System and method for utilizing non-local information to constrain robot services

• US 9,844,879 B1
• Filed: 05/17/2017
• Issued: 12/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Savioke, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Savioke, Inc.
• Inventors: Cousins, Steve, Canoso, Adrian, Bauer, Robert S., Herget, Phil, Yaskawa, Izumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Amin, Bhavesh V
• Application Number:
  US15/598,130
• Time in Patent Office: 216 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1666 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• 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 1/0276 using signals provided by a source external to the vehicle involving a plurality of vehicles G05D1/0287; automatically controlling vehicle speed responsive to externally generated signals B60K31/0058
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

A method for constraining movements of a robot comprises: using the robot, receiving dynamic building data that describes a temporary condition of a building or campus comprising a set of buildings and a location of the temporary condition; using the robot, updating, from the dynamic building data, a map layer of a plurality of map layers of a map by calculating an increased cost of navigation of the portion of the map layer corresponding to the location of the temporary condition, the increased cost based on the description of the temporary condition; using the robot, upon receiving a task having an origin location and a destination location, determining a fastest route from the origin location to the destination location from the plurality of map layers of the map using a graph search algorithm that calculates an expected velocity of the robot over the portion of the map layer corresponding to the location of the temporary condition; using the robot, traversing the fastest route from the origin location to the destination location.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for controlling movement of an autonomous robot comprising:

obtaining digitally stored dynamic building data comprising a description of a temporary condition of a set of one or more buildings and a location of the temporary condition, wherein the set of one or more buildings comprises a plurality of protected interior paths and at least one unprotected exterior path;

updating, from the dynamic building data, digital cost data associated with one or more features of a digital map by calculating an increased cost of navigation associated with the location of the temporary condition, the increased cost based on the description of the temporary condition;

in response to receiving a task that is associated with a destination location, determining a route of the robot to the destination location using the digital map based in part upon the location of the temporary condition and the increased cost, the route not including the at least one unprotected exterior path;

causing the robot to traverse to the destination location without using the at least one unprotected exterior path.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the route as a fastest route from a current location of the robot to the destination location, by calculating an expected velocity of the robot over a portion of the map layer corresponding to the location of the temporary condition.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the route as a shortest route from a current location of the robot to the destination location by calculating a plurality of different routes having different estimated time of arrival (ETA) values, each different route in the plurality of different routes not using the at least one unprotected exterior path.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the route as an optimized route from the current location to the destination location that traverses a fewest number of personnel locations of the set of buildings in which personnel are likely to be located and not using the at least one unprotected exterior path.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic building data comprises weather data received from a remote computer and the temporary condition is a weather condition.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic building data comprises data collected by another robot within the set of one or more buildings.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic building data comprises data detected by sensors within the set of one or more buildings.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic building data comprises facilities data pertaining to scheduled events or installations.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the temporary condition is a scheduled event that comprising a large crowd, a construction site, or a temporary installation.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein traversing the fastest route comprises determining an estimated time of arrival from the fastest route and communicating the estimated time of arrival to an operator.

11. A robot comprising:

one or more processors;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing one or more sequences of program instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform;

obtaining digitally stored dynamic building data comprising a description of a temporary condition of a set of one or more buildings and a location of the temporary condition, wherein the set of one or more buildings comprises a plurality of protected interior paths and at least one unprotected exterior path;

updating, from the dynamic building data, digital cost data associated with one or more features of a digital map by calculating an increased cost of navigation associated with the location of the temporary condition, the increased cost based on the description of the temporary condition;

in response to receiving a task that is associated with a destination location, determining a route of the robot to the destination location using the digital map based in part upon the location of the temporary condition and the increased cost, the route not including the at least one unprotected exterior path;

causing the robot to traverse to the destination location without using the at least one unprotected exterior path.

12. The robot of claim 11, further comprising instructions which when executed cause determining the route as a fastest route from a current location of the robot to the destination location, by calculating an expected velocity of the robot over a portion of the map layer corresponding to the location of the temporary condition.

13. The robot of claim 11 further comprising instructions which when executed cause determining the route as a shortest route from a current location of the robot to the destination location by calculating a plurality of different routes having different estimated time of arrival (ETA) values, each different route in the plurality of different routes not using the at least one unprotected exterior path.

14. The robot of claim 11, further comprising instructions which when executed cause determining the route as an optimized route from the current location to the destination location that traverses a fewest number of personnel locations of the set of buildings in which personnel are likely to be located and not using the at least one unprotected exterior path.

15. The robot of claim 11, wherein the dynamic building data comprises weather data received from a remote computer and the temporary condition is a weather condition.

16. The robot of claim 11, wherein the dynamic building data comprises data collected by another robot within the set of one or more buildings.

17. The robot of claim 11, wherein the dynamic building data comprises data detected by sensors within the set of one or more buildings.

18. The robot of claim 11, wherein the dynamic building data comprises facilities data pertaining to scheduled events or installations.

19. The robot of claim 11, wherein the temporary condition is a scheduled event that comprises a large crowd, a construction site, or a temporary installation.

20. A robot, comprising:

one or more digital electronic sensors of environmental conditions comprising any of temperature, humidity or precipitation;

one or more processors that are coupled to the one or more sensors;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing one or more sequences of program instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform;

obtaining digitally stored dynamic building data comprising a description of a temporary condition of a set of one or more buildings and a location of the temporary condition, wherein the set of one or more buildings comprises a plurality of protected interior paths and at least one unprotected exterior path;

obtaining local environment data comprising one or more of a temperature value, humidity value or precipitation value from the one or more sensors and updating the dynamic building data based upon the local environment data;

updating, from the dynamic building data, digital cost data associated with one or more features of a digital map by calculating an increased cost of navigation associated with the location of the temporary condition, the increased cost based on the description of the temporary condition;

in response to receiving a task that is associated with a destination location, determining a route of the robot to the destination location using the digital map based in part upon the location of the temporary condition and the increased cost, the route not including the at least one unprotected exterior path;

wherein determining the route comprises any of;

determining the route as a fastest route from a current location of the robot to the destination location, by calculating an expected velocity of the robot over a portion of the map layer corresponding to the location of the temporary condition;

determining the route as a shortest route from a current location of the robot to the destination location by calculating a plurality of different routes having different estimated time of arrival (ETA) values, each different route in the plurality of different routes not using the at least one unprotected exterior path;

determining the route as an optimized route from the current location to the destination location that traverses a fewest number of personnel locations of the set of buildings in which personnel are likely to be located and not using the at least one unprotected exterior path;

the dynamic building data comprising any one or more of;

weather data received from a remote computer;

data collected by another robot within the set of one or more buildings;

data detected by other sensors within the set of one or more buildings;

facilities data pertaining to scheduled events or installations of the set of one or more buildings;

the temporary condition comprising any of;

weather;

or a scheduled event that comprises a large crowd, a construction site, or a temporary installation;

causing the robot to traverse to the destination location without using the at least one unprotected exterior path.