Robot Start-Up Positioning Using Rotational Signal Triangulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robots lose their positioning information upon startup, leading to reduced navigation accuracy due to environmental changes, as they rely on constructing a map using visual information.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize two positioning receiving units at fixed positions and a positioning transmitting unit on the robot to determine the robot's start-up positioning by controlling the robot to rotate in a preset direction within a start-up positioning region, calculating the rotation path's center position and orientation, and using this information as start-up positioning data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a robot constructs a map through visual information to acquire position information at startup, then the robot can achieve autonomous positioning, but the positioning accuracy is greatly affected by environmental changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the visual information-based positioning system with a signal-based positioning system. The robot uses a positioning signal transmitter to send signals to fixed positioning signal receivers, and calculates position based on signal transmission characteristics rather than visual map construction. This substitution eliminates the robot's dependence on environmental visual features and makes positioning immune to environmental changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning signal receivers are deployed at fixed positions throughout the environment and serve multiple purposes: they continuously provide positioning signals to the robot and can be used for both startup positioning and ongoing navigation. This multi-functional approach allows the system to maintain accurate positioning without requiring separate startup procedures that are sensitive to environmental conditions.
2Measurement precision
If the robot rotates in a start-up positioning region to determine position, then environmental interference is minimized, but the positioning process requires additional time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-deploys positioning signal receivers at known fixed positions throughout the environment before the robot operates. During startup, the robot simply needs to rotate in place and measure signal strengths from these pre-positioned receivers, rather than performing complex environmental scanning or map construction. This preliminary setup significantly reduces the time required for startup positioning while maintaining high accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot performs a limited rotation in place during startup to gather sufficient signal strength data from multiple directions, rather than performing a complete 360-degree environmental scan or constructing a full visual map. This partial action approach achieves the necessary positioning information with minimal rotation time, balancing accuracy requirements with time efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for positioning a robot at start-up includes: when the robot is started up, controlling the robot to rotate in a preset rotation direction in a start-up positioning region; determining position information about a rotation path of the positioning transmitting unit according to the preset rotation direction and a set of at least three different position distances, where the at least three different position distances are between the positioning transmitting unit and the two positioning receiving units disposed at the different fixed positions and are determined during a rotation process; using a direction extending from the center position of the rotation path to a position of the positioning transmitting unit when the robot stops rotation as orientation information of the robot; and using the center position of the rotation path and the orientation information of the robot as start-up positioning information of the robot.