Mobile Robot Path Projection for Obstacle-Aware Formation Following
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile robots struggle to maintain formation when encountering obstacles on their travel path, leading to broken formations as the robot to be followed may get passed by the following robot.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robot system that includes a map storage and an intelligence processor to recognize and adjust its position, setting a temporary destination when the robot to be followed is not on the designated path, allowing it to project a position as a temporary destination and maintain formation by calculating a shortest path around obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If mobile robots travel autonomously along a predesignated path at the same speed to maintain formation, then formation traveling is achieved, but the formation breaks when the robot to be followed decelerates or encounters obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the travel speed of each mobile robot based on real-time detection of the robot to be followed and obstacle information. Instead of maintaining a fixed speed, the speed is adaptively controlled to preserve formation stability while responding to obstacles and deceleration events.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system continuously detects the position and speed of the robot to be followed, compares it with the prestored travel path information, and adjusts the following robot's speed accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures the formation is maintained even when the lead robot encounters obstacles or needs to decelerate.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the robot to be followed gets passed by the following robot during obstacle avoidance, then the following robot can avoid collision, but the formation is broken
Solution Approach 1:
The system prestores the travel path information and uses it to calculate appropriate speed adjustments in advance. When obstacles are detected, the following robot proactively adjusts its speed based on the prestored path and detected obstacle information, preventing formation breakdown before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the relative position between the robot to be followed and the following robot. When the following robot approaches the position of the robot to be followed, feedback control adjusts the speed to maintain appropriate spacing, preventing the formation from breaking while still allowing obstacle avoidance.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple mobile robots travel at the same speed along the same track, then formation traveling is achieved, but it is difficult to distinguish the target to be followed from other targets around the mobile robot
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses an intermediary identification mechanism (such as unique identifiers or recognition markers) to distinguish the robot to be followed from other robots in the formation. This intermediary element enables reliable target identification even when multiple robots are traveling at the same speed along the same track.
Solution Approach 2:
Each mobile robot is assigned distinct local qualities or characteristics (such as unique identification signals or positional roles) that enable the system to differentiate between the robot to be followed and other robots. This local differentiation resolves the ambiguity of target identification in formation travel.
Data Source
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AI summary
A mobile body configured so that multiple mobile robots can travel along the same track in formation even when an obstacle is present on the travel path of the mobile robots, and a method of controlling the mobile body. This mobile body (100) includes: a map storage (6) that stores travel path information; and an intelligence processor (10) that recognizes whether or not an object in the periphery is a mobile body to be followed (101). When the object is the mobile body to be followed (101) and the mobile body to be followed (101) does not exist on a travel path (16) indicated by the travel path information, the intelligence processor (10) sets a position on the travel path (16) in which the mobile body to be followed (101) is projected, as a temporary destination (17).