Mobile Robot Security Patrol with RFID Scanning and Semantic Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
The adoption of robots in commercial and industrial settings, particularly in environments requiring frequent human-robot interactions, is hindered by the lack of technologies that enable effective communication and operation with building infrastructure and efficient performance of tasks such as security, inventory management, and navigation.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robot system that integrates wireless communication, sensors, and cameras to interact with elevator systems, perform inventory operations, and navigate through environments, while also detecting changes in the environment to ensure safety and update virtual models for human operators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a mobile robot is deployed to perform security operations and interact with building infrastructure, then the robot's utility and operational capability are improved, but the complexity of integrating communication protocols and interfaces with various building systems increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot is designed with universal communication capabilities that can interface with multiple types of building infrastructure systems (elevator systems, security systems, navigation systems) through a unified control architecture. This allows the robot to perform diverse operations across different building systems without requiring separate specialized interfaces for each system, thereby improving versatility while managing integration complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary communication modules and standardized protocols that act as mediators between the robot's control system and various building infrastructure systems. These intermediaries translate between different system protocols and the robot's native communication interface, simplifying the integration process and reducing the overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If the robot autonomously detects and adapts to environmental changes in real-time, then safety and operational reliability are improved, but the computational resources and processing time required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robot implements selective environmental monitoring that focuses computational resources on detecting only those environmental changes that are relevant to safety and task performance. Rather than continuously analyzing all sensory inputs at full resolution, the system applies partial processing to filter and prioritize critical changes, reducing computational energy consumption while maintaining safety reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs feedback mechanisms where the robot's detection system continuously monitors environmental parameters and adjusts its operational behavior in real-time. This closed-loop approach allows the robot to respond efficiently to safety-critical changes while avoiding unnecessary computational processing of non-critical environmental variations, thereby optimizing the balance between reliability and energy usage.
3Measurement precision
If the robot performs frequent environmental scans and updates virtual models, then the accuracy and currency of situational awareness are improved, but the time required for navigation and task execution increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot implements periodic environmental scanning at strategically determined intervals rather than continuous scanning. The scan frequency is optimized based on the robot's current task, environmental dynamics, and safety requirements. This periodic approach maintains adequate situational awareness accuracy while minimizing the time lost to scanning operations, allowing the robot to navigate and execute tasks more efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary environmental mapping and pre-processing of spatial data before the robot begins navigation tasks. By establishing a baseline virtual model in advance and updating it incrementally during operation, the system reduces the computational burden and time required for real-time situational awareness, thereby decreasing navigation time while maintaining measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile robot is configured for operation in a commercial or industrial setting, such as an office building or retail store. The robot can patrol one or more routes within a building, and can detect violations of security policies by objects, building infrastructure and security systems, or individuals. In response to the detected violations, the robot can perform one or more security operations. The robot can include a removable fabric panel, enabling sensors within the robot body to capture signals that propagate through the fabric. In addition, the robot can scan RFID tags of objects within an area, for instance coupled to store inventory. Likewise, the robot can generate or update one or more semantic maps for use by the robot in navigating an area and for measuring compliance with security policies.