Wearable Smart Device Offloading Robot Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robots require significant processing and memory resources for situational awareness and guidance, leading to increased costs and decreased efficiency, while wearable smart devices often sit idle when not in use, lacking opportunities for resource sharing.
Innovation Solution
A wearable smart device configured to be externally attached to a robot, featuring sensors and processors that can detect environmental data and control robot actions, enabling resource sharing and expanded capabilities between the device and the robot.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If robots are equipped with sufficient processing and memory resources for situational awareness and guidance, then their functionality and reliability are improved, but their cost increases and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts processing and memory resources from the robot system and relocates them to an external wearable smart device. The robot processor handles only essential robot control functions while the wearable device processor handles complex situational awareness, guidance, and application-level processing. This extraction reduces the robot's processing burden and improves efficiency while maintaining enhanced functionality through the external device's computational resources.
2Productivity
If wearable smart devices are always available for use, then resource utilization is improved, but they still sit idle when not worn by users
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable smart device is designed with dual functionality: it serves as a personal wearable device when worn by a user and as a robot controller when attached to a robot. The device processor can execute different software applications depending on the context - human interaction applications when worn and robot control applications when attached to the robot. This multi-functionality eliminates idle time by ensuring the device is always productive, whether assisting a human user or controlling a robot.
3Adaptability or versatility
If robots have integrated processing capabilities for complex tasks, then their adaptability is improved, but their device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wearable smart device acts as an intermediary between the user and the robot, providing the computational power needed for complex tasks without increasing robot complexity. The wearable device serves as a mobile computing platform that interfaces with the robot through wireless or wired connections, handling sophisticated processing while the robot maintains a simpler, more manageable system architecture. This intermediary approach allows high-level decision-making and complex task planning to occur externally while the robot executes specific motor commands.
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable smart device is configured to be positioned on and external to a robot having a robot sensor for sensing robot data and a robot input/output port. The wearable smart device includes a device sensor capable of detecting device data corresponding to an environment of the wearable smart device. The wearable smart device also includes a device input/output port. The wearable smart device also includes a device processor coupled to the robot sensor via the robot input/output port and the device input/output port. The device processor is also coupled to the device sensor and configured to control the robot based on the robot data and the device data.