MOBILE ROBOT FOR TELECOMMUNICATION

• US 20100076600A1
• Filed: 09/27/2007
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Original Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Inventors: Campbell, Tony, Cross, Matthew
• Granted Patent: US 8,265,793 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/259
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0005 Manipulators having means for high-level communication with users, e.g. speech generator, face recognition means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/02 Arm motion controller
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/17 Cylindrical
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/27 Arm part
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/47 Optical

Abstract

A mobile robot provides telecommunication service between a remote user at a remote terminal and a local user in proximity to the mobile robot. The remote user can connect to the mobile robot via the Internet using a peer-to-peer VoIP protocol, and control the mobile robot to navigate about the mobile robot'"'"'s environment. The mobile robot includes a microphone, a video camera and a speaker for providing telecommunication functionality between the remote user and the local user. Also, a hand-held RC unit permits the local user to navigate the mobile robot locally or to engage privacy mode for the mobile robot. When NAT or a firewall obstructs connection from the remote terminal to the mobile robot, an Internet server facilitates connection using methods such as STUN, TURN, or relaying.

Claims

1. A mobile robot for performing telecommunication, comprising:

a drive system configured to propel the mobile robot;

a robot RF transceiver configured to communicate directly with the Internet via a wireless Internet access point;

a robot camera configured to generate real-time digital video data of the environment around the robot;

a robot microphone configured to generate sound data of the environment around the robot;

a robot speaker configured to emit sound; and

a robot system processor configured to encode the real time digital video data and the sound data into a Voice-Over-IP signal using a peer-to-peer protocol, to decode a remote Voice-Over-IP signal encoded using the peer-to-peer protocol, to decode a robot control signal encoded within the Voice-Over-IP signal using the peer-to-peer protocol, and to control the mobile robot to be propelled via the drive system to move and turn according to the robot control signal.

2. The mobile robot according to claim 1, further comprising:

a wireless Internet access point communicatively connected to the Internet and configured to communicate with the mobile robot via the local wireless connection,

wherein the base station receives the remote data stream from the remote terminal and transmits the remote data stream to the mobile robot.

3. The mobile robot according to claim 1, further comprising:

a robot camera turret attached to the mobile robot and configured to support the robot camera,

wherein the robot camera is further configured to rotate from a forward-facing position to a rearward-facing position.

4. An RC unit configured to wirelessly control a mobile robot having a robot camera, comprising:

a privacy button operable by a local user and configured to engage a privacy mode of the mobile robot; and

an infrared transmitter configured to emit an infrared control signal to the mobile robot based on input from the keypad,

wherein the infrared control signal is configured to cause the robot camera to change position to block the field of view of the camera such that the environment of the mobile robot, other than the robot'"'"'s body, is obscured.

5. The RC unit according to claim 4, further comprising an RC microphone configured to generate RC sound data,

wherein the infrared control signal includes the RC sound data, and the RC sound data is transmitted to a remote user of the mobile robot.

6. The RC unit according to claim 4, further comprising:

an audio mute button configured to stop transmission of sound data from the mobile robot to a remote user; and

a video mute button configured to stop transmission of video data from the mobile robot to the remote user.

7. The RC unit according to claim 4, further comprising:

a sliding cover shiftable between an open position and a closed position,

wherein the sliding cover covers at least one button when the sliding cover is in the closed position,

wherein the at least one button is exposed when the sliding cover is in the open position, and

wherein the privacy button is exposed both when the sliding cover is in the open position and also when the sliding cover is in the closed position.

8. A mobile robot system comprising:

a mobile robot configured to perform telecommunication, including;

a drive system configured to propel the mobile robot,

a robot RF transceiver configured to communicate directly with the Internet via a wireless Internet access point,

a robot camera configured to generate real-time digital video data of the environment around the robot,

a robot microphone configured to generate sound data of the environment around the robot,

a robot speaker configured to emit sound, and

a robot system processor configured to encode the real time digital video data and the sound data into a Voice-Over-IP signal using a peer-to-peer protocol, to decode a remote Voice-Over-IP signal encoded using the peer-to-peer protocol, to decode a robot control signal encoded within the Voice-Over-IP signal using the peer-to-peer protocol, and to control the mobile robot to be propelled via the drive system to move and turn according to the robot control signal.

9. The mobile robot system according to claim 8, wherein the peer-to-peer protocol includes a datagram-based protocol configured to operate via the Internet, and

wherein the peer-to-peer protocol includes a NAT-traversal procedure.

10. The mobile robot system according to claim 8, wherein the robot RF transceiver is configured to receive the robot control signal and remote telecommunication data from a remote user via one common voice-over-IP protocol connection using one common datagram port.

11. The mobile robot system according to claim 8, wherein the voice-over-IP protocol includes SIP.

12. The mobile robot system according to claim 8, wherein the voice-over-IP protocol includes H.323.

13. The mobile robot system according to claim 8, further comprising:

a base station configured to communicate with the mobile robot via a local RF signal transmitted to the robot RF transceiver, the base station being communicatively connected to the Internet via a router configured to perform NAT with respect to the base station.

14. The mobile robot system according to claim 8, further comprising:

an Internet server associated with a globally accessible IP address and communicatively connected to the Internet, configured to determine a NAT status of the remote terminal.

15. The mobile robot system according to claim 14, wherein the Internet server includes a STUN server.

16. The mobile robot system according to claim 14, wherein the Internet server is further configured to relay voice-over-IP data between the remote terminal and the mobile robot.

17. The mobile robot system according to claim 14, wherein the Internet server is further configured to monitor quality of service of the peer-to-peer protocol.

18. The mobile robot system according to claim 8, wherein the robot system processor is further configured to arbitrate a conflict between user input from a local user and the robot control signal from the remote user.

20. The computer software product according to claim 18, further comprising:

a NAT traversal routine configured to communicate with an Internet server to determine a NAT status of the mobile robot.

19. A computer software product provided on a computer-readable medium for execution on a remote terminal adapted for communicating with a mobile robot via the Internet, the computer software product comprising:

a telecommunication routine configured to encode audio data generated from an environment of the remote terminal into a voice-over-IP data signal transmitted to the mobile robot; and

a robot control routine configured to encode robot control commands received from a remote user into the voice-over-IP data signal,

wherein the voice-over-IP data signal is transmitted to the mobile robot via the Internet on one common port.