Mobile robotic with web server and digital radio links

• US 6,658,325 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2002
• Issued: 12/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stephen Eliot Zweig
• Original Assignee: Stephen Eliot Zweig
• Inventors: Zweig, Stephen Eliot
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marc, McDieunel
• Application Number:
  US10/047,574
• Publication Number:
  US 20020173877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 687 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 700/246, 700/94, 700/259, 700/264, 700/256, 700/250, 700/249, 701/213, 701/208, 701/215, 446/404, 446/298, 446/397, 348/159, 348/114, 348/143, 318/568.1, 710/11, 901/47, 901/50, 709/223, 709/218, 709/246
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1689 Teleoperation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40174 Robot teleoperation through internet
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0011 associated with a remote control arrangement

Abstract

The invention is a computerized mobile robot with an onboard internet web server, and a capability of establishing a first connection to a remote web browser on the internet for robotic control purposes, and a capability of establishing a second short range bi-directional digital radio connection to one or more nearby computerized digital radio equipped devices external to the robot. The short-range bi-directional digital radio connection will typically have a maximum range of about 300 feet. In a preferred embodiment, this short-range wireless digital connection will use the 2.4 gHz band and digital protocols following the IEEE 802.11, 802.15, or other digital communications protocol. By employing the proper set of external short-range digital radio devices capable of interfacing with the robot (such as sensors, mechanical actuators, appliances, and the like), a remote user on the internet may direct the robot to move within range of the external devices, discover their functionality, and send and receive commands and data to the external devices through the CGI interface on the robot'"'"'s onboard web server.

Claims

1. A mobile robot with an onboard web server, telecommunications means to link the onboard web server with the internet, and onboard telecommunications means to establish additional short-range bi-directional digital radio links with a plurality of non internet connected external computer controlled devices;

wherein the mobile robot, under control by commands sent over the internet, travels into the vicinity of one or more of the external computer controlled devices and establishes a direct bi-directional, short-range, digital radio link with the external device.

2. The robot of claim 1, in which the state of the external computer controlled device is communicated to one or more remote internet sites.

3. The robot of claim 1, in which the state of the external computer controlled device is modified in response to commands from one or more remote internet sites.

4. The robot of claim 1, in which one or more of the external devices are selected from the group consisting of short-range bi-directional digital radio linked:

video camera, audio pickup, environmental sensor, robotic arm, memory cache, automatic door, light, sprinkler, security system, audiovisual system, animal feeder, heating/air conditioning system, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer, health equipment, manufacturing equipment, or analytical equipment.

5. The robot of claim 1, in which the telecommunications means to link the onboard web server to the Internet employ the HTTP or TCP/IP protocols.

6. The robot of claim 1, in which the web server sends SGML variant web pages selected from the group of HTML, XML or XHTML formats.

7. The robot of claim 1, in which the remote internet site is a human operated standard web browser that can read SGML variant web pages selected from the group of HTML, XML, or XHTML formats.

8. The robot of claim 1, in which the remote internet site is an automated computer system that processes the SGML variant web pages (selected from the group of HTML, XML, or XHTML) from the robot, and issues automatic commands to the robot.

9. The robot of claim 1, in which communication between the remote internet site, and the external devices local to the robot, pass through the CGI interface of the robot'"'"'s onboard web server.

10. The robot of claim 1, in which the external devices maintain a discoverable registry of services, and where the robot discovers the available services of the external devices through short-range bi-directional digital radio links.

11. The robot of claim 1, wherein the robot maintains a discoverable registry of its services, and makes this registry available to external devices through short-range bi-directional digital radio links.

12. The robot of claim 1, in which additional instructions for repetitive, complex, or time-sensitive tasks are downloaded from the remote internet site, and stored onboard the robot for later automatic execution.

13. The robot of claim 1, in which a set of instructions for robotic interaction with short-range bi-directional digital radio linked external devices are downloaded from the remote internet site, and stored onboard the robot for later automatic execution.

14. The robot of claim 1, in which the short-range bi-directional digital radio link uses the 2.4 gigahertz frequency.

15. The robot of claim 14, in which the short-range bi-directional digital radio link follows one or more of the protocols selected from the group of IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, and IEEE 802.15b.

16. The robot of claim 1, in which the robot observes local conditions with onboard sensors, and transmits this information to a remote internet site to assist in either interpreting data from short-range bi-directional digital radio linked devices local to the robot, or to assist in selecting appropriate commands to send to short-range bi-directional digital radio linked devices local to the robot.

17. A mobile robot, with an onboard computer running a multitasking operating system, which in turn is running an onboard web server with a CGI interface;

telecommunications means to link the onboard web server with the Internet using the HTTP protocol;

onboard telecommunications means to establish additional short-range bi-directional digital radio links with a plurality of non internet connected external computer controlled devices;

wherein the mobile robot, under instruction by commands sent over the internet and through its onboard web server CGI interface to onboard robotics control programs, travels into the vicinity of one or more of the external computer controlled devices and establishes a direct bi-directional, short-range, digital radio link with one or more of the external devices, communicates the state of the external computer controlled devices back through the CGI interface on the onboard web server to a remote internet web browser, and sends commands back from the remote internet web browser back through the robot'"'"'s onboard CGI interface to the external computer controlled devices.

18. The robot of claim 17, in which one or more of the external devices are selected from the group consisting of short-range bi-directional digital radio linked:

video camera, audio pickup, environmental sensor, robotic arm, memory cache, automatic door, light, sprinkler, security system, audiovisual system, animal feeder, heating/air conditioning system, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer, health equipment, manufacturing equipment, or analytical equipment.

19. The robot of claim 17, in which the remote internet site is a human operated standard web browser that can read SGML variant web pages selected from the group of HTML, XMIL, or XHTML formats.

20. The robot of claim 17, in which the remote internet site is an automated computer system that processes the SGML variant web pages (selected from the group of HTML, XML, or XHTML) from the robot, and issues automatic commands to the robot.

21. The robot of claim 17, in which the external devices maintain a discoverable registry of services, and where the robot discovers the available services of the external devices through short-range bi-directional digital radio links.

22. The robot of claim 17, wherein the robot maintains a discoverable registry of its services, and makes this registry available to external devices through short-range bi-directional digital radio links.

23. The robot of claim 17, in which additional instructions for repetitive, complex, or time-sensitive tasks are downloaded from the remote internet site, and stored onboard the robot for later automatic execution.

24. The robot of claim 23, in which the additional instructions are in XML format.

25. The robot of claim 17, in which a set of instructions for robotic interaction with short-range bi-directional digital radio linked external devices are downloaded from the remote internet site, and stored onboard the robot for later automatic execution.

26. The robot of claim 24, in which the instructions are in XML format.

27. The robot of claim 17, in which the short-range bi-directional digital radio link uses the 2.4 gigahertz frequency.

28. The robot of claim 27, in which the short-range bi-directional digital radio link follows one or more of the protocols selected from the group of IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15, and IEEE 802.15b.

29. The robot of claim 17, in which the onboard web server is running on a multi-tasking operating system derived from Linux or Unix.

30. The robot of claim 17, in which the robot observes local conditions with onboard sensors, and transmits this information to a remote internet site to assist in either interpreting data from short-range bi-directional digital radio linked devices local to the robot, or to assist in selecting appropriate commands to send to short-range bi-directional digital radio linked devices local to the robot.

31. A mobile robot with an onboard web server, telecommunications means to link the onboard web server with the internet, and onboard telecommunications means to establish additional short-range bi-directional digital radio links with a plurality of external computer controlled devices;

said devices selected from the group consisting of short-range bi-directional digital radio linked;

video camera, audio camera, environmental sensor, robotic arm, memory cache, automatic door, light, sprinkler, security system, audiovisual system, pet feeder, heating/air conditioning system, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer, health equipment, manufacturing equipment, or analytical equipment;

wherein the mobile robot, under control by commands sent over the internet, travels into the vicinity of one or more of the external computer controlled devices and establishes a bi-directional, short-range, digital radio link with the external device.

32. A mobile robot, with an onboard computer running a multitasking operating system, which in turn is running an onboard web server with a CGI interface;

telecommunications means to link the onboard web server with the Internet using the HTTP protocol;

onboard telecommunications means to establish additional short-range bi-directional digital radio links with a plurality of external computer controlled devices;

Said devices selected from the group consisting of short-range bi-directional digital radio linked;

video camera, audio camera, environmental sensor, robotic arm, memory cache, automatic door, light, sprinkler, security system, audiovisual system, pet feeder, heating/air conditioning system, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer, health equipment, manufacturing equipment, or analytical equipment;

wherein the mobile robot, under instruction by commands sent over the internet and through its onboard web server CGI interface to onboard robotics control programs, travels into the vicinity of one or more of the external computer controlled devices and establishes a bi-directional, short-range, digital radio link with one or more of the external devices, communicates the state of the external computer controlled devices back through the CGI interface on the onboard web server to a remote internet web browser, and sends commands back from the remote internet web browser back through the robot'"'"'s onboard CGI interface to the external computer controlled devices.