US-12625500-B2 - Method for controlling an autonomous, mobile robot

US12625500B2US 12625500 B2US12625500 B2US 12625500B2US-12625500-B2

Abstract

A method for controlling an autonomous, mobile robot which is designed to navigate independently in a robot deployment area, using sensors and a map. According to one embodiment, the method comprises detecting obstacles and calculating the position of detected obstacles based on measurement data received by the sensors, and controlling the robot to avoid a collision with a detected obstacle, the map comprising map data that represents at least one virtual blocked region which, during the control of the robot, is taken into account in the same way as an actual, detected obstacle.

Inventors

Harold Artes
David Conti
Christoph Freudenthaler
Dominik Seethaler
Reinhard Vogel

Assignees

PAPST LICENSING GMBH & CO. KG

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230627
Priority Date: 20170302

Claims (7)

1 . A method for controlling an autonomous mobile robot that autonomously navigates in an area of robot deployment using sensors and an electronic map, wherein the robot regularly determines its position on the map and wherein the map may contain at least one virtual exclusion region that the robot does not enter during navigation; the method comprising: recognizing, while navigating over at least one portion of the area of robot deployment during a first deployment of the robot, a risk area in which the functioning of the robot is endangered or impaired; automatically defining an exclusion region that encompasses the recognized risk area, the exclusion region comprising a border area and a core area; saving the exclusion region in the map; and navigating, in a subsequent deployment, outside a perimeter of the defined exclusion region to maintain a predetermined distance to the recognized risk area, whereby if the robot determines at least one portion of its position is within the border area of the exclusion region, the robot automatically exits the perimeter of the defined exclusion region.
2 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein recognizing risk areas takes place during an exploratory run and/or a deployment when the robot compiles a map of the area of robot deployment that is also used for subsequent deployments of the robot.
3 . The method in accordance with claim 2 , wherein, during an exploratory run and/or a deployment, risk areas are detected by contact between the robot and the risk area.
4 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein a risk area includes a ledge, an obstacle that the robot cannot contactlessly detect, a region in which a movement of the robot exhibits high wheel spin, or a combination thereof.
5 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein recognizing risk areas comprises detecting risk areas using a floor detecting sensor, an optical sensor, a tactile sensor, or a combination thereof.
6 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising displaying the exclusion area on a human machine interface and receiving, by the human-machine interface, a user input, wherein, based on the user input, the exclusion region is saved in the map or not.
7 . The method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein saving the exclusion region in the map comprises saving the position of the exclusion area relative to a position of a known landmark of the area of robot deployment.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/490,271, filed Aug. 30, 2019, which is a National Phase Application of international patent application no. PCT/EP2018/054807, filed Feb. 27, 2018, which claims priority to German Patent Application Nos. DE 10 2017 104 427.2 and DE 10 2017 104 428.0, both filed Mar. 2, 2017 the entirety of each of which are herein incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to the field of autonomous mobile robots, in particular to the safe operation of an autonomous mobile robot. BACKGROUND In recent years, autonomous mobile robots, in particular service robots, are being increasingly used in private homes. They can be employed, for example, as cleaning robots to vacuum and/or sweep a floor surface or as monitoring robots that detect possible dangers such as burglars or fire during inspection runs. One essential demand placed on the robot by the user consists, e.g. in the robot being able to access all important regions of its area of deployment so that it can carry out its task. Depending on the respective application, it may be of advantage to block access of the robot to certain regions. For example, it may be desirable for the robot to avoid an area, e.g. such as a children's play corner that contains small objects that may interfere with the robot's movement or that may be damaged by the robot. Known solutions make it possible for the user to place a marker in the robot's area of deployment that the robot can detect using a sensor; a marker that indicates to the robot that it is prohibited to enter the area. One example of such a marker is a kind of “lighthouse” that emits an infrared signal. This solution, however, depends on having its own power supply (e.g. a battery), which may put limits on its reliability. Furthermore, the infrared signal has to be precisely aligned and it has a limited range. A further example are magnet strips that are laid out on or attached to the floor surface and that can be detected by the robot; when the robot detects a magnetic strip it does not move over it. All of these auxiliary means suffer the disadvantage of limiting the user's freedom to arrange his/her living space as desired and are very inflexible. In the case of autonomous mobile robots that store and maintain a map of their area of deployment in order to use it during their subsequent deployment, a virtual exclusion region can be entered directly into the map. Such a exclusion region may be delineated, for example, by a virtual boundary over which the robot is prohibited from moving. The advantage provided by this purely virtual prohibited are is that no additional markings are needed in the environment of the robot. User error, however, or measurement or movement errors caused by the robot may lead to the robot finding itself in an area that the user had actually intended to prohibit the robot from entering and this may cause unintended damage. In addition, it is needed to be able to enter a virtual exclusion region into the map in as simple and understandable a way as possible. The present disclosure relates to rendering the operation of an autonomous mobile robot and, in particular, the handling of the exclusion region, more simple and robust. SUMMARY Described is a method for controlling an autonomous mobile robot that is configured to independently navigate in an area of robot deployment using sensors and a map. In accordance with one embodiment, the method comprises detecting obstacles and determining the position of the detected obstacles based on the measurement data obtained by the sensors and controlling the robot to avoid a collision with the detected obstacle, wherein the map comprises map data representing at least one virtual exclusion region that is taken into consideration by the robot in the same manner in which a real detected obstacle is. Further described is a method for controlling an autonomous mobile robot that is configured to independently navigate in an area of robot deployment using sensors and a map, wherein the map comprises at least one virtual boundary line with an orientation that allows to distinguish a first side and a second side of the boundary line. When navigating the robot moving over the boundary line in a first direction—coming from the first side of the boundary line—is avoided, whereas moving over the boundary line in a second direction—coming from the second side of the boundary line—is permitted. Still further described is a method for controlling an autonomous mobile robot that is configured to independently navigate in an area of robot deployment using sensors and an electronic map, wherein the robot regularly determines its position on the map and the map may comprise at least one virtual exclusion region. In accordance with one embodiment the method comprises testing, based on specifiable criteria, whether an exclusion region is active