Robot cleaner, robot cleaning system and method for controlling same
First Claim
1. A robot cleaner for performing a cleaning operation by communicating wirelessly with an apparatus external to the robot cleaner, comprising:
- a driving unit for driving a plurality of wheels;
an upper camera disposed on a main body in order to photograph an upper image perpendicular to a forward-looking direction parallel to the driving direction of the robot cleaner;
a front camera disposed on the main body in order to photograph a front image viewed in the forward-looking direction of driving of the robot cleaner; and
a controller for controlling the driving unit to allow the robot cleaner to drive within a cleaning area defined by a predetermined driving pattern, and for establishing a driving path along the predetermined driving pattern by analyzing the image photographed by the upper camera, wherein the controller creates an image map by three-dimensionally mapping the upper image photographed from the upper camera and the front image photographed by the front camera.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A robot cleaner, robot cleaning system, and a method for controlling the same, using wireless communications an upwardly-looking camera for photographing an upper image perpendicular to a forward-looking direction of driving the robot cleaner; and a controller for controlling the driving unit to allow the robot cleaner to drive within a cleaning area according to a predetermined driving path, and compensating the driving path by analyzing the image photographed by the upwardly-looking camera. Optional features include second forwardly directed camera to provide a three dimensional image sensors for sensing walls or obstacles and transmission of data to external processor/controllers by a radio antenna. The inventive system can recognize the robot cleaner position more accurately by using a relatively constant upper image reducing movement error to a target position.
254 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A robot cleaner for performing a cleaning operation by communicating wirelessly with an apparatus external to the robot cleaner, comprising:
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a driving unit for driving a plurality of wheels;
an upper camera disposed on a main body in order to photograph an upper image perpendicular to a forward-looking direction parallel to the driving direction of the robot cleaner;
a front camera disposed on the main body in order to photograph a front image viewed in the forward-looking direction of driving of the robot cleaner; and
a controller for controlling the driving unit to allow the robot cleaner to drive within a cleaning area defined by a predetermined driving pattern, and for establishing a driving path along the predetermined driving pattern by analyzing the image photographed by the upper camera, wherein the controller creates an image map by three-dimensionally mapping the upper image photographed from the upper camera and the front image photographed by the front camera. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A robot cleaning system including:
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a driving unit for driving a plurality of wheels;
a robot cleaner having an upper camera disposed on a main body for photographing an upper image perpendicular to a driving direction;
a front camera disposed on the main body in order to photograph a front image viewed in the forward-looking direction of driving of the robot cleaner; and
a remote controller for wirelessly communicating with the robot cleaner, wherein the remote controller creates an image map by Three-dimensional mapping the upper image photographed from the upper camera and the front image photographed by the front camera and further controls the robot cleaner to drive within an area to be cleaned by a predetermined driving pattern, and compensates a driving path along the predetermined driving pattern by transmitting the image being photographed by the upper camera and analyzing the photographed image. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification