CN115718480A

CN115718480A - Obstacle avoidance method of robot, cleaning robot and robot

Info

Publication number: CN115718480A
Application number: CN202110973606.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 宋洋鹏; 李昂; 郭盖华
Original assignee: Shenzhen LD Robot Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen LD Robot Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-08-24
Filing date: 2021-08-24
Publication date: 2023-02-28

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of robots, and provides an obstacle avoidance method of a robot, a cleaning robot and the robot, wherein the method comprises the following steps: when the robot executes a turning operation, detecting whether a first obstacle exists in a space to be turned through a first detection device, wherein the space to be turned is a space which is supposed to be covered by a robot body in the turning process; and if the first obstacle exists, controlling the robot to execute preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle in the turning process. The obstacle avoidance method provided by the invention has the beneficial effects that: before the robot carries out the operation of turning, whether there is first barrier in waiting to turn the space through first detection device detection, if there is first barrier, then control robot carries out to predetermine and keeps away the barrier operation at the in-process of turning to first barrier execution, avoids bumping first barrier at the in-process of turning, solves the technical problem that current robot bumps the barrier easily when turning, has improved the work efficiency and the stability of robot.

Description

Obstacle avoidance method of robot, cleaning robot and robot

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of robots, in particular to an obstacle avoidance method of a robot, a cleaning robot and the robot.

Background

Cleaning robots are an important branch of the modern robotics field. A cleaning robot refers to a robot capable of autonomously performing a cleaning task in an environment such as a home, a large place, and the like. Common cleaning robots are sweeping robots, mopping robots and sweeping and mopping machines.

Among the prior art, the robot carries out the cleaning task in-process, if meet outer right angle barrier circumstances such as, collide the barrier that is located the turn region easily when turning, influence the work efficiency and the stability of robot, reduce clean effect.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an obstacle avoidance method of a robot, a cleaning robot and the robot, and aims to solve the technical problem that the existing robot is easy to collide with obstacles when turning.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the technical scheme that: an obstacle avoidance method for a robot includes:

when the robot executes turning operation, detecting whether a first obstacle exists in a space to be turned through a first detection device, wherein the space to be turned is a space which is supposed to be covered by a body of the robot in the turning process;

and if the first obstacle exists, controlling the robot to execute preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle in the turning process.

In one embodiment, before the robot performs the turning operation, the method includes:

determining whether the second detection device detects a second obstacle;

if not, determining that the robot needs to execute the turning operation.

In one embodiment, if the first obstacle exists, the controlling the robot to perform a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle during turning includes:

detecting a distance of a front end of the robot from the first obstacle;

and when the distance between the front end of the robot and the first obstacle is detected to be a first preset distance, controlling the robot to rotate.

In one embodiment, before controlling the robot to turn around when it is detected that the distance between the front end of the robot and the first obstacle is a first preset distance, the method includes:

determining whether the first obstacle is detected by a fourth detection device;

if not, controlling the robot to execute rotation and/or backward movement until the fourth detection device can detect the first obstacle;

after the fourth detection device can detect the first obstacle, acquiring the attribute of the first obstacle through the fourth detection device;

and determining the first preset distance according to the attribute of the first obstacle.

In one embodiment, the detecting a distance of a front end of the robot from the first obstacle includes:

determining a distance of a front end of the robot from the first obstacle by a third detection means and/or the first detection means.

In one embodiment, the controlling the robot to perform a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle during turning includes:

determining whether the first obstacle obstructs movement of the robot;

and if the first obstacle does not obstruct the movement of the robot, continuing to execute the turning operation.

In one embodiment, the determining whether the first obstacle obstructs movement of the robot includes:

determining a first distance of the bottom of the first obstacle from the working surface by at least one of the first, second and third detection means;

and if the first distance is not less than a third preset distance, determining that the first obstacle does not obstruct the movement of the robot.

In one embodiment, the determining whether the first obstacle obstructs the movement of the robot includes:

the determining whether the first obstacle obstructs movement of the robot includes:

determining a second distance of the top of the first obstacle from the working surface by at least one of the first, second and third detection means;

determining that the first obstacle obstructs the movement of the robot if the second distance is greater than the fourth preset distance

In one embodiment, after determining that the first obstacle obstructs the motion of the robot, the method further comprises:

detecting a distance of the robot from the first obstacle by the first detecting means and/or the second detecting means;

and controlling the robot to keep the first barrier at a second preset distance for edging.

In one embodiment, before the robot performs the turning operation, the method further comprises:

determining an angle at which the robot performs a turning operation;

and if the angle is within a preset angle range, detecting whether the first obstacle exists in the space to be turned through the first detection device.

In one embodiment, the predetermined angular range is [40 °,180 ° ].

In one embodiment, the preset obstacle avoidance operation includes:

controlling the robot to increase a turning radius to cause the robot to bypass the first obstacle;

determining whether the first obstacle can be detected by the first detecting means in controlling the robot to increase the turning radius;

controlling the robot to decrease the turning radius if the first obstacle cannot be detected.

The present invention also provides a cleaning robot including:

a body;

first detecting means for detecting whether a first obstacle is present in a space to be turned when the cleaning robot performs a turning operation; the space to be turned is the space covered by the body of the robot in the turning process;

and the controller is used for controlling the robot to execute preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle in the turning process.

In one embodiment, the cleaning robot further comprises a second detecting means and a third detecting means;

the second detection device is arranged on the side part of the body and is used for determining the distance from the side part of the body to a second obstacle positioned on the side part;

the third detection device is mounted at the front end of the body and used for determining the distance from the front end of the body to a third obstacle located in the forward direction.

In one embodiment, an included angle between a central axis of the detection light emitted by the first detection device and the main axis of the body is not greater than a first preset angle.

In one embodiment, the first detection device is a single point sensor or a multi-point laser ranging sensor.

The invention also provides a robot comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the steps of the method as described in any one of the above when executing the computer program.

The obstacle avoidance method of the robot, the cleaning robot and the robot have the advantages that: before the robot carries out the operation of turning, whether there is first barrier in waiting to turn the space through first detection device detection, if there is first barrier, then control robot carries out to predetermine and keeps away the barrier operation at the in-process of turning to first barrier execution, avoids bumping first barrier at the in-process of turning, solves the technical problem that current robot bumps the barrier easily when turning, has improved the work efficiency and the stability of robot.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive labor.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of an obstacle avoidance method for a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an environment of the robot during movement;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning path planning process when the robot performs arcuate cleaning;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of another environment of the robot during movement;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of another environment of the robot during movement;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of another environment of the robot during movement;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of another environment of the robot during movement;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of another environment of the robot during movement;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of another environment of the robot during movement;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of another embodiment of a cleaning robot in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a simplified schematic view of another embodiment of a cleaning robot according to the present invention;

fig. 14 is a schematic view of the internal structure of the cleaning robot;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 14;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Wherein, in the figures, the various reference numbers:

10. a robot; 11. a front end; 12. side direction; 13. a main axis; 14. a wheel axis; 15. a space to be turned; 16. a body; 20. a first detection device; 21. a first sensing region; 30. a second detection device; 40. a third detection device; 41. laser plane; 50. a fourth detection device; 61. a first obstacle; 62. a second obstacle; 71. a ground medium detection sensor; 72. a laser ranging sensor;

100. a robot; 110. a processor; 120. a memory; 121. a computer program.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are illustrative and intended to be illustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In some instances, detailed descriptions of well-known systems, devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present application with unnecessary detail.

It will be understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification and the appended claims, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", and the like, indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships illustrated in the drawings, and are used merely for convenience in describing the present invention and for simplicity in description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed in a particular orientation, and be operated, and thus, are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and can, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally formed; can be mechanically or electrically connected; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations by those of ordinary skill in the art.

In the present embodiment, the robot 10 may be a robot 10 having a hardware configuration as shown in fig. 1, and as shown in fig. 1, the robot 10 may specifically include: a first sensing device 20, a second sensing device 30, a third sensing device 40, a fourth sensing device 50, etc. The first detection device 20 is mounted on a side 12 (right side as viewed in fig. 1) of the robot 10. The second detection device 30 may be mounted on the same side 12 of the robot 10 as the first detection device 20 (as shown in fig. 1), or may not be mounted on the same side of the robot 10 as the first detection device 20 (as shown in fig. 12). The third detecting device 40 and the fourth detecting device 50 are mounted at the front end 11 of the robot 10. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the configuration of the robot 10 shown in fig. 1 is not intended to be limiting of the robot 10, and that the robot 10 may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components may be combined, or a different arrangement of components.

Referring to fig. 1, a front end 11 of the robot 10 is a portion of the robot 10 near a forward direction, side portions 12 of the robot 10 are portions located on both sides of the forward direction of the robot 10, a main axis 13 of the robot 10 is a central axis passing through a front portion of the robot 10 in a horizontal plane, and an axle line 14 of the robot 10 is a central axis passing through left and right driving wheels of the robot 10 in the horizontal plane.

The first detecting device 20, the second detecting device 30, the third detecting device 40, and the fourth detecting device 50 may be at least one of a vision sensor, a laser radar sensor, an infrared ranging sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a microwave sensor, and a millimeter wave sensor.

In the present embodiment, the visual sensor refers to an apparatus for acquiring image information of an external environment using an optical element and an imaging device. The visual sensor can use one or more than two graphic sensors, and can obtain various information such as the shape, the distance, the speed and the like of an object through a certain algorithm; or calculating the distance and the speed of the target by utilizing the sequence images of one camera; or calculating the relative displacement of the robot and the obstacle from the moving image of one lens.

The lidar sensor performs ranging d = ct/2 by measuring a time of flight (ToF) of the laser light based on the time of flight, where d is a distance, c is a speed of light, and t is a time interval from transmission to reception. The laser radar comprises a transmitter and a receiver, wherein the transmitter irradiates a target with laser light, and the receiver receives light waves returning reversely. The laser radar sensor can be divided into a single-point laser ranging sensor and a multi-point laser ranging sensor.

The linear distance measuring sensor is linear array distance data or area array distance data acquired by a linear array sensor or an area array sensor. The linear array sensor can adopt linear array signal sensors such as a linear radar, a linear CCD/CMOS, an array laser radar sensor or an array infrared sensor; the area array sensor can adopt area array signal type sensors such as a structured light depth sensor, a TOF depth sensor, a binocular sensor, a laser radar sensor, an infrared sensor, a vision sensor and an ultrasonic sensor. Line-ranging sensors include line laser sensors, line infrared sensors, line vision sensors, and the like.

The infrared distance measuring sensor emits infrared beams according to a certain angle, when the infrared beams meet an object, the beams are reflected back and detected by a photoelectric detector, and the distance from the sensor to the object is calculated by utilizing a geometrical relation. The distance measurement principle of the ultrasonic sensor is to measure the time difference from the sending of ultrasonic waves to the receiving of the returned ultrasonic waves and calculate the distance of an object according to the sound velocity.

The distance measuring principle of the microwave sensor and the millimeter wave sensor is similar to that of the ultrasonic sensor, and the description is omitted here.

Example one

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the present application provides an obstacle avoidance method for a robot 10, including:

s100: when the robot 10 performs a turning operation, it is detected by the first detection means 20 whether or not the first obstacle 61 is present in the space to be turned 15, the space to be turned 15 being a space that the body 16 of the robot 10 is intended to cover during turning.

S200: and if the first obstacle 61 exists, controlling the robot 10 to execute a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle 61 in the turning process.

Referring to fig. 3, before the robot 10 performs a turning operation, whether a first obstacle 61 exists in the space 15 to be turned is detected by the first detecting device 20, and if the first obstacle 61 exists, the robot 10 is controlled to perform a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle 61 in the turning process, so that the first obstacle 61 is prevented from colliding in the turning process, the technical problem that the existing robot 10 easily collides in the turning process is solved, and the working efficiency and stability of the robot 10 are improved.

Wherein the detection signal emitted by the first detection device 20 covers the first sensing area 21, and the first sensing area 21 fully covers or partially covers the space to be turned 15, so that the first detection device 20 can determine whether the first obstacle 61 exists in the space to be turned 15.

In one possible example, the turning operation may occur during the edgewise cleaning of the robot 10. Edge cleaning involves sweeping along the edge of the obstacle. The obstacle includes a room boundary, and a solid wall and a virtual wall outside the room boundary, where the virtual wall is a virtual wall that is set by a user outside a boundary of a partial area where the robot 10 does not want to be swept, so as to block the robot 10 from entering the areas, and the areas may be a toilet with water on the ground, a child gathering area, and the like. When the robot 10 performs edgewise cleaning on an obstacle, the robot can turn along the corner of the obstacle, so that the robot 10 needs to perform turning operation, and when the robot 10 using the obstacle avoidance method performs edgewise cleaning, the robot can avoid colliding with the first obstacle 61, avoid the phenomenon of missing sweeping or repeated sweeping, and is beneficial to improving the cleaning efficiency.

In one possible example, the turning operation may occur during the bow cleaning of the robot 10. Arch cleaning refers to cleaning along a certain arch-shaped route in a certain area. Referring to fig. 4, the distance between two adjacent cleaning tracks in the zigzag path is relatively large, and the cleaning areas formed by the two adjacent cleaning tracks are relatively connected but do not overlap. The increasing direction of the arch-shaped route is a direction in which the length of the arch-shaped route continuously increases in a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction. When the robot 10 performs the bow cleaning and needs to turn around, the robot 10 needs to perform the turning operation, and when the robot 10 adopting the obstacle avoidance method performs the bow cleaning, the robot 10 can avoid colliding with the first obstacle 61 and avoid the phenomena of missing cleaning or repeated cleaning, which is beneficial to improving the cleaning efficiency.

In one possible example, when the user sends a turn instruction to the robot 10 through the terminal, the robot 10 needs to perform a turn operation. Alternatively, the robot 10 detects that there is an obstacle to be avoided in the forward direction, and at this time, the robot 10 needs to perform a turning operation.

Alternatively, when the first detection device 20 is used as a blind-fill sensor, the first detection device 20 may be at least one of a vision sensor, a laser radar sensor, an infrared distance measuring sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a microwave sensor, and a millimeter wave sensor.

In particular, the first detection device 20 may be a single-point sensor or a multi-point laser ranging sensor.

In one possible example, referring to fig. 5, before the robot 10 performs the turning operation, the method further includes:

s101: it is determined whether the second detection means 30 detects the second obstacle 62. If not, it is determined that the robot 10 needs to perform a turning operation.

Specifically, referring to fig. 5, the second detecting device 30 is mounted on the side 12 of the robot 10 for measuring the distance from the side 12 of the robot 10 to the second obstacle 62.

In this example, the robot 10 determines the turning operation timing by the second detecting device 30, and the robot 10 performs the turning operation only when the second obstacle 62 is not present on the side 12 of the robot 10, for example, when no wall is present, so as to prevent the robot 10 from colliding with the second obstacle 62.

Accordingly, when the second obstacle 62 exists on the side 12 of the robot 10, the robot 10 continues to walk along the side, and the turning operation can be performed only after bypassing the second obstacle 62.

Alternatively, when the second detection device 30 functions as an edge sensor, the second detection device 30 may be a line laser sensor, a single-point laser sensor, an infrared distance measurement sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a microwave sensor, or a millimeter wave sensor.

In one possible example, the step of controlling the robot 10 to perform a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle 61 during the turning process if the first obstacle 61 exists includes:

s301: the distance of the front end 11 of the robot 10 from the first obstacle 61 is detected.

S302: and when the distance between the front end 11 of the robot 10 and the first obstacle 61 is detected to be a first preset distance, controlling the robot 10 to rotate.

In this embodiment, when the distance from the front end 11 of the robot 10 to the first obstacle 61 is the first preset distance, the robot 10 is closer to the first obstacle 61, and if the robot is turned directly and easily collides with the first obstacle 61, the robot 10 is controlled to rotate, the turning path is changed, the distance between the front end 11 of the robot 10 and the first obstacle 61 is increased, so that the distance from the front end 11 of the robot 10 to the first obstacle 61 is greater than the first preset distance, and then the preset obstacle avoidance operation is executed in consideration.

The rotation of the robot 10 means that the robot 10 rotates in place or rotates while moving, and may be left-handed rotation or right-handed rotation. Generally, the direction of gyration is different from the direction of turning.

Optionally, the first predetermined distance is [ -2cm,10cm ]. Through testing, when the distance from the front end 11 of the robot 10 to the first obstacle 61 is greater than 10cm, it can be avoided that the robot 10 collides with the first obstacle 61 when a preset obstacle avoidance operation is performed.

The value of the first preset distance includes a negative value, for example, -2cm, because the front end 11 of the robot 10 is provided with an elastic buffer anti-collision member, which can retract after colliding with an obstacle. It is set that the distance between the front end 11 of the robot 10 and the obstacle is 0 when the elastic buffer bumper naturally extends and contacts the obstacle. Therefore, when the elastic buffer bumper retracts, the distance between the front end 11 of the robot 10 and the obstacle is negative.

Specifically, referring to fig. 6, the robot 10 determines the distance of the front end 11 of the robot 10 from the first obstacle 61 through the third detecting means 40 and/or the first detecting means 20.

Wherein the third detecting device 40 is mounted at the front end 11 of the robot 10, and the third detecting device 40 can directly measure the distance J from the front end 11 of the robot 10 to the first obstacle 61. Of course, the robot 10 may determine the distance I from the side 12 of the robot 10 to the first obstacle 61 by the first detection device 20, and then convert the distance J from the front end 11 of the robot 10 to the first obstacle 61 according to the positional relationship between the side 12 of the robot 10 and the front end 11 of the robot 10.

Alternatively, when the third detection device 40 is used as an obstacle avoidance sensor, the third detection device 40 may be at least one of a line laser sensor, a vision sensor, an infrared distance measurement sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a microwave sensor, and a millimeter wave sensor.

Alternatively, referring to fig. 14 and 15, when the third detection device 40 is a line laser sensor, the laser plane 41 of the third detection device 40 is disposed obliquely downward with respect to the plane of the body 16 of the robot 10.

Specifically, before the step of controlling the robot 10 to turn around when it is detected that the distance between the front end 11 of the robot 10 and the first obstacle 61 is the first preset distance, the method further includes:

s303: it is determined whether the fourth detection means 50 detects the first obstacle 61.

S304: if not, the robot 10 is controlled to perform a rotation and/or a backward movement until the fourth detection device 50 can detect the first obstacle 61.

S305: after the fourth detection device 50 is able to detect the first obstacle 61, the attribute of the first obstacle 61 is acquired by the fourth detection device 50.

S306: the first preset distance is determined according to the attribute of the first obstacle 61.

Referring to fig. 7, the obstacle avoidance method first gives an initial first preset distance to control the distance from the front end 11 of the robot 10 to the first obstacle 61 to be out of the first preset distance. If the first obstacle 61 is present, it is determined whether the fourth detecting means 50 detects the first obstacle 61, and if the first obstacle 61 is not detected, the robot 10 is controlled to rotate until the fourth detecting means 50 can detect the first obstacle 61, and the first preset distance is re-determined according to the type of the recognized obstacle, so as to obtain a reasonable first preset distance.

The attribute of the first obstacle 61 includes at least one of the height, material, shape, reflectance, and color of the obstacle. The robot 10 can select a reasonable first preset distance according to different obstacle types, and ensure that the robot is not too close to the first obstacle 61 to avoid collision or winding with the first obstacle 61, but is not too far away from the first obstacle 61 to cause too large turning radius and to omit a cleaning area.

Wherein the higher the height of the first obstacle 61 is, the smaller the right end value of the first preset distance is. The first barrier 61 is made of a flexible material, and the larger the right end value of the first preset distance is. For example, obstacles made of flexible materials such as plush toys, curtains, bedsheets, or carpets, may easily wrap around the robot 10, and the first preset distance needs to be increased. The more irregular the shape of the first obstacle 61 is, the larger the right end value of the first preset distance is. In this way, the robot 10 can determine a reasonable first preset distance according to different obstacle types.

The first preset distance is a distance range, such as [ -2cm,10cm ], and the right end value of the first preset distance is the maximum value of the value range, such as 10cm.

Optionally, a fourth detection device 50 is mounted to the front end 11 of the robot 10.

Optionally, the fourth detection device 50 is a vision sensor. The fourth detection device 50 is used for AI intelligent recognition of scenes and objects, and auxiliary obstacle avoidance and partitioning. For example, if the fourth detection device 50 recognizes that the obstacle located at the front end 11 of the robot 10 is a large-sized obstacle that cannot be cleaned, an obstacle made of a hard material, or an obstacle that cannot be cleaned (such as a key, precious jewelry, and money), the robot 10 avoids such an obstacle. For another example, if the fourth detection device 50 recognizes that the obstacle located at the front end 11 of the robot 10 is an obstacle such as paper dust, hair, or sand, the robot 10 cleans such an obstacle.

In one possible example, referring to fig. 8, when it is detected that the distance between the front end 11 of the robot 10 and the first obstacle 61 is a first preset distance, the step of controlling the robot 10 to turn around includes: the distance between the side 12 of the robot 10 and the first obstacle 61 is determined through the second detection device 30, the robot 10 is controlled to keep the second preset distance K for edging the first obstacle 61, and therefore the robot 10 and the first obstacle 61 keep the second preset distance, and collision between the robot 10 and the first obstacle 61 is avoided.

In this example, referring to fig. 8, during the rotation of the robot 10, the distance between the robot 10 and the first obstacle 61 is determined by the second detection device 30, and the robot 10 is controlled to keep the second preset distance K from the first obstacle 61 all the time to proceed edgewise.

Optionally, the second preset distance K has a value range of 1cm to 5cm.

In one possible example, the step of controlling the robot 10 to perform a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle 61 during a turn includes:

s510: it is determined whether the first obstacle 61 obstructs the movement of the robot 10.

S520: if the first obstacle 61 does not obstruct the movement of the robot 10, the turning operation is continuously performed.

In this example, when the first obstacle 61 is a suspended obstacle or a fall area, if the movement of the robot 10 is not obstructed, the turning is safe, and the turning operation is continued to travel to below the suspended obstacle or the fall area.

Specifically, referring to fig. 9, the step of determining whether the first obstacle 61 obstructs the movement of the robot 10 includes:

s511: the first distance H of the bottom of the first obstacle 61 from the work surface is determined by at least one of the first detecting means 20, the second detecting means 30 and the third detecting means 40.

Generally, the work surface refers to the ground on which the robot 10 is located.

S512: if the first distance H is not less than the third preset distance, it is determined that the first obstacle 61 does not obstruct the movement of the robot 10.

The obstacle avoidance method described in the present embodiment determines a determination method that a suspended obstacle does not obstruct the movement of the robot 10. Referring to fig. 9, when the first distance H is greater than or equal to the third preset distance, the robot 10 can freely walk under the suspension-type obstacle without colliding with the head.

For example, if the suspended obstacle is a sofa and the bottom of the sofa is spaced from the working surface by a distance greater than or equal to a third predetermined distance, the robot 10 may travel under the sofa.

Optionally, the value of the third preset distance is h-1cm or h +1cm. Where h is the height of the body 16 of the robot 10.

When the first obstacle 61 is a free fall area such as at least one of a cliff area, a step area, a steep slope area, and a groove area, or the first obstacle 61 is a raised obstacle such as a threshold, the step of determining whether the first obstacle 61 obstructs the movement of the robot 10 includes:

s513: referring to fig. 10, a second distance L from the top of the first obstacle 61 to the working surface is determined by at least one of the first detecting device 20, the second detecting device 30, and the third detecting device 40.

S514: if the second distance L is less than or equal to the fourth preset distance, it is determined that the first obstacle 61 does not obstruct the movement of the robot 10.

S515: if the second distance L is greater than the fourth preset distance, it is determined that the first obstacle 61 obstructs the movement of the robot 10.

In this example, referring to fig. 10, when the second distance L between the protruding obstacle such as a threshold and the working surface is smaller than or equal to the fourth preset distance, or when the second distance L between the easy-to-fall obstacle such as a groove or a step and the working surface is smaller than or equal to the fourth preset distance, the robot 10 can pass over the first obstacle 61, and therefore the first obstacle 61 does not obstruct the movement of the robot 10.

Optionally, the value range of the fourth preset distance is [ -1.5cm,1.5cm ].

Further, after the step of determining that the first obstacle 61 obstructs the movement of the robot 10, the obstacle avoidance method includes:

s516: the distance of the robot 10 from the first obstacle 61 is detected by the first detecting device 20 and/or the second detecting device 30.

S517: the robot 10 is controlled to edgewise keep the second preset distance to the first obstacle 61.

In this embodiment, if the robot 10 cannot cross the first obstacle 61, the first obstacle 61 is cleaned along the edge, so that the robot does not collide or fall off, and can effectively clean the edge of the protruding obstacle or the area prone to fall off, which is beneficial to improving the efficiency of cleaning along the edge.

Optionally, the value range of the second preset distance is [1cm,5cm ].

In a possible example, before the robot 10 performs the turning operation, the obstacle avoidance method further includes:

s610: the angle at which the robot 10 performs the turning operation is determined.

S620: if the angle is within the preset angle range, it is detected by the first detection device 20 whether the first obstacle 61 is present in the space to be turned 15.

If the first obstacle 61 exists, a preset obstacle avoidance operation is performed. If the first obstacle 61 is not present, the turn is made straight through.

Specifically, the predetermined angle range is [40 °,180 ° ].

In a specific embodiment of any one of the foregoing obstacle avoidance methods, the preset obstacle avoidance operation includes:

s710: the robot 10 is controlled to increase the turning radius so that the robot 10 bypasses the first obstacle 61.

S720: in controlling the robot 10 to increase the turning radius, it is determined whether the first detecting means 20 can detect the first obstacle 61.

S730: if the first obstacle 61 cannot be detected, the robot 10 is controlled to decrease the turning radius.

In this embodiment, in the process of the robot 10 performing the edgewise operation on the first obstacle 61, if the obstacle is not within the detection range of the first detection device 20, the turning radius is reduced, another obstacle is searched, and the edgewise operation is performed on the other obstacle, so that the robot 10 can safely turn edgewise.

In a specific embodiment of any one of the foregoing obstacle avoidance methods, the preset obstacle avoidance operation includes: the robot 10 is controlled to move at a moving speed lower than or equal to a preset speed to pass through a space to be turned.

Optionally, the preset speed is 1m/s.

In one possible example, in order to save power of the robot 10, the robot 10 turns on the first detection means 20 in case it is detected that the robot 10 performs a turning operation. After the robot 10 passes through the space 15 to be turned, the robot 10 may turn off the first detecting means 20 immediately or after a preset time.

Example two

Referring to fig. 11, the present invention also provides a cleaning robot including a body 16, a first detecting device 20, and a controller. The first detecting means 20 is used to detect whether the first obstacle 61 is present in the space to be turned 15 when the cleaning robot performs a turning operation. The controller is used for controlling the robot 10 to execute preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle 61 during turning.

Referring to fig. 3, the space 15 to be turned is a space covered by the body 16 of the robot 10 during the turning process.

Before the robot 10 performs the turning operation, whether a first obstacle 61 exists in the space 15 to be turned is determined by the first detection device 20, and if the first obstacle 61 exists, the controller is used for controlling the robot 10 to perform a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle 61 during the turning process so as to avoid colliding with the first obstacle 61 during the turning process.

In one possible example, please refer to fig. 11, the cleaning robot further comprises a second detecting means 30 and a third detecting means 40.

Wherein the second detection device 30 is mounted on a side portion of the body 16, and the second detection device 30 is used for determining a distance from the side 12 of the body 16 to a second obstacle 62 (see fig. 5) located on the side 12.

The third detection device 40 is mounted to the front end 11 of the body 16, the third detection device 40 being for determining a distance of the front end 11 of the body 16 from a third obstacle located in the forward direction. A detection dead zone ABCE exists between the sensing area of the second sensing device 30 and the sensing area of the third sensing device 40.

In the cleaning robot, the first detection device 20 mounted on the body 16 can cover the detection dead zone ABCE with the detection signal emitted by the first detection device 20, so as to detect whether the first obstacle 61 exists in the detection dead zone ABCE.

Note that the detection dead zone is an area that is not detected by the second detection device 30 and the third detection device 40, that is, an area ABCE in fig. 11. The detection signal emitted by the first detection device 20 covers the detection dead zone ABCE, and includes that the detection signal emitted by the first detection device 20 covers the detection dead zone ABCE completely, and also includes that the detection signal emitted by the first detection device 20 partially covers the detection dead zone ABCE.

Referring to fig. 11, for example, the coverage area of the detection signal of the first detection device 20 is ACD, and partially covers the detection blind area ABCE, so that whether the detection blind area ABCE has the first obstacle 61 can be effectively found.

It should be noted that the second detecting device 30 may be installed on the left side or the right side of the main body 16, or the second detecting device 30 may be installed on both the left side and the right side of the main body 16. The first detecting device 20 may be mounted on the same side of the main body 16 as the second detecting device 30 (see fig. 11), or may be mounted on another position of the main body 16 (see fig. 12).

In one possible example, referring to fig. 11, the first detection device 20 and the second detection device 30 are located on the same side of the body 16.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 13, an included angle between a detection signal sent by the first detection device 20 and the main axis 13 of the fuselage 16 is not greater than a first preset angle ≦ N.

If the included angle between the detection signal of the first detection device 20 and the main axis 13 is too large, the first sensing area of the first detection device 20 and the sensing area of the third detection device 40 may not be overlapped, although the first detection device 20 can also improve the probability of finding the obstacle in the detection blind area, it cannot be guaranteed that the obstacles at all positions in the detection blind area are detected by one hundred percent.

Specifically, experiments prove that when the first preset angle N is 20 °, 30 °, 40 ° or 45 °, the first detection device 20 can effectively detect the obstacle appearing in the detection blind area.

In one possible example, the first detection device 20 is a single point sensor or a multipoint laser ranging sensor.

In a possible example, referring to fig. 13, an included angle between a central axis of the detection signal emitted by the second detection device 30 and a vertical plane on which the wheel axis 14 of the fuselage 16 is located is not greater than a second preset angle ≦ M.

Specifically, the value range of the second preset angle is as follows: the angle M is more than or equal to 0 degree and less than or equal to 20 degrees.

In one possible example, referring to fig. 14 and 15, when the third detection device 40 is a line laser sensor, the laser plane 41 of the third detection device 40 is disposed obliquely downward with respect to the body 16.

In one possible example, referring to fig. 14 and 15, the cleaning robot further includes a fourth detection device 50, and the fourth detection device 50 is mounted to the front end 11 of the main body 16. The fourth detection device 50 is used for AI intelligent recognition of scenes and objects, and auxiliary obstacle avoidance and partitioning.

Optionally, the fourth detection device 50 is a vision sensor.

In one possible example, referring to fig. 14 and 15, the cleaning robot further includes a floor medium detecting sensor 71, the floor medium detecting sensor 71 is installed at the front end 11 of the body 16, and the floor medium detecting sensor 71 is used to identify floor media such as carpet, floor tiles, wood boards, etc. Since carpets do not clean in the same manner as floor tiles or boards, for example, the floor mopping function is used on the carpet, damage to the carpet can occur. The cleaning robot recognizes whether it is a carpet through the floor media detecting sensor 71 so as to select a proper cleaning manner.

Alternatively, the ground-medium detecting sensor 71 is an ultrasonic sensor or an optical flow sensor. Specifically, the ultrasonic sensor is used to detect the reflection level of sound from the surface to be cleaned, thereby identifying whether it is a carpet or not.

In one possible example, referring to fig. 14 and 15, the cleaning robot further includes a laser ranging sensor 72, the laser ranging sensor 72 is installed at the front end 11 of the cleaning robot, and a horizontal sensing range of the laser ranging sensor 72 is not less than 180 °. The laser ranging sensor 72 is used to detect an obstacle distance in front of the cleaning robot.

Wherein the laser ranging sensor 72 is rotatably installed at the body 16 so as to rotate at an angle of not less than 180 deg. to scan the distance of an obstacle located in front of the body 16.

Alternatively, the laser ranging sensor 72 is installed inside the body 16, not protruding from the top of the body 16, so that the cleaning robot can freely move in and out of a low space such as a bed bottom, a cabinet bottom or a sofa bottom without jamming or knocking.

It should be noted that the cleaning robot in the second embodiment can use any one of the obstacle avoidance methods disclosed in the first embodiment. Similarly, the obstacle avoidance method in the first embodiment may use any structural feature of the cleaning robot disclosed in the second embodiment.

EXAMPLE III

The invention also provides a robot 100 comprising a memory 120, a processor 110 and a computer program 121 stored in the memory 120 and executable on the processor 110, the processor 110 implementing the steps of any one of the methods according to the above-described embodiments when executing the computer program 121.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 16 is merely an example of a robot 100 and is not intended to limit a robot 100 and may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components may be combined, or different components, e.g., a robot 100 may also include input and output devices, network access devices, buses, etc.

The Processor 110 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable logic device, discrete Gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, etc. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor 110 may be any conventional processor 110 or the like.

The storage 120 may be an internal storage unit of a robot, such as a hard disk or a memory of a robot. The memory 120 may also be an external storage device of the robot, such as a plug-in hard disk provided on the robot, a Smart Media Card (SMC), a Secure Digital (SD) Card, a Flash memory Card (Flash Card), and the like. Further, the memory 120 may also include both an internal storage unit and an external storage device of the robot 100. The memory 120 is used to store a computer program 121 and other programs and data required by the robot 100. The memory 120 may also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

It should be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity of description, the foregoing division of the functional units and modules is only used for illustration, and in practical applications, the above function distribution may be performed by different functional units and modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional units or modules, so as to perform all or part of the above described functions. Each functional unit and module in the embodiments may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated in one unit, and the integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or in a form of software functional unit. In addition, specific names of the functional units and modules are only used for distinguishing one functional unit from another, and are not used for limiting the protection scope of the present application. For the specific working processes of the units and modules in the system, reference may be made to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which are not described herein again.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiments provided in the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed terminal device and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described terminal device embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, a division of a module or a unit is only one type of logical function division, and other division manners may be available in actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, all or part of the flow of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented by a computer program 121 to instruct related hardware, where the computer program 121 may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when the computer program 121 is executed by the processor 110, the steps of the method embodiments may be implemented. The computer program 121 comprises computer program code, which may be in source code form, object code form, an executable file or some intermediate form, etc. The computer readable medium may include: any entity or device capable of carrying computer program code, recording medium, U.S. disk, removable hard disk, magnetic disk, optical disk, computer Memory, read-Only Memory (ROM), random Access Memory (RAM), electrical carrier wave signals, telecommunications signals, software distribution media, and the like. It should be noted that the computer readable medium may contain other components which may be suitably increased or decreased as required by legislation and patent practice in jurisdictions, for example, in some jurisdictions, in accordance with legislation and patent practice, the computer readable medium does not include electrical carrier signals and telecommunications signals.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a "terminal" as used herein includes both devices having a wireless signal receiver, which are devices having only a wireless signal receiver without transmit capability, and devices having receive and transmit hardware, which have devices having receive and transmit hardware capable of two-way communication over a two-way communication link. Such a device may include: a cellular or other communication device having a single line display or a multi-line display or a cellular or other communication device without a multi-line display; PCS (Personal Communications Service), which may combine voice, data processing, facsimile and/or data communication capabilities; a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), which may include a radio frequency receiver, a pager, internet/intranet access, a web browser, a notepad, a calendar and/or a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver; a conventional laptop and/or palmtop computer or other appliance having and/or including a radio frequency receiver. As used herein, a "terminal" or "terminal device" may be portable, transportable, installed in a vehicle (aeronautical, maritime, and/or land-based), or situated and/or configured to operate locally and/or in a distributed fashion at any other location(s) on earth and/or in space. As used herein, a "terminal Device" may also be a communication terminal, a web terminal, a music/video playing terminal, such as a PDA, an MID (Mobile Internet Device) and/or a Mobile phone with music/video playing function, or a smart tv, a set-top box, etc.

The server is connected with the terminal through a network, and can be used for providing services for the terminal or a client installed on the terminal, and a database can be arranged on the server or independent of the server, and is used for providing data storage services for the server, wherein the network includes but is not limited to: a wide area network, a metropolitan area network, or a local area network.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention, and any modifications, equivalents and improvements made within the spirit and principle of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An obstacle avoidance method for a robot, comprising:

2. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 1, wherein before the robot performs a turning operation, the method further comprises:

determining whether the second detection means detects a second obstacle;

if not, determining that the robot needs to execute the turning operation.

3. The obstacle avoidance method according to claim 1, wherein if the first obstacle exists, the controlling the robot to perform a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle during turning comprises:

detecting a distance of a front end of the robot from the first obstacle;

4. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 3, wherein said detecting a distance of a front end of the robot from the first obstacle comprises:

detecting a distance of a front end of the robot from the first obstacle by a third detecting device and/or the first detecting device.

5. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 3, wherein when it is detected that the distance between the front end of the robot and the first obstacle is a first preset distance, before controlling the robot to turn around, the method further comprises:

6. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 3, wherein the controlling the robot to turn around when it is detected that the distance between the front end of the robot and the first obstacle is a first preset distance comprises:

and determining the distance from the side of the robot to the first obstacle through a second detection device, and controlling the robot to keep the first obstacle at a second preset distance for edging.

7. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 1, wherein the controlling the robot to perform a preset obstacle avoidance operation on the first obstacle during turning comprises:

determining whether the first obstacle obstructs movement of the robot;

8. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 7, wherein the determining whether the first obstacle obstructs the movement of the robot comprises:

determining that the first obstacle does not obstruct the movement of the robot if the first distance is not less than a third preset distance.

9. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 7, wherein the determining whether the first obstacle obstructs the movement of the robot comprises:

determining a second distance of a top of the first obstacle from a work surface by at least one of the first, second and third detection devices;

and if the second distance is greater than a fourth preset distance, determining that the first obstacle obstructs the movement of the robot.

10. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 9, wherein after determining that the first obstacle obstructs the movement of the robot, the method further comprises:

detecting a distance of the robot from the first obstacle by the first detection means and/or the second detection means;

11. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 1, wherein before the robot performs a turning operation, the method further comprises:

determining an angle at which the robot performs a turning operation;

12. An obstacle avoidance method according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined angular range is [40 °,180 ° ].

13. An obstacle avoidance method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the preset obstacle avoidance operation comprises:

14. A cleaning robot, characterized by comprising:

a body;

first detecting means for detecting whether a first obstacle exists in a space to be turned when the cleaning robot performs a turning operation; the space to be turned is the space covered by the body of the robot in the turning process;

15. The cleaning robot according to claim 14, further comprising a second detecting means and a third detecting means;

the second detection device is arranged on the side part of the body and is used for determining the distance between the side part of the body and a second obstacle positioned on the side part;

the third detection device is mounted at the front end of the body, and the third detection device is used for determining the distance from the front end of the body to a third obstacle located in the forward direction.

16. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 14, wherein an included angle between a central axis of the detection light emitted by the first detection device and the main axis of the body is not greater than a first preset angle.

17. A cleaning robot as claimed in any of claims 14 to 16, wherein the first detection means is a single point sensor or a multi-point laser range sensor.

18. A robot comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that the processor realizes the steps of the method according to any of the claims 1 to 13 when executing the computer program.