Autonomous Mobile Robot Tracking for Continuous Follow-Up Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autonomous mobile robots face challenges in determining the relative position of other robots and maintaining smooth follow-up control, especially when communication with a server is disrupted or when one robot moves out of the detection area of another.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robot system that includes a traveling unit, a sensing unit to detect other robots within a predetermined angle, and a controller to rotate the main body to maintain detection and follow another robot even if it moves out of the detection area, using communication units to transmit control signals for movement control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the master robot transmits relative position information to the slave robot only through the server, then communication between robots is established, but communication may be disconnected when robots are located where it is difficult to communicate with the server
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dual communication path: robots can communicate through the server (intermediary) when available, or directly peer-to-peer when server connection is lost. This intermediary approach allows flexible switching between centralized and decentralized communication modes, maintaining reliability while managing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication architecture dynamically switches between server-mediated communication and direct robot-to-robot communication based on server availability. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by adjusting the communication path according to environmental conditions.
2Measurement precision
If the detection area spans a fixed predetermined angle, then the sensor structure is simple, but the robot cannot track another robot that moves out of the detection area
Solution Approach 1:
The detection area dynamically changes its orientation by rotating with the robot body when another robot moves out of the current detection area. This dynamic adjustment maintains tracking capability while keeping the sensor structure relatively simple, as it uses the robot's existing rotational capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the position of detected robots and provides feedback to the control unit. When a robot moves out of the detection area, the feedback triggers rotation of the robot body to reposition the detection area, ensuring continuous tracking.
3Measurement precision
If the obstacle detection device is used to determine relative position, then existing sensors are utilized, but it is impossible to determine whether robots are located at the front or rear of each other
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on the obstacle detection device alone, the patent inverts the approach by using the known orientation of the robot body (front and rear directions) in combination with detection data. The control unit determines relative position by considering both the detection results and the robot's body orientation, thereby recovering directional information that would otherwise be lost.
Data Source
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AI summary
A plurality of autonomous mobile robots are disclosed. The mobile robots may include a mobile robot that has a traveling unit that moves or rotates a main body of the mobile robot. The mobile robot has a sensor that detects another mobile robot in a detection area spanning a predetermined angle with respect to the front of the main body. The mobile robot also has a controller that rotates the detection area of the mobile robot when the other mobile robot detected within the detection area moves out of the detection area.