WO2023187364A1

WO2023187364A1 - Improved ground deposition robot deposition accounting for overspray

Info

Publication number: WO2023187364A1
Application number: PCT/GB2023/050807
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anthony David George Rhoades; Michael John Owen; Lee John PLATT
Original assignee: Micropply Limited
Priority date: 2022-03-29
Filing date: 2023-03-29
Publication date: 2023-10-05
Also published as: GB202204405D0; GB2617090A; GB202205202D0

Abstract

An autonomous deposition robot (10) comprising: at least one receptacle to hold a deposition material; at least one deposition arrangement; a locomotion arrangement; a control unit, wherein the control unit is operable to receive at least one deposition instruction; wherein the deposition instructions include a characteristic of a required deposition gap between co-located areas of a multi section deposition; and the control unit controlling the least one deposition arrangement and the locomotion arrangement to autonomously deposit the deposition material onto a surface in sections of the multi section deposition; and wherein the control unit is operable to navigate the autonomous deposition robot (10) to maintain the required deposition gap (66) between co-located sections (64) of a multi section deposition. Thus, improving the accuracy of the deposition of material, for example in image printing or fertiliser deposition, reducing overspray or double dosing.

Description

IMPROVED GROUND DEPOSITION ROBOT DEPOSITION ACCOUNTING FOR OVERSPRAY

The present invention relates to an autonomous deposition robot of a type equipped to deposit materials such as sand, seed, fertiliser, pesticide, or other ground treatment chemicals onto a ground surface, or for injection under pressure, into a ground surface. The autonomous deposition robot is equipped with a suite of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms for optimisation of any deposition, or deposition processes, whilst adapting in real-time to environmental factors, location constraints and /or deposition accuracy feedback.

Weed control and aeration are two grounds techniques that are important in keeping a flat playing surface for the high-quality play that professional members or the public require, eliminating trip hazards and extending the life of the playing surface itself. The type and frequency of weed killing, and/or aeration technique needed, is course specific. Grounds people adjust aeration and/or weed killing programs based on soil conditions, turf and/or surface requirements, climate/weather, available labour and equipment, course events, etc.

In the art, manual 'Walkover Sprayers' have been the market leader in trolley sprayers for domestic and professional users for decades. The sprayers work as you push them. A durable pump which is driven by the wheels, pumps the liquid under pressure through the spray nozzles, as a user walks forward. However double dosing and/or over spraying is a real risk, unless the sprayer is recalibrated, because more dilute spray solutions will be necessary. The Green DT 0.75 deflector nozzle needs to be at only 15cm height to deliver a 30cm band width and, being so close to the ground, makes it hard to achieve accurate coverage.

A further problem is with a user's uneven walking speed, due to the need to deposit fertilisers evenly, as explained. The EvenSprey CLUB™ is another example of a walking sprayer and when using the sprayer, users are advised to use a required speed of 2.25mph or 1 metre per second. "It is advisable to practice walking speed so that 1 metre per second can be achieved. To do this, a measured distance of 10 metres is required. Simply practice covering the 10 metres in 10 seconds. The correct speed of travel will then become evident." Pixelrunner's application US2019381529 discloses using a camera and computer vision to compensate for a degree of adjustment between print segments, "Thus, in this example the actual progression of the second path segment may deviate from the theoretical target progression as the robot trajectory can be continuously corrected while moving through the second path segment to adapt the robot trajectory of the second path segment (and thereby the second section of the image) to the first image section."

Also, the Applicant's co pending patent "Ground Printing Machine", Micropply Limited, PCT/GB2021/052671, discloses using the tiling of segments to cover an image print area.

However, these solutions all aim to align tile segment edges together to make an overall improvement to image quality.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an autonomous deposition apparatus, the apparatus comprising: at least one receptacle to hold a deposition material; at least one deposition arrangement; a locomotion arrangement; a control unit, wherein the control unit is operable to receive at least one deposition instruction; wherein the deposition instructions include a required deposition gap between co-located areas of a multi section deposition; and the control unit controlling the least one deposition arrangement and the locomotion arrangement to autonomously deposit the deposition material onto a surface in sections of the multi section deposition; and wherein the control unit is operable to navigate the autonomous vehicle to maintain the required deposition gap between co-located sections of a multi section deposition.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of depositing material using an autonomous robot, the autonomous robot comprising at least one deposition arrangement, at least one locomotion arrangement, and a control unit, the method comprising: the autonomous robot receiving one or more deposition instruction; wherein the one or more deposition instruction includes a required deposition gap between co-located areas of a multi section deposition; the control unit controlling the least one deposition arrangement and the locomotion arrangement to autonomously deposit the deposition material onto a surface in sections of a multi section deposition; and wherein the control unit navigates the autonomous deposition robot to maintain the required deposition gap between the co-located sections of a multi section deposition.

Advantageously thus ensuring two adjacent sections of a chemical or material deposition are separated by an appropriate amount and thus reducing the possibility of overspray or double dosing.

Preferably wherein the deposition gap is automatically calculated dependent on a characteristic of the deposition material and/or wherein the characteristic of the deposition material is the drift property.

Further preferably wherein the deposition instructions are input by a user and/or wherein the user sends deposition instructions to the autonomous robot via a cloud server or device, or an edge server or device.

Advantageously wherein the apparatus further comprises an accelerometer to measure tilt and wherein the control unit is operable to determine weight of the flexible bag or flexible bag and primary packing using one or more load sensors measurements whilst accounting for tilt and/or wherein, when the apparatus is in use and depositing material on the ground, the control unit is operable to periodically gather weight data from the weight monitoring device.

Preferably the apparatus comprises a chassis on a ground wheel arrangement with a nozzle array on a traverse guide, the traverse guide permitting movement of the nozzle array beyond the width of the ground wheel arrangement. Wherein the traverse guide further preferably is fixed in relation to the ground wheel arrangement and/or wherein the traverse guide is movable relative to the ground wheel arrangement in the direction of travel, so that an area can be deposited while the ground wheel arrangement is stationary. Further preferably, wherein the apparatus may include a sensor to determine the presence or absence of the flexible bag or the primary packaging in the frame and/or wherein the control unit uses one or more of GPS, Beacons, SLAM or Computer Vision to navigate.

Advantageously wherein the material for deposition is a herbicide, pesticide, insecticide, plant growth aid, water or marking material, optionally wherein the marking material is a paint, chemical, coloured material, powder.

Thus, allowing for improvements in the accuracy of the deposition of material, for example in image printing or fertiliser deposition, due to a possible run off, or unwanted spread, of the deposition material. This allows the optimisation of material deposition, and material use, minimising environmental impact, with no compromise to quality of finished product, e.g. a fertilised football pitch.

LIST OF FIGURES

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an autonomous deposition robot comprising an array of primary packaging comprising bags filled with a deposition material, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the primary packaging of Figure 1, comprising a flexible chemical bag with a hose connected to a nozzle array;

Figures 3a and 3b are plan views of the autonomous deposition robot of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the autonomous deposition robot of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a deposition operation in progress, in this embodiment performing tiled run segments with an adjustable gap between the sections; Figure 6 is a side view of the nozzle array of the autonomous deposition robot of Figure 1, showing the impact of an adjustable gap on the deposition process;

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a smart communications module as used in the autonomous deposition robot of Figure 1; and

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a secure communications network between the autonomous deposition robot of Figure 1, the edge, the cloud and a data processing device.

The present techniques will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Parts of the autonomous ground printer are not necessarily to scale and may just be representative of components of the ground print machines, or other described entities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present techniques will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Referring to Figure 1 a schematic diagram of an autonomous deposition robot 10 comprises an outer case 12 cut away to reveal an array of primary packaging 14, 16, 18 and 20. The primary packaging 14, 16, 18 and 20 shown here comprises various chemicals held within a bag (not shown in Figure 1). Each primary packaging 14, 16, 18 and 20 is supported on a weight measuring plate 14a, 16a, 18a and 20a, connected to a smart communications module 22 described more fully in Figure 6, which may also serve as, or be connected to, an on-board control system (not shown in Figure 1). The smart communications module 22 comprises a transceiver 22a for communication with remote resources (not shown in Figure 1).

Each weight measuring plate 14a, 16a, 18a and 20a is an integral part of a frame 26 capable of holding the primary packaging 14, 16, 18, 20 firmly in place and comprises a load sensor 28 for registering the presence of the primary packaging 14, 16, 18, 20 when firmly in place in the frame 26. Load sensor 28 may be a photodiode or a RFID tag that communicates with an ID tag 30 of the primary packaging 14, 16, 18, 20. ID tag 30 may also comprise a barcode or other smart label, which is used for identification of the primary packaging 14, 16, 18, 20 and therefore the chemicals and/or materials held within them.

More than one load sensor 28 can be used for load balancing. For example, two, three, four or more load sensors can be positioned as part of or under a platform or frame (which may, for example, be the weight measuring plate 14a) supporting the chemical bag and primary packaging. In operation, when the platform is flat then all the load sensors should measure the same normal force to each load sensor 28 i.e. the force in line with their mounting and perpendicular to the flat surface or platform supporting the primary packaging. When the robot is on an incline then the platform is on an incline and so the load of the chemicals in the chemical bag is not distributed evenly across the platform and the load sensors will show different readings. As gravity acts perpendicular to a 0° incline any deviation from this horizontal must be accounted for in any measurements. The robot determines it is at an angle or incline from an onboard accelerometer and can report any incline in 3-axes. To account for the incline, trigonometry can be used to convert the normal force the scale measures into the weight. This calculation can be done with the 3-axis vector (incline in 3-axes) extracted from the accelerometer. Therefore, the method includes reading an output of load sensors and applying a corrective formula and adjusting weight measurement to take into account the incline and determine an accurate weight and/or volume.

As best seen in Figure 2, a flexible chemical bag 32 comprises an airtight valve outlet 34 sealed to the flexible chemical bag 32, with the appropriate connection part for secure connection to a hose 36. The hose 36 may also be a tube, piping or any suitable means to transport the material for deposition.

The autonomous deposition robot 10 comprises wheels 24 for movement, a position sensor 38 and laser 40. Position sensor 38 may comprises a Global Positioning Device for navigation or the autonomous deposition robot 10 may use triangulation with known positioning reflectors and the laser 40 for positioning. In operation, the autonomous deposition robot 10 may be in constant communication with a positioning device and may reposition itself based on communication from a Global Positioning Device, as shall be further described with reference to Figure 5.

Turning to Figure 2, the primary packaging 14 comprising the flexible chemical bag 32 with the hose 36 is connected to a nozzle array 42, via an actuator pump 35. Here the nozzle array 42 acts as the means to deposit the material for deposition. Any such suitable nozzle, nozzle array or means to deposit the material, depending on the actual material to be deposited, may be used. Each chemical bag of the primary packaging 14, 16, 18 and 20 of Figure 1 will have a hose 36 and valve 34 to connect to the nozzle array 42 via the actuator pump 35.

The autonomous deposition robot 10 may have a single actuator pump 35 for all primary packaging/chemical bag/hose (14,16,18,20/32/36), or there may be multiple actuator pumps, i.e. one for each primary packaging/chemical bags/hose (14,16,18,20/32/36), such that different chemicals/materials can be deposited at different times. Each nozzle of the nozzle array 42 may be designated for each primary packaging/chemical bag/hose (14,16,18,20/32/36) present, so that each nozzle is for deposition of only the material held in each primary packing/chemical bag (14,16,18,20/32).

Thus, in operation, the nozzle array 42 can deposit materials from each primary packing/chemical bag (14,16,18,20/32) individually, or multiple nozzles of an array 42 can operate to blend materials together, to deposit at the same time, or at different times within the same deposition area.

The flexible chemical bag 32 comprises a chemical or material suitable for depositing on a ground, for example herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, chemicals, coloured materials, powders, fertilizers, plant growth aids or water, or the like provided that compatible hoses 36 and nozzle arrays 42 are attached. The hose 36 is connected to a manifold 44, connected to a tank 46, containing further liquids 48 which may serve a variety of further purposes. The liquids 48 may be used to flush the hose 36 and nozzles 42 to clean them, increase or decrease the viscosity of the deposition chemical or material, and/or by suitable mixing may change the chemical make-up of the chemical, or deposition material, as it is deployed on the ground.

In operation, a user may register the chemical material using the ID tag 30 to match chemicals or materials held in a database by way of communication with module 22, to ensure the correct chemical or material is deployed in the correct amount, in the correct location.

The database may contain a list of verified deposition materials authorised for use and may in return, grant permission for the autonomous deposition robot 10 to accept the material and may, depending in the type of material or chemical, make mechanical or software adjustments. For example, a nozzle 42 height may be adjusted to spray fertilizer in a different way to that nozzle 42 arrangement for an herbicide. The nozzle height adjustment is also discussed in relation to Figures 5 and 6.

The database may also include a lookup table of drift properties for certain materials, such as when the flexible chemical bag 32 is inserted into the autonomous deposition robot 10, the required deposition gap and nozzle height is calculated or read from the table, using RFID technology to read a label on the packaging, for example. Then the deposition settings of the autonomous deposition robot 10 can be automatically adjusted based on a reading of the packaging label, or using any other suitable technology known in the art. For example, a nozzle 42 height may be adjusted to spray fertilizer in a different way to that nozzle 42 arrangement for an herbicide. For example, when spraying glyphosate products using hydraulic nozzles choose those rated at 1.5-2.5 bar which produce an even distribution. A medium or coarse spray is required to avoid damaging drift from fine droplets (see Figure 6). Roundup™ ProActive™ and Roundup™ ProVantage™ formulations have low drift properties built-in, producing 33% less drift than standard glyphosates through flat fan nozzles. Accurate nozzle height in important for accurate application. Most herbicides are designed to work at 50cm above the target and application rate is a function of nozzle output, operating speed and swath width. The swath width is dependent on this height and halving it will also halve the swath width and double the application rate. The nozzle height adjustment is also discussed in relation to Figures 5 and 6.

The sensor 28 may register the presence of the primary packaging 14 and further verify that the correct chemical bag 32 is located in the correct frame and may further undertake a verified check of the authenticity of the chemical bag 32 using RFID technology or measurement from the weight monitoring plate 14a. The database may comprise a revocation list of packaging or materials that are no longer supported, out of date or out of contract. In which case an error message may be displayed to the user.

The hose 36 is attached to the valve 34 and with appropriate setting up of the autonomous deposition robot 10, as best described in Figures 3a, 3b, 4 and 5, so deposition can commence. During deposition, the weight of the chemical bag 32 will decrease as chemicals or materials, are deposited onto the ground. The weight monitoring plate 14a can measure the change in weight and gather data for further performance analysis.

Figures 3a and 3b are plan views of the autonomous deposition robot 10, wherein Figure 3a is a top view and Figure 3b is an underneath view. Figure 4 is a side elevation and Figure 5 is a plan view of a deposition operation in progress. The ground deposition robot 10 comprises the case 12, held securely by a chassis supporting the ground wheel arrangement 24 with a deposition head 60 on a traverse guide 62, the traverse guide 62 permitting movement of the deposition head 60 beyond the width W of the ground wheel arrangement 24, along the length of the deposition width 68.

The nozzle array 42 as described above may be attached to the deposition head 60. The nozzles maybe fixed and the deposition head 60 moveable in an x, y and/or z direction. The deposition head 60, via the deposition guide 62, may be moveable along the length of a deposition width 64 (see Figure 5 in particular), which is the area the deposition head can cover. The deposition head 60 many also be movable vertically, for example the deposition head 60 can be moved up and down depending on the density of amount of chemical to be deposited. The deposition head can have a means (not shown) to monitor the ground height and adjust the height of the deposition head accordingly, allowing for more accurate material deposition. The description of Figure 6 comprises further detail regarding the nozzle height.

The ground wheel arrangement 24 comprises wheels 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d to steer the autonomous robot 10 along a path to affect the deposition, and this may be underthe control of a deposition file that can be loaded into the on-board control system, such as may be contained communications module 22. A user or operator may also input a deposition gap 66, which is required to ensure that due to seepage or other unwanted means, the chemicals or material deposit don't over lay each other at the edges of each run, otherwise known as over spray, or double dosing. This is significant as the deposition of too much pesticide, for example, may burn lines in the ground, as the pesticide seeps out due to rainwater, or in the case of a solid material, is blown due the wind. This is further described in relation to Figure 6.

As it is known in the art of ground printing, the actual progression of a second path segment may deviate from the theoretical target progression. As such, the trajectory of the autonomous deposition robot 10 needs to be continuously corrected, while moving through the second path segment to adapt the trajectory of the second path segment of the autonomous deposition robot to the first deposition section in order to maintain the width of the deposition gap. Many methods using Local Positioning beacons, Global Positioning Techniques and SLAM algorithms, as disclosed in the applicant's co-pending applications and as known in the art can be used to perform such a function.

The traverse guide 62 is fixed in relation to the ground wheel arrangement 24, so that it covers one area along the deposition width 68. The ground wheel arrangement 24 then notches forward, moving the whole autonomous deposition robot 10 forward for it to deposit another segment. In another arrangement not illustrated, the traverse guide 62 can be movable relative to the ground wheel arrangement 24 in the direction of travel, so that an area may be covered while the ground wheel arrangement 24 is stationary, and then the ground wheel arrangement 24 moves forward by the length of the area covered to cover an adjacent area. The deposition head 60 can, for example, deposit a line of 10mm width, then the ground wheel arrangement 24 notch forward by 10mm. Or an area, say of A4 or A3 paper size can be covered and only then does the robot 10 move forward. The autonomous deposition robot 10 can therefore cover a strip 64, Figure 3, of a deposition area wider than the width W of the ground wheel arrangement 24 and when an entire strip 64 of the deposition area has been covered, turn around to cover an adjacent strip.

In this way, the ground wheel arrangement 24 does not run over any part of the freshly covered ground, the outer tracks 66 of the ground wheel arrangement 24 being seen in Figure 3, to be well within the width of the strips 64. The wheel arrangement 24 may have independent drives to manage torque for optimised positioning accuracy on any surface. The independent drives may be connected to the smart communications module 22 to feedback into drive control. The autonomous deposition robot 10 may be able to respond in real time to changing terrain needs. The autonomous deposition robot 10 may include an autonomous traction management capability, to safeguard the terrain the autonomous deposition robot 10 is interacting with, and to reduce skidding and turf damage.

Turning to Figure 6, there is shown is a side view of the nozzle array of the autonomous deposition robot 10 of Figure 1, showing the benefit of an adjustable deposition gap on the deposition process.

As previously described, the deposition nozzles 42 can be height (h) adjustable, whereby to deposit finer or coarser amounts or to adapt to ground irregularities, as they are usually a set distance (d) apart. As described in relation to Figure 5, the autonomous deposition robot 10 can be steered along a path to affect the deposition (68), and this may be under the control of a deposition file that can be loaded into the on-board control system, such as may be contained communications module 22, or maybe calculated on the fly using GPS, or other location means. Using various techniques as disclosed in the Applicant's co-pending applications.

A user or operator may also input, or pre-set, a deposition gap 66, which is calculated to ensure that, due to seepage 60 or other unwanted means, the chemicals or material deposit don't over lay each other at the edges of each run segment. This is significant as the deposition of too much pesticide, for example, may burn lines in the ground 67, as the pesticide seeps out due to rainwater, or in the case of a solid material, is blown due the wind. As mentioned, this is called overspray or double dosing in the art.

This allows for improvements in the accuracy of the deposition of material, for example in fertiliser or pesticide deposition, due to a possible run off, or unwanted spread due to environmental factures, such as wind, of the deposition material. This allows the optimisation of material deposition, and material use, minimising environmental impact, with no compromise to quality of finished product, e.g. a fertilised football pitch.

Turning to Figure 7, a smart communications module 22 includes processing circuitry 80 coupled to memory circuitry 82 e.g. volatile memory (V)/non-volatile memory (NV), such as such as flash and ROM.

The memory circuitry 82 may store programs executed by the processing circuitry 80, as well as data such as user interface resources, time-series data, credentials (e.g. cryptographic keys) and/or identifiers for the remote resource (which may for convenience be referred to as the cloud 100 or the edge 102(s) (e.g. URL, IP address). The memory circuitry 80 may also comprise access to machine learning algorithms stored in libraries to provide for an artificial intelligence equipped autonomous deposition robot 10.

The module 22 may also comprise communication circuitry 84 including, for example, near field communicating (NFC), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), WiFi, ZigBee or cellular circuitry (e.g. 3G/4G/5G) for communicating with the remote resource(s)/device(s) e.g. over a wired or wireless communication link 86. For example, the module 22 may connect to remote resource(s)/device(s) within a local mesh network over BLE, which in turn may be connected to the internet via an ISP router.

The module 22 may also comprise input/output (I/O) circuitry 88 such as sensing circuitry to sense inputs (e.g. via sensors (not shown)) from the surrounding environment and/or to provide an output to a user e.g. using a buzzer or light emitting diode(s) (not shown). The module 22 may generate operational data based on the sensed inputs, whereby the operational data may be stored in memory 82. The I/O circuitry 88 may also comprise a user interface e.g. buttons (not shown) to allow the user to interact with the module 22.

The processing circuitry 80 may control various processing operations performed by the module 22 e.g. encryption of data, communication, processing of applications stored in the memory circuitry 82. The module 22 may also comprise a display e.g. an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display (not shown) for communicating messages to the user.

The module 22 may generate operational data based on the sensed inputs. Although, the module 22 may comprise large scale processing devices, often the autonomous deposition robot 10 will be constrained to battery power and so power may need to be managed and prioritised for movement of the autonomous deposition robot 10 and actuation of the deposition process. Therefore, the module 22 may comprise a relatively small-scale data processing device having limited processing capabilities, which may be configured to perform only a limited set of tasks, such as generating operational data and pushing the operational data to a remote resource 100, 102 such as shown in Figure 8.

For example, the module 22, may, for example, be an embedded device, such as a chemical registration and chemical consumption monitoring device, which generates operational data related to the registration of an input primary packaging 14 comprising a chemical bag 32 and the use of the chemical or deposition material, using data generated from the sensor 28 connected to a change in weight detected by the weight monitoring plate 14a. Alternatively, the module 22 may, for example, comprise a plurality of environmental sensors, which generate operational data based on the surrounding environment, and may, for example be generated as a time series and fed, as best seen in Figure 8, to a remote resource such as the cloud 100, the edge 102 such as a tablet used to control the autonomous deposition robot 10, via communications link 86. The cloud 100 or the edge 102 may by return send instructions back to the autonomous deposition robot 10, via a communications link 104 for the real-time adjustment of deposition properties based on the data. In the present example, the cloud 100 and edge 102 may also communicate with each other via a communications link 108 and 110. This could be to update the instructions, send new instructions, initiate, or prevent the operation of the autonomous deposition robot 10. The edge 202 may be between the communication between the autonomous deposition robot 10 and the cloud 102. The robot laser 40 and position sensor 38 may communicate with the cloud 100 and/or the edge 102 to feedback into the real-time adjustment of deposition properties based on the data.

Alternatively, the module 22 may, for example, comprise an accelerometer which generates data relating to the movement of the autonomous deposition robot 10, for example capturing distance moved, or elevation ascended/descended by the robot 10 and fed to the cloud 100, or edge 102, for analysis.

Figure 8 schematically shows an example of the autonomous deposition robot 10 in communication with the cloud 100, the edge 102, such as remote resource, which may be a tablet, smartphone or laptop when the present techniques are applied. The edge 102 may be a tablet controlled by a user, such as a Groundsman located on site responsible for the upkeep of a pitch within a football or rugby stadium.

In the present example, it will be appreciated that the cloud 100 may comprise any suitable data processing device or embedded system which can be accessed from another platform such as a remote computer, or cloud platform which receives data posted by the autonomous deposition robot 10. Use of a cloud 100 means that the onboard memory 82 of the robot does not need to store everything, data e.g. machine learning libraries, deposition instructions, operation instructions, and/or history data can be stored in the cloud 100.

In the present example, the autonomous deposition robot 10 is configured to connect with the cloud 100 or the edge 102 to push data thereto, whereby, for the example, the autonomous deposition robot 10 may be provided with the connectivity data (e.g. a location identifier (e.g. an address URL)) and credential data (e.g. a cryptographic key, certificate, a site secret) of the cloud 100 or the edge 102.

In the present example, on initialisation, e.g. powering on for the first time, the autonomous deposition robot 10 undertakes a registration process with the cloud 100 and the edge 102 and pushes identification data and is on standby to receive deposition data in return.

It will be appreciated that the autonomous deposition robot 10 may connect to the cloud 100 or the edge 102, e.g. via the internet, using one or more nodes/routers in a network e.g. a mesh network. The autonomous deposition robot 10 may connect to the nodes/routers using any suitable method, for example using Bluetooth Low Energy, ZigBee, NFC, WiFi.

In alternative embodiments, a user may specify to which remote resource the autonomous deposition robot 10 should push data. For example, the user may connect the autonomous deposition robot 10 directly to a portable device e.g. via universal serial bus (USB), and install code capable of executing on the autonomous deposition robot 10, whereby the code may comprise connectivity data and/or credential data relating to the remote resource with which the user wants the autonomous deposition robot 10 to communicate. The connectivity data and/or credential data may be provided to the autonomous deposition robot 10, using any suitable method e.g. via USB/BLE. The credential data may also comprise credential data relating to a network to which the autonomous deposition robot 10 may be required to connect e.g. WPA2 key for pairing with nodes in a WiFi network.

The remote resource 100, 102 may confirm receipt on receiving data from the autonomous deposition robot 10, for example, by providing a summary data e.g. a hash value representative of the data to the autonomous deposition robot 10, whereby the summary data may be signed by the remote resource 100, 102 (e.g. using a cryptographic key, such as a private key of the remote resource). The autonomous deposition robot 10 may then verify the signature of the remote resource e.g. using a public key of the remote resource preprovisioned on the autonomous deposition robot 10, and may also verify the summary data. If the verification of the signature/summary data fails, the autonomous deposition robot 10 may alert the user e.g. by activating an LED on the autonomous deposition robot 10 in a particular sequence.

A user wishing to access the data at the remote resource 100, 102 may do so subject to user privileges and subscription services using a client device 106 such as smartphone or tablet. In an illustrative example, the user may connect to the remote resource 100, 102 using a browser on the client device 106, whereby, for example, whereby clicking a link in the browser will cause the client device 106 to fetch the data from the remote resource 100, 102, which in the present example is a web-application 108.

The web-application 108 will start in the browser on client device 106 and cause the client device 106 to fetch data from the remote resource 100, 102. The web application will process the fetched data to provide a user interface to the user on the client device 106, whereby the user interface comprises the data presented in a human friendly form.

It will be clear to one skilled in the art that many improvements and modifications can be made to the foregoing exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present technique.

The robots, systems, and methods described herein can be adapted for use with different surfaces, such as sports (e.g. football, cricket, racing, rugby, hockey, ice hockey, skiing, shooting) pitches, race courses, indoor sports venues and running tracks.

In exemplary embodiments, the robots, systems, and methods described herein may be used for deposition of a fertiliser, pesticide or other such chemical for treatment of a substrate such as grass. For example, instructions to the robot could be to deposit fertilised over an entire pitch or target specific worn patches when working in tandem with inspection data, overhead imagery, or other pitch growth or health capture and appraisal mechanism.

The robots and method of using such robots described herein may also have additional components, which act in tandem or as a replacement with the described deposition. For example, a lawnmower could be added to the robot, which prior to deposition of material such as an advertising logo or a fertiliser, grass is trimmed to an optimal level for the material to be deposited.

In examples, the material for deposition is a herbicide, pesticide, insecticide, plant growth aid, water or marking material, optionally wherein the marking material is a paint, chemical, coloured material, powder.

In examples, a method of depositing material using a robot includes i) a user sending deposition instructions to the autonomous robot; and ii) the autonomous robot depositing material according to the deposition instructions. In such an example, the user may send deposition instructions to the autonomous robot via a cloud server or device, or an edge server or device. The method may also include gathering performance diagnostics of the autonomous robot.

The robots and method of using such robots described herein may also carry out multiple functions at the same time. For example, bags may contain paint for deposition to mark a logo on a pitch and may also contain fertiliser to fertilise the pitch.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 An autonomous deposition apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a. at least one receptacle to hold a deposition material; b. at least one deposition arrangement; c. a locomotion arrangement; d. a control unit, wherein the control unit is operable to i. receive at least one deposition instruction; wherein the deposition instruction include a required deposition gap between co-located areas of a multi section deposition; and e. the control unit controlling the least one deposition arrangement and the locomotion arrangement to autonomously deposit the deposition material onto a surface in sections of the multi section deposition; and f. wherein the control unit is operable to navigate the autonomous vehicle to maintain the required deposition gap between co-located sections of a multi section deposition.

2 A method of depositing material using an autonomous robot, the autonomous robot comprising at least one deposition arrangement, at least one locomotion arrangement, and a control unit, the method comprising: a. the autonomous robot receiving one or more deposition instruction; wherein the one or more deposition instruction includes a required deposition gap between co-located areas of a multi section deposition; b. the control unit controlling the least one deposition arrangement and the locomotion arrangement to autonomously deposit the deposition material onto a surface in sections of a multi section deposition; and c. wherein the autonomous vehicle is navigated by the control unit to maintain the required deposition gap between the co-located sections of a multi section deposition. 3 An apparatus or method according to any preceding claim, wherein the deposition gap is automatically calculated dependent on a characteristic of the deposition material.

4 An apparatus or method according to any preceding claim, wherein the characteristic of the deposition material is the drift property.

5 An apparatus or method according to any preceding claim, wherein the required deposition gap is obtained from a database.

6 An apparatus or method according to any preceding claim, wherein the required deposition gap is input by a user.

7 An apparatus or method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the user sends deposition instructions to the autonomous robot via a cloud server or device, or an edge server or device.

8 An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim comprising a chassis on a ground wheel arrangement with a nozzle array on a traverse guide, the traverse guide permitting movement of the nozzle array beyond the width of the ground wheel arrangement.

9 An apparatus according to claim 8, in which the traverse guide is fixed in relation to the ground wheel arrangement.

10 An apparatus according to claim 9, in which the traverse guide is movable relative to the ground wheel arrangement in the direction of travel, so that an area can be deposited while the ground wheel arrangement is stationary.

11 An apparatus or method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control unit uses one or more of GPS, Beacons, SLAM or Computer Vision to navigate.

12 An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the material for deposition is a herbicide, pesticide, insecticide, plant growth aid, water or marking material, 5 optionally wherein the marking material is a paint, chemical, coloured material, powder.