Robot Obstacle Recognition for Cord and Clothing Avoidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous robots often malfunction or fail to complete tasks due to encountering objects like cords, wires, clothing, and toys that get stuck in their wheels or moving parts, necessitating a method to avoid entanglement and obstruction.
Innovation Solution
Equipping autonomous robots with image sensors and processors that capture images of their workspace, identify object types using an object dictionary, and adjust navigation paths to avoid recognized objects through deep learning and preprogrammed responses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous robots operate without object recognition capabilities, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to entanglement with objects like cords and clothing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical obstacle detection methods with optical sensing and image processing systems. The robot uses an image sensor to capture images of the workspace, and a processor analyzes these images to identify objects like cords, clothing, and toys, substituting physical trial-and-error navigation with visual recognition and planning
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary object recognition and identification before the robot physically encounters obstacles. By capturing images and identifying objects in advance, the robot can plan its navigation path to avoid entanglement with cords, clothing, and other objects before they become problems
2Productivity
If the robot uses simple navigation without object identification, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity deteriorates due to task completion failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously capturing images of the workspace, analyzing object positions and types, and adjusting the navigation path accordingly. The processor uses the identified object information to modify the robot's movement plan, ensuring task completion while avoiding obstacles like cords and clothing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an image sensor and processing system as an intermediary between the robot and the physical environment. This intermediary layer allows the robot to perceive and understand objects like cords, clothing, and toys before physical interaction, enabling informed navigation decisions
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a robot, including: a plurality of sensors; a processor; a tangible, non-transitory, machine readable medium storing instructions that when executed by the processor effectuates operations including: capturing, with an image sensor, images of a workspace as the robot moves within the workspace; identifying, with the processor, at least one characteristic of at least one object captured in the images of the workspace; determining, with the processor, an object type of the at least one object based on characteristics of different types of objects stored in an object dictionary, wherein possible object types comprise a type of clothing, a cord, a type of pet bodily waste, and a shoe; and instructing, with the processor, the robot to execute at least one action based on the object type of the at least one object.