Autonomous Tennis Ball Retrieval Robot With Obstacle-Aware Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Players in sports like tennis face challenges in retrieving multiple balls efficiently and autonomously, especially when practicing alone without a human opponent, as it is time-consuming and cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous tennis ball retrieval robot system that includes a tennis ball retrieval robot and a base station, utilizing computer vision and navigation algorithms to detect and autonomously retrieve tennis balls, navigate around obstacles, and return them to the player.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a player practices tennis alone without an opponent, then the player can practice independently, but retrieving multiple tennis balls becomes time-consuming and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The tennis ball retrieval robot autonomously collects and retrieves tennis balls without human intervention. The system uses sensors to detect balls, navigates to their locations, picks them up using a robotic gripper, and returns them to the player, enabling the player to practice alone without manually retrieving balls
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical action of bending, reaching, and picking up balls is replaced by an automated robotic system with sensors, processors, and robotic actuators that perform ball detection, navigation, and retrieval operations
2Ease of operation
If manual ball retrieval is performed, then the player can control the process, but the process is cumbersome and reduces practice efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system performs self-service by autonomously detecting balls using sensors, navigating to their locations using path planning algorithms, picking them up with a robotic gripper, and returning them to the player, making the retrieval process easy and improving practice efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to detect ball locations and provides feedback to the navigation and control systems, which adjust the robot's path and actions accordingly to efficiently retrieve balls and return them to the player
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for autonomous tennis ball retrieval robots. Example robots include a housing comprising a ball inlet, a first wheel coupled to the housing, a ball collection portion coupled to the housing and configured to receive a plurality of balls, a first arm and a second arm removably coupled to the housing, where the first arm and the second arm together guide balls towards the ball inlet, a ball direction device configured to direct balls from the ball inlet to the ball collection portion, and a first sensor coupled to the first arm, where the autonomous tennis ball retrieval robot is configured to detect obstacles using the first sensor. The autonomous tennis ball retrieval robot may be configured to retrieve balls disposed in an ambient environment, and may be configured to be transported in a rolling mode using the first wheel.