Spatiotemporal Robot Control for Conflict-Aware Timed Motion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robots in congested environments face inefficiencies due to fixed programmed movements, leading to increased collisions and operational interruptions, which can cause them to miss timed objectives.
Innovation Solution
A spatiotemporal controller that continuously and granularly adjusts the actuators of a robot to align with dynamic objectives and work around conflicts, allowing for flexible movement and resource access within allotted time intervals, using sensors and actuators to ensure smooth operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If robots operate according to fixed programmed movements, then the robot operation is simple and reliable, but the robot cannot granularly adjust movements to preemptively avoid conflicts and must continually interrupt movements to avoid conflicts or make changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic control system that transitions from fixed programmed movements to continuous granular adjustments. The controller modifies actuator commands in real-time based on sensor feedback and predicted conflicts, enabling the robot to adapt its movements dynamically while maintaining operational reliability through structured control algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary conflict detection and prediction before actual conflicts occur. By analyzing the environment and robot trajectory in advance, the controller preemptively adjusts movements to avoid conflicts, eliminating the need for reactive interruptions and improving operational smoothness.
2Reliability
If the robot continually interrupts its own movements to avoid conflicts or make changes, then collision avoidance is achieved, but the robot and other robots may miss completing timed objectives
Solution Approach 1:
The controller detects potential conflicts and executes avoidance maneuvers before collisions occur. By predicting conflicts ahead of time and implementing preventive adjustments to the robot's trajectory and speed, the system maintains continuous movement without interruptions, thereby avoiding both collisions and delays in completing timed objectives.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures continuous robot operation by eliminating unnecessary interruptions. The granular control system makes smooth, incremental adjustments to movements rather than abrupt stops and starts, maintaining the continuity of useful action while still achieving conflict avoidance and timely completion of objectives.
3Productivity
If the robot operates with fixed programmed movements, then the control system is simple, but the robot cannot granularly adjust its movements for continuous operation
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is designed to be dynamic rather than static, continuously adapting robot movements based on real-time conditions. This dynamic approach improves productivity by enabling granular adjustments for continuous operation, while the structured implementation keeps the added complexity manageable through modular architecture and efficient algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot may include a spatiotemporal controller for controlling the kinematics or movements of the robot via continuous and/or granular adjustments to the actuators that perform the physical operations of the robot. The spatiotemporal controller may continuously and/or granularly adjust the actuators to align completion or execution of different objectives or waypoints from a spatiotemporal plan within time intervals allotted for each objective by the spatiotemporal plan. The spatiotemporal controller may also continuously and/or granularly adjust the actuators to workaround unexpected conflicts that may arise during the execution of an objective and delays that result from a workaround while still completing the objective within the allotted time interval. By completing objectives within the allotted time intervals, the spatiotemporal controller may ensure that conflicts do not arise as the robots simultaneously operate in the site using some of the same shared resource.