Home network system and method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel shortest path

• US 20070219667A1
• Filed: 03/09/2007
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Jung, Hee-Won, Kim, Jong-Hee, Park, Seung-Gun
• Granted Patent: US 9,043,017 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0217 in accordance with energy consumption, time reduction or distance reduction criteria
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/028 using a RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/14 Arm movement, spatial
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/46 Sensing device

Abstract

Provided are a home network system and a method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a shortest travel route. The home network system capable of home automation includes a plurality of beacons for sensing a user located in a cell coverage area and for transmitting resulting sensing information of the user; an autonomous mobile robot for executing travel to reach the user based on provided travel route information; and a home server for calculating a travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot can easily reach the user based on the sensing information of the user transmitted from the beacons, and for providing the travel route to the autonomous mobile robot. Therefore, the autonomous mobile robot may reach the user by the shortest travel route and thus reducing energy loss.

Claims

1. A home network system capable of home automation, the home network system comprising:

a plurality of beacons for sensing a user located in a cell coverage area and for transmitting resulting sensing information of the user;

an autonomous mobile robot for executing travel to reach the user based on provided travel route information; and

a home server for calculating a travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot can easily reach the user based on the sensing information of the user transmitted from the beacons, and for providing the travel route to the autonomous mobile robot.

2. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beacons comprise:

a sensor unit for sensing the user or a communication apparatus of the user located in the cell coverage area;

a communication unit for executing communication to transmit the sensing information of the user to the home server; and

a controller for controlling the communication unit to execute communication with the communication apparatus sensed by the sensor unit and to transmit information of the user to the home server.

3. The home network system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of beacons further comprise:

a first storage unit for storing location information of the beacon; and

a second storage unit for storing location information of the user sensed by the sensor unit.

4. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the beacons are uniformly arranged over a entire area of the home.

5. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the beacons are attached to electronic apparatuses in the home.

6. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the home server includes:

a communication unit for obtaining location information of the user through communication with tbeacons and transmitting the travel route information to the autonomous mobile robot;

a travel route calculating unit for calculating the travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot reaches the user based on the location information of the user; and

a controller for transmitting the calculated travel route information to the autonomous mobile robot through the communication unit.

7. The home network system of claim 6, wherein the travel route calculating unit calculates the shortest travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot reaches the user.

8. The home network system of claim 6, wherein the home server further comprises a travel route storage unit for storing the travel route information calculated by the travel route calculating unit.

9. The home network system of claim 6, wherein the home server further comprises:

a map information storage unit for storing map information of the home;

a beacon location information storage unit for storing location information of the beacons installed in the home;

a user location information storage unit for storing the location information of the user transmitted from the beacons; and

a mobile robot location information storage unit for storing location information of the autonomous mobile robot.

10. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous mobile robot includes:

a power supply unit for providing power for the autonomous mobile robot to move independently;

a communication unit for executing communication with the home server to receive the travel route information;

a traveling unit for executing travel based on the travel route information;

a sensor unit for sensing obstacles during travel of the traveling unit; and

a controller for controlling travel of the traveling unit based on the travel route information, and if obstacles are sensed by the sensor unit, for controlling the traveling unit to avoid the obstacles and reach the user.

11. The home network system of claim 10, wherein the autonomous mobile robot further comprises:

a map information storage unit for storing map information of the home;

a beacon location information storage unit for storing location information of the beacons installed in the home;

a user location information storage unit for storing location information of the user transmitted from the home server; and

a travel route storage unit for storing the travel route information transmitted from the home server.

12. The home network system of claim 2, wherein the beacons have assigned RFID information and the home server stores location information corresponding to the RFID information assigned to the beacons, and

wherein the sensor unit senses RFID information assigned to the communication apparatus of the user located in the cell coverage area, and the controller transmits the RFID information of the communication apparatus of the user and the RFID information of the beacons to the home server through the communication unit by RFID local wireless communication.

13. A method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a travel route using a home network system including beacons, the autonomous mobile robot and a home server, the method comprising:

sensing, by the beacons, a user located in a cell coverage area and transmitting resulting sensing information of the user;

calculating, by the home server, a travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot can easily reach the user based on the sensing information of the user transmitted from the beacons, and providing the travel route to the autonomous mobile robot; and

executing, by the autonomous mobile robot, travel to reach the user based on travel route information provided by the home server.

14. The method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a travel route of claim 13, wherein in the step for calculating a travel route, the home server calculates the shortest travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot reaches the user.

15. The method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a travel route of claim 13, wherein, the step of sensing a user,

if the user is sensed at a location where the cell coverage areas of adjacent beacons are overlap, the resulting location information of the user is found along an X-axis and a Y-axis through (X_A+(X_B−

X_A)/2, Y_A+(Y_B−

Y_A)/2).

16. The method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a travel route of claim 14, further comprising:

when the travel route provided to the autonomous mobile robot by the home server is compared with current travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot reaches the user, if the travel routes are different,

re-transmitting, by the home server, the current travel route information to the autonomous mobile robot.