AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION AND INK RECOGNITION SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A mobile robot, comprising:
- a housing;
a memory module coupled to the housing, configured to store an image file of at least one ink mark that is arbitrarily-shaped and is human-imperceptible and that forms a landmark on a navigable route;
a detector mounted to the housing, configured to detect human-imperceptible ink marks marked on a surface;
a confidence matching system coupled to the memory module and the detector, the confidence matching system configured to determine whether a detected ink mark is a landmark based on a comparison of the detected ink mark with the stored image file of the at least one ink mark; and
a navigation system coupled to the confidence matching system configured to navigate the robot through an area along the navigable route based on recognition of the landmark.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A mobile robot is disclosed. The mobile robot includes a housing. The mobile robot includes a memory module coupled to the housing. The memory module is configured to store an image file of at least one ink mark that is arbitrarily shaped and is human-imperceptible and that forms a landmark on a navigable route. The mobile robot includes a detector mounted to the housing. The detector is configured to detect ink marks marked on a surface. The mobile robot includes a confidence matching system coupled to the memory module and the detector. The confidence matching system is configured to determine whether a detected ink mark is a landmark based on a comparison of the detected ink mark with the stored image file of the at least one ink mark. The mobile robot includes a navigation system coupled to the confidence matching system configured to navigate the robot through an area including the navigable route based on recognition of the landmark.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A mobile robot, comprising:
-
a housing; a memory module coupled to the housing, configured to store an image file of at least one ink mark that is arbitrarily-shaped and is human-imperceptible and that forms a landmark on a navigable route; a detector mounted to the housing, configured to detect human-imperceptible ink marks marked on a surface; a confidence matching system coupled to the memory module and the detector, the confidence matching system configured to determine whether a detected ink mark is a landmark based on a comparison of the detected ink mark with the stored image file of the at least one ink mark; and a navigation system coupled to the confidence matching system configured to navigate the robot through an area along the navigable route based on recognition of the landmark. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A method of navigating a robot, including:
-
recording a random pattern of invisible marks in an area as a map file in the robot; detecting the invisible marks using a camera mounted to the robot and wherein the camera is configured for detecting light in the non-visible spectrum; and navigating the robot through the area based on the robot recognizing the detected invisible marks. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A system of autonomous robot navigation, comprising:
-
a mobile robot; a detector coupled to the mobile robot, the detector configured to detect non-uniform invisible ink marks disposed on vertical surfaces; and a processor coupled to the mobile robot, the processor configured to match the detected non-uniform invisible ink marks to pre-stored image files of landmarks based on a minimum number of shape features detected in the detected non-uniform invisible ink marks, the processor further configured to determine whether detected non-uniform invisible ink marks match a stored map file of predetermined locations of the landmarks. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A mobile robot navigation system, comprising:
-
a memory module including stored image files of landmarks and stored maps of navigable areas including landmarks; a confidence matching module, coupled to the memory module, including an image constructor configured to reconstruct virtual images from data representing detected arbitrarily-shaped and human-imperceptible ink marks; and a processor coupled to the memory module and the confidence matching module, configured to compare the reconstructed virtual images to one or more of the stored image files, the processor further configured to determine whether one of the detected arbitrarily-shaped and human-imperceptible ink marks is one of the landmarks based on the comparison, the processor further configured to generate a command signal to navigate a mobile robot through one of the navigable areas based on a location of the detected landmark in one of the stored maps. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification