Spill-Detection Robot Using Multi-Sensor Image Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting spills in environments like stores and warehouses are inefficient and often fail to promptly identify spills, leading to injuries and property damage due to reliance on human inspection and the need for improved automated systems.
Innovation Solution
A robotic system equipped with an optical imaging device, processor, and temperature adjuster that captures images of a scene, identifies spills using Bayesian statistical models, and generates alerts to stop the cleaning system or alert users, incorporating sensors for reflectance, emission, and friction properties to enhance detection accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If human inspection methods are used to detect spills, then the system is simple and easy to implement, but spill detection is inefficient and delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system autonomously navigates, captures images, processes data, and generates alerts without human intervention. The robot serves itself by integrating all detection functions into a single autonomous platform, eliminating the need for manual inspection while maintaining operational simplicity through automated workflows.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system combines multiple functions into one platform: autonomous navigation, image capture, thermal sensing, data processing, and alert generation. This multi-functional approach improves detection efficiency while consolidating complexity into a single integrated system rather than multiple separate devices.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors and imaging devices are added to improve detection accuracy, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines optical imaging devices, thermal imaging devices, and multiple sensor types into a single integrated robotic system. By merging these detection modalities into one platform, the system achieves high measurement precision through multi-sensor data fusion while managing complexity through integrated architecture rather than separate distributed sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system acts as an intermediary between the environment and the detection analysis system. It collects data from multiple sensors, processes it through onboard computing, and transmits results to remote systems. This intermediary role consolidates complexity into the robot while providing simple, processed outputs to users.
3Reliability
If automated robotic systems with multiple sensors are deployed, then spill detection accuracy and response time improve, but the system requires more energy and resources
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system employs periodic imaging and sensing at strategically selected locations rather than continuous monitoring of entire areas. This periodic detection approach maintains high reliability at critical spill-prone locations while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous full-area surveillance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces mechanical human inspection with automated robotic platforms equipped with optical and thermal sensors. This substitution improves detection reliability while managing energy consumption through efficient sensor utilization and periodic rather than continuous operation at multiple locations.
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
The system enables automatic and accurate detection of spills, reducing injuries and property damage by providing early warning and enabling automatic cleaning, while minimizing false positives and negatives.
Implementation Method 1
an optical imaging device configured to capture at least one image of a scene containing a spill
Implementation Method 2
a temperature adjuster configured to change the temperature of the scene containing the spill
Implementation Method 3
the optical imaging device is an infrared camera and the at least one image is a thermal image
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods for automatic detection of spills are disclosed. In some exemplary implementations, a robot can have a spill detector comprising at least one optical imaging device configured to capture at least one image of a scene containing a spill while the robot moves between locations. The robot can process the at least one image by segmentation. Once the spill has been identified, the robot can then generate an alert indicative at least in part of a recognition of the spill.