Patent Application

App. No. 16/720,470

Abstract

Claims (101)

1 . A method of generating a map of a facility using a mobile robotic device, the method comprising:

by a processor, receiving a facility description comprising an initial path and one or both of the following: a first number of navigable openings that are positioned along the initial path, or a first number of barriers that are positioned along the initial path;

by the processor, causing the robotic device to move along the initial path;

by one or more sensors of the robotic device as the robotic device moves along the initial path, capturing a data set of sensed characteristics of the facility; and

by the processor:

analyzing the data set to detect navigable openings along the initial path,

for each of the navigable openings, assigning an identifier to the navigable opening,

using the identifiers of the navigable openings to develop a map of the facility that includes the navigable openings, and

saving the map to a data store.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the facility description further comprises a set of instructions for the initial path, and causing the robotic device to move along the initial path comprise causing the robotic device to move around the facility according to the set of instructions.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the sensed characteristics of the facility comprise a plurality of openings; and

analyzing the data set to detect the navigable openings in the facility comprises, for each opening in the sensed characteristics:

determining a width of the opening, and

determining whether the opening is navigable by determining whether the width of the opening exceeds a threshold that is larger than a width dimension of the robotic device.

4 . The method of claim 3 wherein identifying the width of each opening comprises identifying a width dimension for the opening that is either (a) a distance from an adjacent endpoint of the initial path to a barrier that is adjacent to the navigable opening, or (b) a distance between two barriers that are adjacent to the navigable opening.

5 . The method of claim 3 wherein identifying the width of each opening in the sensed characteristics comprises:

(i) identifying a distance between a first end of the navigable opening and a start position that is either (a) a starting point of the initial path or (b) a second end of a previous navigable opening; and

(ii) identifying a distance between a second end of the navigable opening and either (a) the start position or (b) the first end of the navigable opening.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising, by the processor:

analyzing the data set to detect the barriers that are positioned along the initial path;

for each of the barriers, identifying a width of the barrier; and

when developing the map of the facility, also including the barriers in the map of the facility.

7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising, by the processor, for one or more of the navigable openings:

determining whether the system has received an instruction to map an area within the navigable opening; and

only if the system has received an instruction to map the area within the navigable opening:

causing the robotic device to move into the area,

by one or more sensors of the robotic device as the robotic device moves within the area, capturing sensed characteristics of the area, and

including structural information corresponding to the sensed characteristics of the area in the map.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the facility description comprises the first number of barriers that are positioned along the initial path; and

analyzing the data set to detect each navigable opening along initial path comprises:

detecting each barrier along the initial path, and

for each detected barrier, identifying an opening that begins or ends at an endpoint of the detected barrier.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile robotic device comprises a robotic cleaning device, and the method further comprises, by the mobile robotic device, using the map to navigate within and clean the facility.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile robotic device comprises a robotic cleaning device, and the method further comprises, by the mobile robotic device, cleaning the facility while moving along the initial path and capturing the data set of sensed characteristics.

11 . A system for generating a map of a facility, the system comprising:

a robotic device comprising a transport assembly, a plurality of sensors and a processor;

a memory containing programming instructions that are configured to cause the processor to:

receive a facility description comprising an initial path and one or both of the following: a first number of navigable openings that are positioned along the initial path, or a first number of barriers that are positioned along the initial path,

cause the transport assembly to move the robotic device along the initial path,

receive, from the sensors, a data set of sensed characteristics of the facility,

analyze the data set to detect navigable openings along the initial path,

for each of the navigable openings, assign an identifier to the navigable opening, and

use the identifiers of the navigable openings to develop a map of the facility that includes the navigable openings, and

save the map to a data store.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein:

the facility description further comprises a set of instructions for the initial path;

the instructions to cause the transport assembly to move the robotic device along the initial path comprise instructions to move the robotic device around the facility according to the set of instructions for the initial path.

13 . The system of claim 11 , wherein:

the sensed characteristics of the facility comprise a plurality of openings; and

the instructions to analyze the data set to detect the navigable openings in the facility comprise instructions to, for each opening in the sensed characteristics:

determine a width of the opening, and

determine whether the opening is navigable by determining whether the width of the opening exceeds a threshold that is larger than a width dimension of the robotic device.

14 . The system of claim 13 wherein the instructions to identify the width of each opening comprise instructions to identify a width dimension for the opening that is either (a) a distance from an adjacent endpoint of the initial path to a barrier that is adjacent to the navigable opening, or (b) a distance between two barriers that are adjacent to the navigable opening.

15 . The system of claim 13 wherein the instructions to identify the width of each opening in the sensed characteristics comprise instructions to:

(i) identify a distance between a first end of the navigable opening and a start position that is either (a) a starting point of the initial path or (b) a second end of a previous navigable opening; and

(ii) identify a distance between a second end of the navigable opening and either (a) the start position or (b) the first end the navigable opening.

16 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising additional programming instructions that are configured to cause the processor to:

analyze the data set to detect the barriers that are positioned along the initial path;

for each of the barriers, identify a width of the barrier; and

when developing the map of the facility, also include the barriers in the map of the facility.

17 . The system of claim 11 further comprising additional programming instructions that are configured to cause the processor to, for one or more of the navigable openings:

determine whether the system has received an instruction to map an area within the navigable opening; and

only if the system has received an instruction to map the area within the navigable opening:

cause the robotic device to move into the area,

by one or more sensors of the robotic device as the robotic device moves within the area, capture sensed characteristics of the area, and

include structural information corresponding to the sensed characteristics of the area in the map.

18 . The system of claim 11 , wherein:

the facility description comprises the first number of barriers that are positioned along the initial path; and

the instructions to analyze the data set to detect each navigable opening along initial path comprise instructions to:

detect each barrier along the initial path, and

for each detected barrier, identify an opening that begins or ends at an endpoint of the detected barrier.

19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein:

the robotic device comprises a robotic cleaning device; and

the system further comprises additional programming instructions that are configured to cause robotic cleaning device to use the map to navigate within and clean the facility.

20 . The system of claim 11 , wherein:

the mobile robotic device comprises a robotic cleaning device; and

the system further comprises additional programming instructions that are configured to cause robotic cleaning device to clean the facility while moving along the initial path and capturing the data set of sensed characteristics.

21 . A method of generating a map of a facility using a mobile robotic device, the method comprising:

by a processor, receiving a facility description comprising a number of navigable openings, a number of barriers, or both;

by one or more sensors of the robotic device, capturing a data set of sensed characteristics of the facility; and

by the processor:

analyzing the data set to detect navigable openings in the facility,

for each of the navigable openings, assigning an identifier to the navigable opening,

using the identifiers of the navigable openings to develop a map of the facility that includes the navigable openings, and

saving the map to a data store.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the method further comprises, as the one or more sensors of the robotic device capture the data set, rotating the robotic device to sense characteristics of the facility from multiple angles around the robotic device.

23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein:

the sensed characteristics of the facility comprise a plurality of openings; and

analyzing the data set to detect the navigable openings in the facility comprises, for each opening in the sensed characteristics:

determining a width of the opening, and

determining whether the opening is navigable by determining whether the width of the opening exceeds a threshold that is larger than a width dimension of the robotic device.

24 . The method of claim 21 further comprising, by the processor, for one or more of the navigable openings:

determining whether the system has received an instruction to map an area within the navigable opening; and

only if the system has received an instruction to map the area within the navigable opening:

causing the robotic device to move into the area,

by one or more sensors of the robotic device as the robotic device moves within the area, capturing sensed characteristics of the area, and

including structural information corresponding to the sensed characteristics of the area in the map.

25 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the mobile robotic device comprises a robotic cleaning device, and the method further comprises, by the mobile robotic device, using the map to navigate within and clean the facility.

Assignments (10)