Autonomous Robot Navigation With Dynamic Safety Zones
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Modern inventory systems face inefficiencies and safety concerns due to collisions between autonomous mobile robots and obstacles, leading to reduced throughput, increased response times, and potential safety hazards in facilities where these robots operate alongside humans.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a collision prevention feature that includes a navigation system and a safety verification system, allowing autonomous mobile robots to dynamically re-plan routes, identify and avoid obstacles, and adjust speed and direction to prevent collisions, with a safety zone mechanism that overrides propulsion instructions if an obstacle breaches the safe zone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If autonomous mobile robots operate at high speed to improve throughput, then productivity increases, but the risk of collision with obstacles and safety hazards to human workers increases
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation system performs preliminary route planning and identifies potential obstacles before the robot reaches them. The safety verification system continuously monitors the environment ahead of time, allowing the robot to adjust its path or speed in advance rather than reacting only after a collision risk is imminent. This proactive approach enables high-speed operation while maintaining safety margins.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety verification system acts as an intermediary between the navigation system and the propulsion mechanisms. It receives navigation instructions, verifies them against real-time sensor data about obstacles and human workers, and only approves propulsion commands that satisfy safety criteria. This intermediary layer enables high-speed operation by filtering out unsafe commands while allowing safe high-speed commands to pass through.
2Reliability
If autonomous mobile robots stop immediately upon detecting an obstacle to ensure safety, then collision risk decreases, but response time and system efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The robot's response to detected obstacles is dynamic rather than static. Instead of always stopping immediately, the navigation system evaluates the obstacle's position, the robot's current speed, and the feasibility of alternative routes. The system dynamically adjusts the response by either slowing down, changing direction, or continuing at reduced speed, thereby preventing collisions while minimizing disruption to throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors obstacle detection data and robot position in real-time, providing feedback to the navigation system. This feedback loop enables the robot to make informed decisions about whether to stop, slow down, or alter its course. The feedback mechanism allows the system to maintain safety while avoiding unnecessary stops that would waste time and reduce efficiency.
3Productivity
If autonomous mobile robots navigate through crowded areas to optimize route efficiency, then productivity improves, but the complexity of obstacle detection and safety verification increases
Solution Approach 1:
The safety system is segmented into distinct functional modules: obstacle detection sensors, navigation route planning, safety verification, and propulsion control. Each module handles a specific aspect of the navigation task, allowing the system to manage complex crowded environments through coordinated operation of specialized subsystems rather than a monolithic complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system and navigation algorithms are designed to handle multiple types of obstacles (static objects, moving objects, human workers) and various environmental conditions using the same core infrastructure. The safety verification system universally applies collision risk assessment to all navigation decisions, regardless of the specific context, reducing overall system complexity through standardized multi-functional processing.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed autonomous mobile robot systems can be used to safely and efficiently navigate through a facility while avoiding objects in the path of the autonomous mobile robot during completion of a task. Specifically, a first bounded area based on first sensor data may be generated around an autonomous mobile robot where the first sensor data is used to identify objects in a travel path for the autonomous mobile robot and determine a speed for navigating the facility. A second bounded area of a size less than the first bounded area may be generated around the autonomous mobile robot based on speed information from propulsion components of the autonomous mobile robot. A new travel path and new speed information may be generated based on identifying an object in the travel path, dimensional measurements of a space around the object, and a current size of the second bounded area.