WO2022041236A1 - Traveling control method and path planning method for mobile robot, and mobile robot - Google Patents

Abstract

A traveling control method and a path planning method for a mobile robot, and the mobile robot. The method comprises: when the mobile robot moves to a first turning boundary in a first traveling direction in an operation area, controlling the mobile robot to turn by a first turning step length towards a first advancing direction so as to adjust the mobile robot to move in a second traveling direction (S101), the first traveling direction is opposite to the second traveling direction; and when the mobile robot moves to a second turning boundary in the second traveling direction, controlling the mobile robot to turn by a second turning step length towards a second advancing direction so as to adjust the mobile robot to move in the first traveling direction again (S102), such that the mobile robot tends to move from one side of the operation area to the other side, wherein the first turning step length is not equal to the second turning step length. Cleaning efficiency can be improved and full coverage for an area can be achieved.

Description

Travel control method, path planning method and mobile robot of mobile robot technical field

The present application relates to the field of computer data processing, and in particular to a travel control method for a mobile robot, a travel control system for a mobile robot, a path planning method for a mobile robot, a travel control device for a mobile robot, a mobile robot, and a computer-readable storage medium .

Background technique

Mobile robots are mechanical devices that perform work automatically. It can accept human commands, run pre-set programs, or act according to principles and programs formulated with artificial intelligence technology. Such mobile robots can be used indoors or outdoors, in industry or at home, and can be used to replace security patrols, replace people to clean floors, and can also be used for family companionship, auxiliary offices, and more.

Taking a cleaning robot in a home environment as an example, due to the small body of the cleaning robot, it can turn and rotate in place. Therefore, the cleaning strategies formulated for the cleaning robot often rely on the cleaning robot to turn 180 degrees in place. However, this situation cannot be applied to commercial robots that need to perform tasks in commercial scenarios, industrial scenarios, and public places, such as commercial cleaning robots. Compared with small robots such as household sweeping robots, commercial robots are often larger in size and heavier in weight. To achieve the cleaning operation from one side of the cleaning area to the other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the shortcomings of the above-mentioned related technologies, the purpose of the present application is to provide a traveling control method of a mobile robot, a traveling control system of a mobile robot, a path planning method of a mobile robot, a traveling control device of a mobile robot, a mobile robot, and a computer A readable storage medium is used to overcome the technical problem in the above-mentioned related art that it is difficult for a commercial cleaning robot to realize an effective traversal cleaning operation in an automatic cleaning process.

In order to achieve the above object and other related objects, a first aspect disclosed in the present application provides a travel control method for a mobile robot, comprising the following steps: when the mobile robot moves to a first turning limit along a first travel direction in an operation area , control the mobile robot to turn in the first advancing direction with the first turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the second traveling direction; the first traveling direction is opposite to the second traveling direction; when moving When the robot moves to the second turning limit along the second traveling direction, the mobile robot is controlled to turn toward the second advancing direction with the second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the first traveling direction again; A propulsion direction is opposite to the direction of the second propulsion direction; the propulsion direction of the mobile robot is perpendicular to the travel direction; wherein the first turning step is greater than the second turning step.

In some implementations of the first aspect of the present application, when the mobile robot moves to a first turning limit along a first travel direction in an operation area, the mobile robot is controlled to move toward a first advancing direction with a first turning step size Turning is performed to adjust the mobile robot to move along the second travel direction; the first travel direction is opposite to the direction of the second travel direction; when the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second travel direction, control The mobile robot turns toward the second advancing direction with the second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the first traveling direction again; so that the mobile robot tends to move from one side of the operation area to the other side ; wherein the first turning step is not equal to the second turning step.

A second aspect disclosed in the present application provides a travel control system for a mobile robot, including: a first control module configured to control the mobile robot when the mobile robot moves to a first turning limit along a first travel direction in an operation area. The mobile robot turns towards the first propulsion direction with the first turning step, so as to adjust the movement of the mobile robot along the second travel direction; the first travel direction is opposite to the direction of the second travel direction; the second control module, using when the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second travel direction, controlling the mobile robot to turn toward the second advancing direction with the second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the first travel direction again; So that the mobile robot tends to move from one side of the operation area to the other side; wherein, the first turning step is not equal to the second turning step.

A third aspect disclosed in the present application provides a path planning method for a mobile robot, including: setting a plurality of travel paths with intervals throughout an operation area; wherein, two ends of each travel path are located at different turning boundaries; Two travel paths with opposite directions of travel are set up with end-to-end turning paths; wherein, the turning step length corresponding to the turning paths is greater than the unit step length of the mobile robot; wherein, the set paths make the mobile robot present in the execution time. The tendency to move from one side of the operating area to the other.

A fourth aspect disclosed in the present application provides a path planning method for a mobile robot, including: determining a starting position of the mobile robot in an operation area; determining the movement according to an environmental map and/or limiting factors of the operation area path parameters for the robot to move in the operation area according to a movement pattern; according to the starting position and the path parameters, determine the path for the mobile robot to traverse the operation area; the path includes: A plurality of travel paths with intervals in the operating area, and setting end-to-end turning paths according to two travel paths with opposite travel directions therein; wherein, the step of the mobile robot moving according to the moving mode includes: when the mobile robot moves When moving to the first turning limit along the first travel direction in an operation area, control the mobile robot to turn toward the first propulsion direction with the first turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the second travel direction; the The first traveling direction is opposite to the direction of the second traveling direction; when the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second traveling direction, the mobile robot is controlled to proceed in the second advancing direction with the second turning step length Turning to adjust the mobile robot to move along the first travel direction again; to make the mobile robot tend to move from one side of the operating area to the other side; the first turning step is not equal to the second turning step long.

A fifth aspect disclosed in the present application provides a traveling control device for a mobile robot, including: one or more communicators for communicating with the outside; one or more memories for storing at least one computer program; one or more The processor, coupled to the one or more memories and the communicator, is used for running the computer program to execute the method for controlling the movement of the mobile robot according to any one of the first aspects.

A sixth aspect disclosed in the present application provides a mobile robot, comprising: a driving device for driving the mobile robot to move; a storage device for storing at least one program; a control device, connected with the driving device and the storage device, and used for to call and execute the at least one program to coordinate the drive device and the storage device to execute and implement the traveling control method of the mobile robot as described in the first aspect, or execute and realize the mobile robot as described in the third aspect. A path planning method, or executing and implementing the path planning method for a mobile robot as described in the fourth aspect.

A seventh aspect disclosed in the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores at least one program, and the program is executed when executed by a processor and implements the traveling control method for a mobile robot according to the first aspect , or execute and realize the path planning method for a mobile robot as described in the third aspect, or execute and realize the path planning method for a mobile robot as described in the fourth aspect.

To sum up, the traveling control method of a mobile robot, the traveling control system of the mobile robot, the path planning method of the mobile robot, the traveling control device of the mobile robot, the mobile robot, and the computer-readable storage medium provided by the present application, by controlling the movement At the turning limit, the robot performs the turning action along the propulsion direction and with different turning step lengths, so that the overall movement trajectory is in a circuitous trend, so that the mobile robot can fully clean the operation area and avoid missed sweeps.

Other aspects and advantages of the present application can be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. Only exemplary embodiments of the present application are shown and described in the following detailed description. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the content of this application enables those skilled in the art to make changes to the specific embodiments disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention to which this application relates. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions in the specification of the present application are only exemplary and not restrictive.

Description of drawings

The invention to which this application relates is set forth with particularity characteristic of the appended claims. The features and advantages of the inventions involved in this application can be better understood by reference to the exemplary embodiments described in detail hereinafter and the accompanying drawings. A brief description of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a commercial cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

2A-2D are schematic diagrams showing the operation area of the present application in one embodiment.

2E-2F are schematic diagrams showing the traveling directions of the mobile robot of the present application at different starting positions.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a traveling control method of a mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

4A-4B are schematic diagrams showing the travel path of the mobile robot of the present application in an embodiment.

5A-5A' are schematic diagrams showing the movement path of the mobile robot of the present application in an embodiment.

Figures 5B-5B' show schematic diagrams of the movement path of the mobile robot of the present application in one embodiment.

FIG. 5C shows a schematic diagram of a cleaning area when the mobile robot of the present application moves in an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the mobile robot of the present application performing a 180-degree turning action.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of an approximate wedge-shaped region in an embodiment of the present application.

8A-8B are schematic diagrams showing the starting position of the next operation area of the present application in an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the composition of modules in an embodiment of the traveling control system of the mobile robot of the present application.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the composition of modules in an embodiment of the traveling control device of the mobile robot of the present application.

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the trajectory of the mobile robot moving along the travel path and the turning path of the present application in an embodiment.

13A-13B are schematic diagrams showing the propulsion direction of the mobile robot of the present application in an embodiment.

14A-14B are schematic diagrams showing the effective working width of the mobile robot of the present application in an embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic flowchart of a path planning method for a mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 16 is a schematic flowchart of another embodiment of the path planning method for the mobile robot of the present application.

detailed description

The embodiments of the present application are described below by specific specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the contents disclosed in this specification.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which describe several embodiments of the present application. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and modular or unit compositional, electrical, as well as operational changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description should not be considered limiting, and the scope of embodiments of the present application is limited only by the claims of the issued patent. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the application.

Although in some instances the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe various elements, information or parameters, these elements or parameters should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element or parameter from another element or parameter. For example, a first turn limit could be referred to as a second turn limit, and similarly, a second turn limit could be referred to as a first turn limit without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments. The first turn limit and the second turn limit are both describing a turn limit, but unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, they are not the same turn limit. Depending on the context, for example, the word "if" as used herein can be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when". Similarly, for example, the first and second directions of travel, the first and second directions of advancement, the first and second control modules, and the like.

Also, as used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context dictates otherwise. It should be further understood that the terms "comprising", "comprising" indicate the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, kinds, and/or groups, but do not exclude one or more other features, steps, operations, The existence, appearance or addition of elements, assemblies, items, categories, and/or groups. The terms "or" and "and/or" as used herein are to be construed to be inclusive or to mean any one or any combination. Thus, "A, B or C" or "A, B and/or C" means "any of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B and C" . Exceptions to this definition arise only when combinations of elements, functions, steps, or operations are inherently mutually exclusive in some way.

Small robots such as household sweeping robots often use two-wheel differential drive to drive the body to move, thereby achieving flexible turning, but the disadvantage is that they cannot bear high loads. Different from small robots, in commercial, industrial and other application fields, mobile robots need to bear a certain load, so most of them use front wheel drive or steering wheel drive to drive the body to move, so it is difficult to achieve flexible turning. At the same time, mobile robots tend to be larger, and at least need to adapt to their own volume of turning space when turning, which makes a U-turn or a large interval between the two paths before and after turning. This interval may not work well for a mobile robot that relies on movement to perform certain work operations (eg, cleaning operations). Taking the mobile robot as a commercial cleaning robot as an example, there is a large distance between the two paths before and after its U-turn, which makes the commercial cleaning robot miss scanning.

Not only that, some mobile robots also have some operating components that need to perform work operations during the movement process, and their current structures are not suitable for mobile robots to make turning movements with a small turning radius.

Taking the mobile robot as a commercial cleaning robot as an example, please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a commercial cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the commercial cleaning robot 1 includes a drainage device (not shown), a cleaning device, and a water stain recovery device. During the process of using the driving device 12 (such as the driving wheel), the drainage device (such as the water tank and the connected water pipe, etc.) of the commercial cleaning robot discharges clean water or cleaning agent, and the cleaning device (such as the brush plate 10 and the driving motor (not shown) discharge clean water or detergent. shown) etc.) to clean the floor. The residual sewage after the cleaning device cleans the ground is recovered and processed by the water stain recovery device located on the rear side of the body (for example, the sewage on the ground is collected by the water blocking plate 11 in contact with the ground). For example, when the commercial cleaning robot 1 moves forward, the sewage is collected in the area formed by the water baffle 11 and the ground as it moves forward, and then the sewage on the ground is sucked into the sewage tank by the suction motor (not shown). .

It should be understood that the water baffle of the commercial cleaning robot needs one-way thrust to collect water stains on the ground, so that its water stain recovery device can perform the collection operation; if the turning movement is performed with a small turning radius, it is easy to cause the water baffle to be bounded by one side If the point is the rotation of the center of the circle, the water stains are likely to leak or escape from the boundary on the center side of the water baffle, which is not conducive to the operation of the commercial cleaning robot to perform water stain recovery during the movement. In addition, the water baffle 11 for collecting water stains on the ground will be bent when it rotates in situ, which seriously affects the recovery effect of water stains. It should be noted that the above commercial cleaning robot is only an example, and it can also be a mobile robot used in industrial manufacturing.

One way to solve the above-mentioned defects is that the mobile robot adopts a "back-shaped" movement strategy, that is, the mobile robot moves along a "back-shaped" path from the outside to the inside, so that the mobile robot can traverse the target area by moving. However, when moving to the central area of the target area by using the "back shape", there will still be problems encountered when turning with a small radius. For this reason, the corresponding operations are usually performed manually in the central area of the target area. This greatly reduces operational efficiency and wastes labor costs. If the target area is large, the mobile robot often travels a long distance along the "back-shaped" path, and the mobile robot will cause a large positioning error when the autonomous movement span is too large, which is more likely to cause missed scans. For the user, this mobile strategy also cannot enable the user to clearly and intuitively understand which areas have been cleaned and which areas have not been cleaned, and the user experience is poor.

In view of this, the present application provides a travel control method for a mobile robot, which makes it difficult for a mobile robot to turn with a small turning radius (for example, it is inconvenient to turn/turn in place due to factors such as body shape, shape design, or working principle). The commercial cleaning robot) can achieve a comprehensive, precise and omission-free cleaning of the area to be cleaned while avoiding turning in situ, which greatly improves the cleaning efficiency and avoids missed sweeps.

Wherein, the mobile robot can be used to perform ground cleaning tasks in indoor scenes or outdoor scenes, and the cleaning tasks include but are not limited to suction, sweeping, wiping, wiping, dry cleaning, wet cleaning, and spraying, etc. one or more. For example, the indoor scene includes, but is not limited to, shopping malls, airports, stations, underground parking lots, and office spaces. The outdoor scenes include but are not limited to industrial parks, university campuses, communities, open-air parking lots, scenic spots, lawns, and squares.

Exemplarily, the mobile robots include commercial cleaning robots, such as commercial sweepers, commercial floor scrubbers, commercial dust pushers, commercial sterilizers, and the like. However, it should be noted that the robots listed above are only examples. In actual scenarios, they can be other types of mobile robots, such as lawnmower robots in outdoor scenarios, cleaning robots in industrial robots, etc. limit. Taking the mobile robot being a lawn mowing robot as an example, correspondingly, the mobile robot can also perform operations such as cutting, suctioning, and the like to perform a lawn mowing task. In order to clearly illustrate the inventive concept of the present application, the following description will be given by taking the mobile robot as a commercial cleaning robot as an example, which will not be repeated hereafter.

For simplicity of description, the target area when the mobile robot performs the cleaning task is referred to as the area to be cleaned. Since the environment faced by the mobile robot is often complex and diverse, for the purpose of simplifying calculation and avoiding interference of irrelevant data, in some embodiments, the area to be cleaned may also be divided to form one or more operation areas. When the mobile robot performs the cleaning task of the current operating area, it can only plan the path based on various data (such as obstacle data, etc.) in the surrounding environment in the current operating area, without calculating all the data of the whole world (the entire area to be cleaned), The cleaning efficiency of the mobile robot can be improved. If the area to be cleaned includes multiple operation areas, the mobile robot can sequentially complete the cleaning task of each operation area.

In some embodiments, the operation area may be manually divided by an operator, for example, by dividing on a map of the area to be cleaned displayed by the electronic device, thereby forming one or more operation areas. In some embodiments, the operating area may also be divided by calculation by the processing device of the mobile robot.

It should be understood that the division of the area to be cleaned is only an example, rather than a limitation for the mobile robot to perform cleaning tasks. In some embodiments, the to-be-cleaned area may not be divided, and in this case, the to-be-cleaned area is an operation area. Wherein, the way of dividing the area to be cleaned is for the purpose of facilitating the processing or cleaning of the mobile robot.

It should be noted that the to-be-cleaned area corresponds to an example when the mobile robot performs a cleaning operation for a commercial cleaning robot, and the to-be-executed area for other operations to be performed by the mobile robot may be equal to the to-be-cleaned area; for example, the to-be-cleaned area The cleaning area corresponds to a target area when the mobile robot performs a mowing operation for the lawn mowing robot, and so on.

In some embodiments, the operating area is determined based on an environmental map of the area to be cleaned and/or constraints within the area to be cleaned. Please refer to FIGS. 2A-2D , which are schematic diagrams of an embodiment of the operation area of the present application, respectively. For example, the operation area may be determined according to the boundary, shape, or range of the area reflected by the environmental map of the area to be cleaned. Wherein, the boundary may be a physical boundary, such as a side wall of a space with a ground surface (such as a wall, etc.). The boundary can also be a non-physical boundary, for example, a virtual wall that prohibits the mobile robot from entering/exiting, which is set by detecting user operations in the operation interface displaying the environment map; or during cleaning, to prevent movement. The robot touches the garbage collection device/charging pile, etc., and sets up a virtual wall that prohibits the mobile robot from entering.

As shown in FIG. 2A , it is taken as an example that the mobile robot determines the operation area according to the shape of the area to be cleaned. The mobile robot determines to use the entire to-be-cleaned area A as the operation area A and performs cleaning according to the pre-stored environmental map and/or the detected environmental data in the to-be-cleaned area A, so as to plan the entire area that can improve the cleaning efficiency. , wherein the environment data is at least one of the following: image data, obstacle data, or relative position relationship data, etc. The image data is, for example, image data obtained by the mobile robot detecting a certain position in the area to be cleaned, including but not limited to one or more of two-dimensional image data and depth image data. The obstacle data includes, for example, one or more of data used to characterize the size, height, type, and location of the obstacle. The relative position relationship data includes, for example, one or more of displacements and/or angles of obstacles relative to the mobile robot, or displacements and/or angles between multiple obstacles.

For another example, as shown in FIG. 2B , if the shape of the area to be cleaned is relatively complex (for example, there is a seat area in the figure), if the mobile robot according to the pre-stored environmental map and/or the detected environmental data in the area to be cleaned, It is judged that the cleaning efficiency of the route planned directly in the entire area to be cleaned is low (the seat area needs to be bypassed during the cleaning process), then the area to be cleaned can be divided into an operation area A and an operation area B, to respectively In the operation area A and the operation area B, a route in each area that can improve the cleaning efficiency can be planned. For example, a route from the operation area A to the operation area B can also be planned.

In another example, the operation area is determined by the mobile robot according to the three-dimensional information obtained by the environment map of the area to be cleaned and/or the detected environment data in the area to be cleaned. As shown in Figure 2C, if the area A and the area B in the area to be cleaned are two planes with different heights (for example, the area A is upstairs and the area B is downstairs), the area to be cleaned should also be divided into the operation area A and operating area B.

Exemplarily, the environment map may be pre-built by operator movement. For example, operators carry electronic devices with positioning or mapping capabilities (such as smartphones, smart bracelets, tablet computers, or drones, etc.) to move in the area to be cleaned, and build the area by determining the scope of the area. Environmental map.

Exemplarily, the environment map may also be constructed in advance by the autonomous movement of the mobile robot. For example, a mobile robot moves in the area to be cleaned, and uses technologies such as SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) or VSLAM (Visual Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) to build an environmental map of the area.

Exemplarily, the environment map may also be jointly constructed by the operator and the mobile robot in advance. For example, a mobile robot (eg, a commercial cleaning robot driven by the operator) may be steered by an operator to move within the area to be cleaned and build an environmental map of the area. For another example, the mobile robot can autonomously follow the operator to move in the area to be cleaned and build an environmental map of the area.

In actual scenarios, the environment is often complex, and there may be restrictive factors in the area to be cleaned that interfere with or hinder the mobile robot from moving, passing, or turning. Avoid wasting power and improve cleaning efficiency. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B , if there is a large obstacle in the area to be cleaned (such as the seat area shown in the figure), which hinders the path of the mobile robot, the mobile robot can clean the area to be cleaned. The area is divided into operation area A and operation area B to improve cleaning efficiency.

Wherein, the limiting factor includes at least one of the following: a partition body, a forbidden area, a virtual wall, and an obstacle. The partition body includes, but is not limited to, one or more of a door body, a floor-to-ceiling window, a screen, a wall body, a column body, and a row of access gates. The forbidden area includes, but is not limited to, one or more of a virtual forbidden area formed by dividing on an environmental map of the area to be cleaned, a forbidden area formed by a plurality of placed roadblocks, and the like. The virtual wall is set up, for example, on an environmental map of the area to be cleaned, or in a real space using a magnetic strip. The obstacles include, but are not limited to, one or more of tables, chairs, cabinets, stairs, escalators, and scattered individual barricades (such as flower pots).

After determining one or more operation areas where cleaning tasks need to be performed, the mobile robot plans a path to move within a single operation area to traverse the entire operation area and perform a comprehensive cleaning task; and, when it is determined that there are multiple operation areas When , plan the movement path between the operating areas to move from one operating area to another to perform cleaning tasks.

Therefore, the present application provides a path planning method for a mobile robot in an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15 , the path planning method for a mobile robot includes step S201 and step S202 . In some embodiments, the path planning method is executed by the control device of the mobile robot to obtain a moving path within the operating area, and the mobile robot is controlled to move along the planned path by using its driving device to traverse the entire Area to be cleaned.

In step S201, set up a plurality of travel paths with intervals throughout an operation area; wherein, the two ends of each travel path are located at different turning limits; the interval between the travel paths is related to the behavior of the mobile robot (such as cleaning operation) depends on the size of the area covered.

In step S202, according to the two travel paths with opposite travel directions, a turning path connected end to end is set; wherein, the turning step length corresponding to the turning path is greater than the unit step length of the mobile robot; wherein, the set path is such that all The mobile robot tends to move from one side of the operation area to the other side during execution.

Wherein, the mobile robot may have different travel directions when moving along each travel path; the two travel paths connected by the turning path represent different travel directions, and the two travel paths may be adjacent or non-adjacent. For example, a turn path connects two non-adjacent travel paths, the spacing between the two travel paths corresponding to the turn steps spaced apart at both ends of the turn path.

Please refer to FIG. 12 , which is a schematic diagram showing the trajectory of the mobile robot of the present application moving along the travel path and the turning path. As shown in the figure, the path of the mobile robot in the operation area includes a plurality of travel paths d1, and the mobile robot may have two opposite travel directions D1 and D1' along the travel path d1. For simplicity of description, the moving direction of the mobile robot in the same direction in each moving path may be referred to as the first traveling direction (for example, D1 in the figure); the traveling direction opposite to the first traveling direction is the second traveling direction (eg D1' in the figure).

It should be noted that the travel path is a path that makes the mobile robot move in a generally straight line. The mobile robot is affected by actual conditions such as friction with the ground, bypassing obstacles, etc., and its moving path is partially curved or broken. However, to traverse the operating area, the mobile robot moves along the travel path as a whole.

Since mobile robots tend to be relatively large in size and in order to effectively improve the working efficiency of the mobile robot during movement, in some examples, the travel paths and turning paths connected end to end present a circuitous forward moving route. For this reason, the turning directions of the two turning paths respectively connecting the two ends of the same travel path are opposite.

In some embodiments, each turning path is determined according to the effective working width of the mobile robot. It should be understood that when the mobile robot moves in the operation area, because the mobile robot turns with a certain radius, the mobile robot cannot turn again when it moves to the boundary of the operation area like a domestic robot, and the turning path is located between the operation area. In the example in the above, a certain space needs to be reserved in advance between the end point of the moving path and the boundary of the operation area for turning, and the turning path is located in the reserved space. In the example where the turning path is outside the operation area, the mobile robot reserves space for planning the turning path according to the limiting factors around the operation area when dividing the operation area.

For simplicity of description, the position where the mobile robot is when it is ready to turn is called the turning limit. The turning limit is the position where the traveling path and the turning path are connected. For example, as shown in FIG. 12 , each moving path d1 along the first traveling direction D1 ends at the first turning limit L1, and the moving path d1 along the second traveling direction D1 ′ ends at the first turning limit L1 . Each movement path d1 ends at the second turning limit L2.

In some embodiments, the turning limit is related to the area to be cleaned and its limiting factors, and the shape of the divided operation area can be as shown in any of FIGS. 2A-2D. In some embodiments, each turning limit parallel to the boundary of the operating area. For example, when the boundary of the operating area is a straight line, the corresponding turning limit also forms a parallel straight line; when the boundary of the operating area is a curve, the corresponding turning limit also forms a curve, and each curve on the curve The points are equidistant from each point on the boundary of the corresponding operating area. For example, as shown in FIG. 2C , the first turning limit L1 and the second turning limit L2 are respectively parallel to the boundary of the operation area A, and the distance (not shown) from the boundary of the corresponding operation area is not smaller than the movement The effective turning radius of the robot.

Exemplarily, the distance between the turning limit and the corresponding boundary within the operating area is greater than the effective turning radius of the mobile robot. Among them, an example of the effective turning radius is the turning radius when the water baffle of the commercial cleaning robot does not leak water on the side when turning. In some embodiments, the effective turning radius of the mobile robot refers to the minimum displacement of the axis relative to the direction before/after the turn when the mobile robot performs a 180-degree turn. As shown in FIG. 12 , when the mobile robot travels along the travel path d1 with the first travel direction D1 to the turning limit L1, the mobile robot performs a 180-degree turn along the turning path d2, so that the mobile robot faces the second travel direction after completing the turn D1'; the first travel direction D1 and the second travel direction D1' are opposite. Assuming that the minimum displacement of the mobile robot advancing forward in the first travel direction D1 is the effective turning radius R, the distance between the turning limit L1 and the boundary of the corresponding operating area (for example, the wall in the figure) should be greater than all The distance of the effective working width is determined to ensure that the mobile robot can realize the turning action and avoid collisions and damage to the fuselage.

In another embodiment, one or more of the turning limit, headroom, or each turning path is determined based on the width of the fuselage and the effective turning radius. In the example where the turning path is within the operating area, the distance between the end point of the moving path and the boundary of the corresponding operating area is the sum of the effective turning radius of the mobile robot and 1/2 the fuselage width, so that in the turning , the mobile robot just contacts the boundary of the operation area without colliding. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 , assuming that the body width of the mobile robot is W and its effective turning radius is R, the space reserved by the mobile robot when turning along the turning path (for example, the turning limit L and the The distance between the boundaries (walls) of the operating area) is not less than R+1/2W. Exemplarily, the distance between the turning limit L and the boundary (wall) of the operation area is not less than 1.5 times the effective turning radius, so as to reserve sufficient space to ensure that the mobile robot can complete the turning action.

It should be understood that the mobile robot has a symmetrical structure as an example, and when it turns, the effective turning radius can be calculated from the geometric center of the projection of its body on the ground. In an actual scenario, the mobile robot may have a complex structure, and its effective turning radius and body width can be determined according to its own structure and parameters. In addition, in the actual scene, there may be obstacles in the environment, and the mobile robot can reserve space for planning the turning path according to the limiting factors around the operation area when dividing the operation area.

When the mobile robot moves in the operating area along the "travel path-turning path-travel path...", its overall movement trend should be to move from one side of the operating area to the other side, so as to traverse all the operating area. For simplicity of description, the direction trend of the mobile robot moving from one side to the other side in the operation area to cover the entire operation area is referred to as a propulsion direction. The propulsion direction is perpendicular to the travel path of the mobile robot.

Please refer to FIGS. 13A-13B , which are schematic diagrams showing the propulsion direction of the mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 13A , taking the mobile robot as a commercial cleaning robot as an example, for the sake of distinction, the direction in which the mobile robot moves from one side of the operation area to the other side is called the first advancing direction, and the opposite direction is the first advancing direction. This is called the second thrust direction. Assuming that the moving trajectory of the mobile robot is shown by the solid line in the figure, it moves from the left side of the operation area to the right side, then the advancing direction of the trajectory from left to right is called the first advancing direction D2; The second advancing direction D2' (not shown in the figure) is opposite to the first advancing direction. The first advancing direction D2 has nothing to do with the shape and boundary of the operating area, but depends on the overall movement trend of the mobile robot performing cleaning tasks in the operating area; the first advancing direction D2 is perpendicular to the traveling direction D1 of the mobile robot . For another example, as shown in FIG. 13B , taking the mobile robot as a domestic robot as an example, assuming that the domestic robot moves in a detour from the upper left corner of the operation area to the lower right corner, the direction trend of this movement is called the first advancing direction D2. , and its traveling direction is the first traveling direction D1, and the first advancing direction D2 is perpendicular to the first traveling direction D1.

In order to avoid the fact that the boundary of the actual operation area does not match the turning step length required for the mobile robot to turn, thus the coverage of the operation area cannot be reasonably maximized, the mobile robot is also based on its starting position in the operation area, the operation The path and its corresponding travel direction or advancing direction determined by one or more factors among the boundary of the area and the boundary of the circumscribed rectangle of the operation area.

In some examples, the travel direction is parallel to the boundary of the operation area corresponding to one side of the mobile robot when the mobile robot is in the starting position. In still other examples, the shape of the boundary of the operation area is complex (for example, a curve, a polyline, or an irregular shape, etc.), so that if it is difficult for the mobile robot to travel parallel to the boundary, the travel direction of the mobile robot may be in the same direction as the boundary. At the starting position, the boundary of the circumscribed rectangle of the operation area corresponding to one side is parallel. In some embodiments, the starting position of the mobile robot in the current operating area is different, and its traveling direction and propulsion direction are also changed accordingly.

Wherein, the circumscribed rectangle is a parameter set for optimally planning a path, which is used to improve the path coverage of an irregular operation area. The mobile robot plans a path in the operation area along a side of a circumscribed rectangle that is as close as possible to the boundary of the actual operation area according to its starting point position in the operation area. For example, the mobile robot constructs a corresponding number of virtual circumscribed rectangles according to a plurality of straight sides in the operation area, and selects the circumscribed rectangle with the largest area ratio according to the area ratio of each virtual rectangle to the operation area, so as to obtain any one of the above path in the example. For another example, the mobile robot initializes the circumscribing rectangle of the operation area, and by adjusting the circumscribing rectangle, selects the circumscribing rectangle that makes the area ratio of the circumscribing rectangle and the operation area as large as possible, so as to obtain the path in any of the above examples.

As shown in Fig. 2D, Fig. 2E and Fig. 2F, when the starting position of the mobile robot is at the lower left corner of the operation area A, since the left side of the mobile robot is the boundary of the operation area, the first travel direction D1 and the second travel direction D1 The direction D1' can be parallel to the boundary E of the operation area, or the boundary E' of the circumscribed rectangle of the operation area; when the starting position of the mobile robot is at the lower right corner of the operation area A, its first A travel direction D1 and a second travel direction D1' may be parallel to the boundary of the operation area or the boundary F of the circumscribed rectangle of the operation area (the boundary of the operation area in the figure coincides with the corresponding sides of its circumscribed rectangle).

Since the traveling path and the turning path of the mobile robot are connected and present a circuitous moving route, the turning step length is different from the two turning paths respectively connected at both ends of the same traveling path. Considering that in actual scenarios, mobile robots tend to be larger in size, at least one of the overall moving body width, maximum turning angle, and effective turning radius can determine that the mobile robot turns at 180° (also known as U-turn, turn, etc.). etc.) the minimum turning step length. Exemplarily, the turning step length is determined according to an effective working width and an effective turning radius of the mobile robot.

For the sake of distinction, the two different turning steps are called the first turning step and the second turning step; exemplarily, the turning step when the mobile robot turns toward the first propulsion direction is called the first turning step. A turning step length, the turning step length when it turns toward the second propulsion direction is called the second turning step length; the first turning step length is greater than the second turning step length, so the mobile robot The circuitous movement route of the overall is a tendency to move from one side of the operating area to the other side. For example, as shown in FIG. 12 , the first turning step of the mobile robot turning along the turning path d2 is R1, and the second turning step is R2, where R1>R2.

In some embodiments, the difference between the first turn step size and the second turn step size is less than or equal to one unit step size. The unit step size is the distance between two adjacent travel paths. As shown in FIG. 12 , the unit step size is the distance a between the adjacent travel paths d1 . Wherein, the unit step size is determined according to the effective working width of the mobile robot. Exemplarily, the unit step size is equal to the effective working width of the mobile robot.

The effective working width is determined according to the size of the area that can be processed in a unit time when the mobile robot performs a working operation. For example, the mobile robot is a commercial cleaning robot, and its effective working width is determined according to the size of the area cleaned per unit time when it performs cleaning operations; for example, its effective working width is the coverage of a circular brush tray per unit time diameter of the area. Please refer to FIGS. 14A-14B , which are schematic diagrams showing the effective working width of the mobile robot of the present application in an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14A , taking the mobile robot as a commercial cleaning robot as an example, it is assumed that the left and right sides of the mobile robot (not shown) are respectively provided with a circular brush disc (the diameter of the brush disc is x), and the two brushes If the discs are just in contact, the effective working width W may be 2x the sum of the diameters of the two brush discs. Also as shown in FIG. 14B , if there is a certain distance y between the two brush discs, the effective working width W may be the sum of the diameters and the distance between the two brush discs 2x+y. It should be understood that the area that the mobile robot can process in unit time is not necessarily a regular geometric shape, and the effective working width may be determined according to the actual size or shape of the area.

Exemplarily, the difference between the first turning step and the second turning step is less than one unit step. At this time, when the mobile robot moves on two adjacent trajectories in the traveling direction, the cleaning area has overlapping parts, so that the operation area can be cleaned more carefully.

Exemplarily, when the difference between the first turning step and the second turning step is equal to one unit step, the distance between two adjacent trajectories of the mobile robot in the traveling direction is one unit step. Therefore, the mobile robot can completely clean the operation area, and the cleaned areas just do not overlap when the mobile robot moves on two adjacent trajectories in the traveling direction. As shown in FIG. 5C , the area cleaned when the mobile robot moves along the trajectory is shown as the shaded part in the figure. The effective working width of the mobile robot is W. When the difference between the first turning step R1 and the second turning step R2 is equal to a unit step W, the mobile robot cleans when moving on two adjacent tracks. The area just fully covers the operating area.

Exemplarily, when the first turning step is three unit steps and the second turning step is two unit steps, the cleaning efficiency of the mobile robot is relatively highest. As shown in Fig. 6, the effective turning radius of the mobile robot is R, then the minimum lateral displacement (that is, the displacement in the propulsion direction B) required by the mobile robot to perform a 180° turn is 2R. Assuming that the maximum width of the area that the mobile robot can clean in unit time is W, then its effective working width is W (usually W<R), then the step size of advancing in the advancing direction B every time the mobile robot performs a 180° turn At least int(2R/W); where int() represents a round-up operation. For example, assuming that the effective turning radius R of the mobile robot is 0.5m and its effective working width W is 0.5m, each time it performs a 180° turn, it needs to move at least 1m in the first propulsion direction D2, that is, two unit steps. .

In other words, since the displacement in the propulsion direction when the mobile robot performs a 180-degree turn is at least two unit steps, the first turning step is set to three unit steps, and the second turning step is set to two When one unit step is used, the mobile robot can clean the operation area comprehensively and efficiently. Because the distance of each turn of the mobile robot is relatively close, the error caused by the mobile robot going back and forth when turning with a larger radius can be avoided, thereby avoiding missed scans; at the same time, compared with the mobile robot when turning with a larger radius Back and forth, users can more intuitively and clearly understand which areas have been cleaned, and the user experience is high.

It should be understood that, in order to clearly illustrate the traveling control of the robot, the directions involved in the moving process of the mobile robot in the operation area are defined in the above-mentioned embodiments; however, it should be noted that each definition is based on the The description is for the purpose of clarity and does not limit the movement of the mobile robot.

Based on the path determined by the mobile robot, the embodiment of the present application further provides a method for controlling the movement of the mobile robot, so as to control the mobile robot to move according to the planned path, thereby realizing comprehensive cleaning of the operation area. Please refer to FIG. 3 , which shows a schematic flow chart of the traveling control method of the mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the traveling control method of the mobile robot includes steps S101 and S102. In some embodiments, the traveling control method may be executed by a control device of the mobile robot, so as to control the mobile robot to start from a starting position, and realize the movement according to the traveling control method through its driving device. In order to briefly describe the movement control of the driving device by the control device, the following describes the execution process of the traveling control method according to the movement process of the mobile robot.

Wherein, the starting position may be any position in the operation area, for example, the starting position is adjacent to a certain end point of the operation area; or the starting position is adjacent to a certain boundary of the operation area. As shown in FIGS. 2C-2F , the starting position may be near the lower left corner or the lower right corner of the operation area A. For another example, if the last task execution of the mobile robot is interrupted, the position where the task is interrupted or when the task is restarted is taken as the starting position of the mobile robot. For another example, the operator controls the mobile robot to move to a certain position in the operation area, and sets the mobile robot to automatically perform tasks from this position, then the mobile robot uses this position as the starting position of the current operation area. In some embodiments, if the starting position of the mobile robot is not near the endpoint and the boundary of the operation area (for example, in the central area of the operation area), the mobile robot may divide the operation area into at least two parts , so that the current starting position of the mobile robot is located near the endpoint or boundary of a newly divided operation area, and the cleaning tasks of each partial area are performed sequentially.

In step S101, when the mobile robot moves to the first turning limit along the first travel direction in an operation area, the mobile robot is controlled to turn in the first advancing direction with the first turning step, so as to adjust the direction of the mobile robot. Movement in the second direction of travel.

In step S102, when the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second travel direction, the mobile robot is controlled to turn in the second advancing direction with the second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to re-run along the first direction. Move in the direction of travel.

As shown in FIG. 4A , the mobile robot starts from the starting position and moves toward the first travel direction D1 along the travel path (the straight line parts numbered 1 ′ to 1 in the figure) until it reaches the first travel direction corresponding to a boundary of the operation area. Turn to limit L1. At this time, the position of the mobile robot is the position marked 1 in the figure.

Next, the mobile robot turns toward the first propulsion direction D2 along the turning path. At this time, the turning path of the mobile robot is the curved portion from position 1 to position 4 shown in the figure, and the turning step of this turn is the first turning step R1. Exemplarily, the first turning step R1 is three unit steps.

After the mobile robot completes the turn (it is at the position marked 4 at this time), it continues to move towards the second travel direction D1' along another travel path (the straight line portion marked 4 to 4' in the figure) that is connected end-to-end with the turning path. , until reaching the second turning limit L2 corresponding to another boundary of the operating area. At this time, the position of the mobile robot is the position marked 4' in the figure.

Then, the mobile robot makes a turn towards the second propulsion direction D2' along the turning path to travel towards the first travel direction D1 again. At this time, the turning path of the mobile robot is the curved part from the 4' position to the 2' position shown in the figure, and the turning step length of the turning at this time is the second turning step length R2, where R2 < R1. Exemplarily, the second turning step R2 is two unit steps.

Therefore, by performing the aforementioned steps S101 and S102, the mobile robot makes its overall moving trajectory in a circuitous shape, and during the movement of the mobile robot, the moving direction of the mobile robot can be ensured to be forward, so as to avoid the escape of dirt. (e.g. water leaks). At the same time, since the moving trajectory of the mobile robot as a whole has a detouring trend, it can traversely travel from one side of the operation area to the other side, so as to achieve full coverage of the operation area and avoid missed scans.

Generally speaking, it is a more efficient way for a mobile robot to travel in a straight line, but in actual scenarios, there may be some obstacles in the operation area, and these obstacles are not enough to promote the operation area. It is divided, but it will hinder the travel path of the mobile robot. As shown in FIG. 4B , the mobile robot starts from the starting position in the current operation area and travels along the travel path toward the first travel direction D1 , and there is an obstacle P on the travel path. The mobile robot controls the mobile robot to perform an obstacle/avoidance action on the obstacle, so as to re-travel according to a predetermined path plan (ie, a pre-planned travel path), or the mobile robot is temporarily moving around/avoiding an obstacle Then return to the travel path planned before detouring/obstacle avoidance.

It should be understood that the moving method of the mobile robot traveling and turning according to the foregoing step embodiments can be solidified into a brand-new moving mode of the mobile robot, so that when the mobile robot is set to execute this mode, it will Move according to the direction and step size specified in the previous steps, so as to solve the problem of inconvenient turning and achieve comprehensive coverage of the target area. Exemplarily, a compiled program can be used to convert the method for controlling a mobile robot described in the foregoing embodiments into a computer program, and the computer program can be built in a program or code for controlling the mobile robot; a control device of the mobile robot (for example, a or multiple processors) can control the mobile robot to move according to this movement mode by running the program or code, so as to traverse the entire target area.

Exemplarily, when the mobile robot has a built-in program that can be used to execute the path planning method and/or the travel control method described in the foregoing embodiments, the mobile robot can set path parameters according to actual environmental conditions, thereby determining The moving path of the mobile robot in each operation area. Wherein, the path parameters include one or more of turning limit, turning step length, travel direction, and propulsion direction.

Please refer to FIG. 16 , which is a schematic flowchart of another embodiment of the path planning method for the mobile robot of the present application. As shown in the figure, the path planning method includes step S301, step S302 and step S303.

In step S301, the starting position of the mobile robot in an operation area is determined.

In step S302, according to the environmental map and/or limiting factors of the operation area, determine the path parameters of the mobile robot moving according to a movement pattern in the operation area.

In step S303, a path for the mobile robot to traverse the operation area is determined according to the starting position and the path parameter; the path includes: a plurality of travel paths with intervals throughout the operation area, And a turning path connected end to end is set according to the two travel paths in which the travel directions are opposite.

Wherein, the step of moving the mobile robot according to the moving mode includes: when the mobile robot moves to a first turning limit along a first travel direction in an operation area, controlling the mobile robot to move toward a first turning step with a first turning step. The first propulsion direction is turned to adjust the mobile robot to move along the second travel direction; the first travel direction is opposite to the direction of the second travel direction; when the mobile robot moves along the second travel direction to the second turn When the limit is reached, the mobile robot is controlled to turn in the second advancing direction with the second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the first travel direction again; so that the mobile robot moves from one side of the operating area to the other. Tendency to move sideways; the first turn step is not equal to the second turn step. For specific implementation steps, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

Exemplarily, the mobile robot invokes the pre-stored program for executing the path planning method and/or the travel control method described in the foregoing embodiments, and obtains the actual environment map and the data of the limiting factors in the environment. , set the starting position, turning limit, each turning step length, travel direction and advancing direction in the current operating area; and starting from the starting position, perform the steps in the preceding embodiment according to the set path parameters to A circuitous forward trajectory is presented, thereby completing the cleaning of the operating area.

On the basis of the above planned path and its control method, the present application also provides a path planning method and its movement control method. Exemplarily, as shown in Fig. 5A and Fig. 5A', when the mobile robot repeatedly executes the movement pattern to move and moves from the position marked 1' to the position marked 6', the next trajectory determined is: Position of reference 6'-position of reference 4'-position of reference 4-position of reference 7 . . . etc. As a result, the mobile robot can perform detailed cleaning of the operating area.

On the basis of the above planned path and its control method, the present application also provides another path planning method and its movement control method. Different from the previous examples, when the operation area in the second propulsion direction is cleaned, the mobile robot adjusts the travel direction and/or the turning direction appropriately, so as to avoid repeated cleaning of the same area by the mobile robot and improve the mobile robot’s performance. cleaning efficiency. Exemplarily, when the mobile robot determines that there is no uncleaned area in the operation area in the second advancing direction, step S304 is executed: the mobile robot is controlled to turn toward the first advancing direction with the first turning step, so as to adjust The mobile robot continues to travel in the first travel direction. And, when the mobile robot travels along the first travel direction to the first turning limit, step S305 is executed: the mobile robot turns toward the second advancing direction with a second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to travel along the second direction direction move. As shown in Fig. 5B and Fig. 5B', when the planned route is from position 1' to position 6' (or position 6), since there is no uncleaned area in the second advancing direction D2', the generated The path includes: from position 6' (or position 6) to position 11' (or position 11), from position 11' (or position 11) to position 16', . . .

On the basis of the above planned path and its control method, the present application also provides a path planning method and its movement control method. Unlike the previous examples, when the intervals between travel routes planned according to any of the preceding examples are substantially uniform, the mobile robot determines a route for the remainder of the operating area according to the end position and travel direction of the last travel route. Exemplarily, the mobile robot cleans the remaining area within the operating area in an edgewise mode. As shown in Fig. 5A, the mobile robot starts from the position numbered 6' and performs an edgewise mode in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner to clean the remaining area (not shown).

It should be noted that, in the foregoing embodiments, the completion of "all" and "comprehensive" cleaning by the mobile robot should be understood as the complete cleaning of the ground surface by the mobile robot on its moving trajectory. Since the mobile robot needs a certain radius to turn, there may be an area that cannot be cleaned between the area where it turns and the boundary of the operation area (the approximate wedge-shaped area A shown in Figure 7, the effective work of the mobile robot The width is W); and, the mobile robot has a certain effective working width, and there may also be residual uncleaned areas outside the area that it passes through and cleans. For intuitive description, the remaining uncleaned area is referred to as an "approximately wedge-shaped area", and the approximately wedge-shaped area should not be construed as being included in the aforementioned "entire" and "comprehensive" areas. Exemplarily, the mobile robot performs supplementary cleaning on the residual area in one or more of an edgewise mode, a fixed-point cleaning mode, and a free mode, and the like.

After all the cleaning in the current operation area is completed, the mobile robot travels to the starting position of the next operation area to perform the cleaning task in the next operation area. Wherein, the starting position of the next operation area is determined according to the end point of the next operation area and the current position of the mobile robot.

Exemplarily, the starting position of the next operation area is near the end point in the next operation area that is closest to the current position of the mobile robot. As shown in FIG. 8A , when the mobile robot travels to the P1 position after cleaning the operation area A, the mobile robot determines the starting position of the operation area B as the starting position shown in the lower left corner. As shown in Figure 8B, when the mobile robot completes cleaning in the operation area B, for example, travels to the P2 position, then the mobile robot determines that the starting position of the operation area B is the starting position shown in the upper left corner. Therefore, the mobile robot can start from the starting position of the next operation area, and clean according to the movement mode in the foregoing embodiment again, and finally complete the cleaning task of all the areas to be cleaned.

The traveling control method of a mobile robot provided by the present application controls the mobile robot to perform the turning action along the propulsion direction at the turning limit and with different turning step lengths, so that the overall moving trajectory is in a circuitous trend, and thus the mobile robot can realize the Comprehensive cleaning of the operating area, avoiding missed sweeps and high user experience.

The present application also provides a travel control system for a mobile robot, the travel control system is used to execute the travel control method in the foregoing embodiment, so as to control the mobile robot to move according to a planned path and realize comprehensive cleaning of the operation area, It has corresponding functional modules and can achieve the same technical effect. Please refer to FIG. 9 , which shows a block diagram of the components of the travel control system of the mobile robot of the present application in an embodiment. As shown in the figure, the travel control system of the mobile robot of the present application includes a first control module 901 and a second control module 902.

Wherein, the first control module 901 is configured to control the mobile robot to turn in the first propulsion direction with the first turning step when the mobile robot moves to the first turning limit along the first travel direction in an operation area , to adjust the mobile robot to move along the second travel direction; the first travel direction is opposite to the second travel direction;

The second control module 902 is configured to control the mobile robot to turn toward the second advancing direction with the second turning step when the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second travel direction, so as to adjust the mobile robot Move along the first traveling direction again; the first propulsion direction is opposite to the second propulsion direction; the propulsion direction of the mobile robot is perpendicular to the traveling direction; wherein the first turning step is greater than the second turning step .

In the embodiments, to simplify the description, the first control module and the second control module in the travel control system may be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system performing specified functions or operations, or may be implemented by dedicated hardware and a computer For example, the steps of the method for controlling the movement of the mobile robot in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 are implemented by a combination of instructions, which will not be repeated here.

The travel control system for a mobile robot provided by the present application controls the mobile robot to perform the turning action along the propulsion direction at the turning limit and with different turning step lengths, so that the overall moving trajectory is in a circuitous trend. Comprehensive cleaning of the operating area, avoiding missed sweeps and high user experience.

The present application also provides a travel control device for a mobile robot. Please refer to FIG. 10 , which shows a block diagram of a module composition in an embodiment of the traveling control device of the mobile robot of the present application. As shown in the figure, the traveling control device of the mobile robot of the present application includes: one or more communicators 101 , or A plurality of memories 102 , and a plurality of processors 103 .

The one or more communicators 101 are used for external communication. Exemplarily, the communicator 101 may include a wired or wireless communication interface, and the interface represents the meaning of interacting with the outside in a logical sense, and is not limited to a real physical interface; for example, the wired communication interface includes, for example, a wired Ethernet card, USB, etc., the wireless communication interface includes, for example, a wireless network card (Wi-Fi), a 2G/3G/4G/5G mobile communication module, Bluetooth, infrared, and the like.

The one or more memories 102 are used to store at least one computer program. Illustratively, the one or more memories 102 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices . In certain embodiments, the one or more memories may also include memory remote from the one or more processors, such as network-attached memory accessed via RF circuitry or external ports and a communication network, which may be The Internet, one or more intranets, local area networks, wide area networks, storage area networks, etc., or a suitable combination thereof. The memory controller controls access to memory by other components of the device, such as the CPU and peripheral interfaces.

The one or more processors 103, coupled to the one or more communicators 101 and the memory 102, are used for running the computer program to execute, for example, the traveling control method of the mobile robot shown in FIG. 3, so as to control the movement Movement of the robot. Illustratively, the processor 103 may be implemented as a general-purpose microprocessor, a special-purpose processor, a programmable logic array, or any combination thereof.

The travel control device for a mobile robot provided by the present application controls the mobile robot to perform the turning action along the propulsion direction at the turning limit and with different turning step lengths, so that the overall movement trajectory is in a circuitous trend, and thus the mobile robot can realize the Comprehensive cleaning of the operating area, avoiding missed sweeps and high user experience.

The present application also provides a mobile robot. Please refer to FIG. 11 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile robot according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the mobile robot of the present application includes a driving device 111 , a storage device 112 , and a control device 113 .

Wherein, the driving device 111 is used for driving the mobile robot to move. Exemplarily, if the mobile robot is a cleaning robot, its driving device includes a transmission structure (such as a lead screw, a gear, a rotating shaft structure, etc.), a moving part (such as a roller, a crawler, a mechanical foot), and a power device (such as a motor). ) one or more of.

The storage device 112 is used for storing at least one program that can execute the aforementioned method for controlling the movement of the mobile robot. The storage device may include high speed random access memory, and may also include nonvolatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other nonvolatile solid state storage devices. In certain embodiments, the memory may also include memory remote from the one or more processors, such as network-attached memory accessed via RF circuitry or external ports and a communication network (not shown), which may be the Internet , one or more intranets, local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WLANs), storage area networks (SANs), etc., or a suitable combination thereof. The storage device also includes a memory controller that controls access to the memory by other components of the device, such as the CPU and peripheral interfaces. Wherein, the software components stored in the storage device include an operating system, a communication module (or an instruction set), a text input module (or an instruction set), and an application (or an instruction set).

The control device 113 is connected to the drive device 111 and the storage device 112, and is used to call and execute the at least one program, so as to coordinate the drive device 111 and the storage device 112 to execute and implement the aforementioned method for controlling the movement of the mobile robot . Wherein, the control device includes one or more general-purpose microprocessors, one or more special-purpose processors (ASIC), one or more digital signal processors (Digital Signal Processor, DSP for short), one or more field Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any combination thereof. The control device is also operably coupled to an I/O port that enables the mobile robot to interact with various other electronic devices. Taking the mobile robot as a cleaning robot as an example, the other electronic devices include but are not limited to: a motor in the driving device in the mobile robot, or a processor dedicated to controlling the driving device and the cleaning device in the mobile robot, such as a micro Control unit (Microcontroller Unit, referred to as MCU). The control device is operable to perform data read and write operations with the storage device. The control device may perform operations such as extracting images, extracting motion data of the mobile robot, determining relative positional relationships between different positions of the mobile robot based on the motion data, and the like.

The present application also provides a computer readable and writable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, implements at least one embodiment described above for the traveling control method of a mobile robot, such as FIGS. 2A-8B and The embodiment described in any of Figures 12-14B.

The present application also provides a computer readable and writable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, implements at least one of the embodiments described above for the path planning method for a mobile robot, such as the implementation described in FIG. 15 . example.

The present application also provides a computer readable and writable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, implements at least one of the embodiments described above for the path planning method for a mobile robot, such as the implementation described in FIG. 16 . example.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art or the part of the technical solution, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including Several instructions are used to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application.

In the embodiments provided in this application, the computer readable and writable storage medium may include read-only memory, random access memory, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, A USB stick, a removable hard disk, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the instructions are sent from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave Coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. It should be understood, however, that computer-readable storage media and data storage media do not include connections, carrier waves, signals, or other transitory media, but are instead intended to be non-transitory, tangible storage media. Disk and disc, as used in the application, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs use lasers to optically reproduce data replicate the data.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described by the computer programs of the methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The steps of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein may be embodied in processor-executable software modules, where the processor-executable software modules may reside on a tangible, non-transitory computer readable and writable storage medium. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the above-described figures of the present application illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present application. Based on this, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which contains one or more possible functions for implementing the specified logical function(s) Execute the instruction. It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It is also noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by dedicated hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or operations , or can be implemented by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

The above-mentioned embodiments merely illustrate the principles and effects of the present application, but are not intended to limit the present application. Anyone skilled in the art can make modifications or changes to the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes made by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical idea disclosed in this application should still be covered by the claims of this application.

Claims (19)

1. A traveling control method for a mobile robot, comprising the following steps:

   When the mobile robot moves to the first turning limit along the first travel direction in an operation area, the mobile robot is controlled to turn in the first propulsion direction with the first turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the second travel direction ; the first direction of travel is opposite to the direction of the second direction of travel;

   When the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second travel direction, the mobile robot is controlled to turn toward the second advancing direction with the second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the first travel direction again; causing the mobile robot to move from one side of the operating area to the other;

   Wherein, the first turning step is not equal to the second turning step.
2. The traveling control method of the mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein when the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second traveling direction, the mobile robot is controlled to move toward the second turning step with the second turning step. The steps for making a turn in the second propulsion direction include:

   If there is no unpassed area in the operation area in the second advancing direction, the mobile robot is controlled to turn toward the first advancing direction with the first turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to continue traveling along the first advancing direction ;

   When the mobile robot travels to the first turning limit along the first travel direction, the mobile robot is controlled to turn toward the second advancing direction with a second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the second travel direction.
3. The traveling control method of a mobile robot according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of traveling in the operation area in an edgewise mode.
4. The traveling control method of a mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the traveling direction and/or the advancing direction are determined based on the starting position of the mobile robot in the operation area and the boundary of the operation area .
5. The traveling control method of a mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the traveling direction and/or the advancing direction are determined according to the boundary of the circumscribed rectangle of the operation area.
6. The traveling control method of a mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the first turning step is greater than the second turning step; the difference between the first turning step and the second turning step is less than or equal to One unit step.
7. The traveling control method of a mobile robot according to claim 6, wherein the unit step size is determined according to the effective working width of the mobile robot.
8. The traveling control method for a mobile robot according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the first turning step is three unit steps, and the second turning step is two unit steps.
9. The traveling control method for a mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the first turning limit and/or the second turning limit is determined according to an effective turning radius of the mobile robot.
10. The traveling control method of a mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the operation area is determined according to an environmental map of the area to be cleaned and/or a restriction factor in the area to be cleaned; wherein, the environment Maps are pre-built with operator and/or mobile robot movements.
11. The method for controlling the movement of a mobile robot according to claim 10, wherein the limiting factors include at least one of the following: a partition body, a restricted area, a virtual wall, and an obstacle.
12. The traveling control method of a mobile robot according to claim 10, wherein the area to be cleaned includes a plurality of operation areas; further comprising: after the current operation area is cleaned, controlling the mobile robot to travel to the next operation The starting position of the area is used to perform the work in the next operation area; wherein, the starting position of the next operation area is determined according to the end point of the next operation area and the current position of the mobile robot.
13. The traveling control method of a mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the mobile robot comprises a commercial cleaning robot and an outdoor lawn mowing robot.
14. A travel control system for a mobile robot, comprising:

    The first control module is used for controlling the mobile robot to turn in the first advancing direction with the first turning step when the mobile robot moves to the first turning limit along the first traveling direction in an operation area, so as to adjust the movement the robot moves in a second travel direction; the first travel direction is opposite to the second travel direction;

    The second control module is configured to control the mobile robot to turn toward the second advancing direction with the second turning step when the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second travel direction, so as to adjust the mobile robot to re-turn along the second turning limit. moving in the first travel direction; so that the mobile robot tends to move from one side of the operating area to the other side;

    Wherein, the first turning step is not equal to the second turning step.
15. A path planning method for a mobile robot, comprising:

    Disposing a plurality of travel paths with intervals throughout an operation area; wherein, two ends of each travel path are located at different turning limits;

    According to the two travel paths with opposite travel directions, a turning path connected end to end is set; wherein, the turning step length corresponding to the turning path is greater than the unit step length of the mobile robot;

    Wherein, the set path makes the mobile robot tend to move from one side of the operation area to the other side during execution.
16. A path planning method for a mobile robot, comprising:

    determining the starting position of the mobile robot in an operating area;

    determining a path parameter for the mobile robot to move in the operating area according to a movement pattern according to the environmental map and/or limiting factors of the operating area;

    According to the starting position and the path parameters, a path for the mobile robot to traverse the operation area is determined; the path includes: a plurality of travel paths with intervals throughout the operation area, and a travel direction according to the travel direction therein. Two opposite travel paths set up end-to-end turn paths;

    Wherein, the step of moving the mobile robot according to the moving mode includes:

    When the mobile robot moves to the first turning limit along the first travel direction in an operation area, the mobile robot is controlled to turn in the first propulsion direction with the first turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the second travel direction ; the first direction of travel is opposite to the direction of the second direction of travel;

    When the mobile robot moves to the second turning limit along the second travel direction, the mobile robot is controlled to turn toward the second advancing direction with the second turning step, so as to adjust the mobile robot to move along the first travel direction again; The mobile robot is made to move from one side of the operation area to the other side; the first turning step is not equal to the second turning step.
17. A travel control device for a mobile robot, comprising:

    one or more communicators for communicating with the outside world;

    one or more memories for storing at least one computer program;

    One or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories and the communicator, are used for running the computer program to execute the traveling control method of the mobile robot according to any one of claims 1-13.
18. A mobile robot, comprising:

    A driving device for driving the mobile robot to move;

    a storage device for storing at least one program;

    A control device, connected with the drive device and the storage device, for calling and executing the at least one program, so as to coordinate the drive device and the storage device to execute and implement the mobile robot according to any one of claims 1-13 The travel control method of claim 15 , or execute and implement the path planning method for a mobile robot as claimed in claim 15 , or execute and implement the path planning method for a mobile robot as claimed in claim 16 .
19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores at least one program, and when the program is executed by a processor, it executes and implements the traveling control method of a mobile robot according to any one of claims 1-13, or executes And implement the path planning method for a mobile robot as claimed in claim 15 , or execute and implement the path planning method for a mobile robot as claimed in claim 16 .

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