Robot Route Conflict Avoidance With Offset Alternate Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomy systems in robotics are typically designed to address only one aspect of robot operation, such as automatic control, task allocation, or route planning, which limits their extensibility and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for conflict detection and avoidance along a current robot route, which involves accessing the robot's trajectory and a nearby moving object's predicted trajectory, determining alternate routes with offset segments and transition segments, and selecting a route based on a cost metric to avoid conflicts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the robot determines alternate routes with offset segments and transition segments to avoid conflicts, then conflict avoidance capability is improved, but computational resources and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The route planning problem is segmented into two distinct parts: (1) pre-computed alternative route segments that provide offset paths from the current route, and (2) transition segments that connect the current route to the alternative route segments. This segmentation allows the system to avoid computing entire alternative routes from scratch, reducing computational burden while maintaining conflict avoidance capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The alternative route segments are pre-computed and stored before the robot executes the mission. This preliminary action ensures that when a conflict is detected during mission execution, the robot can quickly select and transition to a pre-prepared alternative segment rather than performing complex real-time route planning, thus reducing computational resources during critical conflict avoidance operations.
2Productivity
If the robot plans an entire route back to the current route after maneuvering to avoid a conflict, then complete route optimization is achieved, but computational time and resources increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the necessary transition segment from the complete route planning problem. Instead of re-planning the entire route from the alternative segment back to the current route, the system identifies and computes only the specific transition segment needed to reconnect, thereby reducing computational time while maintaining route optimization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If existing autonomy systems address multiple aspects of robot operation, then system versatility is improved, but system complexity and design difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomy system is designed with multi-functional capabilities that can handle different aspects of robot operation within a unified framework. The conflict detection and avoidance module integrates with the existing route planning and execution systems, allowing the same system architecture to perform both traditional route planning and the new conflict avoidance functions, thereby improving versatility without proportionally increasing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for detecting and avoiding conflict along a current route of a robot. The method includes accessing a trajectory of the robot on the current route of the robot, and a predicted trajectory of a nearby moving object, and from the trajectory and predicted trajectory, detecting a conflict between the robot and the nearby moving object. Alternate routes for the robot are determined, each of which includes an alternative route segment offset from the current route, and a transition segment from the current route to the alternative route segment. Routes including the current and alternative routes are evaluated according to a cost metric, and a route from the routes is selected for use in at least one of guidance, navigation or control of the robot to avoid the conflict.