Robotic Lawn Mower Relay Communication for Fleet Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic lawn mowers lack effective communication capabilities for operating in groups, limiting their mowing capacity and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A mowing system with a hierarchical schema that includes a base station and multiple robotic lawn mowers, where a principal mower communicates with a base station and secondary mowers, relaying commands and information, allowing coordinated operation and dynamic role assignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a plurality of robotic lawn mowers operates independently without communication, then each mower can perform basic mowing operations, but the overall mowing capacity and coordination efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a hierarchical communication architecture where a base station serves as the central intermediary, managing communication between multiple robotic mowers. This mediator approach enables coordinated operation and task delegation across the fleet without requiring direct peer-to-peer communication between mowers, thereby scaling productivity while controlling system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication system is segmented into hierarchical levels: the base station handles high-level task management and coordination, while individual mowers execute specific mowing operations. This segmentation allows the system to manage multiple mowers efficiently by dividing communication responsibilities, improving overall productivity without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Ease of operation
If robotic lawn mowers operate without effective communication capabilities, then the system structure remains simple, but coordination between multiple mowers and task delegation become inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The base station acts as a central intermediary that simplifies coordination by managing all communication between mowers and the control system. This mediator approach improves ease of operation by centralizing task delegation and coordination logic, while the communication infrastructure complexity is contained within the base station rather than distributed across all mowers.
3Loss of time
If human operators manually control lawn mowing operations, then communication requirements are minimal, but time and cost associated with mowing operations increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic mowers operate autonomously by receiving task assignments from the base station and executing mowing operations independently. This self-service capability eliminates the need for human operators during mowing operations, significantly reducing time loss. The autonomous communication system enables mowers to self-coordinate through the base station, managing the complexity internally while providing human operators with simplified remote monitoring capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
A mowing system including a base station disposed at a work area; and a plurality of robotic lawn mowers disposed at the work area, the plurality of robotic lawn mowers including a first robotic lawn mower and a second robotic lawn mower, wherein the base station is configured to communicate with the second robotic lawn mower through the first robotic lawn mower.