US-12625498-B2 - Managing a fleet of robots

US12625498B2US 12625498 B2US12625498 B2US 12625498B2US-12625498-B2

Abstract

Methods, systems, and non-transitory machine-readable media encoding instructions for managing a fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a facility. In one aspect, a computer-implemented system for managing a fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a facility can include a log of characteristics of cycle times of communications between the system and the autonomous mobile robots in the fleet over time, and an analysis component configured to determine, based on the logged characteristics of the cycle times, i) a location in a facility at which or ii) a time of day during which or iii) equipment used in communications between the system and the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality that are either inadequate or deficient. Each communications cycle includes wireless transmission of test signals to a plurality of the autonomous mobile robots in the fleet and receipt of responses to the test signals transmitted wirelessly from each of the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality.

Inventors

Søren ERIKSEN NIELSEN
Morten STEEN NØRBY

Assignees

MOBILE INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS A/S

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20211104
Priority Date: 20201216

Claims (20)

1 . A method for managing a fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a facility, the method being performed by a computer-implemented system, the method comprising: performing a communications cycle by performing operations comprising: causing test signals to be transmitted wirelessly to a plurality of the autonomous mobile robots in the fleet; and receiving responses to the test signals, wherein the responses are transmitted wirelessly from each of the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots; logging, over time, characteristics of cycle times between transmission of the test signals and receipt of the responses to the test signals, wherein the logged characteristics comprise a location of each of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots when responding to a test signal and a time of day of a corresponding communication cycle; and analyzing the logged characteristics of the cycle times for the plurality of autonomous mobile robots to determine at least one of: i) a location in the facility at which communications between the computer-implemented system and autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots are either inadequate or deficient; or ii) a time of day during which the communications between the computer-implemented system and autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots are either inadequate or deficient; or iii) equipment used to wirelessly transmit the test signals or to receive responses to the test signals in communication cycles where communications between the computer-implemented system and autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots are either inadequate or deficient; and controlling operation of at least one of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots by causing the at least one of the plurality of autonomous robots to select a route through the facility based at least on the location, the time of day, or the equipment to avoid or to remedy inadequate or deficient communications with the at least one of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots; wherein analyzing the logged characteristics is performed by comparing a frequency of occurrence of at least one of the location or the time of day in the logged characteristics to a frequency of occurrence of the at least one of the location or the time of day in a data set that is larger than the logged characteristics to determine the at least one of the location, or the time of day, or the equipment.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the logged characteristics comprise one or more of a) lengths of each of the cycle times, b) identifiers of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots in each cycle, or c) identifiers of wireless access points used by the plurality of autonomous mobile robots in each cycle.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein analyzing the logged characteristics comprises identifying that one or more of the logged characteristics is overrepresented in instances where communications between the computer-implemented system and the plurality of autonomous mobile robots are either inadequate or deficient.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein identifying that one or more of the logged characteristics is overrepresented comprises identifying that a wireless access point used by the plurality of autonomous mobile robots is associated with, or responsible for, the inadequate or deficient communications.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising outputting a notification of the inadequate or deficient communications, wherein the notification comprises either a time of day during which, or the location at which, the inadequate or deficient communications occurred.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein outputting the notification comprises outputting the notification to the autonomous mobile robots in the fleet or modifying a cost in a route planning or work scheduling system.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: outputting a representation of characteristics of logged cycle times.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the representation comprises a heatmap of cycle times at different locations within the facility during a defined time window.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the test signals to be transmitted comprises instructing a plurality of wireless access points in the facility to transmit the test signals.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the logged characteristics of the cycle times comprises comparing cycle times to a threshold to determine deviant communication cycle times.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising determining either the location in the facility or the time of day of the inadequate or deficient communications based on the deviant communication cycle times.
12 . A computer-implemented system for managing a fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a facility, the computer-implemented system comprising: memory storing a log of characteristics of communication cycle times of communications between the computer-implemented system and a plurality of the autonomous mobile robots in the fleet over time, wherein each communications cycle comprises the computer-implemented system causing wireless transmission of test signals to the plurality of autonomous mobile robots and receipt of responses to the test signals transmitted wirelessly from each of the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots; and one or more processing devices configured to determine, based on the log of characteristics of the cycle times, at least one of: i) a location in the facility at which communications between the computer-implemented system and the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots are either inadequate or deficient; or ii) a time of day during which communications between the computer-implemented system and the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots are either inadequate or deficient; or iii) equipment used in communications, which are either inadequate or deficient, between the computer-implemented system and the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots; and wherein the one or more processing devices are also configured to control operation of at least one of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots by causing the at least one of the plurality of autonomous robots to select a route through the facility based at least on the location, the time of day, or the equipment to avoid or to remedy inadequate or deficient communication with the at least one of the plurality of autonomous mobile robots; wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to compare a frequency of occurrence of at least one of the location or the time of day in the log of characteristics to a frequency of occurrence of the at least one of the location or the time of day in a data set that is larger than the log of characteristics to determine the at least one of the location, the time of day, or the equipment.
13 . The computer-implemented system of claim 12 , further comprising: a communications interface configured to interface with a plurality of wireless access points to wirelessly transmit the test signals and to transmit the responses from the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality of autonomous mobile robots.
14 . The computer-implemented system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to output a notification of the inadequate or deficient communications, wherein the notification comprises either a time of day during which, or the location at which, the inadequate or deficient communications occurred.
15 . The computer-implemented system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to output a modification of a cost to either a route planning or a work scheduling system based on the location or time of day.
16 . The computer-implemented system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to compare the cycle times to a threshold to determine deviant communication cycle times, wherein either the location in the facility or the time of day of the inadequate or deficient communications is determined based on the deviant communication cycle times.
17 . The computer-implemented system of claim 12 , wherein the computer-implemented system causes the wireless transmission of test signals by instructing one or more wireless access points to transmit the test signals.
18 . The computer-implemented system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to output a representation of characteristics of logged cycle times.
19 . The computer-implemented system of claim 18 , wherein the representation comprises a heatmap of cycle times at different locations within the facility during a defined time window.
20 . The computer-implemented system of claim 12 , wherein the computer-implemented system causes the wireless transmission of test signals by outputting the test signals.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a national stage entry of PCT Application No. PCT/EP2021/080603, which was filed on Nov. 4, 2021. PCT Application No. PCT/EP2021/080603 claims priority to European Patent Application No. 20214616.3 which was filed on Dec. 16, 2020. This application claims priority to PCT Application No. PCT/EP2021/080603 and to European Patent Application No. 20214616.3. The contents of PCT/EP2021/080603 and European Patent Application No. 20214616.3 are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This specification describes systems and devices for managing a fleet of robots in a facility, for example, including route planning, maintenance scheduling, and facility and management system design. BACKGROUND Mobile robots are a robots that is capable of moving in their surroundings. Mobile robots have become more commonplace in a variety of settings. For example, hospitals use autonomous mobile robots to move materials. Warehouses have installed mobile robotic systems to efficiently move materials from stocking shelves to order fulfillment zones. Mobile robots are also used in industrial, military and security settings. SUMMARY Methods, systems, and non-transitory machine-readable media encoding instructions for managing a fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a facility are described. In one aspect, a method is performed by a computer-implemented system and comprises performing a communications cycle, logging, over time, characteristics of the cycle times between the transmission of the test signals and the receipt of the responses to the test signals, analyzing the logged characteristics of the cycle times of the plurality of the autonomous mobile robots to determine i) a location in the facility at which communications between the system and the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality are either inadequate or deficient, or ii) a time of day during which the communications between the system and the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality are either inadequate or deficient, or iii) equipment used to wirelessly transmit the test signals or receive responses thereto in communication cycles where communications between the system and the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality are either inadequate or deficient. The logged characteristics include a location of each of the autonomous mobile robots when responding and a time of day of the communication cycle. Performing the communications cycle includes wirelessly transmitting test signals to a plurality of the autonomous mobile robots in the fleet, and receiving responses to the test signals, wherein the responses are transmitted wirelessly from each of the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality. This and other aspects can include one or more of the following features. The logged characteristics can include one or more of a) lengths of each of the cycle times, b) identifiers of the autonomous mobile robots in each cycle, or c) identifiers of wireless access points used by the autonomous mobile robots in each cycle. Analyzing the logged characteristics can include identifying that one or more of the logged characteristics is overrepresented in instances where communications between the system and the autonomous mobile robots in the plurality are either inadequate or deficient. Identifying that one or more of the logged characteristics is overrepresented can include identifying that a wireless access point used by the autonomous mobile robots is associated with or responsible for the inadequate or deficient communications. The method can include outputting a notification of the determined inadequate or deficient communications. The notification can include either a time of day during which or the location at which the inadequate or deficient communications occurred. Outputting the notification can include outputting the notification to the autonomous mobile robots in the fleet or modifying a cost in a route planning or work scheduling system. The method can include outputting a representation of logged cycle times. The representation can be a heatmap of cycle times at different locations within the facility during a defined time window. Performing the communications cycle can include instructing a plurality of wireless access points in the facility to transmit the test signals. Analyzing the logged characteristics of the cycle times can include comparing the cycle times to a threshold to determine deviant communication cycle times. Either the location in the facility or the time of day of the inadequate or deficient communications can be determined based on the deviant communication cycle times. In another aspect, a computer-implemented system for managing a fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a facility can include a log of characteristics of cycle times of communications between the system and the autonomous mobile robots in the fleet over time, and an analysis component configured to determine, based on