Communicative lighting system for a floor cleaning device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotic systems, such as floor cleaning devices, lack effective communication features to interact with humans, particularly in populated areas, failing to provide suitable non-verbal communication and status updates, which poses safety and operational efficiency challenges.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a dynamic lighting system that uses multi-colored LEDs and programmable light strips to convey various status changes, actions, and needs through unique light patterns, animations, and intensities, allowing robots to communicate non-verbally with humans and other devices, including alerts for upcoming maneuvers, errors, and maintenance requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If robotic floor cleaning devices operate in populated areas, then productivity and automation are improved, but safety and human-robot interaction become problematic due to lack of communication capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes in lighting elements to communicate device status and intentions to humans. Different colors indicate different operational states (e.g., green for normal operation, yellow for warning, red for error), enabling intuitive human-robot communication without compromising automation or safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting system serves as an intermediary communication channel between the autonomous robot and humans in the environment. This mediator conveys information about device status, upcoming maneuvers, and errors, bridging the communication gap without requiring direct human-robot interaction.
2Reliability
If robotic devices provide comprehensive communication features, then safety and user-friendliness are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system performs multiple functions: indicating operational status, signaling upcoming maneuvers, alerting to errors, and providing general communication. This multi-functional approach consolidates various communication needs into a single system, improving safety without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system communicates information by changing parameters of existing lighting elements (color, intensity, pattern) rather than adding separate communication components. This approach provides rich communication capability while leveraging existing infrastructure, thereby limiting complexity growth.
3Device complexity
If simple visual indication is provided (e.g., flashing light), then device complexity is reduced, but information communication capability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system is segmented into multiple independent lighting elements that can be controlled individually. Each element or combination of elements can convey specific information, allowing rich communication through coordinated activation patterns while maintaining relative system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic actions (flashing, pulsing, rhythmic patterns) to encode different types of information. By varying the frequency and pattern of light emission, the system communicates multiple status types using the same physical components, reducing complexity while improving information conveyance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances safety and operational efficiency by providing intuitive and logical communication of device status and needs to humans, improving integration and user-friendliness of robots in various environments, while enabling enhanced interaction and coordination between robots.
Implementation Method 1
The plurality of multi-colored lights comprises a first light-emitting diode and a second light-emitting diode
Data Source
AI summary
Robotic devices are provided that can be operated in an autonomous mode. In various embodiments, the devices comprise lighting elements that are capable of displaying information to humans within a robotic environment. A variety of future and near-future actions are expressed through different operations and sequences of the lighting elements. The lighting elements further enable the device to express a current status.