Robot Vacuum Edge Tracking Using Video-Based Navigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile robotic devices face challenges in location detection and navigation, particularly in maintaining effective cleaning paths on surfaces like hardwood floors and carpets, due to difficulties in accurately determining their position relative to edges and adjusting their movement accordingly.
Innovation Solution
An automatic cleaning system that includes a mobile robotic device and a video camera, where the device receives information about edges from the camera to determine its position and adjust its path, using this data to navigate and clean surfaces effectively by moving parallel to detected edges or adjusting its cleaning method based on surface characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If mobile robotic devices use traditional location detection methods, then device structure remains simple, but location detection accuracy and navigation precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical location detection systems with a video-based optical system. A video camera captures images of the environment, and image processing algorithms extract edge information and calculate the device's position and orientation relative to detected edges. This substitution of mechanical sensors with optical vision systems improves measurement precision while avoiding the complexity of multiple mechanical sensing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces video images as an intermediary between the robotic device and the environment. Instead of directly measuring position with complex sensors, the system uses video cameras to capture visual information, processes these images to extract edge features, and then calculates location data from these features. This intermediary approach simplifies the direct measurement problem while improving accuracy.
2Productivity
If automatic cleaning devices maintain fixed cleaning paths, then navigation is simple, but cleaning effectiveness on various surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic path adjustment by continuously detecting edges through video imaging and recalculating the cleaning path based on detected edge positions. Instead of following a predetermined fixed path, the device dynamically adapts its navigation to maintain optimal positioning relative to detected edges, allowing it to effectively clean various surface types and layouts without requiring complex pre-programming for each scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback control where video camera data continuously provides information about edge positions, which is processed to determine current device location and orientation. This feedback loop allows the navigation system to adjust the cleaning path in real-time based on actual environmental features, improving cleaning effectiveness while keeping the control logic relatively simple through iterative correction.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of cleaning an area using an automatic cleaning device may include receiving, from a video camera, information associated with an edge located on a surface, determining, by an automatic cleaning device, a position of the automatic cleaning device on the surface relative to the edge and using the received information to move the automatic cleaning device from the determined position along a path so that the automatic cleaning device cleans the surface along the path. The path may be substantially parallel to the edge, and the edge may be located a distance from a reference point on the automatic cleaning device during movement of the automatic cleaning device.