and method that differentiates between obstacle and empty regions based on elapsed time, updating information in these regions separately to minimize data load and efficiently manage storage, using a system with components for trimming distant data, integrating maps, updating visible and invisible regions, and erasing unnecessary information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If all observation data is stored and voting or probabilistic processing is used to determine object presence, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and computational load increase enormously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the environment map into multiple regions (e.g., first region, second region, third region) based on distance from the mobile body. Different update strategies are applied to each region: frequent updates for nearby regions, less frequent updates for distant regions. This segmentation allows the system to maintain detection accuracy in critical areas while reducing overall computational load by not uniformly processing all spatial data at maximum frequency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality levels of information processing to different spatial regions. Regions closer to the mobile body receive more frequent updates and higher priority processing, while distant regions receive less frequent updates. This local quality differentiation ensures that computational resources are concentrated where they are most needed (nearby obstacles) while reducing processing demands for less critical areas.
2Productivity
If dynamic obstacle recognition and erasure after certain period is implemented, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional computer resources required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic update periods for different regions based on the mobile body's movement state. When the mobile body is moving, update periods for distant regions are extended (less frequent updates). When stationary or moving slowly, update periods are shortened (more frequent updates). This dynamic adjustment allows the system to maintain obstacle recognition accuracy while adapting computational resource usage to actual operational needs, improving productivity without requiring maximum resources continuously.
3Loss of information
If far obstacle map is not re-observed, then loss of information occurs, but storage amount increases and movement range is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic re-observation of distant regions with extended update periods. Instead of continuously updating all regions at maximum frequency, the system periodically revisits distant regions at lower frequencies. This periodic action maintains obstacle information retention for far regions while significantly reducing the quantity of stored information and computational overhead compared to continuous maximum-frequency updates of all regions.
Data Source
AI summary
Information regarding an obstacle region and information regarding an empty region are optimally updated to minimize an information amount. In the obstacle region, an obstacle exists in space where a mobile body moves. In the empty region, an obstacle does not exist. According to the disclosure, there is provided an environmental information update apparatus including an update unit that updates information regarding an obstacle region and information regarding an empty region, an obstacle existing in space where a mobile body moves in the obstacle region, the obstacle not existing in the empty region, in which the update unit updates the obstacle region, and updates the empty region on the basis of different periods of elapsed time.