Home network system and method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel shortest path

• US 9,043,017 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2007
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jung, Hee-Won, Kim, Jong-Hee, Park, Seung-Gun
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan k
• Assistant Examiner(s): King, Rodney P
• Application Number:
  US11/716,336
• Publication Number:
  US 20070219667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,000 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 700/258, 700/259, 700/261, 901/14, 901/46
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0217 in accordance with energy consumption, time reduction or distance reduction criteria
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/028 using a RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/14 Arm movement, spatial
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/46 Sensing device

Abstract

Provided are a home network system and a method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a shortest travel route. The home network system capable of home automation includes a plurality of beacons for sensing a user located in a cell coverage area and for transmitting resulting sensing information of the user; an autonomous mobile robot for executing travel to reach the user based on provided travel route information; and a home server for calculating a travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot can easily reach the user based on the sensing information of the user transmitted from the beacons, and for providing the travel route to the autonomous mobile robot. Therefore, the autonomous mobile robot may reach the user by the shortest travel route and thus reducing energy loss.

Claims

1. A home network system capable of home automation, the home network system comprising:

a plurality of beacons uniformly arranged at regular intervals over an entire area of a home for obtaining information of a user located in a respective cell coverage area of a corresponding beacon by sensing at least one communication apparatus of the user, the information of the user comprising Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) information of the at least one communication apparatus of the user and for transmitting information of the user obtained from the at least one communication apparatus of the user to a home server;

the home server for receiving the sensing information of the user transmitted from the plurality of beacons, for receiving location information of an autonomous mobile robot, for calculating a travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot can reach the user based on the received sensing information and the received location information of the autonomous mobile robot, and for transmitting the calculated travel route to the autonomous mobile robot via wireless communication; and

the autonomous mobile robot, which is separate from both home server and the plurality of beacons, for receiving the transmitted travel route information, and executing travel to reach the user based on received travel route information,

wherein, if the users is sensed at a location where the cell coverage areas of adjacent beacons overlap, the location information of the user is defined as corresponding to a location centered between the adjacent beacons, and wherein, sensing the user includes, if the user is sensed at the location where the cell coverage areas of adjacent beacons overlap, the resulting location information of the user is found along an X-axis and a Y-axis through (X_A+(X_B−

X_A)/2, Y_A+(Y_B−

Y_A)/2), where (X_A, YA) is a co-ordinate of one of the adjacent beacons and (XB, Y_A) is a co-ordinate of another one of the adjacent beacons.

2. The home network system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of beacons includes:

a sensor unit for sensing the user or a communication apparatus of the user located within the cell coverage area of the beacon;

a communication unit for transmitting the sensing information of the user to the home server; and

a controller for controlling the communication unit to execute communication with the communication apparatus sensed by the sensor unit and to transmit information of the user to the home server.

3. The home network system of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of beacons further includes:

a first storage unit for storing location information of the beacon; and

a second storage unit for storing location information of the user sensed by the sensor unit.

4. The home network system of claim 2, wherein the beacons have assigned RFID information and the home server stores location information corresponding to the RFID information assigned to the beacons.

5. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the beacons are attached to electronic apparatuses in the home.

6. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the home server includes:

a communication unit for obtaining location information of the user through communication with the beacons and transmitting the travel route to the autonomous mobile robot via the wireless communication;

a travel route calculating unit for calculating the travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot reaches the user based on the location information of the user; and

a controller for controlling transmission of the calculated travel route to the autonomous mobile robot through the communication unit.

7. The home network system of claim 6, wherein the travel route calculating unit calculates a shortest travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot reaches the user.

8. The home network system of claim 6, wherein the home server further includes a travel route storage unit for storing the travel route calculated by the travel route calculating unit.

9. The home network system of claim 6, wherein the home server further includes:

a map information storage unit for storing map information of the home;

a beacon location information storage unit for storing location information of the beacons installed in the home;

a user location information storage unit for storing location information of the user transmitted from the beacons; and

a mobile robot location information storage unit for storing location information of the autonomous mobile robot.

10. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous mobile robot includes:

a power supply unit for providing power for the autonomous mobile robot to move independently;

a communication unit for executing the wireless communication with the home server to receive the travel route;

a traveling unit for executing travel based on the travel route;

a sensor unit for sensing obstacles during travel of the traveling unit; and

a controller for controlling travel of the traveling unit based on the travel route, and if obstacles are sensed by the sensor unit, for controlling the traveling unit to avoid the obstacles and reach the user.

11. The home network system of claim 10, wherein the autonomous mobile robot further comprises:

a map information storage unit for storing map information of the home;

a beacon location information storage unit for storing location information of the beacons installed in the home;

a user location information storage unit for storing location information of the user transmitted from the home server; and

a travel route storage unit for storing the travel route transmitted from the home server.

12. A method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a travel route using a home network system including beacons, a home server, and the autonomous mobile robot, which is separate from both the home server and the beacons, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the beacons, information of a user located in a respective cell coverage area of a corresponding beacon by sensing at least one communication apparatus of the user, the information of the user comprising Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) information of the at least one communication apparatus of the user and transmitting the information of the user obtained from the at least one communication apparatus of the user to the home server;

receiving, by the home server, the transmitted sensing information of the user from the beacons and receiving location information of the autonomous mobile robot transmitted from the autonomous mobile robot;

calculating, by the home server, a travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot can reach the user based on the sensing information of the user transmitted from the beacons and the location information of the autonomous mobile robot, and transmitting the travel route to the autonomous mobile robot via wireless communication; and

executing, by the autonomous mobile robot, travel to reach the user based on travel route information provided by the home server,

wherein the beacons are uniformly arranged at regular intervals over an entire area of a home, and

wherein, if the users is sensed at a location where the cell coverage areas of adjacent beacons overlap, the location information of the user is defined as corresponding to a location centered between the adjacent beacons, and wherein, sensing the user includes, if the user is sensed at the location where the cell coverage areas of adjacent beacons overlap, the resulting location information of the user is found along an X-axis and a Y-axis through (X_A+(X_B−

X_A)/2, Y_A+(Y_B−

Y_A)/2), where (X_A, YA) is a co-ordinate of one of the adjacent beacons and (XB, Y_A) is a co-ordinate of another one of the adjacent beacons.

13. The method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a travel route of claim 12, wherein in calculating the travel route, the home server calculates the shortest travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot reaches the user.

14. The method for an autonomous mobile robot to travel along a travel route of claim 13, further comprising:

when the travel route transmitted to the autonomous mobile robot by the home server is compared with current travel route along which the autonomous mobile robot reaches the user, if the travel routes are different,

re-transmitting, by the home server, the current travel route information to the autonomous mobile robot via wireless communication.