Patent · US11493626B2 · B2 · US

Autonomous mobile robot comprising radar sensors

(11) Publication number

US11493626B2

(21) Application number

16/483,825

(22) Filing date

2018-02-05

(30) Priority date

2017-02-06

(43) Publication date

2022-11-08

(45) Date of grant

2022-11-08

(51) IPC

A01D 101/00; A01D 34/00; A47L 11/40; B60W 60/00; G01S 13/00; G01S 13/87; G01S 13/88; G01S 13/931; G05D 1/00; G05D 1/02

(52) CPC

G01S Radio direction-finding; radio navigation; determining distance or velocity by use of radio waves; locating or presence-detecting by use of the reflection or reradiation of radio waves; analogous arrangements using other waves: 13/931, 13/003, 13/878, 13/881, 2013/9327, 2013/93271
A01D Harvesting; mowing: 2101/00, 34/008, 34/828, 75/20
A47L Domestic washing or cleaning; suction cleaners in general: 11/4011, 11/4061, 2201/04, 9/2889
B25J Manipulators; chambers provided with manipulation devices: 9/1676
B60W Conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function; control systems specially adapted for hybrid vehicles; road vehicle drive control systems for purposes not related to the control of a particular sub-unit: 2422/00, 60/001, 60/0025
F16P Safety devices in general; {safety devices for presses}: 3/147
G05D Systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables: 1/0088, 1/0257, 1/43, 2101/10, 2201/0203, 2201/0208

(73) Assignee

ACCONEER AB

(72) Inventors

EGARD MIKAEL; GRUBECK HANS

(54) Title

Autonomous mobile robot comprising radar sensors

(57) Abstract

According to an aspect of the present inventive concept there is provided an autonomous mobile robot comprising: a set of radar sensors, the sensors being arranged at spatially different positions on the mobile robot, the set including at least a first radar sensor having a first main detection lobe extending in front of the robot and a second radar sensor having a second main detection lobe extending in front of the robot, wherein the first radar sensor and the second radar sensor are arranged such that the first main detection lobe and the second main detection lobe intersect in front of the mobile robot.

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Claims (22)

An autonomous mobile robot comprising: a set of radar nodes, said set comprising: a first radar transmitter; and a first radar receiver and a second radar receiver being arranged at spatially different positions on the autonomous mobile robot, the first radar receiver having a first main detection lobe and the second radar receiver having a second main detection lobe intersecting the first main detection lobe, wherein the first radar transmitter has a first main transmission lobe covering at least a portion of an intersection between the first and second main detection lobes, wherein the first main detection lobe and the second main detection lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main detection lobe intersect, and wherein said projections of the principal axes intersect at a position, along a line extending from a first end point formed by the first radar receiver or the first radar transmitter and a second end point formed by the second radar receiver, between the first and second end points.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the first main transmission lobe and the second main detection lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main transmission lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main detection lobe intersect.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein a projection, onto the horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main transmission lobe intersects the principal axis of the first main detection lobe and the principal axis of the second main detection lobe.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the first radar receiver, or the first radar transmitter, and the second radar receiver are arranged on opposite sides of a central axis extending between a front portion and a rear portion of the mobile robot.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the first radar receiver and the second radar receiver are arranged at different vertical levels.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 5, wherein the first main detection lobe and the second main detection lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a vertical plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe and a projection, onto said vertical plane, of a principal axis of the second main detection lobe intersect.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the set of radar nodes includes a first radar node including said first radar transmitter and said first radar receiver, and a second radar node including said second radar receiver.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the set of radar nodes includes a first radar node including said first radar receiver, a second radar node including said second radar receiver and a third radar node including said first radar transmitter, the first, second and third radar nodes being arranged at spatially different positions on the mobile robot.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, further comprising a radar controller arranged to detect an object within a detection zone defined by said set of radar nodes.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 9, wherein the radar controller is arranged to, if said object is located in said at least a portion of the intersection, determine a position of said object based on output signals of at least said transmitter and receivers.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 9, wherein the radar controller is arranged to determine a position of said object based on output signals of at least one of said transmitter and receivers received at a first time instant and a second time instant and data representing a movement of the mobile robot.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the autonomous mobile robot is an autonomous robot cleaner or an autonomous robot lawn mower.
An autonomous mobile robot comprising: a set of radar nodes, said set comprising: a first radar receiver; and a first radar transmitter and a second radar transmitter being arranged at spatially different positions on the autonomous mobile robot, the first radar transmitter having a first main transmission lobe and the second radar transmitter having a second main transmission lobe intersecting the first main transmission lobe, wherein the first radar receiver has a first main detection lobe covering at least a portion of an intersection between the first and second main transmission lobes, wherein the first main transmission lobe and the second main transmission lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main transmission lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main transmission lobe intersect, and wherein said projections of the principal axes intersect at a position, along a line extending from a first end point formed by the first radar transmitter or first radar receiver and a second end point formed by the second radar transmitter, between the first and second end points.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the first main detection lobe and the second main transmission lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main transmission lobe intersect.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein a projection, onto the horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe intersects the principal axis of the first main transmission lobe and the principal axis of the second main transmission lobe.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the first radar transmitter, or the first radar receiver, and the second radar transmitter are arranged on opposite sides of a central axis extending between a front portion and a rear portion of the mobile robot.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the first radar transmitter and the second radar transmitter are arranged at different vertical levels.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 17, wherein the first main transmission lobe and the second main transmission lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a vertical plane, of a principal axis of the first main transmission lobe and a projection, onto said vertical plane, of a principal axis of the second main transmission lobe intersect.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the set of radar nodes includes a first radar node including said first radar transmitter and said first radar receiver, and a second radar node including said second radar transmitter.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the set of radar nodes includes a first radar node including said first radar transmitter, a second radar node including said second radar transmitter and a third radar node including said first radar receiver, the first, second and third radar nodes being arranged at spatially different positions on the mobile robot.
The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the autonomous mobile robot is an autonomous robot cleaner or an autonomous robot lawn mower.
An autonomous mobile robot, comprising: a set of radar nodes, said set comprising: a first radar transmitter; and a first radar receiver and a second radar receiver being arranged at spatially different positions on the autonomous mobile robot, the first radar receiver having a first main detection lobe and the second radar receiver having a second main detection lobe intersecting the first main detection lobe, wherein the first radar transmitter has a first main transmission lobe covering at least a portion of an intersection between the first and second main detection lobes, wherein the first main detection lobe and the second main detection lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main detection lobe intersect, and wherein the first radar receiver and the second radar receiver are arranged at different vertical levels.

Description

The present inventive concept relates to an autonomous mobile robot, such as a robot cleaner or a robot lawn mower, comprising a set of radar sensors.

Autonomous mobile robots have become ubiquitous and find use in various applications. One popular type of autonomous mobile robots is autonomous robot cleaners, such as vacuum cleaners or sweeping cleaners. Today's robot cleaners often use infrared sensors for detecting and determining positions of obstacles. A narrow infrared beam is transmitted and the reflected beam is measured wherein a position of an obstacle, in relation to the robot cleaner, typically in the form of a radial distance or an angle to an obstacle, may be estimated. A robot cleaner may include several infrared sensors with different aspect angles which together allow determination of a position of an object by triangulation and/or trilateration techniques. A drawback with infrared sensors in this application is that, due to relatively narrow beam widths, the azimuth angle of operation is quite limited. This may be overcome by rotating an infrared sensor in relation to the robot cleaner and make measurements for several rotational angles, or by providing multiple sensors separated in azimuth angle. These solutions may however lead to increased costs due to moving parts or increased number of sensors. Infrared sensors are also sensitive to incident light from other light sources than the infrared sensors. Moreover, they can be clogged by dust and other debris. The light emitter and light detector of a light sensor also require transparent covers or windows to allow the infrared light to be transmitted.

Citations (13)

EP2939513A1
EP2960741A2
JP4204086B2
US2010332067A1
US2013218397A1
US2014032033A1
US2014191895A1
US2015166060A1
US2016116589A1
US2017001311A1
US2017023943A1
WO2007028433A1
WO2017191201A1

Record as JSON

{
  "publication_number": "US11493626B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Autonomous mobile robot comprising radar sensors",
  "abstract": "According to an aspect of the present inventive concept there is provided an autonomous mobile robot comprising: a set of radar sensors, the sensors being arranged at spatially different positions on the mobile robot, the set including at least a first radar sensor having a first main detection lobe extending in front of the robot and a second radar sensor having a second main detection lobe extending in front of the robot, wherein the first radar sensor and the second radar sensor are arranged such that the first main detection lobe and the second main detection lobe intersect in front of the mobile robot.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An autonomous mobile robot comprising: a set of radar nodes, said set comprising: a first radar transmitter; and a first radar receiver and a second radar receiver being arranged at spatially different positions on the autonomous mobile robot, the first radar receiver having a first main detection lobe and the second radar receiver having a second main detection lobe intersecting the first main detection lobe, wherein the first radar transmitter has a first main transmission lobe covering at least a portion of an intersection between the first and second main detection lobes, wherein the first main detection lobe and the second main detection lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main detection lobe intersect, and wherein said projections of the principal axes intersect at a position, along a line extending from a first end point formed by the first radar receiver or the first radar transmitter and a second end point formed by the second radar receiver, between the first and second end points.",
    "2. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the first main transmission lobe and the second main detection lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main transmission lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main detection lobe intersect.",
    "3. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein a projection, onto the horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main transmission lobe intersects the principal axis of the first main detection lobe and the principal axis of the second main detection lobe.",
    "4. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the first radar receiver, or the first radar transmitter, and the second radar receiver are arranged on opposite sides of a central axis extending between a front portion and a rear portion of the mobile robot.",
    "5. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the first radar receiver and the second radar receiver are arranged at different vertical levels.",
    "6. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 5, wherein the first main detection lobe and the second main detection lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a vertical plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe and a projection, onto said vertical plane, of a principal axis of the second main detection lobe intersect.",
    "7. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the set of radar nodes includes a first radar node including said first radar transmitter and said first radar receiver, and a second radar node including said second radar receiver.",
    "8. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the set of radar nodes includes a first radar node including said first radar receiver, a second radar node including said second radar receiver and a third radar node including said first radar transmitter, the first, second and third radar nodes being arranged at spatially different positions on the mobile robot.",
    "9. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, further comprising a radar controller arranged to detect an object within a detection zone defined by said set of radar nodes.",
    "10. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 9, wherein the radar controller is arranged to, if said object is located in said at least a portion of the intersection, determine a position of said object based on output signals of at least said transmitter and receivers.",
    "11. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 9, wherein the radar controller is arranged to determine a position of said object based on output signals of at least one of said transmitter and receivers received at a first time instant and a second time instant and data representing a movement of the mobile robot.",
    "12. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the autonomous mobile robot is an autonomous robot cleaner or an autonomous robot lawn mower.",
    "13. An autonomous mobile robot comprising: a set of radar nodes, said set comprising: a first radar receiver; and a first radar transmitter and a second radar transmitter being arranged at spatially different positions on the autonomous mobile robot, the first radar transmitter having a first main transmission lobe and the second radar transmitter having a second main transmission lobe intersecting the first main transmission lobe, wherein the first radar receiver has a first main detection lobe covering at least a portion of an intersection between the first and second main transmission lobes, wherein the first main transmission lobe and the second main transmission lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main transmission lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main transmission lobe intersect, and wherein said projections of the principal axes intersect at a position, along a line extending from a first end point formed by the first radar transmitter or first radar receiver and a second end point formed by the second radar transmitter, between the first and second end points.",
    "14. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the first main detection lobe and the second main transmission lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main transmission lobe intersect.",
    "15. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein a projection, onto the horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe intersects the principal axis of the first main transmission lobe and the principal axis of the second main transmission lobe.",
    "16. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the first radar transmitter, or the first radar receiver, and the second radar transmitter are arranged on opposite sides of a central axis extending between a front portion and a rear portion of the mobile robot.",
    "17. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the first radar transmitter and the second radar transmitter are arranged at different vertical levels.",
    "18. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 17, wherein the first main transmission lobe and the second main transmission lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a vertical plane, of a principal axis of the first main transmission lobe and a projection, onto said vertical plane, of a principal axis of the second main transmission lobe intersect.",
    "19. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the set of radar nodes includes a first radar node including said first radar transmitter and said first radar receiver, and a second radar node including said second radar transmitter.",
    "20. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the set of radar nodes includes a first radar node including said first radar transmitter, a second radar node including said second radar transmitter and a third radar node including said first radar receiver, the first, second and third radar nodes being arranged at spatially different positions on the mobile robot.",
    "21. The autonomous mobile robot of claim 13, wherein the autonomous mobile robot is an autonomous robot cleaner or an autonomous robot lawn mower.",
    "22. An autonomous mobile robot, comprising: a set of radar nodes, said set comprising: a first radar transmitter; and a first radar receiver and a second radar receiver being arranged at spatially different positions on the autonomous mobile robot, the first radar receiver having a first main detection lobe and the second radar receiver having a second main detection lobe intersecting the first main detection lobe, wherein the first radar transmitter has a first main transmission lobe covering at least a portion of an intersection between the first and second main detection lobes, wherein the first main detection lobe and the second main detection lobe are arranged such that a projection, onto a horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the first main detection lobe and a projection, onto said horizontal plane, of a principal axis of the second main detection lobe intersect, and wherein the first radar receiver and the second radar receiver are arranged at different vertical levels."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present inventive concept relates to an autonomous mobile robot, such as a robot cleaner or a robot lawn mower, comprising a set of radar sensors.\n\nAutonomous mobile robots have become ubiquitous and find use in various applications. One popular type of autonomous mobile robots is autonomous robot cleaners, such as vacuum cleaners or sweeping cleaners. Today's robot cleaners often use infrared sensors for detecting and determining positions of obstacles. A narrow infrared beam is transmitted and the reflected beam is measured wherein a position of an obstacle, in relation to the robot cleaner, typically in the form of a radial distance or an angle to an obstacle, may be estimated. A robot cleaner may include several infrared sensors with different aspect angles which together allow determination of a position of an object by triangulation and/or trilateration techniques. A drawback with infrared sensors in this application is that, due to relatively narrow beam widths, the azimuth angle of operation is quite limited. This may be overcome by rotating an infrared sensor in relation to the robot cleaner and make measurements for several rotational angles, or by providing multiple sensors separated in azimuth angle. These solutions may however lead to increased costs due to moving parts or increased number of sensors. Infrared sensors are also sensitive to incident light from other light sources than the infrared sensors. Moreover, they can be clogged by dust and other debris. The light emitter and light detector of a light sensor also require transparent covers or windows to allow the infrared light to be transmitted.",
  "cpc": [
    "G01S 13/931",
    "A01D 2101/00",
    "A01D 34/008",
    "A01D 34/828",
    "A01D 75/20",
    "A47L 11/4011",
    "A47L 11/4061",
    "A47L 2201/04",
    "A47L 9/2889",
    "B25J 9/1676",
    "B60W 2422/00",
    "B60W 60/001",
    "B60W 60/0025",
    "F16P 3/147",
    "G01S 13/003",
    "G01S 13/878",
    "G01S 13/881",
    "G01S 2013/9327",
    "G01S 2013/93271",
    "G05D 1/0088",
    "G05D 1/0257",
    "G05D 1/43",
    "G05D 2101/10",
    "G05D 2201/0203",
    "G05D 2201/0208"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A01D 101/00",
    "A01D 34/00",
    "A47L 11/40",
    "B60W 60/00",
    "G01S 13/00",
    "G01S 13/87",
    "G01S 13/88",
    "G01S 13/931",
    "G05D 1/00",
    "G05D 1/02"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "ACCONEER AB"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "EGARD MIKAEL",
    "GRUBECK HANS"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2018-02-05",
  "publication_date": "2022-11-08",
  "grant_date": "2022-11-08",
  "priority_date": "2017-02-06",
  "application_number": "US-201816483825-A",
  "family_id": "63039954",
  "citations": [
    "EP2939513A1",
    "EP2960741A2",
    "JP4204086B2",
    "US2010332067A1",
    "US2013218397A1",
    "US2014032033A1",
    "US2014191895A1",
    "US2015166060A1",
    "US2016116589A1",
    "US2017001311A1",
    "US2017023943A1",
    "WO2007028433A1",
    "WO2017191201A1"
  ]
}

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