Environmental management systems including mobile robots and methods using same

• US 9,375,847 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2014
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ibobot Corporation, iRobot Corporation
• Original Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Inventors: Angle, Colin, Snelling, David, O'Dea, Melissa, Farlow, Timothy S., Duffley, Samuel, Mammen, Jeffrey W., Halloran, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Dalena
• Application Number:
  US14/158,557
• Publication Number:
  US 20140207281A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 700/246, 700/257, 700/259, 700/264, 700/256, 700/250, 700/249, 348/159, 348/114, 348/143, 318/568.1, 318/568.16
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/006 by means of a wireless system for controlling one or several manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• 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 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

A mobile robot includes a microprocessor connected to a memory and a wireless network circuit, for executing routines stored in the memory and commands generated by the routines and received via the wireless network circuit. The microprocessor drives the mobile robot to a multiplicity of accessible two dimensional locations within a household, and commands an end effector, including at least one motorized actuator, to perform mechanical work in the household. A plurality of routines include a first routine which monitors a wireless local network and detects a presence of a network entity on the wireless local network, a second routine which receives a signal from a sensor detecting an action state of one of the network entities, the action state changeable between waiting and active, and a third routine which commands the end effector to change state of performing mechanical work based on the presence and on the action state.

Claims

1. A mobile robot, comprising:

a microprocessor connected to a memory and a wireless network circuit, for executing routines stored in the memory and commands generated by the routines and received via the wireless network circuit;

driven wheels commandable by the microprocessor to reach a multiplicity of accessible two dimensional locations within a household;

an environmental sensor readable by the microprocessor, the microprocessor executing a plurality of routines including;

a first routine which commands the driven wheels to move the robot about the household,

a second routine which takes sensor readings at a plurality of the accessible two dimensional locations within the household,

a third routine which, based on the sensor readings throughout the household, sends data to a network entity having a dedicated environmental sensor resulting in the activation of a motorized actuator on the network entity to perform mechanical work in the household, even when the dedicated environmental sensor reading alone does not indicate that the motorized actuator should be activated.

2. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the sensor readings taken at the plurality of accessible two dimensional locations within the household are environmental sensor readings and the environmental sensor is an air quality sensor, and wherein the network entity is an air purifier.

3. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the sensor readings taken at the plurality of accessible two dimensional locations within the household are environmental sensor readings and the environmental sensor is a humidity sensor, and wherein the network entity is a humidifier.

4. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the sensor readings taken at the plurality of accessible two dimensional locations within the household are environmental sensor readings and the environmental sensor is a temperature sensor, and wherein the network entity is a thermostat.

5. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the sensor readings taken at the plurality of two dimensional locations within the household populate a two dimensional map of sensor readings within the household, the two dimensional map displayed on a human machine interface device in communication with the mobile robot over the network.

6. The mobile robot of claim 5, wherein the sensor readings taken at the plurality of accessible two dimensional locations within the household are environmental sensor readings.

7. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the sensor readings taken at the plurality of two dimensional locations within the household populate a three dimensional map of sensor readings within the household, the three dimensional map displayed on a human machine interface device in communication with the mobile robot over the network.

8. The mobile robot of claim 7, wherein the sensor readings taken at the plurality of accessible two dimensional locations within the household are environmental sensor readings.

9. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein:

the environmental sensor is readable by the microprocessor to take current readings of an environmental quality;

the mobile robot includes a localizing circuit, with at least one localizing sensor that observes sensor readings from objects within the household, for determining a current pose of the mobile robot with reference to the observed objects;

the microprocessor further executes;

a surface mapping routine that accumulates observations from the localizing circuit to record a two dimensional array representing possible locations of the mobile robot;

an environmental mapping routine that takes and accumulates readings from the environmental sensor at a plurality of the accessible two dimensional locations within the household and causes the memory to store a three dimensional array based on the readings and on the two dimensional array representing possible locations of the mobile robot; and

a location-responsive environmental control routine which correlates the three dimensional array to locations of a plurality of home environmental control nodes, each home environmental control node having a dedicated environmental sensor and a control channel to actuate a motorized actuator to perform mechanical work within the household, and based on a proximity of at least one control node to an environmental mapping location represented in the three dimensional array, sends data to cause the at least one environmental control node to perform mechanical work in the household.

10. The mobile robot of claim 9 wherein the localization sensor includes a camera.

11. The mobile robot of claim 1 wherein the microprocessor commands the mobile robot to:

move about the household to execute a primary mission; and

simultaneously

collect environmental sensor readings as a secondary mission.

12. The mobile robot of claim 11 wherein the microprocessor registers the collected environmental sensor readings to a map of the household.

13. The mobile robot of claim 11 wherein the primary mission is a cleaning mission wherein the mobile robot cleans the household.

14. The mobile robot of claim 13 wherein the mobile robot includes a vacuum cleaning mechanism and the primary mission is vacuuming the household.

15. The mobile robot of claim 1 wherein the sensor readings are taken within and mapped to prescribed zones within the household.

16. The mobile robot of claim 1 wherein:

the mobile robot is in communication with a hub in communication with a network; and

the mobile robot is operative to wirelessly transmit robot sensor data corresponding to the sensor readings to the hub.

17. The mobile robot of claim 1 wherein the mobile robot is in communication with a remote user terminal over the network, the remote user terminal including an interactive application for controlling or monitoring the state of the mobile robot.

18. The mobile robot of claim 1 wherein the third routine, based on one or more sensor readings throughout the household falling above or below an acceptable threshold level or range, sends data to the network resulting in the activation of the motorized actuator even if the sensor reading from the dedicated environmental sensor falls within the acceptable threshold level or range.