Robotic ordering and delivery system software and methods
First Claim
1. A method for creating and using a map to navigate a robot within an area, comprising the steps of:
- scanning a floor plan of said area;
converting said floor plan into a scaled computer representation of said floor plan;
electronically defining locations within said scaled computer representation;
electronically defining robot paths within said computer representation; and
loading said scaled computer representation into said robot; and
navigating said robot based upon said loaded computer representation.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, methods and devices for the automated delivery of goods form one to another using a robotic tug and accompanying cart. A computer within the tug or cart stores an electronic map of the building floor plan and intended paths for the tug to take when traversing from one location to the next. During the delivery, a variety of different sensors and scanners gather data that is used to avoid obstacles and/or adjust the movement of the tug in order to more closely follow the intended path. The system preferably includes both wired and wireless networks that allow one or more tugs to communicate with a tug base station, a primary network located at the site of the delivery and a remote host center that monitors the status and data collected by the tugs.
180 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method for creating and using a map to navigate a robot within an area, comprising the steps of:
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scanning a floor plan of said area;
converting said floor plan into a scaled computer representation of said floor plan;
electronically defining locations within said scaled computer representation;
electronically defining robot paths within said computer representation; and
loading said scaled computer representation into said robot; and
navigating said robot based upon said loaded computer representation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for tracking and managing RFID-tagged items, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of RFID tags, each of which is attached to a unique item;
scanning an area for said RFID items utilizing an antenna on a mobile robot;
downloading data captured during said scanning process into an asset management database; and
correlating said downloaded data to a position on a map of said area. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification