Restricting movement of a mobile robot

• US 9,868,211 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2015
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Original Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Inventors: Williams, Marcus, Lu, Ping-Hong, Johnson, Joseph M., Santini, Fabrizio
• Primary Examiner(s): Mott, Adam R
• Application Number:
  US14/682,658
• Publication Number:
  US 20160297072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/00 Manipulators mounted on wheels or on carriages B25J1/00 takes precedence; programme-controlled manipulators B25J9/00 ; vehicle aspects B60, B62, e.g. remote-controlled steering for motor vehicles B62D1/24; control of position of vehicles G05D1/00
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1666 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1694 characterised by use of sensors other than normal servo-feedback from position, speed or acceleration sensors, perception control, multi-sensor controlled systems, sensor fusion
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

A robot includes a body that is movable relative to a surface one or more measurement devices within the body to output information based on an orientation of the body at an initial location on the surface, and a controller within the body to determine an orientation of the body based on the information and to restrict movement of the body to an area by preventing movement of the body beyond a barrier that is based on the orientation of the body and the initial location.

Claims

1. A robot comprising:

a body movable relative to a surface;

one or more measurement devices within the body to output information indicative of an initial orientation of the robot at an initial location of the robot on the surface; and

a controller within the body to determine the initial orientation based on the information, and to control movement of the robot within an area of the surface by,

while the robot is at the initial location and in the initial orientation, defining a virtual barrier corresponding to a line that extends across a width of the robot and beyond a first lateral side and a second lateral side of the robot, an orientation of the line being based on the initial orientation of the robot and a location of the line being based on the initial location of the robot, and

restricting movement of the robot beyond the barrier.

2. The robot of claim 1, wherein the barrier extends through a doorway, and the initial location of the robot is within the doorway.

3. The robot of claim 1, wherein:

the robot comprises a front and a back;

the line extends parallel to the back of the robot; and

the controller is configured to move the robot within the area without crossing the barrier.

4. The robot of claim 1, wherein the line is tangential to a back of the robot.

5. The robot of claim 1, wherein the line is aligned with a visual indicator on the robot.

6. The robot of claim 1, wherein the line corresponds to a first line that extends parallel to a back of the robot, and the barrier is further defined by a second line that extends perpendicular to the back of the robot.

7. The robot of claim 6, wherein, while the robot is in the initial location and the initial orientation, the back of the robot is adjacent to the first line and a side of the robot is adjacent to the second line.

8. The robot of claim 6, wherein the controller is programmed to restrict movement of the robot beyond the barrier by controlling the robot to perform operations comprising:

rotating at an angle relative to the initial orientation; and

traversing the area along paths that are substantially parallel to the barrier.

9. The robot of claim 1, wherein defining the barrier comprises:

generating a map that represents the area; and

designating a representation of the barrier on the map when the robot is at the initial location, the representation of the barrier indicating a location that the robot is prohibited from crossing.

10. The robot of claim 9, wherein the representation of the barrier is designated by designating coordinates corresponding to the barrier as non-traversable.

11. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to determine the initial orientation of the robot and restrict the movement of the robot upon entry into a handshake mode, the controller being programmed to recognize the handshake mode in response to one or more user-initiated operations of the robot.

12. The robot of claim 1, further comprising a cleaning system configured to clean the surface during movement of the robot in the area.

13. The robot of claim 12, wherein the cleaning system includes a wet cleaning system configured to support a cleaning pad on a forward portion of the robot.

14. The robot of claim 1, further comprising a button operable to initiate a cleaning operation and to initiate defining of the barrier when the robot is positioned at the initial location.

15. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to drive the robot across the surface in a coverage behavior to cover at least an interior portion of the area and in a wall following behavior to follow a perimeter of the area, the perimeter being defined at least in part by the initial orientation and the initial location.

16. The robot of claim 15, further comprising:

a bumper movable relative to the body; and

a sensor operable to produce a signal indicative of compression of the bumper relative to the body,

wherein the controller is configured to initiate the wall following behavior based on the signal.

17. The robot of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured drive the robot in a cornrow pattern during the coverage behavior.

18. The robot of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to initiate the wall following behavior after completion of the coverage behavior.

19. The robot of claim 1, further comprising indicator lights wherein the controller is configured to illuminate the indicator lights to indicate a reference line indicative of the location of the line.

20. The robot of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is configured to initiate autonomous movement of the robot across the surface, and

the barrier is defined before the autonomous movement of the body across the surface is initiated.

21. The robot of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to transmit data indicative of the map and indicative of the representation of the barrier to a remote computing device to cause the remote computing device to display a representation of the map and the representation of the barrier.

22. The robot of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to, while the robot is positioned at the initial location and at the initial orientation,

receive instructions to initiate defining the barrier, and

execute the instructions to define the barrier.

23. A robot comprising:

a body movable relative to a surface;

one or more measurement devices within the body to output information indicative of an initial orientation of the robot at an initial location of the robot on the surface; and

a controller within the body to determine the initial orientation based on the information, and to control movement of the robot within an area of the surface by

defining a virtual barrier when the robot is positioned at the initial location, the barrier extending along a first line parallel to a back of the robot and being based on the initial orientation of the robot and the initial location of the robot,

illuminating a visual indicator of the robot aligned with a second line parallel to the first line, and

restricting movement of the robot beyond the barrier.

24. The robot of claim 23, wherein the controller is programmed to determine the initial orientation and restrict the movement of the robot upon entry into a handshake mode, the controller being programmed to recognize the handshake mode in response to one or more user-initiated operations of the robot.

25. The robot of claim 23, further comprising a cleaning system configured to clean the surface during movement of the robot in the area.

26. The robot of claim 25, wherein the cleaning system includes a wet cleaning system configured to support a cleaning pad on a forward portion of the robot.

27. The robot of claim 23, further comprising a button operable to initiate a cleaning operation and to initiate defining of the barrier when the robot is positioned at the initial location.

28. The robot of claim 23, wherein the controller is configured to, while the robot is positioned at the initial location and at the initial orientation,

receive instructions to initiate defining the barrier, and

execute the instructions to define the barrier.