Navigation method and system for autonomous machines with markers defining the working area
First Claim
1. A method for automatically operating a robot within an enclosed area, comprising the steps of:
- providing a boundary along the perimeter of the working area, the said boundary being detectable by a proximity sensor;
providing boundaries along the perimeter of each area enclosed in the working area, in which it is desired that the robot should not operate, the said boundaries also being detectable by a proximity sensor;
providing a proximity sensor positioned on the robot;
providing processing means connected to the said proximity sensor and receiving an input therefrom;
providing location means on the said robot, to determine the coordinates of the robot relative to an arbitrary origin, at any specific time;
providing direction finding means;
providing memory means to store values generated by the said processing means and, optionally, by the said location means;
causing the robot to move along each of the boundaries provided around or within the said working area, to detect the said boundaries and to memorize their shape, and to store in the memory means values representative of the coordinates of the said boundaries, relative to an arbitrary origin, thereby to generate a basic map of the working area;
when the robot is to operate within the said area;
(a) causing the robot to start from a starting point having known coordinates within the basic map of the working area;
(b) continuously determining the coordinates of the robot by analyzing data obtained from the location means and by detecting the vicinity of a boundary; and
(c) correcting the actual position of the robot on the basic map by comparing the calculated and the actual coordinates of each detected boundary.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for automatically operating a robot, attached to a lawnmower or other unmanned machine, within an enclosed area is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: 1) providing the following elements: a proximity sensor positioned on the robot, a boundary along the perimeter of the working area and along the perimeter of each area enclosed in the working area in which the robot should not operate, the boundaries being detectable by the proximity sensor, a processing unit connected to the proximity sensor and receiving an input therefrom, a navigation unit on the robot to determine the coordinates of the robot relative to an arbitrary origin, a direction finder, and a memory to store values generated by the processing unit; and 2) causing the robot to move along each of the boundaries provided around or within the working area, to detect the boundaries and to memorize their shape, and to store in the memory values representative of the coordinates of the boundaries, thereby to generate a basic map of the working area. When the robot is to operate within the area, the method includes the steps of: (a) causing the robot to start from a starting point having known coordinates within the basic map of the working area; (b) continuously determining the coordinates of the robot by analyzing data obtained from the navigation unit and by detecting the vicinity of a boundary; and (c) correcting the actual position of the robot on the basic map by comparing the calculated and the actual coordinates of each detected boundary.
57 Citations
55 Claims
-
1. A method for automatically operating a robot within an enclosed area, comprising the steps of:
-
providing a boundary along the perimeter of the working area, the said boundary being detectable by a proximity sensor;
providing boundaries along the perimeter of each area enclosed in the working area, in which it is desired that the robot should not operate, the said boundaries also being detectable by a proximity sensor;
providing a proximity sensor positioned on the robot;
providing processing means connected to the said proximity sensor and receiving an input therefrom;
providing location means on the said robot, to determine the coordinates of the robot relative to an arbitrary origin, at any specific time;
providing direction finding means;
providing memory means to store values generated by the said processing means and, optionally, by the said location means;
causing the robot to move along each of the boundaries provided around or within the said working area, to detect the said boundaries and to memorize their shape, and to store in the memory means values representative of the coordinates of the said boundaries, relative to an arbitrary origin, thereby to generate a basic map of the working area;
when the robot is to operate within the said area;
(a) causing the robot to start from a starting point having known coordinates within the basic map of the working area;
(b) continuously determining the coordinates of the robot by analyzing data obtained from the location means and by detecting the vicinity of a boundary; and
(c) correcting the actual position of the robot on the basic map by comparing the calculated and the actual coordinates of each detected boundary. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A method for automatically cutting a lawn, the method comprising the steps of:
-
providing a lawnmower with a robot and at least a plurality of lawn height sensors;
cutting a first swath of lawn in a first direction;
performing a maneuver, under control of said robot and in response to output of said lawn height sensors, in a second direction generally opposite of said first direction to bring said lawnmower to a location parallel to but overlapping said first swath by a predetermined percentage as indicated by the different output of said lawn height sensors;
cutting a second swath of lawn parallel to said first swath while continually monitoring the lawn height output of said lawn height sensors thereby to ensure that the percentage of overlap is generally maintained;
repeating said steps of performing a maneuver and cutting a second swath for further swaths of lawn, wherein the previously cut lawn is denoted by said first swath of lawn and the swath to be cut is denoted by said second swath of lawn. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. A grass height sensor comprising:
-
a housing;
a rotatable wing against which grass can push, said wing having a pin attached thereto;
a fixed second pin, connected to said housing;
a spring attached around said pin, wherein the ends of said spring press against opposite sides of said wing and opposite sides of said fixed pin; and
means for measuring the angle of rotation of said rotatable wing.
-
-
27. An automated robot for operation within an enclosed area, comprising:
-
a proximity sensor positioned on the robot;
processing means connected to the said proximity sensor and receiving an input therefrom;
location means, to determine the coordinates of the robot relative to an arbitrary origin, at any specific time;
direction finding means; and
memory means to store values generated by the said processing means and, optionally, by the said location means. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
-
33. A system for automatically operating a robot within an enclosed area, comprising:
-
boundary means suitable for positioning along the perimeter of the working area, and of each area enclosed in the working area, in which it is desired the robot not to operate, the said boundary means being detectable by a proximity sensor;
a robot provided with a proximity sensor;
processing means on said robot, connected to the said proximity sensor and receiving an input therefrom;
location means on the said robot, to determine the coordinates of the robot relative to an arbitrary origin, at any specific time;
memory means to store values generated by the said processing means;
direction finding means positioned on the said robot, to determine the direction of travel thereof; and
motion means, to cause the robot to move. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
-
Specification