WO2015173825A1

WO2015173825A1 - Method and system for lawn care

Info

Publication number: WO2015173825A1
Application number: PCT/IL2015/050515
Authority: WO
Inventors: Amir Shalev; Eran Erez
Original assignee: Ease Robotics Ltd.
Priority date: 2014-05-15
Filing date: 2015-05-14
Publication date: 2015-11-19
Also published as: IL232649A0

Abstract

A lawn care robot is presented. The robot divides the lawn area into small adjacent segments. Then the robot moves across the lawn and performs various activities on lawn segments which are located at some distance from each other. Thereby, each lawn segment receives the particular care it requires without affecting any other lawn segment. Accordingly, the amount of water used to irrigate a given lawn segment is evenly distributed across that segment and entirely utilized by that segment and significantly contributes to the strength, length and health of the roots as well as to water conservation. Furthermore, excessive watering is avoided and thereby soil erosion and soil compression are significantly reduced.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LAWN CARE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to method and system for lawn care, and more particularly, to a method and system for controlling robots for lawn care. More specifically, the present invention concerns a method and system utilizing robots for mowing, irrigation, fertilization and pest treatment of lawns, e.g., private lawns, for the purpose of efficient and professional cultivation of the lawns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lawn care consists of several factors which must be carefully adjusted in order to achieve the best results. For example, the irrigation and mowing schedules have a considerable influence on the lawn's roots depth and the lawn' s general health, well-being and appearance as well as water conservation and resistance to pests. Fertilization and monitoring deficiencies and pests also constitute important factors that contribute to appropriate cultivation of the lawn.

At present, lawn care is usually based on mechanical mowing and sprinkler irrigation. Fertilization may be achieved manually and the lawn's health is usually monitored by direct or indirect inspection (via camera).

The idea of using robotic lawn mowing and irrigation is not new. Perhaps, the first commercial robotic lawn mower was the MowBot, patented in 1972 (U.S. Patent No. 3,698,523). Since then other robotic lawn mowers have been patented (e.g. U.S. Patent No. 4,694,639). Robotic irrigation using a sprinkler is known as well. However, sprinkler irrigation depends upon the sprinklers' condition and distribution as well as upon the wind, changing water pressure and obstacles. Hence water distribution is not uniform and some parts of the lawn may get much more or much less water than some other parts. Optimization of irrigation is important due to the increasing shortage and rising prices of fresh water, and because of ecological reasons it is desirable to reduce the amount of wasted water, unnecessary fertilizers, soil erosion and the amount of toxic materials that pollute the water sources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These objectives are realized in accordance with the invention by a lawn care method and system having the features of the respective independent claims.

The present invention is intended to overcome or reduce the disadvantages of known lawn care methods and systems by providing a method and system that utilize at least one robot that is configured to do all the activities required for lawn care as follows. The robot divides the lawn into relatively small adjacent segments. Then the robot moves across the lawn and performs various activities on lawn segments which are located at some distance from each other or at most have negligible common border (sparse lawn care, e.g. sparse irrigation). Thereby, each lawn segment receives the particular care it requires without affecting any other lawn segment. For example, the amount of water used to irrigate a given lawn segment is evenly distributed across that segment and entirely utilized by same and if cleverly calculated, significantly contributes to the strength, length and health of the roots as well as to water conservation. Furthermore, excessive watering is avoided and thereby soil erosion and soil compression are significantly reduced.

In accordance with the present invention, there is therefore provided a lawn care method according to which a lawn is subdivided into segments and wherein cultivation activities on said segments are performed by at least one mobile robot in a manner that each segment is cultivated according to its precise actual needs.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a lawn care method wherein irrigation of a lawn is performed by at least one mobile robot in a manner that said lawn is subdivided into segments and a segment is irrigated after irrigation water in adjacent segments has settled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example only in connection with some embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a lawn care system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an electric block diagram of an embodiment of the lawn care robot shown in Fig.

1 , and

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a remote control device constituting a part of the lawn care system of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a schematic description of an irrigation route, hose layout and scrolling performed by the robot according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic description of the robot bypassing an obstacle; and

Fig. 6 shows examples of sparse irrigation according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a lawn care system 2 comprising a plurality of robots 4. Each robot 4 constitutes a lawn care subsystem utilized for drip or sprinkle irrigation, mowing, fertilizing, monitoring and reporting lawn condition etc. Each robot 4 may be absolutely independent or linked to any other robot 4 and or to remote control 6 and or to a telecommunications network such as a VPN or an internet cloud 8. Remote control 6 may be used to facilitate local command and control of robots 4, data transfer from and to robots 4 concerning various needs, e.g. maintenance, going from place to place, user-initiated irrigation, downloading software and or firmware to robots 4, downloading data from robots 4. Remote control 6 may be a dedicated device or an application in smart-phones 10. Remote control 6 may also be used for transferring data between robots 4 and the internet cloud 8 in the event that direct communication is impossible due to lack of dedicated hardware. Remote control 6 can hold in its memory working schedules of each robot 4, information regarding its condition and other important data, e.g. for downloading and uploading data, work schedules, alerts to a system server 12 or other terminal units. Internet cloud 8 is a network facilitating links among plurality of terminal units, e.g. robots 4, remote control 6, user computer or smart phones 10 - among each other and between each and system server 12. User computer or smart-phones 10 are data processing units utilized by the end user to communicate with terminal units, e.g. for updating schedules, updating operation software, remote controlling robots, downloading data from and uploading data into system sever 12, reporting bugs and requesting support. The system sever 12 may constitute a single unit or several units - lumped or distributed - that facilitate knowledge and information accumulation concerning the lawn care system 2. The system sever 12 facilitates downloading and uploading data to terminal units, statistical analysis of the lawn care system 2, customer support, maintenance of terminal units data, managing alerts and reports, designing routs and working schedules, terminal units software updating etc.

Fig. 2 is an electrical block diagram 14 of an embodiment of the robot 4 shown in Fig. 1. A controller 16 manages the robot 4 and its peripheral units (to be detailed later on). Controller 16 receives data from various peripheral units and operates robot 4 according to the input data combined with working schedules. Battery 18 is the energy reservoir supplying energy to robot 4 operations. Solar panel 20 charges battery 18 and or feeds the robot 4 directly; the solar panel 20 can be attached to the robot 4 or separated from it. Auxiliary power supply 22 also charges the battery 18 and or feeds the robot 4 directly. Converter 24 adapts the voltage of an external power supply, e.g. auxiliary power supply 22, solar panel 20 etc. to the voltage of battery 18, thereby facilitating charging of battery 18 and or direct operation of robot 4 from an external energy source. Drivers 26, 30 and 34 are activated by the controller 16 and drive irrigation solenoid 28, light source 32 and fertilizer solenoid 36 respectively. Lighting driver 30 supplies the needs of the light source 32, i.e. by controlling light intensity, pulse frequency and illumination color; driver 30 enables working modes required for navigation, checking the status of the plant (fluorescence), maintenance and working modes of robot 4. Motor drivers 38, 42 and 46 drive hose layout and scrolling motor 40, trimming motor 44 and wheel motors 48 respectively. Each motor includes an encoder 50 that reads its current position, from which motor's speed and acceleration can be derived, and delivers the data to the respective driver. Grass height sensor 52 measures the grass height for setting the required actions, identifying growth problems, improving navigability on the lawn (identifying points of interest for navigation, measuring accurately local levels for optical navigation, and statistical parameters). Camera and or photometry and color sensor 54 enables testing the plant status (thirst, deficiencies or surplus of nutrients, diseases), e.g. by measuring grass fluorescence and color by photometry. Furthermore, sensor 54 facilitates improved navigation and orientation in the field, identifying obstacles and avoiding collisions. Grass temperature IR Sensor 56 enables creation of grass temperature parameters for detection of problems and needs of the lawn, e.g. cooling, irrigation etc. as well as identifying various objects on the lawn and navigation support. Soil moisture sensor 58 identifies the soil moisture condition for determining irrigation parameters. The soil moisture sensor 58 can be installed inside or outside the robot 4. Anti-collision distance sensors 60 protect the system 2 and various objects and obstacles that may be on the lawn or surrounding it such as trees, plants, people, animals, holes, edges and depths, stairs, fences, etc. Humidity sensor 62 measures the state of ambient humidity and diffusion stress of the plant to allow assessment of irrigation quality and schedule a desirable term for irrigation according to the grass moisture. Grass does not like to stay wet; it is therefore important to irrigate in a manner that minimizes the time that the grass remains moist, e.g. by using drip irrigation. Water height sensor 64 allows robot 4 to sense the water level in its tank (in the case of a robot that carries a water tank) for regulating the water pressure.

Ambient light sensor 66 senses the general lighting condition (day, night, clouds, etc.) and accurately measures the lighting on the grass (e.g. shadows, light spots etc.) for scheduling irrigation according to irrigation needs in different areas of the lawn according to the lighting condition on every spot. Inertial and optical navigation sensors 68 measure the exact location, speed and angle of action of the robot 4, as well as preventing overturning and rolling down. Wireless communication system 70 facilitates communication among robots as well as constituting a link to the internet cloud and enables remote control of the robots.

Referring now to Fig. 3, there is shown a block diagram of an embodiment of a remote control system. Remote control 72 is a dedicated system for controlling and steering the robot 4, data transfer from and to the robot 4, displaying status and indications of the robot 4, downloading programs, support to maintenance etc. Controller 74 is a central processing unit (CPU) of the remote control 72. Its function is to enable two-way information link between the users, such as joystick 76 or tilt angle of remote control 72, and robot 4. Joystick 76 is a user interface for controlling and steering the robot 4. Inertial interface 78 allows the user to control the robot 4 by tilting and shaking remote control 72. Docking connector 80 enables charging of the remote control 72 and data transfer to the network (internet). Power supply 82 adapts the voltage of a battery 84 to various system requirements. The battery 84 (primary or secondary) supplies the energy required for the operation of the remote control 72. Charger 86 is used to charge the (secondary) battery 84. Wireless communication 88 represents a two-way communication that allows the remote control 72 to communicate with the robot 4 by means of e.g. RF, IR etc. Display 90 allows displaying indications, alerts, working states and information. Serial communication 92 enables the robot 4 or another means to transfer data over wires.

Figs. 4a to 4c show a schematic description of a continuous irrigation route, hose layout and scrolling performed by the robot according to the present invention. Fig. 4a shows the robot 4 beginning irrigation activity at an appropriate time, e.g. by responding to a command message from server 12 (Fig. 1) or a user, e.g. joystick 76 (Fig. 3) or smart phone 10 (Fig. 1), by preprogrammed schedule, lawn condition, weather condition etc. One end of the irrigation hose 94 is connected to dock 96 that supplies water for the irrigation. The robot 4 lays out the irrigation hose 94 from a built-in receptacle or a reel on such a track across the lawn that facilitates subsequent collection or intake, e.g. scrolling of the irrigation hose 94. Arrow A shows the direction of travel of the robot 4. Irrigated area is marked 98 and area to be irrigated is marked 100. The irrigation can be continuous or directed to specific parts of lawn - that may be sufficiently distant from each other (or at least share negligible common border) to prevent mutual influence - depending on the purpose and policy of the irrigation. Fig. 4b shows the robot 4 after it has finished a course of irrigation while laying out the irrigation hose 94 as required. The robot 4 then returns towards its exit point (dock 96) in a manner that facilitates intake, e.g. scrolling of the irrigation hose 94 into the robot. The return course is according to the irrigation requirements, e.g. adjacent to the route of the previous irrigation track or otherwise.

Fig. 4c shows the robot 4 after it has irrigated the return track and collected the irrigation hose 94 on its way back. The robot 4 then goes out on a new hose-layout-route, similar to the one described in Fig. 4a and according to the requirements of area coverage and irrigation plan (e.g. continuous or sparse).

Figs. 5a to 5f show a schematic description of the robot 4 bypassing an obstacle 102. Fig. 5a depicts the robot 4 traveling away from the dock 96 while freeing the irrigation hose 94. The track is uninterrupted. Fig. 5b shows the robot 4 after completing the irrigation track shown in Fig. 5a and traveling back toward the dock 96 while collecting, e.g. scrolling the irrigation hose 94. If the robot 4 encounters the obstacle 102 on its way back the robot will bypass the obstacle 102 according to Fig. 5b and Fig. 5c in a manner that will enable the robot 4 to continue collecting the irrigation hose 94 into the robot and return to its regular irrigation track after the bypass. Fig. 5e shows the case in which the robot 4 encounters the obstacle 102 while traveling away from the dock 96. The robot 4 will then bypass the obstacle 102 in a manner shown in Fig. 5f that enables the robot 4 to continue following its original working plan.

Figs. 6 a to 6c show some examples of sparse irrigation according to an embodiment of the present invention as follows: Fig. 6a is a schematic table representing a lawn 104 subdivided into 24 lawn segments with all segments 106a irrigated on day 1 , segments 106b irrigated on day 2, segments 106c irrigated on day 3, segments 106d on day 4, segments 106e on day 5, segments 106f on day 6 and segments 106g are irrigated on day 7. In this manner the entire lawn is irrigated during a week and each segments can receive the exact amount of water required for this particular part without affecting segments irrigated on the same day. Similarly, Fig 6b describes a lawn 108 subdivided into 18 lawn segments with an irrigation cycle of 3 days and Fig. 6c shows a lawn 112 with irrigation cycle of 6 days.

A person skilled in the art will understand from the description above that an embodiment according to the invention can be programmed to comprise the following features and take them into account while scheduling the lawn cultivation:

• Lawn's condition measurement, i.e. lawn health, irrigation condition, uniformity and bald spots, height and height differences across the lawn, color, lawn edges, permanent and temporary obstacles, lawn temperature and photosynthesis, soil type, soil moisture and salinity, lawn type, evaporation, and shadow spots.

• Environmental parameters measurement, e.g. weather, season and light conditions.

• Precision drip or sprinkle irrigation according to a pre-programmed plan combined with the exact needs of the lawn; robot ability to reach docking points independently; automatic and or manual determination of areas to be cultivated; anti-theft by disabling system operation, alerting and providing robot's location data through the central system.

• Robot ability to avoid permanent and temporary obstacles; mowing and trimming edges according to desirable plan; burial of mowed grass; scattering feces; lawn painting and printing patterns; bald spots filling; uniformity improvement by moving lawn's edges; lawn heights comparison, transferring soil and grass between non-uniform heights and equalizing heights; selecting desirable lawn quality; extermination of pests.

• Two-way communication with data collection center for the purpose of receiving and sending programs; participating in experiments of lawn cultivation and painting according to the information collected by the server and by the local system; robot's autonomous decision making for performing tasks when control center is disconnected. Remote control operation; intensive use of solar energy as major energy source; taking into account weather, season and light or shadow spots on the lawn, differences in the appearance of lawn parts (shaded places, rain, humidity, soil and location differences). Processing data received from the terminal units by the central server, data mining, information sharing, irrigation and mowing plans, comparison between lawns, downloading patterns to be printed on the lawn, downloading software updates, consultation, alerts, contests, support, heavy information processing.

Advanced robotic navigation, e.g. navigation based upon image processing, color sensing, magnetic field, triangulation, azimuth-distance, inertia, encoder, GPS and wifi.

Claims

CLAIMS:

I. A lawn care method according to which said lawn is subdivided into segments and wherein cultivation activities on said segments are performed by at least one mobile robot in a manner that each segment is cultivated according to its precise actual needs.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said segments are cultivated according to one or more of the following lawn related parameters: (a) health, (b) irrigation condition, (c) uniformity and bald spots, (d) height and height differences across the lawn, (e) color, (f) edges, (g) permanent and temporary obstacles, (h) temperature and photosynthesis, (i) soil type, soil moisture and salinity, (j) lawn type, (k) evaporation, and (1) shadow spots.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said segments are cultivated according to one or more of the following environmental parameters: (a) weather, (b) season, and (c) light conditions.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein segments to be cultivated are determined according to a schedule and or a schedule combined with the needs of the lawn.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said method comprises robotic precision navigation based upon one or more of the following techniques: image processing, color sensing, magnetic field, triangulation, azimuth-distance, inertial, encoder, GPS and wifi.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said method comprises drip irrigation.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein irrigation is fed from a hose outlaid and collected by said robot and or from a water tank carried by said robot.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said method includes filling bald spots, equalizing lawn heights, selecting desirable lawn quality, fertilizing, extermination of pests, printing patterns.

9. A system for lawn care using the method according to any one of the foregoing claims. 10. The system as claimed in claim 9, comprising at least one mobile robot and a control center subsystem.

II. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said robot is programmed to make autonomous decisions, reach docking points independently and avoid obstacles.

12. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said system comprises an anti-theft procedure that disables said system operation, issues alert and robot location data.

13. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said system enables data transfer among system units and issues alerts.

14. A lawn care method wherein irrigation of said lawn is performed by at least one mobile robot in a manner that the lawn is subdivided into segments and a segment is irrigated after irrigation water in an adjacent segments has settled.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said segments are cultivated according to one or more of the following lawn related parameters: (a) health, (b) irrigation condition, (c) uniformity and bald spots, (d) height and height differences across the lawn, (e) color, (f) edges, (g) permanent and temporary obstacles, (h) temperature and photosynthesis, (i) soil type, soil moisture and salinity, (j) lawn type, (k) evaporation, and (1) shadow spots.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said segments are cultivated according to one or more of the following environmental parameters: (a) weather, (b) season, and (c) light conditions.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein segments to be cultivated are determined according to a schedule and or a schedule combined with the needs of the lawn.

18. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said method comprises robotic precision navigation based upon one or more of the following techniques: image processing, color sensing, magnetic field, triangulation, azimuth-distance, inertial, encoder, GPS and wifi.

19. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said method comprises drip irrigation. 20. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein irrigation is fed from a hose laid and collected by said robot and or from a water tank carried by said robot.

21. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said method consists of filling bald spots, equalizing lawn heights, selecting desirable lawn quality, fertilizing, extermination of pests, printing patterns.

22. A system for lawn care configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 21.

23. The system as claimed in claim 22, comprising at least one mobile robot and a control center subsystem.

24. The system as claimed in claim 22, wherein said robot is programmed to make autonomous decisions, reach docking points independently and avoid obstacles.

25. The system as claimed in claim 22, comprising an anti-theft procedure that disables system operation, and issues alert and robot location data.

26. The system as claimed in claim 22, wherein said system enables data transfer among system units and issue alerts.