Waypoint Navigation Maps With Alternate Routes Around Blocked Edges
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing navigation systems for robots struggle to efficiently navigate around obstacles, often becoming stuck due to limited obstacle map complexity and constraints that prevent exploration beyond known safe areas.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that uses image data from an image sensor to determine blocked route edges and generates alternate waypoints and edges to bypass obstacles, adjusting the navigation route dynamically to ensure the robot can traverse around obstacles while maintaining a deterministic and verified offline navigation system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the robot follows a predetermined navigation route with fixed waypoints, then the navigation system is simple and deterministic, but the robot cannot bypass obstacles and becomes stuck
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-generates multiple alternate waypoints and alternate route edges offline before the robot needs to navigate. These alternate paths are prepared in advance as potential solutions, allowing the robot to quickly switch to a predetermined alternate route when an obstacle is detected, rather than computing new paths in real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation route is made dynamic by allowing the robot to switch between the primary navigation route and pre-generated alternate routes based on real-time obstacle detection. The system dynamically adjusts the path by selecting from pre-computed alternate waypoints and edges, maintaining adaptability while preserving offline verification benefits.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the robot explores beyond known safe areas, then the robot can find alternate routes around obstacles, but the navigation system can no longer verify the path offline deterministically
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary exploration and generates alternate waypoints offline in advance, before the robot encounters obstacles. These alternate paths are pre-verified to be collision-free based on the map data available at planning time. When the robot needs to bypass an obstacle, it switches to these pre-verified alternate routes, maintaining deterministic reliability while enabling exploration-like adaptability.
3Productivity
If the obstacle map is kept simple for efficient processing, then the system is computationally efficient, but the robot cannot navigate around complex obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation problem is segmented into primary route planning and alternate route generation. The primary navigation route uses simple, efficient waypoint-based navigation for normal operation. Alternate waypoints and route edges are generated separately as supplementary structures specifically for obstacle bypass scenarios, allowing the system to maintain simple primary navigation while adding complex obstacle-handling capabilities only when needed.
Data Source
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AI summary
A computer-implemented method executed by data processing hardware of a robot causes the data processing hardware to perform operations including obtaining a topological map including waypoints and edges. Each edge connects adjacent waypoints. The waypoints and edges represent a navigation route for the robot to follow. Operations include determining, that an edge that connects first and second waypoints is blocked by an obstacle. Operations include generating, using image data and the topological map, one or more alternate waypoints offset from one of the waypoints. For each alternate waypoint, operations include generating an alternate edge connecting the alternate waypoint to a waypoint. Operations include adjusting the navigation route to include at least one alternate waypoint and alternate edge that bypass the obstacle. Operations include navigating the robot from the first waypoint to an alternate waypoint along the alternate edge connecting the alternate waypoint to the first waypoint.