Navigation method and system for autonomous machines with markers defining the working area
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Abstract
A method for automatically operating a robot, attached to a lawnmower or other unmanned machine, within an enclosed area is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: 1) providing the following elements: a proximity sensor positioned on the robot, a boundary along the perimeter of the working area and along the perimeter of each area enclosed in the working area in which the robot should not operate, the boundaries being detectable by the proximity sensor, a processing unit connected to the proximity sensor and receiving an input therefrom, a navigation unit on the robot to determine the coordinates of the robot relative to an arbitrary origin, a direction finder, and a memory to store values generated by the processing unit; and 2) causing the robot to move along each of the boundaries provided around or within the working area, to detect the boundaries and to memorize their shape, and to store in the memory values representative of the coordinates of the boundaries, thereby to generate a basic map of the working area. When the robot is to operate within the area, the method includes the steps of: (a) causing the robot to start from a starting point having known coordinates within the basic map of the working area; (b) continuously determining the coordinates of the robot by analyzing data obtained from the navigation unit and by detecting the vicinity of a boundary; and (c) correcting the actual position of the robot on the basic map by comparing the calculated and the actual coordinates of each detected boundary.
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Citations
85 Claims
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1-55. -55. Cancelled
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56. A method for operating a robot comprising the steps of:
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defining a working area for said robot by providing a first boundary;
operating said robot in a mapping mode within said working sector, to create a map of said working area;
operating said robot substantially continuously within said working area in a working mode, to work in accordance with said map by working at least a plurality of portions of said working area; and
registering each portion of said plurality of portions on said map upon working each of said portions, such that said robot operates to work said working area substantially free of repetition. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A method of operating a robot comprising the steps of:
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defining a working area of at least one working sector for said robot by providing a first boundary;
operating said robot in a mapping mode within said working area, to create a map of said working area;
operating said robot substantially continuously within said working area in a working mode, to work in accordance with said map by working in at least one substantially continuous segment; and
registering each portion of said at least one substantially continuous segment on said map upon working each of said portions, such that said robot operates to work said working area substantially free of repetition. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A method for operating a robot comprising the steps of:
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providing said robot with memory means;
defining a working area for said robot by providing a first boundary;
operating said robot substantially continuously within said working area in a working mode by working at least a plurality of portions of said working area; and
registering the locations of said portions where said robot operated in said memory means, such that said robot operates within said working area substantially free of repetition of each of said portions of said plurality of portions after each of said portions has been working by said robot. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
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78. A method for operating a robot comprising the steps of:
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providing said robot with memory means;
defining a working area for said robot by providing a first boundary;
operating said robot substantially continuously within said working area in a working mode by working in at least one substantially continuous segment; and
registering the locations of said portions of said at least one substantially continuous segment where said robot operated in said memory means, such that said robot operates within said working area substantially free of repetition of each worked portion of said at least one substantially continuous segment. - View Dependent Claims (79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85)
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Specification