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Roadmap annotation for deadlock-free multi-agent navigation

  • US 10,642,282 B2
  • Filed: 04/12/2017
  • Issued: 05/05/2020
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2017
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method, comprising:

  • receiving, at a computing device, a roadmap of an existing environment that includes a first robot and a second robot;

    annotating the roadmap with a plurality of lanes connecting a plurality of conflict regions using the computing device, wherein each lane is unidirectional and ends sufficiently distant from a conflict region to avoid blocking the conflict region, wherein the roadmap is annotated with a cycle of lanes such that the cycle contains a path between any pair of lanes of the cycle;

    determining a first route through the environment along the roadmap for use by the first robot and a second route through the environment along the roadmap for use by the second robot, wherein both the first route and the second route include a first lane, and wherein the first lane connects to a first conflict region;

    assigning a first priority to the first robot and a second priority to the second robot, wherein the first priority is initially higher than the second priority;

    determining that the second robot following the second route will cause the second robot to block the first robot on the first lane before the first robot reaches the first conflict region;

    based on the first priority being higher than the second priority, altering the second route by causing the second robot to travel through the cycle of lanes to prevent the second robot from blocking the first robot on the first lane, wherein causing the second robot to travel through the cycle of lanes comprises causing the second robot to return to the first lane with an increased priority from the second priority; and

    resetting the first priority after the first robot completes the first route such that the second priority is higher than the first priority after the first robot completes the first route and before the second robot completes the second route.

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