ACTIVATION SYSTEM FOR A ROBOTIC VEHICLE

• US 20100299016A1
• Filed: 05/16/2008
• Published: 11/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Benzler, Ulrich-Lorenze, Carstens-Behrens, Soenke, Koch, Christoph, Platzer, Joachim, Koeder, Thilo, Niehsen, Wolfgang, Marx, Klaus, Brosche, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US12/665,883
• Publication Number:
  US 20100299016A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/26
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/1654 Self-propelled cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0242 using non-visible light signals, e.g. IR or UV signals
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00

Abstract

The invention relates to an activation system (1) for a robotic vehicle (2), comprising at least one external camera (8) configured for generating image data of a work area (3) and of at least one robotic vehicle (2), and comprising at least one external logic unit (10) configured for determining the position of the at least one robotic vehicle (2) based on the image data generated by the camera (8), and comprising an external transmission unit (15, 20) configured for transmitting driving instructions, and comprising a receiving unit (16, 21) configured for receiving the driving instructions, and further comprising a controller (18) for activating drive means of at least one robotic vehicle (2) based on the driving instructions.

Claims

1. Activation system for a robotic vehicle,

with at least one external camera, which is configured for generating image data of a work area as well as at least one robotic vehicle, and

with at least one, preferable external, logic unit, which is configured for determining the position of the at least one robotic vehicle and for calculating driving instructions for the at least one robotic vehicle based on the image data that has been generated by the camera,

with an external transmitting unit, which is configured for transmitting the driving instructions and/or for transmitting the image data, and

with a control unit that is configured for activating drive means of at least one robotic vehicle based on the driving data.

2. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein the external logic unit is configured in such a way that it detects the borders of the work area and calculates the driving instructions in such a way that a robotic vehicle does not leave the work area.

3. The activation system according to claim 1 the external logic unit is configured in such a way that it detects static and/or moved obstacles in a work area and calculates the driving instructions in such a way that a robotic vehicle does not collide with the obstacles.

4. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein, in that the external logic unit is configured in such a way that it detects the orientation of a robotic vehicle and considers it when calculating the driving instructions.

5. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein, in that the external logic unit considers weather data and/or time data when calculating the driving instructions.

6. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein the external logic unit is configured in such a way that it detects differently conditioned sections of the work area and considers them when calculating the driving instructions.

7. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein the external unit is assigned to an input unit for a manual determining and/or changing of borders of the work area and/or obstacles and/or driving patterns and/or a visualizing unit for visualizing the image data and/or the obstacles and/or the driving patterns.

8. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein the logic unit is configured in such a way, that it calculates the driving instructions in such a way that the work area is driven along by the robotic vehicle according to a certain, in particular selectable and/or readable driving pattern, especially on parallel tracks and/or on overlapping tracks.

9. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein a transmitting unit, arranged at a robotic vehicle, for transmitting status data, in particular odometry data/or accumulator load status data, and an external receiving unit, connected with the external logic unit, for receiving the status data, are provided.

10. The activation system according to claim 9 wherein the logic unit considers the status data when calculating the driving instructions.

11. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein the system comprises at least one robotic vehicle, in particular a robotic vehicle with drive means.

12. The activation system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one receiving unit is arranged at the robotic vehicle.

13. The activation system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one control unit is arranged at the robotic vehicle.

14. The activation system according to claim 11, wherein at least one mark, in particular a LED, is provided at the robotic vehicle for a simplified determination of the position and/or orientation of the robotic vehicle.

15. The activation system according to claim 11, wherein the robotic vehicle is a gardening tool, in particular for a surface treatment near the ground, preferably a lawnmower with a mower, or a leaf collecting vehicle, or a grass collecting vehicle, or a mobile watering facility, or a thatching vehicle, or a weeding vehicle, or a snow cleaning vehicle, or a seed distributing vehicle, or a fertilizing vehicle, or a harvesting vehicle, or in that the robotic vehicle is a cleaning or supervising robot, in particular for supermarkets, airports or train stations or such alike.

16. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein the logic unit creates a starting instruction and a stopping instruction for a tool, in particular a mower, of a robotic vehicle based on the image stat.

17. The activation system according claim 1, wherein the logic unit calculates a trajectory of a robotic vehicle depending on the image data that is provided by the camera, preferably in such a way that the entire work area or a pre-determined or pre-determinable section of the work area, is driven along at least almost completely, in particular in such a way, that no surface section is driven along several times.

18. The activation system according to claim 1, wherein, in that the logic unit calculates a trajectory that runs clockwise or contra-clockwise by the image procession operation erosion.

19. The activation system according to claim 11, wherein the logic unit is controls drive means in such a way that a robotic vehicle drives along the work area in several, in particular oriented at the internal or external border of the work area, rounds, whereby the robotic vehicle maintains a round-specific distance to the external or internal border during each round, whereby the distance that is determined by erosion is increased or reduced with every round by a measure of length that is determined by an erosion filter mask.

20. The activation system according to claim 19 wherein the defined measure of length corresponds at least approximately with the width of the robotic vehicle or at least approximately with the width of a working element of the robotic vehicle.

21. The activation system according to claim 11, wherein the robotic vehicle is a pool robotic vehicle, and in that the robotic vehicle is connected to a swimmer that is detected by the camera and swims above the robotic vehicle.

22. The activation system according to claim 21 wherein the width of the swimmer corresponds with the width of the robotic vehicle and/or the width of a working element of the robotic vehicle, in particular the width of a filter unit and/or a suction unit and/or a cleaning unit.