Cleaning robot, home monitoring apparatus, and method for controlling the cleaning robot

• US 9,436,186 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2014
• Issued: 09/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Oh, Hee Jin, Kim, Kyung Jae, Song, Sung Geun, Lee, Ho Yeon, Min, Hyun Suk, Lee, Chang Seok
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Assistant Examiner(s): INGRAM, THOMAS P
• Application Number:
  US14/256,557
• Publication Number:
  US 20140324271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/00 Systems controlled by a computer G05B13/00, G05B19/00 take precedence; automatic controllers with particular characteristics G05B11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45098 Vacuum cleaning robot
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0251 extracting 3D information from a plurality of images taken from different locations, e.g. stereo vision stereoscopic image analysis H04N13/00; depth recovery from images G06T7/593
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks

Abstract

A cleaning robot is provided. The cleaning robot includes a main body, a moving assembly to move the main body around a home, an imaging unit to obtain images around the main body, a controller to generate a map of the home using the obtained images, and a communication unit to transmit the generated map to a home monitoring apparatus. A procedure to match location and type information of electric devices to a two-Dimensional (2D) or three-Dimensional (3D) map of the home may be automated. As described above, the map of the home may be realistically generated by utilizing a map generated by the cleaning robot and inconvenience experienced by a user to manually register electric devices located in each room of the home may be solved by automatically registering the electric devices.

Claims

1. A cleaning robot comprising:

a main body;

a moving assembly configured to move the main body around a home;

an image capturer configured to obtain images around the main body;

a communicator configured to communicate with an electric device and a home monitoring apparatus; and

a controller configured to;

generate a map of the home using the obtained images, and

identify location information of the electric device if communication of the electric device is performed,

wherein the communicator is further configured to transmit the generated map, the identified location information and information of the electric device to the home monitoring apparatus.

2. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the communicator is further configured to communicate with an electric device disposed near the main body to receive basic information from the electric device.

3. The cleaning robot according to claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to:

match the basic information of the electric device to the identified location information in the generated map,

wherein the communicator is further configured to transmit the generated map to which the basic information of the electric device is matched, to the home monitoring apparatus.

4. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

perform image processing on the images, and

identify the location information of the electric device in the image-processed images.

5. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, further comprising:

a cleaning tool configured to collect foreign substances on a floor of the home, wherein the controller is further configured to;

control operations of the moving assembly and the cleaning tool if a current mode is a cleaning mode,

communicate with an electric device of the home while performing cleaning,

determine whether the communicated electric device is a new electric device or a pre-registered electric device, and

update the map upon determining that the communicated electric device is the new electric device.

6. The cleaning robot according to claim 5, further comprising:

a voice detector configured to detect voice,

wherein the controller is further configured to control the moving assembly to move to a location corresponding to the detected voice.

7. The cleaning robot according to claim 6,

wherein the voice detector comprises a microphone array, and

wherein the controller is further configured to recognize a location corresponding to a voice detected by the microphone array.

8. The cleaning robot according to claim 7, wherein the controller is further configured to:

recognize the voice detected by the microphone array, and

determine a room designated by the recognized voice.

9. The cleaning robot according to claim 6,

wherein the voice detector comprises one microphone, and

wherein the controller is further configured to:

recognize a voice detected by the microphone, and

determine a room designated by the recognized voice.

10. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the home monitoring apparatus is located at a charger station to supply power to the main body, and displays information about electric devices matched to the map of the home.

11. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the home monitoring apparatus is located at the main body, and displays information about electric devices matched to the map of the home.

12. A cleaning robot, comprising:

a main body;

a moving assembly configured to move the main body around a home;

an image capturer including a first image capturing unit and a second image capturing unit aligned at different locations of the main body,

wherein the first image capturing unit and the second image capturing unit are configured to obtain two-dimensional (2D) images around the main body, respectively;

a controller configured to;

perform image processing on the captured 2D images to obtain a three-dimensional (3D) images recognize an electric device based on the obtained 3D images, and

generate a map to which the recognized electric device is matched; and

a communicator configured to transmit the map to which the recognized electric device is matched, to a home monitoring apparatus.

13. A cleaning robot, comprising:

a main body;

a moving assembly configured to move the main body around a home;

an image capturer including a first image capturing unit configured to capture two-dimensional (2D) images and a second image capturing unit configured to capture three-dimensional 3D images;

a controller configured to;

generate a map by distinguishing rooms of the home based on the 3D images,

perform image processing on at least one of the 2D and 3D images to recognize electric device, and

generate the map to which the recognized electric device are matched; and

a communicator configured to transmit the map to which the electric device are matched, to a home monitoring apparatus.

14. The cleaning robot according to claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to:

identify location information of an electric device if the electric device is recognized, and

match information of the electric device having the identified location information into the map.

15. The cleaning robot according to claim 14, further comprising:

a storage configured to store the location information of the electric device using 3-axis values.

16. A method for controlling a cleaning robot having a main body, a moving assembly configured to move the main body around a home, and an image capturer configured to obtain images around the main body, the method comprising:

determining whether an operation command is a command to execute a map generating mode if the operation command is input;

operating and moving the moving assembly around the home if the operation command is a command to execute a map generating mode;

obtaining a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) images around the main body while moving around the home;

generating three-dimensional (3D) images using the 2D images;

generating a map of the home based on the obtained 2D images of the generated 3D images;

recognizing an electric device disposed around the home by performing image processing on the generated 3D images;

matching the recognized electric device to the generated map; and

transmitting the map to which the electric device is matched, to a home monitoring apparatus.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the recognizing of the electric device comprises:

distinguishing rooms of the home using the generated 3D images; and

recognizing an electric device of each room.

18. A method for controlling a cleaning robot having a main body, a moving assembly configured to move the main body around a home, and an image capturer configured to obtain images around the main body, the method comprising:

determining whether an operation command is a command to execute a map generating mode if the operation command is input;

operating and moving the moving assembly around the home if the operation command is a command to execute a map generating mode;

obtaining a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) images and three-dimensional (3D) images around the main body while moving around the home;

recognizing an electric device disposed around the home by performing image processing on the obtained 3D images;

generating a map of the home based on the obtained 2D images or the obtained 3D images;

matching the recognized electric device to the generated map; and

transmitting the map to which the electric device is matched, to a home monitoring apparatus.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the recognizing of the electric device comprises:

distinguishing rooms of the home using the 3D images; and

recognizing the electric device of each room using at least one of the 2D and 3D images.

20. A method for controlling a cleaning robot having a main body, a moving assembly configured to move the main body around a home, and an image capturer configured to obtain images around the main body, the method comprising:

determining whether an operation command is a command to execute a map generating mode if the operation command is input;

determining whether communication of the electric device is performed;

identifying location information of the electric device upon determining communication of the electric device is performed; and

transmitting the generated map, the identified location information and information of the electric device, to a home monitoring apparatus.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

operating and moving the moving assembly around the home to perform cleaning if the operation command is a command to execute a cleaning mode;

obtaining images around the main body while performing cleaning;

identifying location information of an electric device by performing image processing on the obtained images,

wherein the communicating of the electric device further comprises;

determining whether the communicated electric device is a new electric device;

identifying basic information and location information of the communicated electric device upon determining that the communicated electric device is a new electric device; and

updating the map by matching the identified basic information and location information of the electric device to the map.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising:

identifying location information of the communicated electric device upon determining that the communicated electric device is a pre-registered electric device;

determining whether the identified location information of the electric device is identical to pre-stored location information of the electric device; and

updating the map by re-storing the location information of the electric device as the identified location information if the detected location information is different from the pre-stored location information.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising re-transmitting the updated map to the home monitoring apparatus.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the communicating of the electric device further comprises determining whether basic information is received from at least one electric device, while moving around the home.