Wall-Following Robot Bumper Sensor for Crevice Cleaning Coverage

Solution Overview

Problem

Mobile robots face difficulties in traversing surfaces adjacent to obstacles like walls due to their design, which often prevents them from reaching areas such as crevices and corners, leading to incomplete cleaning operations.

Innovation Solution

The robot employs a bumper with sensors to maintain contact with a wall surface by adjusting its orientation and speed, ensuring continuous contact and effective cleaning through a wall-following behavior, allowing it to navigate and clean areas that traditional patterns might miss.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the robot uses traditional cleaning patterns, then it can cover large open areas, but it cannot reach areas adjacent to walls and obstacles

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to reach areas adjacent to wallsVSAvoidcleaning coverage efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The robot dynamically adjusts its motion behavior by switching between traditional cleaning patterns and wall-following mode. When the sensor detects wall proximity, the controller automatically transitions the robot to wall-following behavior, enabling it to adapt to different environmental conditions and reach previously inaccessible areas.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The sensor mounted on the bumper provides continuous feedback about the robot's proximity to walls. This feedback loop allows the controller to detect when the robot is near a wall and automatically initiate wall-following behavior, ensuring the robot can respond to environmental conditions in real-time and maintain contact with walls for thorough cleaning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If the robot maintains contact with the wall surface, then it can clean crevices and corners effectively, but it may lose stability and orientation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning effectiveness in crevicesVSAvoidrobot orientation stability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The sensor mounted on the bumper provides continuous feedback about the robot's proximity to walls. This feedback loop allows the controller to detect when the robot is near a wall and automatically initiate wall-following behavior, ensuring the robot can respond to environmental conditions in real-time and maintain contact with walls for thorough cleaning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The robot controls the degree of bumper compression by adjusting its motion parameters to maintain compression within a specific range. By keeping the bumper partially compressed rather than fully compressed, the robot maintains stable contact with the wall while preserving enough flexibility to follow wall contours and maintain orientation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Measurement precision

If the bumper is highly sensitive to contact, then it can detect wall surfaces accurately, but it may trigger false signals from minor obstacles

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewall surface detection accuracyVSAvoidsignal accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The robot controls the degree of bumper compression by adjusting its motion parameters to maintain compression within a specific range. By keeping the bumper partially compressed rather than fully compressed, the robot maintains stable contact with the wall while preserving enough flexibility to follow wall contours and maintain orientation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The sensor mounted on the bumper provides continuous feedback about the robot's proximity to walls. This feedback loop allows the controller to detect when the robot is near a wall and automatically initiate wall-following behavior, ensuring the robot can respond to environmental conditions in real-time and maintain contact with walls for thorough cleaning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

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

This solution enables the robot to clean hard-to-reach areas by maintaining contact with walls at specific angles, ensuring thorough cleaning of crevices and corners, thereby improving the efficiency of cleaning operations in rooms with complex geometries.

Implementation Method 1

a sensor to produce a signal in response to the movement of the bumper relative to the body caused by contact between the bumper and the surface, wherein the signal varies linearly with the movement of the bumper relative to the body

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectLinear sensor detection:

Data Source

PatentUS10537221B2Wall following robot

Publication Date: 2020.01.21 IROBOT CORP

AI summary

An example robot includes a body that is movable relative to a surface, a bumper mounted on the body to enable movement of the bumper relative to the body, a sensor to produce a signal in response to the movement of the bumper relative to the body caused by contact between the bumper and the surface, and a controller to control movement of the body to cause the body to track the surface based on a value. The bumper is movable between an uncompressed position relative to the body and a compressed position relative to the body. The signal varies linearly with the movement of the bumper relative to the body. The value is based on the signal and indicates that the bumper in a partially compressed position has a compression range between the uncompressed position and the compressed position.