Swarm Task Coordination for Robotic Cleaner Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cleaning systems, such as robotic vacuum cleaners, often operate inefficiently when working independently, leading to incomplete coverage of areas and increased battery consumption, as seen in the example of two cleaners trying to clean a floor divided into quarters, where some areas are cleaned twice while others are missed.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a swarm management system that utilizes swarm intelligence, where entities communicate and coordinate to manage tasks efficiently, allowing them to work together to ensure each area is cleaned once by dynamically reassigning tasks based on completion and resource availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple robotic cleaners operate independently to clean a floor area, then the cleaning task can be distributed among multiple devices, but some areas are cleaned twice while others are missed, reducing overall cleaning efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple independent robotic cleaners into a coordinated swarm system where devices communicate and share task information. The management component consolidates task lists across the swarm, allowing cleaners to coordinate their movements and avoid duplicating work in the same areas while ensuring complete coverage of all regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where each cleaner reports its location, battery status, and cleaning progress to a central management component. The management component uses this feedback to dynamically reassign tasks, ensuring that areas already cleaned by one device are not re-cleaned by another, while uncleaned areas are efficiently distributed to available cleaners.
2Ease of operation
If robotic cleaners operate without coordination, then each device can independently complete its assigned tasks, but battery consumption increases due to redundant cleaning operations and inefficient path planning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic task reassignment where the management component continuously monitors battery levels, cleaning progress, and location data of all cleaners in the swarm. Tasks are dynamically redistributed based on real-time conditions, allowing cleaners with lower battery levels to complete their current tasks and return to base while new tasks are assigned to cleaners with sufficient energy, optimizing overall energy utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
Each cleaner autonomously monitors its own battery level and communicates this information to the management component. When battery levels are low, cleaners automatically return to their base station for recharging without human intervention. The system self-manages the recharging schedule and task reassignment, maintaining operational efficiency while ensuring cleaners operate within their energy constraints.
3Device complexity
If a single cleaner attempts to clean an entire floor area, then the user needs to manage only one device, but the cleaning process takes considerably more time and may be physically straining
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the overall cleaning task into smaller sub-tasks that are distributed among multiple cleaners in the swarm. Each cleaner is assigned a specific region or set of regions to clean, reducing the travel distance and time for each individual device. The management component coordinates these segmented tasks to ensure complete and non-overlapping coverage of the entire floor area, significantly reducing total cleaning time compared to a single cleaner attempting to cover the whole area.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with swarm management are described. One example system comprises a communication component configured to establish a communication link with at least one element, where the at least one element is part of a swarm. The example system also comprises a management component configured to manage performance of a task list by the swarm through the communication link.