WO2024055855A1

WO2024055855A1 - Autonomous mobile device and method for controlling the same, and computer readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2024055855A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/116606
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shaoguang ZHANG; Degan LIN
Original assignee: Willand (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2022-09-16
Filing date: 2023-09-01
Publication date: 2024-03-21
Also published as: CN115309167A; CN115309167B

Abstract

An autonomous mobile device, a method for controlling the autonomous mobile device and a computer readable storage medium, the method includes: acquiring positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time (Step S101); when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than a preset threshold, controlling the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the fist position (Step S102); When the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, controlling the autonomous mobile device to move to a second position, and continue to walk and perform a working task from the second position along an originally planned working path, where the first position is separated from the second position by a preset distance, and the first position is located on the originally planned working path (Step S103). The method improves working efficiency of the autonomous mobile device.

Description

AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME, AND COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202211131073.5, titled “AUTONOMOUS MOBILE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME, AND COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM” , filed to China National Intellectual Property Administration on September 16, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a technical field of autonomous mobile devices and, in particular, to an autonomous mobile device, a method for controlling the autonomous mobile device and a computer readable storage medium.

BACKGROUND

An autonomous mobile device refers to a movable device, for example, the autonomous mobile device is a lawn mower, a sweeper, etc.

The autonomous mobile device is provided with a positioning module, and the autonomous mobile device completes a set working task depending on a location positioned by the positioning module. However, the positioning module is limited by uncertain factors such as fences, high walls, tree crowns and clouds, resulting in declination of positioning accuracy of the positioning module, that is, the autonomous mobile device is in an area with poor positioning quality, which leads to failure of the autonomous mobile device to complete the set working task based on an accurate positioning position.

In exemplary technology, when the autonomous mobile device is located at an initial position with low positioning accuracy, the autonomous mobile device walks to a position with high positioning quality, and will return to the initial position again to continue performing the working task. However, the low positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at the initial position makes the autonomous mobile device walk to the position with high positioning quality again, thus leading to a situation in which the autonomous mobile device falls into a cycle of walking from the position with low positioning accuracy to the position with high positioning accuracy, thereby resulting in low working efficiency of the autonomous mobile device.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides an autonomous mobile device, a method for controlling the autonomous mobile device and a computer readable storage medium, which are used for solving the problem of low working efficiency of the autonomous mobile device.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device, including:

acquiring positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time;

when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than a preset threshold, controlling the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position;

when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, controlling the autonomous mobile device to move to a second position, and continue to walk and perform a working task from the second position along an originally planned working path, where the first position is separated from the second position by a preset distance, and the first position is located on the originally planned working path.

In an embodiment, before controlling the autonomous mobile device to move to the second position, the method further includes:

determining the second position according to the first position.

In an embodiment, where the originally planned working path includes a first walking path and a second walking path, and the determining the second position according to the first position includes:

determining the first walking path where the first position is located;

determining the second walking path adjacent to the first walking path, and determining the second position on the second walking path.

In an embodiment, where the originally planned working path includes a first walking path, and the determining the second position according to the first position includes:

determining the first walking path where the first position is located;

determining the second position on the first walking path.

In an embodiment, the method further includes:

controlling the autonomous mobile device to re-plan a path with the second position as a starting point when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold and the autonomous mobile device is at the second position;

controlling the autonomous mobile device to walk according to the re-planned path.

In an embodiment, after controlling the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position, the method further includes:

acquiring a number of times that the autonomous mobile device changes a walking direction in a process of random walking;

outputting prompt information and/or controlling the autonomous mobile device to walk to a preset position when the number of times reaches a preset number of times, where the prompt information is indicative of manual processing for the autonomous mobile device.

In an embodiment, after controlling the autonomous mobile device to start waling randomly from the first position, the method further includes:

acquiring a duration during which the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is lower than the preset threshold;

outputting prompt information and/or controlling the autonomous mobile device to walk to a preset position when the duration of time reaches a preset duration, where the prompt information is indicative of manual processing for the autonomous mobile device.

In an embodiment, before the step of acquiring positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time, the method further includes:

planning a working path for the autonomous mobile device;

controlling the autonomous mobile device to walk and perform the working task of the autonomous mobile device along the working path.

In an embodiment, when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, controlling the autonomous mobile device to return to a charging pile.

In an embodiment, when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, controlling the autonomous mobile device to stop traveling in situ and return to the charging pile after a preset time.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure further provides an autonomous mobile device, including:

an acquiring module, configured to acquire positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time;

a controlling module, configured to: when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than a preset threshold, control the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position;

a determining module, configured to: when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, control the autonomous mobile device to move to a second position and continue to walk and perform a working task from the second position along an originally planned working path, where the first position is separated from the second position by a preset distance, and the first position is located on the originally planned working path.

In a third aspect, the present disclosure further provides an autonomous mobile device, including: a memory and a processor; the memory stores computer executable instructions; the processor performs the computer executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the autonomous mobile device performs the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to each embodiment of the foregoing first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer readable storage medium for storing computer executable instructions, and when the computer executable instructions are executed by a processor, the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to each embodiment of the foregoing first aspect is implemented.

In a fifth aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer program product, the computer program product includes computer program instructions that cause a computer to execute the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to each embodiment of the foregoing first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer program, the computer program, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to each embodiment of the foregoing first aspect.

According to the autonomous mobile device, the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device and the computer readable storage medium provided by the present disclosure, positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is acquired at a fixed time or in real time, when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than a preset threshold, the autonomous mobile device is controlled to start to walk randomly, and when the positioning accuracy is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, the autonomous mobile device is controlled to walk to a second position and continue performing a working task. In the present disclosure, after walking from a position with low positioning accuracy to a position with high positioning accuracy, the autonomous mobile device walks to the second position separated by a preset distance from the first position to perform the working task, so that the autonomous mobile device is prevented from directly returning to the first position with low positioning accuracy, that is, the autonomous mobile device is prevented from falling into a cycle of walking from the position with low positioning accuracy to the position with high positioning accuracy, and the working efficiency of the autonomous mobile device is improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a working schematic diagram of the autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a fifth embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a sixth embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a seventh embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of functional modules of an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure.

Through the above drawings, clear embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown, which will be described in more detail later. These drawings and written descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concepts in the present disclosure in any way, but to explain the concepts of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, same numbers in different drawings indicate same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the present disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

The technical scheme of the present disclosure and how the technical scheme of the present disclosure can solve the above technical problems will be described in detail with specific examples. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments. Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, which is a first embodiment of the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure, and the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device includes the following steps:

Step S101, acquire positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time.

In this embodiment, the autonomous mobile device can be a sweeper or a lawn mower. For convenience of description, the term device is used below to refer to the autonomous mobile device.

The device is provided with a positioning module, such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) module or a RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) module. The RTK module performs positioning by processing carrier phase observations of two measuring stations in real time.

When the device performs a working task, an area where the device is located is affected by clouds, high walls, tree crowns, human bodies or other aspects, which will lead to declination of the positioning accuracy of the positioning module, thus rendering a position determined by the device inaccurate. In this regard, when the device performs the working task, it will acquire positioning information of the autonomous mobile device in real time or at a fixed time, and then determine positioning accuracy based on the positioning information, that is, the device acquires the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device in real time or at a fixed time. In an example, the device determines the positioning accuracy based on the number of common satellite observation frequency bands of sampling points.

Step S102, when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than a preset threshold, control the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position.

After acquiring the positioning accuracy, the device compares the positioning accuracy with a preset threshold. If the positioning accuracy is lower than the preset threshold, it can be determined that the positioning quality of the device at the current position is poor, and the current position is defined as the first position. Further, whether the positioning accuracy is lower than the preset threshold can be determined according to a comparison between the number of public satellite observation frequency bands and a preset number. For example, if the number of public satellite observation frequency bands is greater than the preset number, the positioning accuracy is higher than the preset threshold; if the number of public satellite observation frequency bands is less than the preset number, the positioning accuracy is lower than the preset threshold.

The device is currently performing the working task according to an original planned working path, and the positioning accuracy of the device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, the device enters a random walking mode, that is, the device starts to walk randomly from the first position.

Further, the device will continue performing the working task in the process of random walking. For example, the device is a lawn mower, which mows grass according to a planned working path. If the positioning accuracy at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, the device will mow grass randomly. In this embodiment, the autonomous mobile device will continue performing the working task when walking from a position with low positioning accuracy to a position with high positioning accuracy, thus increasing a completion progress of the working task and further improving work efficiency of the autonomous mobile device.

It should be noted that there are two ways for the device to perform the working task, one is a border-based working mode, and the other is a center-based working mode. The border-based working mode refers to a mode in which the device performs a working task along a boundary of a working area, for example, the lawn mower mows grass along the boundary. The center-based working mode refers to a mode in which the device plans a working path in the working area and carries out a working task according to the working path. For example, the working path is a bow-shaped path, and when the lawn mower runs in the center-based working mode, it mows the grass according to the bow-shaped path. As the border-based working mode is to perform the working task along the border, if the device detects that the positioning accuracy is lower than the preset threshold, the device will walk randomly and will go out of the border and enter a non-working area, thus causing damage to dynamic obstacles such as people or animals. Therefore, when the device detects that the positioning accuracy is lower than the preset accuracy, it will not walk randomly if the device is running in the border-based working mode. When the device detects that the positioning accuracy is lower than the preset accuracy and the device is running in the center-based working mode, the device can be controlled to walk randomly from the first position and perform the working task.

Step S103, when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, control the autonomous mobile device to move to a second position and continue to walk and perform a working task from the second position along an originally planned working path, where the first position is separated from the second position by a preset distance, and the first position is located on the originally planned working path.

The device acquires the positioning accuracy in real time or at a fixed time. In the process of random walking of the device, if the acquired positioning accuracy is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, the device is controlled to move to the second position, and continues to walk and perform a working task from the second position along an originally planned working path, that is, the device is controlled to continue performing the working task according to an original plan.

It should be noted that the second position is separated from the first position by a preset distance, so that the device will not return to the first position with low positioning accuracy when it detects that the positioning accuracy is higher than or equal to the preset threshold. As the device performs the working task according to the original planned working path before walking randomly, the first position is located on the original planned working path. In addition, the second location is a location that the device has not passed, that is, the device has not performed the working task at the second location. For example, the device is the lawn mower, the second position is a position where the grass has not been mowed by the lawn mower. Referring to FIG. 2, the device performs the working task according to the originally planned working path, the positioning accuracy of the device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, and the device starts to walk randomly and performs the working task. After detecting that the positioning accuracy is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, the device walks to the second position and walks and performs the working task based on the second position along the originally planned working path.

In this embodiment, the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is acquired at a fixed time or in real time. When the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, the autonomous mobile device is controlled to walk randomly, and when the positioning accuracy is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, the autonomous mobile device is controlled to walk to the second position to continue the working task. According to the present disclosure, after walking from a position with low positioning accuracy to a position with high positioning accuracy, the autonomous mobile device walks to the second position separated by a preset distance from the first position to perform the working task, so that the autonomous mobile device is prevented from directly returning to the first position with low positioning accuracy, that is, the autonomous mobile device is prevented from falling into a cycle of walking from the position with low positioning accuracy to the position with high positioning accuracy, and the working efficiency of the autonomous mobile device is improved.

In an embodiment, the device acquires first sensing information and the second sensing information of the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time, and controls, according to the second sensing information, the autonomous mobile device to walk when the positioning accuracy according to the first sensing information of the autonomous mobile device is lower than the preset threshold, until the positioning accuracy of the first sensing information of the autonomous mobile device is higher than the preset threshold.

Based on the above embodiment, it can be seen that when the positioning accuracy of the first sensing information is lower than the preset threshold, the device controls, based on the second sensing information, itself to start to walk randomly at the first position; when the positioning accuracy of the first sensing information is higher than the preset threshold, the device switches to control the device based on the first sensing information to return to the second position to continue to walk and perform the working task along the originally planned working path.

The working principle of a first sensing apparatus in the device for acquiring the first sensing information is different from that of a second sensing apparatus for acquiring the second sensing information. The types of data collected by the first sensing apparatus and the second sensing apparatus are different. The two kinds of data have different feedbacks on environmental information.

In one embodiment, the first sensing information includes at least one of positioning information, image information, ultrasonic information or mileage accumulation information, and can also be fusion information of multiple kinds of information.

The second sensing information includes at least one of positioning information, image information, ultrasonic information or mileage accumulated information, and it can also be fusion information of multiple kinds of information, and the first sensing information is different from the second sensing information.

The device includes the first sensing apparatus and the second sensing apparatus. The first sensing apparatus includes a positioning module, such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) module or a RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) module. The RTK module performs positioning by processing carrier phase observations of two measuring stations in real time. In addition, the second sensing apparatus includes an image collecting module or an ultrasonic module. The image collecting module can be a camera or a visual sensor, and the ultrasonic module can be an ultrasonic wave module or a radar. Positioning information collected by the positioning module is defined as the first sensing information, and image information collected by the image collecting module or ultrasonic information collected by the ultrasonic module is defined as the second sensing information. The autonomous mobile device can realize obstacle recognition, boundary recognition or path planning through the image information or ultrasonic information. The device will collect the first sensing information and the second sensing information at a fixed time or in real time.

In one embodiment, the first sensing apparatus includes an RTK positioning module and an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) module, and the first sensing information is fusion information of RTK information and IMU information. The first sensing apparatus can also include other data collecting modules that can realize positioning, and the first sensing information can also be fused with other types of positioning data.

In this embodiment, the device mainly uses the positioning of the first sensing apparatus, and when the first sensing apparatus is unstable, the second sensing apparatus is used to assist the random walking and avoiding obstacles. When the first sensing apparatus is stable, the first sensing apparatus is used for positioning.

Referring to FIG. 3, which is a flowchart in a second embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure. Based on the first embodiment, step S103 includes:

Step S301, determine the second position according to the first position when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold;

Step S302, control the autonomous mobile device to move to the second position and continue to walk and perform the working task from the second position along the originally planned working path.

In this embodiment, after the device detects that the positioning accuracy is higher than or equal to the preset threshold in the process of random walking, the second position is determined based on the first position, then the autonomous mobile device is controlled to move to the second position, and continue to walk and perform the working task from the second position along the originally planned working path.

In an example, the distance between the first position and the second position is a preset distance, the device can make a circle on an initial map with the first position as a center and the preset distance as a radius, and the device determines each intersection of the circle and the working path. Since the second position is a position that the device has not passed, the device determines an intersection that the device has not passed among all of the intersections as the second position.

In another example, the device can determine location information of the second location through location information of the first location. The position information of the first position can be coordinates of the first position in the initial map. The device decomposes the preset distance into an abscissa value and an ordinate value in a coordinate system in the initial map, then adds the abscissa value of the first position and the abscissa value of the preset distance, and adds the ordinate value of the first position and the ordinate value of the preset distance to obtain the abscissa value and the ordinate value of the second position. The position information of the second position is also the coordinates of the second position in the initial map. Alternatively, the abscissa value and the ordinate value of the second position can be obtained by subtracting the abscissa value of the preset distance from the abscissa value of the first position, and subtracting the ordinate value of the preset distance from the ordinate value of the first position. The initial map is a map of a working area corresponding to the working task established by the device.

In this embodiment, when the device detects that the positioning accuracy is higher than the preset threshold during the random walking, the second position is accurately determined based on the first position, and then the device is controlled to continue performing the working task from the second position, thus avoiding a situation that the device returns to the first position and is caused to walk randomly again, thus improving the working efficiency of the device.

Referring to FIG. 4, which is a third embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure. Based on the second embodiment, step S301 includes:

Step S401, determine a first walking path where the first position is located.

In this embodiment, the device performs the working task in the center-based working mode, and under the center-based working mode, the device walks according to a bow-shaped route. And the bow-shaped route includes a plurality of walking paths. Referring to FIG. 2, each arrow of the working path corresponds to a walking path.

Step S402, determine a second walking path adjacent to the first walking path, and determine the second position on the second walking path.

The first position and the second position may be located on different walking paths. The device first determines the walking path where the first position is located, which is defined as the first walking path. The device then determines the second walking path adjacent to the first walking path, and any position on the second walking path is determined as the second position.

It should be noted that the adjacency of two walking paths refers to intersecting paths, or two paths with the shortest distance. For example, the working path is a bow-shaped route, including a walking path a, a walking path b, a walking path c, and a walking path d, etc. The walking path a is connected with the walking path b, and an angle between the walking path a and the walking path b is 90 degrees; the walking path b is connected with the walking path c, and the angle between the walking path b and the walking path c is 90 degrees; the walking path c is connected with the walking path d, and the angle between the walking path c and the walking path d is 90 degrees. If the first position is located on the walking path a, the walking path adjacent to the walking path a may be the intersecting walking path b or the walking path c that is parallel to the walking path a, that is, the second position may be located on the walking path b or the walking path c.

In addition, the second walking path is the path that the device has not walked, so the device needs to acquire a walking path adjacent to the first walking path as the second walking path, so as to minimize an area that has not been processed by the device, that is, to increase effective workload of the device as much as possible. For example, the device is the lawn mower, if the second walking path is connected with the first walking path in a head-tail manner, the maximum of a path that has not been mowed by the lawn mower is the first walking path + the second walking path; if the first walking path is connected with a third walking path in a head-tail manner, and the third walking path is connected with the second walking path in a head-tail manner, the maximum of a path that has not been mowed by the lawn mower is the first walking path + the second walking path + the third walking path. For this reason, in order to increase the mowing area, the mower selects the second position on the walking path adjacent to the first walking path.

In addition, when the device performs the working task, it will update progress of the working task as the device walks. When being at the first position, the device suspends the updating of the progress of the working task, and when being at the second position, the device updates the progress of the working task based on a positional relationship between the second walking path and the first walking path, so that the device can start performing the working task from the second position.

In this embodiment, the device determines the first walking path where the first position is located, and then determines the second walking path adjacent to the first walking path, thereby determining the second position on the second walking path, thus improving the effective workload of the device.

Referring to FIG. 5, which is a fourth embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure. Based on any one of the first embodiment to third embodiments, step S103 includes:

Step S501, control the autonomous mobile device to re-plan a path with the second position as a starting point when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold and the autonomous mobile device is at the second position;

Step S502, control the autonomous mobile device to walk according to the re-planned path.

In this embodiment, the device will calculate the positioning accuracy at the fixed time during the process of random walking. If the positioning accuracy is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, and the device has returned to the second position, the device will re-plan the path with the second position as the starting point. The device then walks according to the re-planned path.

The re-planned path will cover an area where the device has walked and an area where the device has not walked in the process of random walking. While the device has not performed the working task in the walked area, by re-planning the path, the device can check missed areas and perform the working task, avoiding that the device misses an unworked area, and improving the effective workload of the device. The device is able to complete the work in all areas.

In an embodiment, the working path includes a first walking path. After determining the first walking path where the first position is located, the device determines the second position on the first walking path.

In an example, the first walking path includes a path that the device has walked and a path that the device has not walked. The first position is a junction point between the walked path and the un-walked path. And the distance between the first position and the second position is a preset distance, a position which is away from the first position by a preset distance on the un-traveled path is determined as the second position. The preset distance is greater than zero.

In this embodiment, by determining the second position on the walking path where the first position is located, the device is enabled to return to a position close to the first position to continue performing the working task, thus reducing the working area missed by the device and improving work coverage of the device.

Referring to FIG. 6, which is a fifth embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure. Based on any one of the first to fourth embodiments, after the step S102, the method further includes:

Step S601, acquire the number of times that the autonomous mobile device changes a walking direction in a process of random walking.

In this embodiment, in the process of random walking, the device will randomly change the walking direction and perform the working task. The trigger condition for random changing of the walking direction can be that the device detects that the positioning accuracy is lower than the preset threshold, that is, when the positioning accuracy detected by the device at time intervals is lower than the preset threshold, and the device randomly changes the walking direction. Every time the walking direction is changed, the device will update the number of times for which the walking direction is changed, that is, add 1 to the number of times to get an updated number of times.

Step S602, output prompt information and/or control the autonomous mobile device to walk to a preset position when the number of times reaches a preset number of times, where the prompt information is indicative of manual processing for the autonomous mobile device.

When the number of times reaches the preset number, it can be determined that the device has been in an area in which the positioning signal is unstable all the time, and the device cannot get out of the area, so manual intervention is required. In this regard, the device outputs prompt information and stops walking. The prompt information is used to indicate that the device needs to be manually processed, that is, the device should be moved out of the area in which the positioning signal is unstable by manual means.

In addition, when the number of times reaches the preset number of times, the device can also be controlled to walk to the preset position. The preset position is a position in an area with stable signal, so that the device can get out of the area with unstable signal. The preset location can also be the location where the charging pile or the base station is located, so as to avoid the power failure caused by the device being always located in the area with unstable signal.

In this embodiment, prompt information is output and/or the device is controlled to walk to the preset position when the number of times reaches the preset number of times, so as to avoid a situation that the device is stuck in the area with unable signal all the time and cannot complete the working task.

Referring to FIG. 7, which is a sixth embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure. Based on any one of the first to fifth embodiments, after step S102, the method further includes:

Step S701, acquire a duration during which the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is lower than the preset threshold;

Step S702, output prompt information and/or control the autonomous mobile device to walk to a preset position when the duration of time reaches a preset duration, where the prompt information is indicative of manual processing for the autonomous mobile device.

In this embodiment, after the positioning accuracy of the device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, the device acquires the duration during which the positioning accuracy of the device is lower than the preset threshold.

When the duration reaches the preset duration, it can be determined that the device has been in the area with unstable signal all the time, that is, the device has been performing the working task in a status of walking randomly all the time, and the working task of the device cannot be completed. In this regard, the device outputs prompt information and/or controls the device to walk to a preset position. The preset duration can be any suitable number. Regarding the prompt information and the preset position, reference can be made to the above description, which will not be repeated here.

In this embodiment, when the positioning accuracy of the device continuously falls below the preset threshold for the preset duration, prompt information is output and/or the device is controlled to walk to the preset position, so as to avoid that the device cannot complete the working task as the device is always stuck in the area with unstable signal.

Referring to FIG. 8, which is a flowchart of a seventh embodiment of a method for controlling an autonomous mobile device according to the present disclosure. Based on any one of the first to sixth embodiments, before step S101, the method further includes:

Step S801, plan a working path for the autonomous mobile device.

In this embodiment, it is necessary to plan the working path based on the working area of the working task before the device performs the working task.

Specifically, a working map of the working area corresponding to the working task is stored in the device. The device first determines the working mode under which the working task is performed. When the working mode is the center-based working mode, the working path is planned within a virtual boundary on the working map, and the working path can be a bow-shaped path. The virtual boundary is formed by fitting positions collected when the device walks along the physical boundary of the working area. The physical boundary is a physical boundary of the working area. For example, if the working area is a lawn, the physical boundary refers to roads surrounding the lawn. When the working mode is the border-based working mode, the working path is the virtual boundary. It can be understood that the working path includes boundary paths and middle-of-the-area paths, for example, a middle-of-the-area path is a bow-shaped path, and a boundary path is, for example, a path formed by the virtual boundary.

The working map is established by the device before planning the working path. The device receives an external instruction, controls the device to walk around the physical boundary based on the external instruction, and collects multiple pieces of position information during the walking process. The device then constructs an initial map with each piece of the position information. The position information can be coordinates of the collected positions, that is, the virtual boundary can be fitted by using the coordinates of respective positions, and the initial map can be constructed. After the initial map is constructed, a test is required. At this time, the device receives a test instruction, and walks along the virtual boundary based on the test instruction to test the initial map. After the test is passed, the initial map can be used as the working map.

Step S802, control the autonomous mobile device to walk and perform the working task of the autonomous mobile device along the working path.

After determining the working path, the device walks and performs the working task of the autonomous mobile device along the working path. For example, the working task is mowing grass, then the device mows the grass along the working path.

In this embodiment, the device plans the working path, and then controls the device to walk and perform the working task along the working path, thus avoiding disordered execution of the working task by the device and improving the effective workload of the device.

In an embodiment, when the positioning accuracy of the device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, controlling the device to return to a charging pile.

In an example, the position where the charging pile is located is an area where the positioning signal is stable. The device returns to the charging pile from the first position, so that the device can be in a position with high positioning accuracy, so that the device can continue performing the working task.

Further, when the positioning accuracy of the device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, the device is controlled to stop traveling and return to the charging pile after a preset time. The device reports an error by stopping traveling, and after reporting the error for a period of time, the device automatically returns to the charging pile. The time for error reporting is a preset time, and the preset time can be any suitable time duration.

In this embodiment, when the positioning accuracy of the device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, the device returns to the charging pile, and the positioning accuracy of the device at the position where the charging pile is located is high, so that the device can travel to the position with high positioning accuracy, thereby enabling the device to continue performing the working task and improving the working efficiency of the device.

The present disclosure also provides an autonomous mobile device. Referring to FIG. 9, an autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

an acquiring module 910, configured to acquire positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time;

a controlling module 920, configured to: when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than a preset threshold, control the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position; and

the controlling module 920 is configured to: when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, control the autonomous mobile device to move to a second position and continue to walk and perform a working task from the second position along an originally planned working path, where the first position is separated from the second position by a preset distance, and the first position is located on the originally planned working path.

In an embodiment, the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

a determining module, configured to determine the second position according to the first position.

In an embodiment, the originally planned working path includes a first walking path and a second walking path and the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

the determining module, configured to determine the first walking path where the first position is located; and

the determining module is configured to determine the second walking path adjacent to the first walking path, and determine the second position on the second walking path.

In an embodiment, the originally planned working path comprises a first walking path, and the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

the determining module is configured to determine the second position on the first walking path.

In an embodiment, the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

the controlling module 920, configured to control the autonomous mobile device to re-plan a path with the second position as a starting point when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold and the autonomous mobile device is at the second position; and

the controlling module 920 is configured to control the autonomous mobile device to walk according to the re-planned path.

In an embodiment, the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

the acquiring module 910, configured to acquire a number of times that the autonomous mobile device changes a walking direction in a process of random walking;

an outputting module, configure to output prompt information and/or control the autonomous mobile device to walk to a preset position when the number of times reaches a preset number of times, where the prompt information is indicative of manual processing for the autonomous mobile device.

In an embodiment, the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

the acquiring module 910, configured to acquire a duration during which the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is lower than the preset threshold; and

the outputting module, configure to output prompt information and/or control the autonomous mobile device to walk to a preset position when the duration of time reaches a preset duration, where the prompt information is indicative of manual processing for the autonomous mobile device.

In an embodiment, the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

a planning module, configured to plan a working path for the autonomous mobile device; and

a controlling module, configured to control the autonomous mobile device to walk and perform the working task of the autonomous mobile device along the working path.

In an embodiment, the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

the controlling module 920, configured to control the autonomous mobile device to return to a charging pile when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold.

In an embodiment, the autonomous mobile device 900 includes:

the controlling module 920, configured to control the autonomous mobile device to stop traveling in situ and return to the charging pile after a preset time when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of an autonomous mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment.

The autonomous mobile device 1000 may include: a processor 1001, such as a CPU, a memory 1002, and a transceiver 1003. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the structure shown in FIG 10 does not constitute a limitation on the autonomous mobile device, and the autonomous mobile device may include more or less components than those shown in the figure, or combine some components, or have different component arrangements. The memory 1002 can be realized by any type of volatile or nonvolatile memory device or their combination, such as a static random access memory (SRAM) , an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) , a programmable read-only memory (PROM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

The processor 1001 can call a computer program stored in the memory 1002 to complete all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned method for controlling the autonomous mobile device.

The transceiver 1003 is configured to receive information sent by an external device and send information to the external device.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which enables an autonomous mobile device to perform the method for controlling an autonomous mobile device as described above when instructions in the storage medium are performed by a processor of the autonomous mobile device.

A computer program product including a computer program, which, when performed by a processor of an autonomous mobile device, enables the autonomous mobile device to perform the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device as described above.

A computer program, which, when performed by a processor of an autonomous mobile device, enables the autonomous mobile device to perform the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device as described above.

After considering the specification and practicing the present disclosure disclosed herein, those skilled in the art will easily conceive of other implementations of the present disclosure. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptive changes of the present disclosure, the variations, uses or adaptive changes follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or commonly used technical means in this technical field that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are to be regarded as exemplary only, and a true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the following claims.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise structure described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

A method for controlling an autonomous mobile device, comprising:

acquiring positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time;

when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than a preset threshold, controlling the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position;

when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, controlling the autonomous mobile device to move to a second position, and continue to walk and perform a working task from the second position along an originally planned working path, wherein the first position is separated from the second position by a preset distance, and the first position is located on the originally planned working path.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to claim 1, wherein before controlling the autonomous mobile device to move to the second position, the method further comprises:

determining the second position according to the first position.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to claim 2, wherein the originally planned working path comprises a first walking path and a second walking path, and the determining the second position according to the first position comprises:

determining the first walking path where the first position is located;

determining the second walking path adjacent to the first walking path, and determining the second position on the second walking path.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to claim 2, wherein the originally planned working path comprises a first walking path, and the determining the second position according to the first position comprises:

determining the first walking path where the first position is located;

determining the second position on the first walking path.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising:

controlling the autonomous mobile device to re-plan a path with the second position as a starting point when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold and the autonomous mobile device is at the second position;

controlling the autonomous mobile device to walk according to the re-planned path.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein after controlling the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position, the method further comprises:

acquiring a number of times that the autonomous mobile device changes a walking direction in a process of random walking;

outputting prompt information and/or controlling the autonomous mobile device to walk to a preset position when the number of times reaches a preset number of times, wherein the prompt information is indicative of manual processing for the autonomous mobile device.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein after controlling the autonomous mobile device to start waling randomly from the first position, the method further comprises:

acquiring a duration during which the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is lower than the preset threshold;

outputting prompt information and/or controlling the autonomous mobile device to walk to a preset position when the duration of time reaches a preset duration, wherein the prompt information is indicative of manual processing for the autonomous mobile device.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, before the step of acquiring positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time, the method further comprises:

planning a working path for the autonomous mobile device;

controlling the autonomous mobile device to walk and perform the working task of the autonomous mobile device along the working path.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than the preset threshold, the step of the controlling the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position comprises controlling the autonomous mobile device to return to a charging pile.
The method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to claim 9, wherein, when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at the first position is lower than the preset threshold, the step of the controlling the autonomous mobile device to return to the charging pile comprises controlling the autonomous mobile device to stop traveling in situ and return to the charging pile after a preset time.
An autonomous mobile device, comprising:

an acquiring module, configured to acquire positioning accuracy collected by the autonomous mobile device at a fixed time or in real time;

a controlling module, configured to: when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device at a first position is lower than a preset threshold, control the autonomous mobile device to start to walk randomly from the first position;

a determining module, configured to: when the positioning accuracy of the autonomous mobile device is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, control the autonomous mobile device to move to a second position and continue to walk and perform a working task from the second position along an originally planned working path, wherein the first position is separated from the second position by a preset distance, and the first position is located on the originally planned working path.
An autonomous mobile device, comprising: a memory and a processor;

the memory stores computer executable instructions;

the processor performs the computer executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the autonomous mobile device performs the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to any one of claims 1-10.
A computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores computer executable instructions, and when the computer executable instructions are executed by a processor, the method for controlling the autonomous mobile device according to any one of claims 1-10 is implemented.
A computer program product, comprising computer program instructions that enable a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-10.
A computer program, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-10.