Indoor robot and method for indoor robot positioning

{
  "publication_number": "US9442177B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Indoor robot and method for indoor robot positioning",
  "abstract": "An indoor robot and a method for indoor robot positioning are provided in the disclosure. The indoor robot is capable of executing different positioning modes according to the number of the detected beacons for indoor robot positioning. When the number of the detected beacons is less than a positioning required number, the indoor robot moves a predetermined distance according to the detected beacons to obtain a plurality of sets of distance data, thereby positioning the location of the indoor robot.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method for indoor robot positioning, the indoor robot adapted in an indoor space and a plurality of beacons adapted in the indoor space, the method for indoor robot positioning comprising: generating, by a processor in the indoor robot, an indoor map and coordinates information of the plurality of beacons, storing the indoor map and the coordinates information of the plurality of beacons in a memory of the indoor robot; detecting, by a detecting unit, the beacons located within a line-of-sight area and counting the number of the detected line-of-sight beacons within the line-of-sight area; and performing one of a plurality of positioning modes according to the number of the detected beacons by the indoor robot; wherein when the number of the detected beacons is equal to 2, the steps performed by the indoor robot comprise: obtaining a first distance data between the indoor robot at a first position and a first detected beacon of the two detected beacons, and obtaining a first distance data between the indoor robot at the first position and a second detected beacon of the two detected beacons; determining two intersection points between a first circle and a second circle, the indoor robot at the first position being located at one of two intersection points, wherein the first circle is centered at the first detected beacon with a radius equal to the first distance data between the indoor robot and the first detected beacon, and the second circle is centered at the second detected beacon with a radius equal to the first distance data between the indoor robot and the second detected beacon, the two intersection points including a first intersection point and a second intersection point; obtaining a position data of a first intersection point and a position data of the second intersection point; driving the indoor robot, by a driving unit, to move a predetermined distance along a first direction to a second position; obtaining a second distance data between the indoor robot at the second position and the first detected beacon, and obtaining a second distance data between the indoor robot at the second position and the second detected beacon; determining two intersection points between a new first circle and a new second circle, the indoor robot at the second position being located at one of two intersection points, wherein the new first circle is centered at the first detected beacon with a radius equal to the second distance data between the indoor robot at the second position and the first detected beacon, and the new second circle is centered at the second detected beacon with a radius equal to the second distance data between the indoor robot at the second position and the second detected beacon, obtaining position data of the two intersection points; calculating and obtaining a first position data of the indoor robot assuming that the indoor robot at the first position is located at the first intersection point and is moved the predetermined distance along the first direction to the second position; calculating and obtaining a second position data of the indoor robot assuming that the indoor robot at the first position is located at the second intersection point and is moved the predetermined distance along the first direction to the second position; comparing the first position data and the second position data of the indoor robot to the position data of the two intersection points between the new first circle and the new second circle when the indoor robot is at the second position, either the first position data or the second position data should match the position data of one of the two intersection points, and either the first position data or the second position data that matches the position data of one of the two intersection points is the position data of the indoor robot at the second position; recording the position data of the indoor robot at the second position in the memory device of the indoor robot.",
    "2. The method for indoor robot positioning according to claim 1, wherein when the number of the detected beacons is more than or equal to a positioning required number, the indoor robot positions the location of the indoor robot according to the distance between the detected beacons and the indoor robot.",
    "3. The method for indoor robot positioning according to claim 1, wherein when the number of the detected beacons is equal to zero, the indoor robot records a movement direction and moves toward the opposite direction corresponding to the movement direction, for leaving from one specific area of the current present area in order to detect the beacons.",
    "4. The method for indoor robot positioning according to claim 1, wherein the parameter of the first direction is stored in the memory of the indoor robot.",
    "5. The method for indoor robot positioning according to claim 1, wherein the step of generating an indoor map and coordinates information of the plurality of beacons comprises: moving along edge of the indoor space; generating a closed path according to the location of a charging base station; generating the indoor map according to the closed path; according to the indoor map, displaying a suggesting region on a user interface for a user to configure the beacons; and generating the coordinates information of the beacons according to the location of the configured beacons.",
    "6. The method for indoor robot positioning according to claim 1, wherein the step of detecting the beacons located within a line-of-sight area comprises: receiving signals transmitted by the detected beacons; determining an arrival time of the signal transmitted by the detected beacons; determining the detected beacons within the line-of-sight area according to changes of the arrival time of the signal transmitted by the detected beacons; determining the number of the detected beacons within the line-of-sight area; and determining the distance between the detected beacons and the indoor robot within the line-of-sight area.",
    "7. An indoor robot, adapted to be configured in an indoor space, with a plurality of beacons configured in the indoor space, the indoor robot comprising: a driving unit, configured for moving the indoor robot; a memory, storing at least one positioning mode with two beacons detected; a detecting unit, configured for detecting the beacons within a line-of-sight area and determining a number of the detected beacons within the line-of-sight area; and a processing unit couple to the driving unit, the memory, and the detecting unit, wherein when the number of the detected beacons is equal to 2, the steps performed by the indoor robot comprise: obtaining a first distance data between the indoor robot at a first position and a first detected beacon of the two detected beacons, and obtaining a first distance data between the indoor robot at the first position and a second detected beacon of the two detected beacons; determining two intersection points between a first circle and a second circle, the indoor robot at the first position being located at one of two intersection points, wherein the first circle is centered at the first detected beacon with a radius equal to the first distance data between the indoor robot and the first detected beacon, and the second circle is centered at the second detected beacon with a radius equal to the first distance data between the indoor robot and the second detected beacon, the two intersection points including a first intersection point and a second intersection point; obtaining a position data of a first intersection point and a position data of the second intersection point; driving the indoor robot, by the driving unit, to move a predetermined distance along a first direction to a second position; obtaining a second distance data between the indoor robot at the second position and the first detected beacon, and obtaining a second distance data between the indoor robot at the second position and the second detected beacon; determining two intersection points between a new first circle and a new second circle, the indoor robot at the second position being located at one of two intersection points, wherein the new first circle is centered at the first detected beacon with a radius equal to the second distance data between the indoor robot at the second position and the first detected beacon, and the new second circle is centered at the second detected beacon with a radius equal to the second distance data between the indoor robot at the second position and the second detected beacon, obtaining position data of the two intersection points; calculating and obtaining a first position data of the indoor robot assuming that the indoor robot at the first position is located at the first intersection point and is moved the predetermined distance along the first direction to the second position; calculating and obtaining a second position data of the indoor robot assuming that the indoor robot at the first position is located at the second intersection point and is moved the predetermined distance along the first direction to the second position; comparing the first position data and the second position data of the indoor robot to the position data of the two intersection points between the new first circle and the new second circle when the indoor robot is at the second position, either the first position data or the second position data should match the position data of one of the two intersection points, and either the first position data or the second position data that matches the position data of one of the two intersection points is the position data of the indoor robot at the second position; recording the position data of the indoor robot at the second position in the memory device of the indoor robot.",
    "8. The indoor robot according to claim 7, wherein when the number of the detected beacons is equal to zero, the indoor robot records a movement direction and moves towards the opposite direction corresponding to the movement direction, for leaving from one specific area of the current present area in order to detect the beacons.",
    "9. The indoor robot according to claim 7, further comprising: an angle sensor, coupled to the processing unit, configured for detecting the movement direction of the indoor robot.",
    "10. The indoor robot according to claim 7, wherein the indoor robot is a floor dust collector.",
    "11. A method for indoor robot positioning, the indoor robot adapted in an indoor space and a plurality of beacons adapted in the indoor space, the method for indoor robot positioning comprising: generating, by a processor in the indoor robot, an indoor map and coordinates information of the plurality of beacons, storing the indoor map and the coordinates information of the plurality of beacons in a memory of the indoor robot; detecting, by a detecting unit, the beacons located within a line-of-sight area and counting the number of the detected line-of-sight beacons within the line-of-sight area; and performing one of a plurality of positioning modes according to the number of the detected beacons by the indoor robot; wherein when the number of the detected beacons is equal to 1, the steps performed by the indoor robot comprises: obtaining a first distance data between the indoor robot at a first position and the detected beacon; driving the indoor robot, by a driving unit, to move a predetermined distance along a first direction to a second position; obtaining a second distance data between the detected beacon and the indoor robot at the second position; determining two intersection points between a first circle and a second circle, the detected beacon being located at one of two intersection points, wherein the first circle is centered at the indoor robot at the first position with a radius equal to the first distance data between the indoor robot and the detected beacon, and the second circle is centered at the indoor robot at the second position with a radius equal to the second distance data between the indoor robot and the detected beacon, the two intersection points including a first intersection point and a second intersection point; calculating and obtaining a position data of a first intersection point and a position data of the second intersection point; driving the indoor robot, by the driving unit, to move a predetermined distance along a second direction to a third position, wherein the first direction and the second direction are not parallel to each other; comparing the second distance data and the third distance data, and determining which one of the two intersection points is the position of the detected beacon based on the comparison result of whether the third distance data is smaller or larger than the second distance data; calculating and obtaining a position data of the indoor robot according to position of the detected beacon; recording the position data of the indoor robot in the memory device of the indoor robot.",
    "12. The method for indoor robot positioning according to claim 11, wherein when the number of the detected beacons is equal to zero, the indoor robot records a movement direction and moves toward the opposite direction corresponding to the movement direction, for leaving from one specific area of the current present area in order to detect the beacons.",
    "13. The method for indoor robot positioning according to claim 11, wherein the step of generating an indoor map and coordinates information of the plurality of beacons comprises: moving along edge of the indoor space; generating a closed path according to the location of a charging base station; generating the indoor map according to the closed path; according to the indoor map, displaying a suggesting region on a user interface for a user to configure the beacons; and generating the coordinates information of the beacons according to the location of the configured beacons.",
    "14. The method for indoor robot positioning according to claim 11, wherein the step of detecting the beacons located within a line-of-sight area comprises: receiving signals transmitted by the detected beacons; determining an arrival time of the signal transmitted by the detected beacons; determining the detected beacons within the line-of-sight area according to changes of the arrival time of the signal transmitted by the detected beacons; determining the number of the detected beacons within the line-of-sight area; and determining the distance between the detected beacons and the indoor robot within the line-of-sight area.",
    "15. An indoor robot, adapted to be configured in an indoor space, with a plurality of beacons configured in the indoor space, the indoor robot comprising: a driving unit, configured for moving the indoor robot; a memory, storing at least one positioning mode with one beacon detected; a detecting unit, configured for detecting the beacons within a line-of-sight area and determining a number of the detected beacons within the line-of-sight area; and a processing unit couple to the driving unit, the memory, and the detecting unit, wherein when the number of the detected beacons is equal to 1, the steps performed by the indoor robot comprises: obtaining a first distance data between the indoor robot at a first position and the detected beacon; driving the indoor robot, by the driving unit, to move a predetermined distance along a first direction to a second position; obtaining a second distance data between the detected beacon and the indoor robot at the second position; determining two intersection points between a first circle and a second circle, the detected beacon being located at one of two intersection points, wherein the first circle is centered at the indoor robot at the first position with a radius equal to the first distance data between the indoor robot and the detected beacon, and the second circle is centered at the indoor robot at the second position with a radius equal to the second distance data between the indoor robot and the detected beacon, the two intersection points including a first intersection point and a second intersection point; calculating and obtaining a position data of a first intersection point and a position data of the second intersection point; driving the indoor robot, by the driving unit, to move a predetermined distance along a second direction to a third position, wherein the first direction and the second direction are not parallel to each other; comparing the second distance data and the third distance data, and determining which one of the two intersection points is the position of the detected beacon based on the comparison result of whether the third distance data is smaller or larger than the second distance data; calculating and obtaining a position data of the indoor robot according to position of the detected beacon; recording the position data of the indoor robot in the memory device of the indoor robot.",
    "16. The indoor robot according to claim 15, wherein when the number of the detected beacons is equal to zero, the indoor robot records a movement direction and moves towards the opposite direction corresponding to the movement direction, for leaving from one specific area of the current present area in order to detect the beacons."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "1. Technical Field\n\nThe present disclosure relates to an indoor robot, in particular, to an indoor robot and a method for the same for adjusting positioning modes according to the number of beacons.\n\n2. Description of Related Art\n\nWith the progress of technology, the smart appliance robot technology is more and more advanced and the product is more and more popular. One type is the cleaning robot. In many movable devices, the robot is usually equipped with a driving device, a distance detector, and a movement controller for automatically moving. For example, the cleaning robot is one kind of the cleaning device that can move automatically without users' operation to collect the dust off the floor.\n\nThere are many types of positioning methods, one of them is the patent number TW 1415590 disclosing a method for operating an automatically displaceable domestic appliance, in which the automatically displaceable domestic appliance moves along the edge of the wall when missing the signal from beacons, in order to move back to the base station or find the positioning beacons.\n\nHowever, in the case that the number of beacons is not enough to position the cleaning robot itself, the cleaning robot must move back to the base station or a specific area for re-positioning or re-exploring.\n\nAccordingly, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide an indoor robot with a plurality of position modes for positioning according to the number of beacons during the exploration, and the method for indoor robot positioning thereof.",
  "cpc": [
    "G05D 1/0274",
    "G01S 5/00",
    "G01S 5/02",
    "G05D 1/02",
    "G05D 1/0276",
    "G05D 1/028"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G05D 1/02",
    "G01S 5/00",
    "G01S 5/02"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Kinpo Electronics Inc",
    "Cal Comp Electronics and Communications Co Ltd"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Chuan-Kai Lin",
    "Hsuan-Po Chen",
    "Yu-Lun Ting",
    "Sheng-Chih Hsu",
    "Chang-Wan Chen"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2014-07-21",
  "publication_date": "2016-09-13",
  "grant_date": "2016-09-13",
  "priority_date": "2014-05-09",
  "application_number": "US-201414336027-A",
  "family_id": "54367799",
  "cited_by_count": 8,
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}