WO2019041755A1

WO2019041755A1 - Cleaning robot control method and cleaning robot

Info

Publication number: WO2019041755A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/075237
Authority: WO
Inventors: 吴悠; 李昂
Original assignee: 深圳乐动机器人有限公司
Priority date: 2017-08-30
Filing date: 2018-02-05
Publication date: 2019-03-07
Also published as: CN108209741B; CN108209741A

Abstract

A cleaning robot control method, comprising: detecting information about an environment where a cleaning robot is located and generating a map of an environment to be cleaned, wherein the map of an environment to be cleaned comprises obstacle information and a non-obstacle area (S202); dividing the map of an environment to be cleaned into a grid, so as to generate several sub-areas to be cleaned (S204); according to obstacle information and a non-obstacle area in the sub-areas to be cleaned, generating a cleaning path in the corresponding sub-area to be cleaned, and controlling the cleaning robot to clean the sub-areas to be cleaned according to the cleaning path in the sub-area to be cleaned one by one (S206). By means of the method, a cleaning robot can have a larger cleaning coverage and a higher cleaning efficiency.

Description

Cleaning robot control method and cleaning robot

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of robot technology, and in particular to a cleaning robot control method and a cleaning robot.

Background technique

The cleaning robot is an intelligent robot that automatically walks on the ground to inhale foreign matter present on the ground without the user's intervention. The cleaning robots on the market have different shapes, including robots with a circular body.

However, no matter what form of cleaning robot, it is cleaned based on traditional cleaning methods. The conventional robot cleaning method is: during the execution of the cleaning task, the robot senses an obstacle in the cleaning area through a sensor disposed on the main body, and when detecting that the obstacle is about to be touched, the random rotation direction or the rotation fixed angle is used to avoid. The obstacle then continues to clean the line or sigmoid curve based on the angle of rotation until the next obstacle is encountered. The cleaning method of the traditional cleaning robot does not have a global planning of the cleaning path, the cleaning path is messy and inefficient, and the cleaning coverage is low.

Summary of the invention

Based on this, it is necessary to provide a cleaning robot control method and a cleaning robot that provide greater cleaning coverage and higher cleaning efficiency in response to the above problems.

A cleaning robot control method, the method comprising:

Detecting environment information of the cleaning robot to generate a clean environment map, the clean environment map includes obstacle information and an obstacle-free area;

The network divides the clean environment map to generate a plurality of cleaning sub-areas;

Controlling, according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area, a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area, controlling the cleaning robot to clean the cleaning sub-area according to the cleaning path in the cleaning sub-area .

In one embodiment, the detecting the environment information of the cleaning robot to generate a clean environment map includes:

Generate a blank map when a cleaning command is heard;

Obtaining a current position of the cleaning robot and a robot orientation, mapping a current position of the cleaning robot to a set position in the blank map, and generating a two-dimensional map of the blank map by using the mapped set position as a coordinate origin Coordinate System;

Acquiring the environment information of the cleaning robot by the detecting sensor mounted on the cleaning robot, generating an obstacle feature at the corresponding position of the blank map according to the generated two-dimensional coordinate system and the environment information, and identifying none Obstacle area, get a clean environment map.

In one embodiment, the network divides the clean environment map to generate a plurality of cleaning sub-regions, including:

The clean environment map is divided into an orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column by the coordinate axis of the two-dimensional coordinate system, and each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-region.

Finding whether there is a linear characteristic obstacle satisfying the set condition in the clean environment map, and if so, rotating the two-dimensional coordinate system such that any coordinate axis is parallel or perpendicular to a long side of the linear characteristic obstacle;

The clean environment map is divided into an orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column by the coordinate axis of the rotated two-dimensional coordinate system, and each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-region.

In one embodiment, the generating a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area includes:

Determining a walkable area of each of the cleaning sub-areas according to obstacle information divided into each of the cleaning sub-areas;

A cleaning path is generated within the determined walkable area, wherein the cleaning path includes a straight road section and a curved road section.

In one embodiment, the generating a cleaning path within the determined walkable area comprises:

Generating a plurality of cleaning paths to be selected in the walkable area;

Calculating the number of bends and the straight walking length of each of the cleaning paths to be selected;

A suitable cleaning path is selected according to the number of bends and/or the length of the straight walk.

In one embodiment, the cleaning path to be selected is a cleaning path in which the straight road section is parallel to an edge line of the cleaning sub-area, a cleaning path of the straight road section perpendicular to the edge line of the cleaning sub-area, and a parallel road section parallel. Any one of the cleaning paths of the long side of the linear characteristic obstacle in the cleaning sub-area.

A cleaning robot characterized by comprising:

a sensor, configured to detect environment information of the cleaning robot, and send the environmental information to the controller;

a controller, connected to the sensor, configured to receive environmental information detected by the sensor, generate a clean environment map according to the environmental information, where the clean environment map includes obstacle information and an obstacle-free area; and the network divides the cleaning An environment map, generating a plurality of cleaning sub-areas; generating a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area, and controlling the execution component according to the cleaning path;

An execution assembly is coupled to the controller for cleaning the cleaning sub-zones one by one in accordance with a cleaning path within the cleaning sub-area under control of the controller.

In one embodiment, the sensor is further configured to acquire a current position of the cleaning robot and a robot orientation;

The controller is further configured to: when the cleaning instruction is monitored, generate a blank map; receive current location information of the cleaning robot acquired by the sensor and a robot orientation, and map the current location to the setting in the blank map Positioning, generating a two-dimensional coordinate system of the blank map with the set position of the mapping as a coordinate origin; according to the generated two-dimensional coordinate system and environmental information detected by the sensor, corresponding to the blank map The location generates obstacle features and identifies obstacle-free areas to obtain a clean environment map.

In an embodiment, the controller is further configured to divide the clean environment map by using an orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column in an coordinate axis of the two-dimensional coordinate system, where each grid is divided into Clean the sub-area.

In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to: search for a linear feature obstacle that meets the set condition in the clean environment map, and if so, rotate the two-dimensional coordinate system to make any coordinate axis and the The long side of the linear characteristic obstacle is parallel or perpendicular; the clean environment map is divided by the orientation grid of the grid line and the grid column with the coordinate axis of the rotated two-dimensional coordinate system, and each grid is divided into Clean the sub-area.

In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to determine a walkable area of each of the cleaning sub-areas according to obstacle information divided into each of the cleaning sub-areas; A cleaning path is generated within the area, wherein the cleaning path includes a straight road section and a curved road section.

In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to generate a plurality of cleaning paths to be selected in the walkable area; calculate a number of times of bending and a straight walking length of each of the cleaning paths to be selected; The number of bends and/or the length of the straight walk selects a suitable cleaning path.

The cleaning robot control method and the cleaning robot detect the cleaning environment information of the robot through a sensor mounted on the cleaning robot body, and generate a clean environment map based on the detected cleaning environment information, the obstacle information and the obstacle-free object are displayed in the map. Area; then globally control the cleaning through the generated clean environment map, first divide the clean environment map into networks, divide the clean environment into multiple cleaning sub-areas, generate a cleaning path for each cleaning sub-area, and control the robot Each cleaning sub-area is cleaned one by one according to the generated cleaning path, effectively avoiding sweeping and re-sweeping, achieving greater coverage and more efficient cleaning in a clean environment.

DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the internal components of a cleaning robot in one embodiment;

2 is a flow chart of a cleaning robot control method in one embodiment;

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of a clean environment map (with a partial cleaning path) generated in one embodiment;

4 is a schematic diagram of meshing a clean environment map in one embodiment;

Figure 5 is a solid view cleaning diagram generated by the cleaning robot performing cleaning;

6 is a flow chart of a cleaning robot control method in another embodiment;

7 is a schematic diagram of generating a clean environment map according to a blank map in one embodiment;

8(a) to 8(d) are diagrams showing a method of determining a map coordinate system in one embodiment and a schematic diagram involved in meshing according to a map coordinate system;

Figure 9 is a flow chart involved in generating a cleaning path in a cleaning sub-area in one embodiment;

Figures 10(a)-10(c) are schematic illustrations of cleaning paths within a cleaning sub-area in one embodiment.

Detailed ways

The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a cleaning robot is provided that includes the following three main components: a sensor 102, a controller 104, and an execution component 106. The sensor 102 includes a detection sensor and a positioning sensor mounted on the cleaning robot body, and the sensor is used to detect the position information of the cleaning robot in which the external environment information of the cleaning robot is located, which may be a laser radar, a depth camera, an infrared ranging, an ultrasonic IMU. Single or multiple sensors such as (Inertial Measurement Unit), odometer, etc. The positioning sensor is used to obtain the real-time position of the cleaning robot. The controller 104 includes a chip (processor) and a control circuit, mainly generates a clean environment map by receiving the acquired external environment information and positioning information of the sensor, and combines the positioning algorithm to generate a clean environment map, and performs mesh processing on the generated clean environment map and generates each A clean path for the grid. The execution assembly 106 includes a walking assembly and a cleaning assembly for receiving control commands from the controller, walking in accordance with a pre-planned path, and performing a cleaning operation.

As shown in FIG. 2, in an embodiment, a cleaning robot control method is provided, and the method specifically includes the following steps:

Step S202: Detecting environmental information of the cleaning robot, and generating a clean environment map, where the clean environment map includes obstacle information and an obstacle-free area.

The user turns on the robot and prepares the robot for initial setup and function selection. The sensor is activated after the cleaning robot detects the “on cleaning” command triggered by the user. The sensor detects the external environment in which the robot is located and sends the detected information to the controller of the robot, which generates a clean environment map based on the detected external environmental information.

In one embodiment, the detection sensor can be a single or multiple sensor combinations such as lidar, depth camera, infrared ranging, ultrasound, and the like. Taking Lidar as an example, the principle of detecting obstacles in the environment is: emitting a laser beam to the environment, and analyzing the received reflected beam to obtain whether there are obstacles around, the distance from the obstacle and the contour information of the obstacle. Obstacles include walls and various equipment, furniture, decorations, etc. that are distributed in space.

The obstacle information includes positioning information of the obstacle relative to the robot body and obstacle contour information (including shape and size). The barrier-free area refers to the area beyond the area occupied by the obstacle that the sensor can detect.

The controller of the cleaning robot will perform obstacle feature composition based on the obstacle information detected by the sensor, and perform area identification on the determined barrier-free area to generate a clean environment map. As shown in the cleaning environment diagram shown in Fig. 3, the light gray area marked with 1 in the figure is an unobstructed area, and the thick lines marked with 2 in the figure and the dot/strip portions embedded in the barrier-free area are obstacles.

Step S204: The network divides the clean environment map to generate a plurality of cleaning sub-areas.

The vertical environment grid map is used to divide the clean environment map into a plurality of rectangular regions that are closely arranged, each of which is a cleaning sub-region.

The number of divided cleaning areas may be based on the size of the clean environment map, and the distribution of the obstacles may be equal to the grid or unequal grid according to the set rules. In this embodiment, no specific requirements are imposed on the network division, as long as there is no grid that is too large or too small.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an iso-mesh division. In the figure, the clean environment map is divided into 20 cleaning sub-areas, and the obstacle features and the barrier-free areas in each cleaning sub-area are not the same. The white area in the figure is the undetected area, and the cleaning robot can perform secondary detection on the undetected area to continuously supplement the clean environment map.

Step S206: generating a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area, and controlling the cleaning robot to clean one by one according to the cleaning path in the cleaning sub-area.

After the cleaning sub-area is divided, the robot generates a corresponding cleaning path in the cleaning sub-area according to the obstacle feature, the barrier-free area, and the undetected area of each of the divided cleaning sub-areas. The path direction of the cleaning path is determined according to the morphological characteristics and distribution of the obstacle and the generated path covers the barrier-free area as completely as possible. For the cleaning sub-area where the undetected area exists, before the robot cleans the area, the undetected area is fully detected to supplement the clean environment map, and then the clean sub-area is path-planned according to the supplemented clean environment map.

Figure 5 is a clean and realistic view of the cleaning robot under the guidance of the path of the clean environment map planning. It can be seen from the figure that the cleaning robot can make the cleaning path more regular according to the cleaning of the cleaning environment.

In this embodiment, the cleaning is globally controlled by the generated clean environment map, the network of the clean environment map is first divided, the clean environment is divided into a plurality of cleaning sub-areas, and the cleaning path of each cleaning sub-area is generated, and The control robot cleans each cleaning sub-area in an orderly manner according to the generated cleaning path, effectively avoiding the sweeping and re-sweeping, achieving greater coverage and more efficient cleaning in a clean environment.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, in one embodiment, a cleaning robot control method is provided, which specifically includes the following steps:

Step S302: When a cleaning instruction is detected, a blank map is generated.

The user can initiate a cleaning command to the cleaning robot by triggering a "Start" button on the cleaning robot body, and can also send a cleaning command to the cleaning robot via the remote control device.

After receiving the cleaning instruction, the cleaning robot generates a blank map, and the generated blank map may be a preset fixed size, or may generate a blank map of the user configuration/selection size according to the user's needs. For example, a blank map with various specifications is pre-stored in the cleaning robot, such as a square map of a×a, a rectangular map of a×b, where a and b can be configured with various values, and the maximum clean space corresponding to different blank maps can also be marked. The user selects a blank map of the corresponding specification according to the size of the space to be cleaned.

Step S304: Acquire the current position of the cleaning robot and the orientation of the robot, map the current position of the cleaning robot to the set position in the blank map, and generate a two-dimensional coordinate system of the blank map with the mapped set position as the coordinate origin.

Specifically, the real-time position information of the robot and the orientation of the robot can be acquired by the positioning sensor, wherein the robot orientation refers to the direction facing the front of the robot, and when the robot is in the forward mode, the robot orientation is the traveling direction of the robot.

The current position of the robot (that is, the initial position where the robot is located when cleaning is started) is mapped to the generated blank map, and the mapping position of the initial position in the blank map can be arbitrarily set. The position of the obstacle detected by the cleaning robot is continuously added to the corresponding position of the blank map based on the current position of the robot.

In one embodiment, the current location of the acquired robot may be mapped to a central location of the blank map. In order to enable the final generated clean environment map with obstacle information and obstacle-free area to be spread out from the center of the blank map, it is best for the user to place the cleaning robot in the center of the clean environment before cleaning begins.

According to the obtained current position information of the cleaning robot and the two-dimensional coordinate system of the robot toward the generated map, the origin of the generated two-dimensional coordinate system is the initial mapping position of the cleaning robot on the blank map (such as the center position of the blank map), and the coordinates One of the axes of the system (such as the x-axis) is parallel to the orientation of the robot (the orientation of the coordinate axis can be aligned with the orientation of the robot, or the orientation of the robot can be opposite) or perpendicular.

In one embodiment, the current position information of the robot and the orientation of the robot are marked in a blank map and the generated two-dimensional coordinate system is displayed.

Step S306: Acquire the environment information of the cleaning robot through the detecting sensor installed on the cleaning robot, generate an obstacle feature and identify the obstacle-free area in the corresponding position of the blank map according to the generated two-dimensional coordinate system and the environmental information, and obtain Clean the environment map.

The detecting sensor mounted on the cleaning robot body can detect the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the environment where the robot is located, wherein the position information of the obstacle in the detected obstacle information is an obstacle relative to the robot body (also Is the relative position between the origin of the generated coordinate system). Based on the position of the determined coordinate system origin in the blank map, the position of the detected obstacle and the barrier-free area in the blank map can be determined. The detected obstacles are added at corresponding positions of the blank map, and the obstacle-free areas are identified, wherein the obstacles added to the blank map can clearly show the characteristics of the detected obstacles, including morphological features and dimensional features. 7 is a clean environment map generated by the method according to the present embodiment, and the unfilled white area of FIG. 7 is an undetected area.

In this embodiment, a map coordinate system is established according to the initial position of the robot, and the detected clean environment information is added to the map according to the map coordinate system to construct a complete clean environment map corresponding to the actual clean environment.

Step S308: Divide the clean environment map by the orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column in the coordinate axis of the two-dimensional coordinate system, and each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-region.

The orientation of the grid is determined based on the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional coordinate system generated from the initial position of the robot, and the clean environment map is equally meshed, and each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-region. As shown in Figure 8(a) and Figure 8(b).

In another embodiment, step S308 may be: searching for a linear feature obstacle satisfying the set condition in the clean environment map, and if so, rotating the two-dimensional coordinate system to make any coordinate axis and the long side of the linear feature obstacle Parallel or vertical; the clean environment map is divided into the orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column by the coordinate axis of the rotated two-dimensional coordinate system, and each grid divided is a cleaning sub-region.

A linear feature obstacle is an obstacle in which the ratio of the long side of the obstacle to the length or width of the clean environment map is greater than a set threshold. When there are multiple linear feature obstacles in the clean environment map that satisfy the requirements, the linear feature obstacle with the largest size is selected to adjust the coordinate axis direction of the two-dimensional coordinate system. In Fig. 8(a), the obstacle of the linear feature is a coordinate system adjustment of four obstacles located at the edge, preferably the upper edge or the left edge.

The specific method for adjusting the two-dimensional coordinate system based on the linear characteristic obstacle is to adjust one of the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional coordinate system to be parallel to the long side of the linear characteristic obstacle. Specifically, the angle between the obstacle of the straight line feature and the two-dimensional coordinate system is calculated; the angle corresponding to the angle calculated by rotating the two-dimensional coordinate system is such that one of the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional coordinate system and the obstacle of the straight line feature The long sides are parallel. Fig. 8(c) is a schematic diagram of a two-dimensional coordinate system after rotation. The mesh divided according to the rotated coordinate system is shown in Fig. 8(d). It is easy to understand that one of the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional coordinate system is parallel to the long side of the linear feature obstacle, and the other coordinate axis will be perpendicular to the long side of the linear feature obstacle. When the coordinate system is adjusted, you can arbitrarily select one coordinate axis to adjust it to be parallel or perpendicular to the long side of the linear feature obstacle.

In one embodiment, the clean environment map can also be rotated according to the found linear feature obstacles, the two-dimensional coordinate system is unchanged, and the grid is still divided by the original two-dimensional coordinate system, and the rotation map is used to perform the network. The division of the grid is the same as that of the rotating coordinate system, and the divided grid is still as shown in Fig. 8(d).

The above-mentioned linear characteristic obstacle may be a wall body, and the coordinate system is adjusted according to the linear characteristic obstacle, thereby adjusting the division of the mesh, so that the boundary of the divided mesh is parallel or perpendicular to the wall, and the path planning for the cleaning sub-area is further Rule to avoid excessive skew in the cleaning sub-area.

In another embodiment, after the meshing of the clean environment map according to the coordinate system in step S308, the method further includes adjusting the divided mesh. For example, if the grid is offset as a whole, the wall of a connected area (such as a room) is near an edge of the rectangular area. This prevents the rectangular area from being separated by the wall and needs to be cleaned on the other side of the wall. Improve cleaning efficiency.

Step S310: generating a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area, and controlling the cleaning robot to clean one by one according to the cleaning path in the cleaning sub-area.

In this embodiment, the mesh division which is more optimized for the clean environment map is realized according to the obstacle feature, which lays a solid foundation for the subsequent generation of the optimal path of each cleaning sub-region.

In an embodiment, the clean environment map that has been constructed to match the detected environment information may be found in the memory of the controller according to the environment information detected by the robot, and if so, the pre-stored cleaning is retrieved. Environmental map.

If the pre-stored clean environment map has a pre-divided grid and a clean path for each cleaning sub-area, the clean environment map is not meshed and routed, and the data is cleaned according to the existing data.

In one embodiment, the cleaning robot can be connected to the cloud server, and the cloud server stores a clean environment map (which can include grid data and cleaning path data) generated by the cleaning robot history, and the cleaning robot can obtain its storage from the cloud server. Clean the environment map and display, the user can select the displayed clean environment map and select the clean environment map on which the current cleaning depends.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, step S206: the step of generating a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area includes:

Step S402: Determine the walkable area in each of the cleaning sub-areas based on the obstacle information divided into each of the cleaning sub-areas.

The walkable area is an area outside the area occupied by the obstacle in the cleaning sub-area. When there is no undetected area in the cleaning sub-area, the walkable area is an unobstructed area. When the cleaning sub-area contains an undetected area, the walkable area is an unobstructed area determined after the second detection.

In one embodiment, the unobstructed area within the cleaning sub-area is located for a narrow area having an area less than a set threshold, and if so, the unobstructed area of the narrowed area is a walkable area.

Step S404: generating a cleaning path in the determined walkable area, wherein the cleaning path includes a straight road section and a curved road section.

The cleaning path is planned in the determined walkable area. In this embodiment, the cleaning path including the straight road section and the curved road section is referred to as a bow-shaped cleaning path. That is, the bow-shaped cleaning path includes a straight road section and a curved road section.

In one embodiment, the width of the bend section is made no larger than the cleaning width of the cleaner. That is, the areas cleaned by adjacent straight sections are closely adjacent or partially coincident to provide full coverage cleaning of the walkable area.

In one embodiment, the straight section of the generated arcuate cleaning path may be a straight section in any direction, which is reversed when encountering the edge line of the walkable area when traveling straight; or when encountering straight When the edge line of the walking area is passed, the edge line is bypassed and then enters the adjacent walkable area to continue straight until there is no walkable area in the straight direction, and the bend is reversed.

After the cleaning sub-area is meshed, it will form a narrow rectangular area in a connected area (such as a room), or other skewed areas due to obstacle characteristics. If you clean with a bow-shaped path in the same direction, there will be a number of bow-shaped turns, and the straight portion of the bow will be shorter, resulting in less cleaning efficiency. In this embodiment, the direction of the straight road section of the bow-shaped cleaning path is flexibly adjusted in such a manner that the planned bow-shaped path cleans each cleaning sub-area more efficiently, specifically: generating multiple pieces to be selected in the walkable area a cleaning path, wherein the cleaning path to be selected includes a straight road section and a bending road section; calculating a number of bending times and a straight walking length of each of the cleaning paths to be selected; and selecting an appropriate number of bending times and/or the straight walking length Cleaning path.

In one embodiment, the appropriate cleaning path selected may be the cleaning path with the least number of bending times, the cleaning path with the longest walking length, and the cleaning path with the least number of bending times and the longest straight walking length. .

Specifically, a plurality of bow-shaped cleaning paths are pre-generated in the cleaning sub-area, that is, a plurality of straight-line road segments are specified, and a corresponding bow-shaped cleaning path is generated according to the direction of each of the specified straight road segments. The total length of the straight walking and the number of bendings of each of the bow-shaped cleaning paths generated by the statistics are selected, and the cleaning path with the least number of bending times and the largest total length of the straight running is selected as the final planned path of the corresponding cleaning sub-area.

In one embodiment, the direction of the specified straight road segment may be parallel or perpendicular to the edge line of the cleaning sub-area, as shown in Figures 10(a) and 10(b), where the specified edge line is a vertical grid line. . It can also be parallel to the long side of the straight feature obstacle in the cleaning sub-area, as shown in Figure 10(c).

In this embodiment, by selecting a plurality of cleaning paths to be selected in advance, and evaluating the cleaning paths based on the number of bending times and the straight walking length, the optimal cleaning path is obtained, and the cleaning is performed according to the optimal cleaning path. It can make cleaning more efficient.

In one embodiment, a cleaning robot is provided that includes:

A sensor that detects environmental information about the cleaning robot and sends environmental information to the controller.

The controller is connected to the sensor, and is configured to receive environmental information detected by the sensor, generate a clean environment map according to the environmental information, and include an obstacle information and an obstacle-free area in the clean environment map; the network divides the clean environment map to generate a plurality of cleaners. The area; the cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area is generated according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area, and the execution component is controlled according to the cleaning path.

The actuator is connected to the controller for cleaning the cleaning sub-zones one by one according to the cleaning path in the cleaning sub-area under the control of the controller.

The controller is further configured to generate a blank map when the cleaning instruction is monitored; receive the current position information of the cleaning robot acquired by the sensor and the orientation of the robot, map the current position to the set position in the blank map, and use the mapped set position as the coordinate The origin generates a two-dimensional coordinate system of the blank map; according to the generated two-dimensional coordinate system and the environmental information detected by the sensor, the obstacle feature is generated at the corresponding position of the blank map and the obstacle-free area is identified, and a clean environment map is obtained.

In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to divide the clean environment map by the orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column in the coordinate axis of the two-dimensional coordinate system, and each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-region.

In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to find whether there is a linear characteristic obstacle satisfying the set condition in the clean environment map, and if so, rotating the two-dimensional coordinate system to make any coordinate axis parallel to the long side of the linear characteristic obstacle or Vertical; divides the clean environment map by the orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column with the coordinate axis of the rotated two-dimensional coordinate system, and each grid divided is a cleaning sub-region.

In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to determine a walkable area of each of the cleaning sub-areas according to the obstacle information divided into each of the cleaning sub-areas; generate a cleaning path in the determined walkable area, wherein the cleaning The path includes a straight road segment and a curved road segment.

In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to generate a plurality of cleaning paths to be selected in the walkable area; calculate a number of bending times and a straight walking length of each of the cleaning paths to be selected; and select a plurality of cleaning paths to be selected The cleaning path with the least number of bends and/or the longest straight walk length is selected as the clean path corresponding to the walkable area.

In one embodiment, the cleaning path to be selected is a cleaning path in which the straight road section is parallel to a certain edge line of the cleaning sub-area, a cleaning path of the straight road section perpendicular to the edge line of the cleaning sub-area, and a straight road section parallel to the cleaning section. A linear feature in the area is any one of the clean paths of the long side of the obstacle.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that all or part of the process for implementing the above-described embodiments may be stored in the memory of the robot controller in the form of a computer program that implements control of the robot by executing a computer program in the memory.

The technical features of the above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. For the sake of brevity of description, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, It is considered to be the range described in this specification.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that a number of variations and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

A cleaning robot control method, the method comprising:

Detecting environment information of the cleaning robot to generate a clean environment map, the clean environment map includes obstacle information and an obstacle-free area;

The network divides the clean environment map to generate a plurality of cleaning sub-areas;

Controlling, according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area, a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area, controlling the cleaning robot to clean the cleaning sub-area according to the cleaning path in the cleaning sub-area .
The method according to claim 1, wherein the detecting the environment information of the cleaning robot to generate a clean environment map comprises:

Generate a blank map;

Obtaining a current position of the cleaning robot and a robot orientation, mapping a current position of the cleaning robot to a set position in the blank map, and generating a two-dimensional map of the blank map by using the mapped set position as a coordinate origin Coordinate System;

Acquiring the environment information of the cleaning robot by the detecting sensor mounted on the cleaning robot, generating an obstacle feature at the corresponding position of the blank map according to the generated two-dimensional coordinate system and the environment information, and identifying none Obstacle area, get a clean environment map.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the network divides the clean environment map to generate a plurality of cleaning sub-regions, including:

The clean environment map is divided into an orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column by the coordinate axis of the two-dimensional coordinate system, and each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-region.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the network divides the clean environment map to generate a plurality of cleaning sub-regions, including:

Finding whether there is a linear characteristic obstacle satisfying the set condition in the clean environment map, and if so, rotating the two-dimensional coordinate system such that any coordinate axis is parallel or perpendicular to a long side of the linear characteristic obstacle;

The clean environment map is divided into an orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column by the coordinate axis of the rotated two-dimensional coordinate system, and each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-region.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area comprises:

Determining a walkable area of each of the cleaning sub-areas according to obstacle information divided into each of the cleaning sub-areas;

A cleaning path is generated within the determined walkable area, wherein the cleaning path includes a straight road section and a curved road section.
The method of claim 5, wherein the generating a cleaning path within the determined walkable area comprises:

Generating a plurality of cleaning paths to be selected in the walkable area;

Calculating the number of bends and the straight walking length of each of the cleaning paths to be selected;

A suitable cleaning path is selected according to the number of bends and/or the length of the straight walk.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning path to be selected is a cleaning path in which the straight road segment is parallel to an edge line of the cleaning sub-region, and the straight road segment is perpendicular to the edge line of the cleaning sub-region in which the cleaning sub-region is located. The cleaning path and the straight path are parallel to any one of the cleaning paths of the long side of the linear feature obstacle in the cleaning sub-area.
A cleaning robot characterized by comprising:

a sensor, configured to detect environment information of the cleaning robot, and send the environmental information to the controller;

a controller, connected to the sensor, configured to receive environmental information detected by the sensor, generate a clean environment map according to the environmental information, where the clean environment map includes obstacle information and an obstacle-free area; and the network divides the cleaning An environment map, generating a plurality of cleaning sub-areas; generating a cleaning path in the corresponding cleaning sub-area according to the obstacle information and the obstacle-free area in the cleaning sub-area, and controlling the execution component according to the cleaning path;

An execution assembly is coupled to the controller for cleaning the cleaning sub-zones one by one in accordance with a cleaning path within the cleaning sub-area under control of the controller.
The cleaning robot according to claim 8, wherein the sensor is further configured to acquire a current position of the cleaning robot and a robot orientation;

The controller is further configured to generate a blank map, receive current location information of the cleaning robot acquired by the sensor, and a robot orientation, and map the current location to a set location in the blank map to map the location Generating a two-dimensional coordinate system of the blank map by using the set position as a coordinate origin; generating an obstacle feature and identifying the corresponding position of the blank map according to the generated two-dimensional coordinate system and environmental information detected by the sensor Accessible areas, get a clean environment map.
The cleaning robot according to claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to divide the clean environment map by an orientation grid of a grid row and a grid column with a coordinate axis of the two-dimensional coordinate system. , each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-area.
The cleaning robot according to claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to search for a linear characteristic obstacle that satisfies a set condition in the clean environment map, and if so, rotate the two-dimensional coordinate system Having any coordinate axis parallel or perpendicular to the long side of the linear feature obstacle; dividing the clean environment map by the orientation grid of the grid row and the grid column with the coordinate axis of the rotated two-dimensional coordinate system , each of the divided grids is a cleaning sub-area.
The cleaning robot according to claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a walkable area of each of the cleaning sub-areas according to obstacle information divided into each of the cleaning sub-areas Generating a cleaning path within the determined walkable area, wherein the cleaning path comprises a straight road segment and a curved road segment.
The cleaning robot according to claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to generate a plurality of cleaning paths to be selected in the walkable area; calculate a fold of each of the cleaning paths to be selected The number of bends and the length of the straight walk; select the appropriate cleaning path based on the number of bends and/or the length of the straight walk.
The cleaning controller according to claim 13, wherein the cleaning path to be selected is a cleaning path in which a straight road section is parallel to an edge line of a cleaning sub-area, and a straight road section is perpendicular to the cleaning sub-area. The cleaning path of the edge line and the straight path are parallel to any one of the cleaning paths of the long side of the linear feature obstacle in the cleaning sub-area.