Programmable lawn mower
First Claim
1. A programmable robotic apparatus, comprising:
- a drive system comprising a plurality of independently operable treads;
a control module in electrical communication with said drive system, said control module configured to command the operation of each tread;
a memory module in electrical communication with said control module, said memory module configured to store and retrieve information;
a transmitter in electrical communication with said control module, said transmitter configured to transmit a signal comprising at least a unique identifier associated with the robotic apparatus; and
a receiver in electrical communication with said control module, said receiver configured to receive a signal comprising location information;
whereby said robotic apparatus is able to discern at least one of a location and an orientation of said programmable robotic apparatus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A robotic apparatus for traversing a selected area autonomously that senses orientation relative to the Earth'"'"'s magnetic field or other “environmental” signals. The robotic apparatus is provided in two models, a master that can record directive and compass or “environmental signal” readings, or that can record received location information, to provide at least one command recorded on a machine-readable medium representing an instruction for traversing an area of interest, and a slave that lacks the recording capability. Both master and slave models can replay recorded commands, and compare the expected orientation from the command with an actual orientation sensed during autonomous operation. If an error exceeding a predetermined value is observed, a corrective action is taken. The robotic apparatus is able to utilize a tool to perform a task at one or more locations, such as cutting, shoveling and digging. In one embodiment, the robotic apparatus is a lawn mower.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A programmable robotic apparatus, comprising:
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a drive system comprising a plurality of independently operable treads; a control module in electrical communication with said drive system, said control module configured to command the operation of each tread; a memory module in electrical communication with said control module, said memory module configured to store and retrieve information; a transmitter in electrical communication with said control module, said transmitter configured to transmit a signal comprising at least a unique identifier associated with the robotic apparatus; and a receiver in electrical communication with said control module, said receiver configured to receive a signal comprising location information; whereby said robotic apparatus is able to discern at least one of a location and an orientation of said programmable robotic apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification