Mobile Robot Virtual Barriers for Restricted-Area Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobile robots lack effective methods to restrict their movement to specific areas, potentially causing damage to objects or entering restricted regions, and require continuous user monitoring to avoid certain areas.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a virtual barrier system using a mobile robot's sensors and mapping techniques, such as occupancy grids, to create invisible boundaries that the robot can detect and adhere to, allowing it to autonomously navigate while preventing entry into prohibited areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical barriers are erected to restrict robot movement, then the robot cannot enter restricted regions, but the device complexity increases and the environment is modified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of physical barriers by generating an occupancy grid map that represents restricted areas. Instead of placing physical beacons throughout the environment, the system creates a digital representation of boundaries that the robot can detect and respect through sensor data and path planning algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of physical barriers and beacons with a computational system. The occupancy grid and path planning algorithms substitute for physical structures, using sensor processing and software-based navigation to achieve the same restriction function without modifying the physical environment.
2Productivity
If the robot is allowed to navigate freely, then productivity increases, but the robot may damage objects or enter restricted regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary path planning before the robot begins navigation. By pre-processing sensor data to create an occupancy grid map and calculating safe paths in advance, the system identifies restricted areas and plans avoidance routes before the robot encounters potential hazards, preventing damage while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous feedback through sensor monitoring during robot operation. The robot constantly updates its occupancy grid map and re-plans its path based on real-time sensor data, allowing it to adapt to dynamic environments and avoid restricted areas while maintaining efficient navigation and cleaning coverage.
3Extent of automation
If virtual barriers are implemented using sensors and mapping techniques, then autonomous navigation is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the sensor system and processing algorithms multi-functional. The same sensors and occupancy grid mapping infrastructure used for navigation can also detect restricted areas, plan paths, and adapt to environmental changes. This universal system performs multiple functions (mapping, navigation, obstacle avoidance, restricted area detection) without requiring separate dedicated components for each function.
Data Source
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AI summary
A robot includes a body that is movable relative to a surface one or more measurement devices within the body to output information based on an orientation of the body at an initial location on the surface, and a controller within the body to determine an orientation of the body based on the information and to restrict movement of the body to an area by preventing movement of the body beyond a barrier that is based on the orientation of the body and the initial location.