TW202214166A - Moving robot system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an embodiment of a moving robot system, including a first robot that sucks contaminants in a zone to be cleaned, a second robot that wipes the floor in the zone to be cleaned, a first charging stand for charging the first robot, a second charging stand for charging the second robot, and a network connecting the first robot and the second robot with each other, wherein the first robot and the second robot enter a collaborative driving mode using the network, divide the zone to be cleaned into a plurality of unit zones, perform collaborative driving for each unit zone, and continuously perform the collaborative driving by avoiding an obstacle or climbing the obstacle when the first robot and/or the second robot senses the obstacle formed in a height or depth with a preset range while performing the collaborative driving in any one of the plurality of unit zones.

Description

Mobile Robot System

The present invention relates to a mobile robot system, and more particularly, to a mobile robot system in which a plurality of mobile robots perform cooperative driving, and a method for a plurality of mobile robots to perform cooperative driving.

A sweeper is a device that cleans by sucking in or wiping away dust or foreign matter. In general, sweepers perform a floor sweeping function and include rollers for movement. Typically, the rollers are rolled by an external force applied to the sweeper body to move the sweeper body relative to the floor.

However, with the development of such cleaning robots that travel and clean without the user's operation, it is necessary to develop a plurality of cleaning robots for cleaning in cooperation with each other without the user's operation.

The prior art document WO2017-036532 discloses a method for a main cleaning robot (hereinafter referred to as a main robot) to control at least one auxiliary cleaning robot (hereinafter referred to as an auxiliary robot). This prior art document discloses a configuration in which the master robot uses an obstacle detection device to detect adjacent obstacles and uses position data obtained from the obstacle detection device to determine its position relative to the subordinate robot. In addition, KR2017-0174493 discloses a general process in which two cleaning robots perform cleaning while communicating with each other.

However, in these two prior art documents, actions in response to the various situations that occur during cooperative driving are not disclosed. When two cleaning robots are traveling cooperatively, it is necessary to respond to the control of various situations compared to when one is traveling. For example, when only one individual makes an error or both individuals make an error, it is necessary to respond to the motion control of each error, and in addition , when a trap occurs or is trapped, the two cleaning robots in the lead/follow relationship each need to perform appropriate response actions.

In addition, in the mode in which the two cleaners travel cooperatively, there is a limitation that it is difficult to achieve appropriate cooperative travel because the specifications and states of the two cleaners are different. For example, in order for two sweepers to effectively complete cooperative driving, both the battery charging states of the two cleaning machines need to exceed the predetermined reference level, but when the charging state of one cleaning machine is lower than the predetermined reference level, it is difficult to complete the cooperative driving. .

In the system of cooperative driving of a plurality of cleaning robots as described above, various driving states, driving conditions, and situational responses are considered, but in the related art, an appropriate method has not yet been proposed, so cooperative driving using a plurality of cleaning robots must be limited. accuracy/stability/reliability.

In order to improve the above-mentioned limitations of the related art, the present specification aims to provide an embodiment of a mobile robot system that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

In other words, an aspect of the present invention aims to provide an embodiment of a mobile robot system capable of performing cooperative driving while satisfying various conditions for cooperative driving, and a method of performing cooperative driving thereof.

Furthermore, another aspect of the present invention aims to provide an embodiment of a mobile robot system capable of performing cooperative driving, and a method for performing cooperative driving thereof, in which appropriate responses can be made to various situations that occur during cooperative driving.

In particular, yet another aspect of the present invention aims to provide an embodiment of a mobile robotic system capable of appropriately responding to trap situations that occur during cooperative driving, and a method thereof for performing cooperative driving.

In addition, yet another aspect of the present invention aims to provide an embodiment of a mobile robotic system capable of appropriately responding to various error conditions that occur during cooperative driving, and a method thereof for performing cooperative driving.

In addition, yet another aspect of the present invention aims to provide an embodiment of a mobile robotic system capable of appropriately responding to obstacles sensed during cooperative driving, and a method for performing cooperative driving.

In addition, yet another aspect of the present invention aims to provide a mobile robot capable of responding appropriately according to changes in battery charging levels of a plurality of mobile robots and various states of battery charging levels while performing cooperative driving. Implementation of a robotic system.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, a mobile robot system and a method for performing cooperative driving may include: confirming whether the driving states of a plurality of mobile robots conform to preset reference conditions, and performing cooperative driving according to the confirmation result as a solution.

Specifically, when a control command for cooperative driving is received, the driving states of a plurality of mobile robots that meet the conditions for performing cooperative driving may be compared with preset reference conditions, and when the driving conditions meet the reference conditions, the driving conditions may be The action of cooperative driving is performed, so that cooperative driving can be performed accurately and stably.

In other words, the embodiments of the mobile robot system and the method for performing cooperative driving can confirm whether the driving states of a plurality of mobile robots meet the preset reference conditions, so as to perform cooperative driving according to the confirmation result, thereby solving the aforementioned problems.

The embodiment of the mobile robot system with the above technical features, as a means to solve the problem, may include: a plurality of mobile robots, which clean while driving in the area to be cleaned; and a controller, which cooperates with the plurality of mobile robots The mobile robot communicates with the mobile robot to transmit the control command for remote control to the plurality of mobile robots, wherein after receiving the control command of the cooperative driving mode for cooperatively cleaning the area to be cleaned from the controller, the plurality of mobile robots confirm the Whether the driving states of the plurality of mobile robots meet the preset reference conditions, so as to execute the action of the cooperative driving mode according to the confirmation result.

In addition, as a means to solve the problem, an embodiment of a method for performing cooperative driving in a mobile robot system having the above technical features is disclosed. As a method for performing cooperative driving by a first robot and a second robot, the method may include: The robot and the second robot receive an instruction to perform cooperative travel; the first robot compares the travel states of the first robot and the second robot with a preset reference condition; and the first robot and the second robot each execute the cooperation according to the comparison result action of driving.

On the other hand, in an embodiment of a mobile robotic system capable of responding appropriately to trap conditions that occur during cooperative travel, while the first robot and/or the second robot are performing cooperative travel, when the first robot and/or the second robot When the robot is in a trap state, the first robot and/or the second robot can perform a trap escape driving, wherein the trap state refers to the situation that the first robot or the second robot cannot enter the area to be cleaned that has not been driven, and the trap escape driving is a Refers to the driving method in which the first robot or the second robot travels along the boundary of the area to be cleaned that has already been driven.

Furthermore, embodiments of the method of performing cooperative driving by a mobile robotic system capable of responding appropriately to trap conditions occurring during cooperative driving may include: performing cooperative driving by the first robot and the second robot with each other; confirming the first robot and/or Whether the second robot is in a trap state, and when the first robot and/or the second robot is in the trap state, the trap escape driving is performed, wherein the trap state means that the first robot and/or the second robot cannot enter the unmoved to-be-cleaned However, the trap escape driving is a driving method in which the first robot or the second robot travels along the boundary of the area to be cleaned that has already been driven.

On the other hand, embodiments of mobile robotic systems capable of responding appropriately to various error conditions that occur during cooperative travel may include: a first robot that sucks in contaminants in the area to be cleaned; a second robot that wipes the floor of the area to be cleaned a robot; a first charging base for charging the first robot; a second charging base for charging the second robot; and a network connecting the first robot and the second robot, wherein the first robot and the second robot The two robots enter a cooperative driving mode using a network, perform cooperative driving by recognizing each other's position information, and when an error occurs while at least one of the first robot and the second robot is performing cooperative driving, when the first robot and the second robot perform cooperative driving When at least one of the robots is trapped or when the network is disconnected, confirm whether to release the cooperative driving mode.

Furthermore, an embodiment of a method for performing cooperative driving by a mobile robotic system capable of responding appropriately to various error conditions that occur during cooperative driving is disclosed as a method for performing cooperative driving by a mobile robotic system driving in an area to be cleaned, wherein , the mobile robot system includes: a first robot for inhaling pollutants in the area to be cleaned; a second robot for wiping the floor of the area to be cleaned; a first charging base for charging the first robot; A second charging base for charging two robots; and a network connecting the first robot and the second robot, and the method for performing cooperative driving includes: the first robot and the second robot use the network to enter a cooperative driving mode; The robot and the second robot recognize each other's position information to perform cooperative travel; and when an error occurs while at least one of the first robot and the second robot is performing cooperative travel, when at least one of the first robot and the second robot occurs Trapped or when the network is disconnected, the first robot or the second robot will confirm whether to release the cooperative driving mode.

On the other hand, an embodiment of a mobile robotic system capable of responding appropriately to obstacles sensed during cooperative driving may include: a first robot that sucks in contaminants in the area to be cleaned; a robot that wipes the floor of the area to be cleaned a second robot; a first charging base for charging the first robot; a second charging base for charging the second robot; and a network connecting the first robot and the second robot, wherein the first robot Enter the cooperative driving mode with the second robot using the network, divide the area to be cleaned into a plurality of unit areas, perform cooperative driving on each unit area, and while any one of the plurality of unit areas is performing cooperative driving, when the first When a robot and/or a second robot senses an obstacle formed at a predetermined height or depth, the robot continues to cooperatively drive by avoiding or climbing the obstacle.

Furthermore, an embodiment of a method for performing cooperative driving by a mobile robot system capable of responding appropriately to obstacles sensed during cooperative driving is disclosed, as a method for performing cooperative driving by a mobile robot system driving in an area to be cleaned, Wherein, the mobile robot system includes: a first robot for inhaling pollutants in the area to be cleaned; a second robot for wiping the floor of the area to be cleaned; a first charging base for charging the first robot; A second charging base for charging the second robot; and a network connecting the first robot and the second robot, and the method for performing cooperative driving includes: the first robot and the second robot use the network to enter a cooperative driving mode; A robot and a second robot divide the area to be cleaned into a plurality of unit areas to perform cooperative driving on each unit area; and the first robot and/or the second robot perform cooperative driving in any one of the plurality of unit areas At the same time, when an obstacle formed at a height or depth of a preset range is sensed, the cooperative driving continues by avoiding or climbing the obstacle.

On the other hand, as a mobile robot system for cooperative driving of a plurality of mobile robots, an embodiment of the mobile robot system is disclosed, which can perform cooperative driving according to changes in the battery charging levels of the mobile robots and respond appropriately to various states of battery charge levels, wherein the mobile robotic system includes: a first robot that operates on power charged by the first charging stand to drive in the area to be cleaned; and a second robot , which operates based on the power charged by the second charging base to travel along the path the first robot has traveled, and the first robot and the second robot sense the charge capacity in the battery while executing the cooperative travel mode, respectively, The cooperative driving mode is released according to the charging capacity value of the battery, and at least one of the independent driving mode and the charging mode of the battery is respectively executed in response to the charging capacity value.

In addition, as a mobile robot system for cooperative driving of a plurality of mobile robots, another embodiment of the mobile robot system is disclosed, which can be used according to the change of the battery charging level and the battery charging position of the plurality of mobile robots during cooperative driving. responds appropriately to the various states of The electric power charged by the second charging base is operated to travel along the path that the first robot has traveled, and when the charging capacity value of the battery is lower than the preset reference capacity value, the first robot and the second robot are each performing cooperation The charging capacity of the battery is sensed while in the driving mode to move to the respective charging stand to charge the battery.

In addition, as a method for a mobile robot system to perform cooperative driving, an embodiment of the method for a mobile robot system to perform cooperative driving is disclosed, which can charge batteries according to changes in battery charging levels of a plurality of mobile robots during cooperative driving. to respond appropriately to various states of the level, the mobile robot system includes: a first robot that operates based on the power charged by the first charging stand to drive in the area to be cleaned; and a second robot that is based on the The electric power charged by the second charging base runs to travel along the path that the first robot has traveled, wherein the method includes: starting the cooperative travel mode by the first robot and the second robot respectively; each senses the charging capacity of the battery; each of the first robot and the second robot compares the charging capacity value with a preset reference capacity value; and at least one of the first robot and the second robot performs independent travel according to the comparison result mode or move to the charging cradle to charge the battery.

In addition, as a method for a mobile robot system to perform cooperative driving, another embodiment of the method for a mobile robot system to perform cooperative driving is disclosed. During cooperative driving, the mobile robot system can respond to changes in battery charging levels of a plurality of mobile robots and the battery responding appropriately to various states of the charging level, the mobile robot system includes: a first robot that operates based on the power charged by the first charging stand to drive in the area to be cleaned; and a second robot that is based on running on the electric power charged by the second charging base to travel along the path that the first robot has traveled, wherein the method includes: initiating a cooperative travel mode by the first robot and the second robot respectively; Each of the robots senses the charging capacity of the battery; each of the first robot and the second robot compares the charging capacity value with a preset reference capacity value; and at least one of the first robot and the second robot moves to the battery according to the comparison result. The charging cradle charges the battery.

Embodiments of the mobile robot system and the method for performing cooperative driving as described above can be applied and implemented to a cleaning robot, a control system for controlling a cleaning robot, a cleaning robot system, a control method for controlling a cleaning robot, and the like, and are particularly effective. Cleaning robots applied and implemented to a plurality of mobile robots, a mobile robot system including a plurality of mobile robots, a method of controlling a plurality of mobile robots, etc., and also applied and implemented to all the above-mentioned technical concepts of applicable technologies, A cleaning robot system and a method for controlling the cleaning robot.

In other words, the embodiments of the mobile robot system and the method for performing cooperative driving can confirm whether the driving states of a plurality of mobile robots meet the preset reference conditions, so as to perform the action of cooperative driving according to the confirmation result, so as to have the ability to satisfy various cooperative driving conditions The role of cooperative driving is performed under the conditions.

Therefore, inaccurate and unstable cooperative travel of the plurality of mobile robots can be prevented, thereby having the effect of performing cooperative travel in a safe and accurate environment/state.

Furthermore, cooperative travel can be performed in a state where cooperative travel conditions are satisfied, thereby having a role of appropriately responding to various situations that occur during cooperative travel.

For example, it is possible to respond appropriately to trap states, various error conditions, and obstacle sensing situations that occur during cooperative driving, respectively, thereby having the effect of safely and reliably performing cooperative driving.

In addition, each of the plurality of mobile robots may sense the charging capacity of the battery while performing the cooperative driving mode, and each of the plurality of mobile robots may perform a response operation according to the sensing result, thereby having the ability to charge the battery The function of responding appropriately to changes in level.

Therefore, it is possible not only to perform effective cleaning according to various states of the battery charging level while performing cooperative driving, but also prevent the cooperative driving from being interrupted due to changes in the battery charging level when performing cooperative driving, thereby ignoring a plurality of mobile robots, Thus, it has the function of appropriately and easily performing subsequent operations after the cooperative travel is interrupted.

The embodiments of the mobile robot system will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the technical terms used below are only used to describe specific embodiments and do not represent the concept of the present invention.

First, the configuration of a mobile robot (hereinafter referred to as “robot”) in the embodiment of the mobile robot system will be described.

The robot may be a cleaning robot that cleans while traveling or traveling.

The robot may be a cleaning robot that performs driving and cleaning automatically or through the manipulation of a user.

For example, the robot may be a self-driving sweeper as well as a sweeper that performs self-driving (or self-travel).

The robot may be a cleaning robot that recognizes a position while traveling within a predetermined area.

The robot may be a cleaning robot that recognizes a location while driving and creates a map within a predetermined area.

The robot may perform the function of cleaning the floor while it travels in a predetermined area, and the so-called floor cleaning here includes sucking dust (including foreign objects) on the floor or mopping the floor.

Robots can have multiple configurations (components) for driving and cleaning.

For example, the robot 100 may have a shape as shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B .

The robot 100 may have a shape as shown in FIG. 1A , or may have a shape as shown in FIG. 1B , or may have a shape modified from the shapes shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B , or may have a shape similar to that shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B The shapes shown are different shapes.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B , the robot 100 may include: a main body 110 ; a cleaning unit 120 ; and a sensing unit 130 .

The main body 110 defines the appearance of the robot 100 and can perform traveling (or traveling) and cleaning.

In other words, the main body 110 may perform the overall operation of the robot 100 .

The main body 110 may have a shape that facilitates driving and cleaning to define the appearance of the robot 100 .

For example, the robot 100 may be defined as a circle, and may also be defined as a rectangle with rounded corners.

The main body 110 may have constituent components for causing the robot 100 to travel and perform cleaning.

Constituent components for enabling the robot 100 to travel and perform cleaning may be provided inside or outside the main body 110 .

For example, constituent components related to traveling (or traveling) operation, cleaning operation, or sensing may be provided outside the main body 110 , and constituent components related to control of the robot 100 may be provided inside the main body 110 .

Also, the main body 110 may be provided with a roller unit 111 that makes the robot 100 travel.

Therefore, the robot 100 can move back and forth, left and right, or rotate through the roller unit 111 .

In addition, the main body 110 may be installed with a battery (not shown) for powering the robot 100 .

The battery can be configured to be rechargeable and detachable from the bottom of the body 110 .

The cleaning unit 120 may be provided in a protruding form from one side of the main body 110 to inhale dust-containing air or mop the floor.

Here, the side may be the side where the main body 110 travels in the forward direction (F), that is, the front side of the main body 110 .

The cleaning unit 120 may be detachably coupled to the main body 110 .

When the cleaning unit 120 is detached from the main body 110 , a mop unit (not shown) may be detachably coupled to the main body 110 to replace the detached cleaning unit 120 .

Therefore, when the user wants to remove dust from the floor, the user can install the cleaning unit 120 on the main body 110, and when the user wants to mop the floor, the mop unit can be installed on the main body 110.

The sensing unit 130 may be disposed on the side of the main body 110 where the cleaning unit 120 is located, that is, the front side of the main body 110 .

The sensing unit 130 may be disposed in the vertical direction of the main body 110 to overlap with the cleaning unit 120 .

The sensing unit 130 is disposed on the upper part of the main body 110 to sense obstacles or terrain ahead and prevent the robot 100 from colliding with the obstacles.

The sensing unit 130 may be configured to additionally perform another sensing function other than the sensing function.

For example, the sensing unit 130 may include a camera 131 for capturing surrounding images.

The camera 131 may include a lens and an image sensor.

The camera 131 may convert the surrounding image of the main body 110 into an electrical signal that can be processed by the control unit, for example, transmit the electrical signal corresponding to the upward image to the control unit.

Here, the electrical signal corresponding to the upward image can be used by the control unit to detect the position of the main body 110 .

Also, the sensing unit 130 may sense obstacles such as walls, furniture, and cliffs on a running surface or a running path of the robot 100 .

In addition, the sensing unit 130 may sense the presence of the docking device for charging.

In addition, the sensing unit 130 may sense the ceiling information to map the driving area or the cleaning area of the robot 100 .

Embodiments related to specific components of the robot 100 will be described below with reference to FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the robot 100 may include: a communication unit 1100; an input unit 1200; a driving unit 1300; a sensing unit 1400; an output unit 1500; a power supply unit 1600; a memory 1700; a control unit 1800; its combination.

Here, the components shown in FIG. 2 are of course not necessary, so that a self-controlled sweeper with more or less components than those shown in FIG. 4 can be realized. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the plurality of mobile robots described therein may include only some of the same components as will be described below. In other words, the plurality of mobile robots may include different components.

Each component will be explained below.

First, the power supply unit 1600 includes a battery that can be charged by an external commercial power source to supply power to the robot 100 .

The power supply unit 1600 provides driving power to each component included in the robot 100 to provide operation power required for the robot 100 to travel or perform a specific function.

Here, the control unit 1800 can sense the remaining power of the battery, and when the remaining power is insufficient, control the battery to transfer power to a charging stand connected to an external commercial power source, so that charging current can be supplied from the charging stand to charge the battery.

The battery can be connected to the battery sensing unit to communicate the remaining power and charging status to the control unit 1800 . At this time, the output unit 1500 can display the remaining amount of the battery through the control unit 1800 .

The control unit 1800 performs the task of information processing based on artificial intelligence technology, and may include at least one circuit module for performing at least one of information learning, information inference, information perception and natural language processing.

The control unit 1800 may use machine learning technology to perform at least one of learning, inference, and processing of a large amount of information (big data), such as information stored in the robot 100, environmental information around the mobile terminal, stored in a communicable external information in storage, etc. In addition, the control unit 1800 may predict (or infer) at least one operation that the robot 100 can perform based on information learned using machine learning technology, and control the robot 100 to perform the most feasible operation in the at least one predicted operation.

Machine learning technology is a technology that collects and learns a large amount of information based on at least one algorithm, and determines and predicts information based on the learned information. The learning of information is the operation of identifying the characteristics, rules and judgment standards of information, quantifying the relationship between information and information, and using the quantified patterns to predict new data.

Algorithms used by machine learning techniques can be statistical-based algorithms, such as decision trees that use tree structure types as predictive models, artificial neural networks that simulate the structure and function of biological neural networks, biological evolutionary algorithms-based algorithms. Genetic programming, clustering that distributes observed examples into subsets of clusters, and Monte Carlo methods that compute function values as probabilities using random numbers drawn at random.

As a field of machine learning technology, deep learning is a technology that uses a deep neural network (DNN) algorithm to perform at least one of learning, validation, and information processing. Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) can have structures that link layers and transfer data between layers. This deep learning technique can be applied to learn large amounts of information through deep neural networks (DNNs) using graphics processing units (GPUs) optimized for parallel operations.

The control unit 1800 may use training data stored in an external server or memory 1700, and may include a learning engine for detecting and recognizing features of predetermined objects. Here, the features for identifying the object may include the size, shape, and shadow of the object.

Specifically, when the control unit 1800 inputs a part of the image captured by the camera 131 into the learning engine, the learning engine can identify at least one item or living being included in the input image.

When the learning engine is applied to the driving of the sweeper, the control unit 1800 may identify whether there are obstacles around the robot 100 that hinder the operation of the sweeper, such as chair feet, fans, and certain shaped balcony gaps. This can improve the efficiency and reliability with which the robot 100 travels.

On the other hand, the learning engine may be installed on the control unit 1800 or on an external server. When the learning engine is installed on the external server, the control unit 1800 can control the communication unit 1100 to transmit at least one image to be analyzed to the external server.

The external server may input the image transmitted from the sweeper into the learning engine to identify at least one item or creature included in the image. In addition, the external server can transmit information related to the recognition results back to the sweeper. In this case, the information related to the recognition result may include information related to the number of objects in the image to be analyzed and the name of each object.

The driving unit 1300 may be provided with a motor to drive the roller unit to rotate the left main wheel and the right main wheel in two directions to rotate or move the main body. At this time, the left main wheel and the right main wheel can move independently. The driving unit 1300 may move the main body 110 forward, backward, leftward, rightward, curved, or rotated in place.

The input unit 1200 may receive various control instructions for the robot 100 from the user.

The input unit 1200 may include one or more buttons.

For example, the input unit 1200 may include a confirm button, a set button, and the like. The confirmation button (OK button) is used to receive an instruction from the user for confirming sensing information, obstacle information, location information and map information, and the setting button is used to receive the setting information from the user button for instructions.

In addition, the input unit 1200 may include: an input reset button for canceling the user's previous input and re-receiving the user's input; a delete button for deleting the user's preset input; a button for setting or changing the operation mode button; and a button for receiving commands to return to the cradle, etc.

Also, the input unit 1200 such as hard keys, soft keys, touch pads, etc. may be provided on the upper part of the mobile robot. Also, the input unit 1200 may have the form of a touch screen together with the output unit 1500 .

The output unit 1500 may be disposed on the upper portion of the robot 100 . Of course, the installation location and type of installation can vary. For example, the output unit 1500 may display battery status, driving mode, etc. on the screen.

In addition, the output unit 1500 may output status information inside the mobile robot detected by the sensing unit 1400, eg, the current status of each configuration included in the mobile robot. In addition, the output unit 1500 can display external state information, obstacle information, location information, and map information detected by the sensing unit 1400 on the screen. The output unit 1500 may be formed of any one of a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel, and an organic light emitting diode (OLED).

The output unit 1500 may further include a sound output device to audibly output the operation process or the operation result of the robot 100 performed by the control unit 1800 . For example, the output unit 1500 may output a warning sound to the outside in response to the warning signal generated by the control unit 1800 .

In this case, the audio output module (not shown) may be a device for outputting sound, such as a buzzer, a speaker, etc., and the output unit 1500 may use audio data with a predetermined pattern stored in the memory 1700 Or the message data can output sound to the outside through the audio output module.

Therefore, the robot 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention can display the environmental information of the driving area on the screen or output the information as sound. According to another embodiment, the robot can transmit the map information or the environment information to the terminal device through the communication unit 1100 , so as to output the screen or sound to be output through the output unit 1500 .

The memory 1700 stores control programs and generated data for controlling or driving the robot 100 . The memory 1700 can store audio information, image information, obstacle information, location information, map information, and the like. In addition, the memory 1700 can store information related to the driving mode.

The memory 1700 mainly uses non-volatile memory. Here, non-volatile memory (NVM, NVRAM) is a storage device that can continuously store information even without power supply. For example, non-volatile memory can be ROM, flash memory, magnetic core storage device ( For example, hard disk, disk drive, tape), optical disk drive, magnetic RAM, PRAM, etc.

In addition, a map of the driving area may be stored in the memory 1700 . The map may be received by an external terminal or server capable of exchanging information with the robot 100 through wired or wireless communication, or may be generated by the robot 100 itself while driving.

The map can indicate the location of the rooms within the driving area. In addition, the current position of the robot 100 may be displayed on the map, and the current position of the robot 100 on the map may be updated during the driving process.

The memory 1700 can store cleaning history information. Such cleaning history information can be generated whenever cleaning is performed.

The map of the driving area stored in the memory 1700 is data that stores predetermined information of the driving area in a predetermined format, for example, a navigation map for driving while cleaning, a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) map for position recognition , A learning map for learning to clean by storing information when the robot collides with an obstacle, a global location map for global location recognition, an obstacle recognition map in which information about the recognized obstacles is recorded, etc.

A map can represent a node map containing a plurality of nodes. Here, the node represents data of any position on the map, and the position corresponds to a point of any position in the travel area.

Meanwhile, the sensing unit 1400 may include at least one of an external signal detection sensor, a front detection sensor, a cliff detection sensor, a two-dimensional camera sensor, and a three-dimensional camera sensor.

The external signal detection sensor can sense external signals of the robot 100 . The external signal detection sensor may be, for example, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a radio frequency (RF) sensor, or the like.

The robot 100 can use the external signal detection sensor to receive the guidance signal generated by the charging base to check the position and orientation of the charging base. At this point, the charging base can transmit guidance signals indicating the direction and distance so that the mobile robot can return to the charging base. In other words, the robot 100 can determine the current position by receiving the signal transmitted from the charging base, and set the moving direction, so as to return to the charging base.

On the other hand, the front detection sensors may be provided on the front side of the robot 100 at certain intervals, specifically, along one side of the outer peripheral surface of the robot 100 . Front sensors are located on at least one side of the surface of the robot 100 to detect obstacles in front of the mobile robot. The front sensor can detect objects existing in the moving direction of the robot 100 , especially obstacles, and transmit the detection information to the control unit 1800 . In other words, the front sensor can detect protrusions, household appliances, furniture, walls and corners, etc. on the moving path of the robot 100 , and transmit the information to the control unit 1800 .

For example, the front sensor may be an infrared (IR) sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an RF sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, etc., and the robot 100 may use one type of sensor as the front sensor, Or use two or more types of sensors if necessary.

For example, in general, ultrasonic sensors may be primarily used to sense distant obstacles. The ultrasonic sensor may include a transmitter and a receiver, and the control unit 1800 may determine whether there is an obstacle based on whether the ultrasonic wave radiated through the transmitter is reflected by an obstacle or the like and received by the receiver, and utilize the ultrasonic transmission time and the ultrasonic reception time to calculate the distance to the obstacle.

In addition, the control unit 1800 may compare the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the transmitter and the ultrasonic waves received at the receiver to detect information related to the size of the obstacle. For example, the control unit 1800 may determine that the larger the obstacle, the more ultrasonic waves are received at the receiver.

In one embodiment, a plurality of (eg, five) ultrasonic sensors may be provided on the front side of the robot 100 along the sides of the outer peripheral surface. At this time, the ultrasonic sensors may preferably be disposed on the front surface of the robot 100 in a manner that the transmitters and the receivers are alternately arranged.

In other words, the transmitters may be located on the left and right sides, spaced from the front center of the main body, or one transmitter or at least two transmitters may be located between the receivers so as to form reflections from obstacles, etc. The receiving area of the ultrasonic signal. With this arrangement, the receiving area can be enlarged while reducing the number of sensors. The launch angle of the ultrasonic wave can be kept within the angle range that does not affect the different signals to prevent the phenomenon of crosstalk. Furthermore, the reception sensitivities of the receivers can be set to be different from each other.

In addition, the ultrasonic sensor may be disposed upward at a predetermined angle to output ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic sensor in an upward direction, and here, the ultrasonic sensor may further include a predetermined blocking member to prevent Ultrasonic waves radiate downward.

On the other hand, as described above, the front sensor can be implemented by using two or more types of sensors together, so the front sensor can use IR sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and Any of RF sensors, etc.

For example, the front detection sensor may include an infrared sensor as a different type of sensor than an ultrasonic sensor.

An infrared sensor may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the robot 100 together with the ultrasonic sensor. The infrared sensor can also sense obstacles existing in the front or side, so as to transmit the obstacle information to the control unit 1800 . In other words, the infrared sensor can sense protrusions on the moving path of the robot 100 , household appliances, furniture, walls and corners, etc., to transmit information to the control unit 1800 . Therefore, the main body 110 can move within a specific area without colliding with obstacles.

On the other hand, the cliff detection sensor (or cliff sensor) may mainly use various types of optical sensors to sense obstacles on the floor supporting the main body 110 .

In other words, the cliff detection sensor may be provided on the rear surface of the robot 100 , but obviously may be installed in different positions according to the type of the robot 100 . The cliff detection sensor is a sensor located on the rear surface of the robot 100 to sense obstacles on the floor, and the cliff detection sensor can be an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an RF sensor sensor, PSD (Position Sensitive Detector) sensor, etc., wherein the cliff detection sensor is provided with a transmitter and a receiver, such as an obstacle detection sensor.

For example, one of the cliff sensors may be arranged on the front of the robot 100, and the other two cliff sensors may be oppositely arranged at the rear.

For example, the cliff detection sensor may be a PSD sensor, but may also be configured with a plurality of different types of sensors.

PSD sensors utilize semiconductor sheet resistance to detect short- and long-range locations of incident light with a p-n junction. PSD sensors include a one-dimensional PSD sensor that detects the light source in only one axial direction, and a two-dimensional PSD sensor that detects the position of the light source on a plane. Both PSD sensors can have a pin photodiode structure. The PSD sensor is an infrared sensor that utilizes infrared rays to transmit infrared rays, and then measures the angle of the infrared rays reflected from obstacles and returned to the obstacles, thereby measuring distance. In other words, the PSD sensor calculates the distance to the obstacle by using triangulation.

The PSD sensor includes a light transmitter that emits infrared rays toward obstacles, and a light receiver that receives infrared rays reflected from the obstacles and returned, and is generally configured as a module type. When obstacles are sensed using the PSD sensor, stable measurements can be obtained regardless of the reflectivity and chromatic aberration of the obstacles.

The control unit 1800 may measure the emission signal of infrared rays emitted from the cliff detection sensor to the ground, and the angle of infrared rays between the reflected signals reflected and received by the obstacle to sense the cliff and analyze its depth.

On the other hand, the control unit 1800 may use the cliff detection sensor to determine whether to pass the cliff according to the sensed ground state of the cliff, and determine whether to pass the cliff according to the confirmation result. For example, the control unit 1800 determines the presence or absence of the cliff and the depth of the cliff through the cliff sensor, and then allows the mobile robot to pass the cliff only when a reflected signal is detected through the cliff sensor.

For another example, the control unit 1800 may use the cliff detection sensor to determine the lifting phenomenon of the robot 100 .

On the other hand, a two-dimensional camera sensor is arranged on one side of the robot 100 to acquire image information related to the surrounding environment of the subject during movement.

The optical flow sensor converts the downward image input by the image sensor disposed in the sensor to generate image data in a predetermined format. The generated image data can be stored in the memory 1700 .

Additionally, one or more light sources may be positioned adjacent to the optical flow sensor. One or more light sources illuminate a predetermined area of the bottom surface captured by the image sensor. In other words, when the robot 100 moves within a specific area along the bottom surface, when the bottom surface is flat, a predetermined distance is maintained between the image sensor and the bottom surface. Conversely, when the mobile robot moves on a bottom surface having an uneven surface, the interval between the image sensor and the bottom surface exceeds a predetermined distance due to unevenness and obstacles on the ground. At this time, one or more light sources may be controlled by the control unit 1800 to adjust the amount of light to be irradiated. The light source may be a light emitting device capable of controlling the amount of light, such as a light emitting diode (LED) or the like.

Using the optical flow sensor, the control unit 1800 can detect the position of the robot 100 regardless of the slippage of the robot 100 . The control unit 1800 can compare and analyze the image data captured by the optical flow sensor over time to calculate the moving distance and the moving direction, and calculate the position of the robot 100 based on the moving distance and the moving direction. Using the optical flow sensor, using the image information on the bottom side of the robot 100, the control unit 1800 can perform anti-skid correction on the position of the robot 100 calculated by another device.

A three-dimensional camera sensor may be attached to a side or a portion of the main body 110 to generate three-dimensional coordinate information related to the surrounding environment of the main body 110 .

In other words, the three-dimensional camera sensor may be a three-dimensional (3D) depth camera that calculates the near and far distances of the robot 100 and the object to be captured.

Specifically, the 3D camera sensor can capture 2D images related to the surrounding environment of the subject 110 and generate a plurality of 3D coordinate information corresponding to the captured 2D images.

In one embodiment, the 3D camera sensor may include two or more cameras that acquire conventional 2D imagery, and may be formed in a stereoscopic manner to combine two or more cameras acquired from the two or more cameras. image to generate three-dimensional coordinate information.

Specifically, the three-dimensional camera sensor according to the present embodiment may include: a first pattern irradiation unit for irradiating light having the first pattern toward the front of the subject in a downward direction; and a second pattern irradiation unit for The light with the second pattern is irradiated toward the front of the main body 110 in an upward direction; and an image capturing unit is used for capturing an image in front of the main body. Therefore, the image capturing unit can acquire images of the regions where the light of the first pattern and the light of the second pattern are incident.

In another embodiment, the three-dimensional camera sensor may include an infrared pattern emitting unit for irradiating an infrared pattern with a single camera, and capture the shape of the infrared pattern irradiated from the infrared pattern emitting unit onto the object to be captured, Thereby, the distance between the sensor and the object to be captured is measured. Such a three-dimensional camera sensor may be an infrared (IR) type three-dimensional camera sensor.

In yet another embodiment, the 3D camera sensor may include a light emitting unit that emits light together with a single camera, the 3D camera sensor receives a portion of the laser light emitted from the light emitting unit reflected from the object to be captured, and responds to the light emitting unit. The received laser is analyzed to measure the distance between the 3D camera sensor and the object to be captured. The three-dimensional camera sensor may be a time-of-flight (TOF) type three-dimensional camera sensor.

Specifically, the laser of the three-dimensional camera sensor described above is configured to irradiate the laser beam in a form extending in at least one direction. In one example, the 3D camera sensor may include a first laser and a second laser, wherein the first laser illuminates lines of lasers that cross each other, and the second laser illuminates a single line of lasers . Accordingly, the lowermost laser is used to sense obstacles at the bottom, the uppermost laser is used to sense upper obstacles, and the middle laser between the lowermost laser and the uppermost laser is used to sense obstacles at the bottom. It is used to sense obstacles in the middle part.

While the robot 100 is traveling, the sensing unit 1400 acquires images around the robot 100 . Hereinafter, the image acquired by the sensing unit 1400 is defined as "acquired image".

The acquired image includes various features such as lights on ceilings, edges, corners, spheres, and ridges.

The control unit 1800 detects features from each acquired image, and calculates descriptors based on each feature point. The descriptors represent data in a predetermined format for representing feature points, and represent mathematical data in a format capable of calculating distances or similarities between descriptors. For example, descriptors can be n-dimensional vectors (n is a natural number) or data in matrix format.

The control unit 1800 classifies at least one descriptor of each acquired image into a plurality of groups according to a predetermined sub-classification rule based on the descriptor information obtained through the acquired images at each position, and according to the predetermined sub-representation The rule converts descriptors contained in the same group into subrepresentative descriptors, respectively.

For another example, according to a predetermined sub-classification rule, all the descriptors collected from the images obtained in a predetermined area (such as a room) are classified into a plurality of groups, and according to the predetermined sub-representation rule, the descriptors included in the same group are divided into separate groups. Convert to sub-representative descriptor.

The control unit 1800 can obtain the feature distribution of each location through this process. The feature distribution for each location can be represented as a histogram or an n-dimensional vector. For another example, the control unit 1800 may estimate the unknown current position based on the descriptor calculated from each feature point without going through a predetermined sub-classification rule and a predetermined sub-representation rule.

Furthermore, when the current position of the robot 100 becomes unknown due to a position jump or the like, the current position may be estimated based on data such as pre-stored descriptors or sub-representative descriptors.

The robot 100 obtains the acquired image through the sensing unit 1400 at an unknown current position. Identify features through this image, such as lights on ceilings, edges, corners, spheres, and ridges.

The control unit 1800 detects features from the acquired images and computes descriptors.

The control unit 1800 converts the acquired image into position information to be compared (for example, the feature distribution of each position) according to a predetermined sub-transformation rule based on at least one descriptor information obtained through the acquired image of the unknown current position. Comparable information (sub-identity feature distribution).

According to predetermined sub-comparison rules, each location feature distribution can be compared with each identification feature distribution to calculate each similarity. The similarity (probability) may be calculated for the position corresponding to each position, and the position at which the maximum probability is calculated may be determined as the current position.

In this way, the control unit 1800 can divide the driving area and generate a map composed of a plurality of areas, or recognize the current position of the robot 100 based on a pre-stored map.

On the other hand, the communication unit 1100 is connected with a terminal device and/or another device (also referred to as a "home appliance" herein) through one of wired, wireless and satellite communication methods to transmit and receive signals and data.

The communication unit 1100 can transmit and receive data with another device located in a specific area. Here, another device may be any device capable of connecting to a network to transmit and receive data, for example, the device may be an air conditioner, a heater, an air purifier, an electric light, a television, or a car. Another device may also be a device that controls doors, windows, water supply valves, gas valves, and the like. Another device may be a sensor for sensing temperature, humidity, air pressure, gas, and the like.

In addition, the communication unit 1100 may communicate with another sweeper located within a specific area or predetermined range.

When generating a map, the control unit 1800 can transmit the generated map to an external terminal or server through the communication unit 1100, and can store the map in its own memory 1700. Also, as described above, when a map is received from an external terminal, a server, or the like, the control unit 1800 may store the map in the memory 1700 .

Hereinafter, a mobile robot system (hereinafter referred to as a system) will be described in which a plurality of robots 100 are configured to execute a cooperative mode.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , in the system 1 , the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b can exchange data with each other through the network 50 . In addition, the first robot 100a and/or the second robot 100b may perform cleaning-related operations or corresponding operations through a control command received from the terminal 300 via a network or other communication means.

In other words, although not shown, the plurality of autonomous mobile robots 100a and 100b can communicate with the terminal 300 through the first network communication, and communicate with each other through the second network communication.

Here, the network 50 may refer to network communication, and may refer to short-range communication using at least one of wireless communication technologies, eg, wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN), wireless compatible authentication (Wi-Fi) Wi-Fi direct, Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), Wireless Broadband (WiBro), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Zigbee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), Wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB), etc.

The network 50 may vary depending on the communication mode of the robots that desire to communicate with each other.

In FIG. 3 , the first robot 100 a and/or the second robot 100 b can provide the terminal 300 with information sensed by each sensing unit 130 through the network 50 . In addition, the terminal 300 can also transmit the control command generated based on the received information to the first robot 100a and/or the second robot 100b through the network 50 .

In FIG. 3, the communication unit 1100 of the first robot 100a and the communication unit 1100 of the second robot 100b can also communicate directly with each other or indirectly communicate with each other through another router (not shown), so as to identify the driving status and location-related information.

In an example, the second robot 100b may perform a traveling operation and a cleaning operation according to a control instruction received from the first robot 100a. In this case, it can be said that the first robot 100a operates as the main cleaner and the second robot 100b operates as the auxiliary cleaner. Alternatively, it can be said that the second cleaner 100b follows the first cleaner 100a. In some cases, it can also be said that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b cooperate with each other.

As an example of cooperation between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, the first robot 100a is installed with the cleaning unit 120, and the second robot 100b is installed with the mop unit, and the first robot 100a guides the second robot 100b to suck the floor dust on the floor, and the second robot 100b follows the first robot 100a to wipe the floor.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the system 1 in which the collaboration is performed including a plurality of robots 100a, 100b and a plurality of terminals 300a, 300b.

4, the system 1 may include: a plurality of robots 100a, 100b; a network 50; a server 500; and a plurality of terminals 300a, 300b.

Among them, the plurality of robots 100 a, 100 b, the network 50 and at least one terminal 300 a may be arranged in the building 10 , and the other terminal 300 b and the server 500 may be located outside the building 10 .

Each of the plurality of robots 100a, 100b can perform automatic travel and automatic cleaning. In addition to the traveling function and the cleaning function, each of the plurality of robots 100a, 100b may further include a communication unit 1100.

A plurality of robots 100a, 100b, a server 500, and a plurality of terminals 300a, 300b can be connected together through the network 50 to exchange data. To this end, although not shown, a wireless router such as an access point (AP) device or the like may be further provided. In this case, the terminal 300a located inside the building 10 can access at least one of the plurality of robots 100a, 100b through the AP device for monitoring, remote control, and the like of the plurality of robots 100a, 100b. In addition, the terminal 300b located outside the building 10 can access at least one of the plurality of robots 100a and 100b through the AP device to monitor, remotely control the plurality of robots 100a and 100b.

The server 500 can be directly connected wirelessly through the mobile terminal 300b. Alternatively, the server 500 may be connected to at least one of the plurality of robots 100a, 100b without going through the mobile terminal 300b.

Server 500 may include a programmable processor and may include various algorithms. For example, server 500 may have algorithms related to the performance of machine learning and/or data mining. As another example, the server 500 may include a speech recognition algorithm. In this case, after the voice data is received, the received voice data may be converted into text format data and then output.

The server 500 can store firmware information and operation information (travel information, etc.) related to the plurality of robots 100a and 100b, and can record product information about the plurality of robots 100a and 100b. For example, server 500 may be a server operated by a robot manufacturer or a server operated by an open application store operator.

In another example, the server 500 may be a home server disposed in the internal network of the building 10 and store status information about the home appliances or store content shared by the home appliances. When the server 500 is a home server, information related to foreign objects, such as images of foreign objects, can be stored.

At the same time, the plurality of robots 100a, 100b can be directly connected to each other via Zigbee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, UWB, etc. wirelessly. In this case, the plurality of robots 100a, 100b can exchange position information and travel information with each other.

At this time, any one of the plurality of robots 100a, 100b may be the master robot 100a, and the other may be the subordinate robot 100b.

In this case, the first robot 100a can control the traveling and cleaning of the second robot 100b. Also, the second robot 100b may perform traveling and cleaning while following the first robot 100a. Here, the second robot 100b following the first robot 100a means that the second robot 100b and the first robot 100a perform traveling and cleaning by following the first robot 100a while maintaining a proper distance from the first robot 100a.

5, the first robot 100a controls the second robot 100b such that the second robot 100b follows the first robot 100a.

For this purpose, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b should exist in a specific area where they can communicate with each other, and the second robot 100b should at least recognize the relative position of the first robot 100a.

For example, the communication unit 1100 of the first robot 100a and the communication unit 1100 of the second robot 100b exchange IR signals, ultrasonic signals, carrier frequencies, pulse signals, etc. with each other and analyze them through triangulation in order to calculate the first robot 100a and the movement displacement of the second robot 100b, thereby recognizing the relative positions of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b. However, the present invention is not limited to this method, and one of the various wireless communication techniques described above may be used to identify the relative positions of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b through triangulation or the like.

When the relative position between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is recognized, the second robot can be controlled based on the map information stored in the first robot 100a or the map information stored in the server 500, the terminal 300, etc. Robot 100b. In addition, the second robot 100b may share the obstacle information sensed by the first robot 100a. The second robot 100b may perform operations based on control instructions (eg, control instructions related to travel direction, travel speed, stop, etc.) received from the first robot 100a.

Specifically, the second robot 100b performs cleaning while traveling along the travel path of the first robot 100a. However, the traveling directions of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b do not always coincide with each other. For example, when the first robot 100a moves or rotates up/down/right/left, the second robot 100b may move or rotate up/down/right/left after a predetermined period of time, thus its current travel The directions can be different from each other.

Further, the traveling speed Va of the first robot 100a and the traveling speed Vb of the second robot 100b may be different from each other.

In consideration of the communicable distance between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, the first robot 100a is controlled to change the traveling speed Vb of the second robot 100b. For example, when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are separated from each other by a predetermined distance or more, the first robot 100a may control the traveling speed Vb of the second robot 100b to be faster than before. On the other hand, when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b approach each other at a predetermined distance or closer, the first robot 100a may control the traveling speed Vb of the second robot 100b to be slower than before, or control the second robot 100b at a predetermined distance. Time period stops. Therefore, the second robot 100b can perform cleaning while continuously following the first robot 100a.

In the system 1, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can perform traveling and cleaning while following or cooperating with each other without user intervention.

For this, it is necessary that the first robot 100a recognizes the position of the second robot 100b or the second robot 100b recognizes the position of the first robot 100a. This may mean that the relative positions of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b must be identified.

For example, the relative positions of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may be identified through triangulation using one of the various wireless communication technologies described above (eg, Zigbee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, and UWB).

Since the triangulation method for obtaining the relative positions of the two devices is a general technique, its detailed description will be omitted here, and the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b in the identification system 1 An example in which the robot 100a and the second robot 100b confirm (recognize) the relative positions using the UWB module.

As described above, the UWB module (or UWB sensor) may be included in the respective communication units 1100 of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b. In view of using the UWB module for sensing the relative positions of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, the UWB module may be included in the respective sensing units 1400 of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b.

The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can measure the time periods of the signals transmitted and received between the UWB modules included in the respective robots, respectively, to obtain the distance (separation distance) between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b. ).

Hereinafter, the principle of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b performing cooperative driving while recognizing positions by sharing map information will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may be placed in one cleaning space. A house is the entire space in which cleaning is usually done, and it can be divided into spaces such as living room, room, and kitchen.

The first robot 100a has map information of the entire space in a state where the space has been cleaned at least once. In this case, the map information may be input by the user or based on a record obtained by the first robot 100a when cleaning is performed. Although the first robot 100a in FIG. 6 is located in the living room or the kitchen, it is also possible to have map information of the entire space of the house.

Here, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may each be assigned a charging stand. In other words, the two robots 100a and 100b do not share one charging stand, and the batteries can be charged in the charging stand corresponding to each robot. For example, the first robot 100a may be docked to a first charging dock to charge the battery, and the second robot 100b may be docked to a second charging dock to charge the battery. In addition, each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may store position information of the charging bases between each other. For example, the location information of the second charging stand may be stored in the first robot 100a to identify the location during the docking of the second robot 100b, and the location information of the first charging stand may be stored in the second robot 100b for recognizing the location during the docking of the second robot 100b. The position is recognized during the docking of the robot 100a.

A process in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b perform cooperation in such a space may be as shown in FIG. 7 .

The map information of the first robot 100a may be transmitted to the second robot 100b (S1). At this time, the map information may be transmitted while the communication units 1100 of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b directly communicate with each other. In addition, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can transmit information through another network such as Wi-Fi or through a server as a medium. In this case, the shared map information may be map information including the location of the first robot 100a. In addition, map information including the location of the second robot 100b may be shared. In essence, since the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can exist together in an entire space called a house, and moreover, they can exist together in a more specific space such as a living room, it is preferable to share two robots Map information of the space where 100a and 100b are located.

The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can be moved from their respective charging bases to start cleaning, and can also be moved to a space where the user needs each robot to clean.

When the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are respectively energized to drive them (S2), the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can move. In particular, the second robot 100b can move in a direction that reduces the distance from the first robot 100a.

At this time, it is confirmed whether or not the distance between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is smaller than a certain distance ( S3 ). In this case, the specific distance may be less than 50 cm. The specific distance may represent an initial arrangement distance set for cleaning while the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are driven together. In other words, when two robots 100a, 100b are positioned at a certain distance, the two robots can then perform cleaning together according to a predetermined algorithm.

Since the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can communicate directly with each other, it can be seen that the distance to the first robot 100a is also reduced while the second robot 100b is moving. For reference, for the communication between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, the accuracy of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b with respect to the position and the facing direction is not very high, and a technology to improve the accuracy can be added later .

In order to reduce the distance from the first robot 100a, the second robot 100b may move while drawing a circular or spiral trajectory. In other words, since it is not easy for the second robot 100b to accurately measure the position of the first robot 100a and move to the relevant position, it is possible to find a position of reduced distance while moving in various directions, such as in a circular or spiral trajectory.

When the distance between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b does not decrease within the certain distance, the second robot 100b continues to move until the distance between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is within the certain distance. For example, the second robot 100b may move while drawing a circular trajectory and continue to move in a certain direction to check whether the distance is indeed reduced while moving in the relevant direction and reducing the distance.

When the distance between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b decreases within a certain distance, the image captured by the first robot 100a is transmitted to the second robot 100b (S4). In this case, like the map information, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can communicate directly or through another network or server.

Since the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are located within a certain distance, the images captured by the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may be similar to each other. In particular, when the cameras installed in the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are respectively installed forward and upward, when the positions and directions of the two robots 100a and 100b are the same, the captured images are the same. Therefore, by comparing the images captured by the two robots 100a, 100b, and adjusting the positions and directions of the two robots 100a, 100b, the initial positions and directions of the two robots 100a, 100b to start cleaning can be aligned.

Then, the image transmitted from the first robot 100a and the image captured by the second robot 100b are compared with each other (S5). 8, the comparison process will be explained.

(a) of FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a state in which the first robot 100 a captures an image; and (b) of FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a state in which the second robot 100 b captures an image.

Cameras are installed in the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b to capture the upper side of the front, and capture in the directions indicated by the arrows in each figure.

As shown in FIG. 8( a ), in the image captured by the first robot 100 a , the feature point a2 and the feature point a1 are arranged on the left and right sides, respectively, with respect to the arrow direction. In other words, feature points may be selected from the image captured by the first robot 100a, but different feature points are selected on the left and right sides relative to the front captured by the camera. Therefore, the left and right sides of the image captured by the camera can be identified.

As shown in FIG. 8( b ), in the second robot 100 b , extraction is initially performed based on the dotted arrow. In other words, the camera provided in the second robot 100b is set to face forward and upward, the feature points a1 and a4 are arranged on the left, and the feature point a3 is arranged on the right with respect to the dotted arrow. Therefore, when the feature points are compared through the control unit provided in the second robot 100b, it can be seen that there are differences in the feature points of the images captured by the two robots 100a, 100b.

In this case, when the second robot 100b rotates counterclockwise as shown in (b) of FIG. 8 , the images seen by the two robots 100a, 100b can be similarly realized. In other words, since the second robot 100b rotates counterclockwise, the viewing direction of the camera of the second robot 100b can be changed, as indicated by the solid arrow. At this time, when viewing the image captured by the camera of the second robot 100b, the feature point a2 is arranged on the left side, and the feature point a1 is arranged on the right side. Therefore, the feature points in the image provided by the first robot 100 a as shown in FIG. 8( a ) and the image captured by the second robot 100 b as shown in FIG. 8( b ) can be similarly arranged. Through this process, the heading angles of the two robots 100a, 100b can be aligned similarly. Furthermore, when the feature points are arranged similarly in the images provided by the two robots 100a, 100b, it can be seen that the positions where the two robots 100a, 100b view the feature points in the current state are arranged adjacent to each other within a certain distance, so that Pinpoint each other's location exactly.

As described above, the same feature point can be selected from the image captured by the second robot 100b and the image captured and transmitted by the first robot 100a, that is, the two images, and confirmed according to the selected feature point. At this time, the feature point may be a large object that is easily recognized by the feature, or a part of the large object that is easily recognized by the feature. For example, a feature point may be an object such as an air purifier, a door, a TV, etc., or a part of an object such as a corner of a wardrobe, a bed, and the like.

In the control unit 1800 of the second robot 100b, when the feature points are arranged at similar positions in the two images, it can be determined that the second robot 100b and the first robot 100a are set at the initial positions before starting to travel. When there is a difference between the image provided by the first robot 100a and the image currently captured by the second robot 100b, the image captured by the camera of the second robot 100b can be changed by moving or rotating the second robot 100b. In the case of comparing the image captured by the camera of the first robot 100a with the image provided by the second robot 100b, when the positional change directions of the feature points in the two images are similar, it can also be determined that the second robot 100b and the A robot 100a is set at an initial position before starting to travel.

On the other hand, in order to facilitate the comparison of the two images, it is preferable to select a plurality of feature points, and divide and arrange the respective feature points on the left and right sides of the front center of the first robot 100a or the second robot 100b. The cameras of the second robot 100b and the first robot 100a are respectively set to face forward, because when different feature points are arranged on the left and right sides with respect to the cameras, the control unit 1800 of the second robot 100b can easily sense the other The location and orientation of the sweeper. The second robot 100b moves or rotates so that the left-right arrangement of the feature points is the same as the feature points transferred from the first robot 100a, so that the second robot 100b is disposed on a straight line behind the first robot 100a. In particular, the front ends of the second robot 100b and the first robot 100a may be arranged to coincide with each other, so that the initial moving direction can be easily selected when cleaning together later.

Through the above process, the location of the first robot 100a can be confirmed according to the map information shared by the second robot 100b (S6).

In addition, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may exchange location information with each other while moving based on the navigation map and/or the SLAM map shared with each other.

The second robot 100b may acquire images through the sensing unit 1400 while moving or after moving a predetermined distance, and may extract regional feature information from the acquired images.

The control unit 1800 can extract regional feature information based on the acquired image. Here, the extracted region feature information may include a set of probability values for regions and things identified based on the acquired images.

Meanwhile, the control unit 1800 may confirm the current location according to the current location node information based on SLAM and the extracted area feature information.

Here, the SLAM-based current location node information may correspond to a node most similar to the feature information extracted from the acquired image in the pre-stored node feature information. In other words, the control unit 1800 may perform location recognition using feature information extracted from each node to select current location node information.

In addition, in order to further improve the accuracy of the position estimation, the control unit 1800 can use the feature information and the region feature information to perform position recognition at the same time, so as to improve the accuracy of the position recognition. For example, the control unit 1800 may select a plurality of candidate SLAM nodes by comparing the extracted regional feature information with pre-stored regional feature information, and among the selected plurality of candidate SLAM nodes, according to the current position based on the SLAM The node information most similar to the candidate SLAM node information to confirm the current position.

Alternatively, the control unit 1800 may confirm the current location node information based on SLAM, and correct the confirmed current location node information according to the extracted area feature information to determine the final current location.

In this case, the control unit 1800 may determine, according to the SLAM-based current location node information, the node that is most similar to the extracted area characteristic information among the pre-stored area characteristic information of the nodes existing in the predetermined range as the final current location.

For the method of estimating position using images, global features that describe the overall shape of the object can be used instead of local features, or local feature points such as corners can be used to estimate the position, so as to extract environmental changes such as illumination/illuminance. Features robustness. For example, the control unit 1800 may extract and store regional feature information (eg, living room: sofa, table, TV; kitchen: dining table, sink; room: bed, desk) when generating the map, and then utilize various regional features in the indoor environment The information estimates the positions of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b.

In other words, according to the present invention, features can be stored in units of things, objects and regions when storing the environment, rather than using only specific points in the image, thereby making the location estimation robust to changes in illumination/illuminance.

Also, when at least a part of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b gets under an object such as a bed or a sofa, the sensing unit 1400 may not sufficiently acquire an image including feature points such as corner points because the field of view is blocked by the object. Alternatively, in environments with high ceilings, the accuracy of extracting feature points using ceiling imagery at specific locations may be reduced.

However, according to the present invention, in the case where the sensing unit 1400 is covered by an object such as a bed or a sofa, even when the recognition of the feature points is weak due to a high ceiling, the control unit 1800 can control the feature points other than the feature points such as corner points Use information about area characteristics such as sofas and living rooms to confirm the current location.

Then, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may clean while traveling together. In other words, the second robot 100b can perform cleaning while traveling with the first robot 100a.

On the other hand, during cooperative driving, when the map information sharing between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b fails, the positions can be confirmed by communicating with each other. For example, as described above, the period of time included in the signals transmitted and received between the UWB modules in each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may be measured to obtain the distance between the two robots 100a, 100b (separation distance). In this case, the distance (separation distance) between the two robots 100a, 100b can be obtained by using the transformation equation of the position coordinates of the transmitted and received signals between the UWB modules.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 9, a process of calculating the positions of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b through the transformation equation will be described in detail. Here, the transformation equation represents an equation for converting the first coordinate of the first robot 100a into the second coordinate; wherein the first coordinate represents the current position of the first robot 100a based on the previous position of the first robot 100a, and the second coordinate The coordinates represent the current position of the first robot 100a based on the main body position of the second robot 100b.

In FIG. 9, the previous position of the first robot 100a is indicated by a dotted line, and the current position is indicated by a solid line. In addition, the position of the second robot 100b is indicated by a solid line.

The transformation equations are described below and represented as a 3x3 matrix in Equation 1 below. <Conversion formula> M (the current position [second coordinates] of the first robot based on the second robot) = H (transformation formula) × R (the current position [first coordinates] of the first robot based on the previous position of the first robot)

For a more detailed equation, it can be expressed as Equation 1 below. <Equation 1>

Here, Xr and Yr are the first coordinates, and Xm and Ym are the second coordinates.

The first coordinates may be calculated based on information provided by the driving unit 1300 that moves the first robot 100a. The information provided by the drive unit 1300 of the first robot 100a is derived from an encoder that measures the rotation information of the motor that rotates the rollers, which information is calibrated by a gyro sensor that senses the rotation of the first robot 100a.

The driving unit 1300 provides a driving force to move or rotate the first robot 100a, and can calculate the first coordinates even when the second robot 100b cannot receive a signal provided by the first robot 100a. Therefore, a relatively accurate position can be determined compared to position information calculated by transmitting and receiving signals between the two robots 100a, 100b. Furthermore, since the driving unit 1300 includes information on the actual motion of the first robot 100a, the positional change of the first robot 100a can be accurately described.

For example, even when the encoder senses that the motor is rotating in the first robot 100a, the first robot 100a can be accurately calculated by determining the position of the first robot 100a as a rotation instead of moving using a gyro sensor position changes. Even when the motor that rotates the rollers is rotated, since the first robot 100a can only rotate without moving, the rotation of the motor does not unconditionally move the position of the other cleaning machine. Therefore, in the case of using the gyro sensor, it is possible to identify the following cases: the case where the first robot 100a only rotates without any change in the position, the case where both the position and the rotation are changed, or only the position is changed without rotation. Therefore, using the encoder and the gyro sensor, the first robot 100a can accurately calculate the first coordinates transformed from the previous position to the current position. In addition, this information can be transmitted to the network through the communication unit 1100 of the first robot 100a, and can be transmitted to the second robot 100b through the network.

The second coordinates are measured by signals transmitted and received between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b (eg, a UWB module may be used to transmit and receive signals). Since the first robot 100a exists in the sensing area of the second robot 100b, the second coordinates can be calculated when the signal is transmitted.

Referring to FIG. 9, it can be seen that two coordinate values can be represented by the H equal sign.

Meanwhile, in order to obtain H, the data when the first robot 100a is placed in the sensing area of the second robot 100b may be continuously accumulated. Such information is shown in Equation 2 below. When the first robot 100a is located in the sensing area, a large amount of data is accumulated. At this time, the data are a plurality of first coordinates and a plurality of second coordinates corresponding to each other. <Equation 2>

Here, to obtain H, the least squares method can be used, as shown in Equation 3 below. <Equation 3>

On the other hand, after H is calculated, when the first coordinate and the second coordinate are continuously acquired, H may be recalculated to update H. As the amount of data for calculating H increases, H has a more reliable value.

Using the transformation equation (H) calculated in this way, the second robot 100b can follow the first robot 100a even when it is difficult for the second robot 100b and the first robot 100a to directly transmit and receive signals. When the second robot 100b cannot directly receive the signal about the position of the first robot 100a through the sensing unit because the first robot 100a temporarily leaves the sensing area of the second robot 100b, the second robot 100b can use the A transformed expression of the transmitted travel information of the first robot 100a to calculate the position of the first robot 100a compared to the position of the second robot 100b.

When the second robot 100b determines the position of the first robot 100a through the transformation equation, the first coordinate corresponding to R must be transmitted through the communication unit 1100 of the second robot 100b. In other words, since R and H are known, M can be calculated. M is the position of the first robot 100a relative to the second robot 100b. Therefore, the second robot 100b can know the relative position with respect to the first robot 100a, and the second robot 100b can move behind the first robot 100a.

On the other hand, based on the above technology, when either of the second robot 100b and the first robot 100a first contacts the charging base and then starts charging, the other robot is in the position where the charging base of either robot is saved (the one that has started charging After the second coordinate or the first coordinate of the robot), move to its own charging base. Since the position is saved, from the next sweep, even outside the sensing area, the two robots can come together for subsequent sweeps.

As described above, the position of another robot can be obtained using the result of communication with each other without using map information, so that even while the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are traveling, the mapless position recognition method can be used to get each other's positions.

As described above, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b that travel by recognizing their respective positions can perform cooperative travel as shown in FIG. 10 . At this time, as shown in FIG. 10 , the area to be cleaned where the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b travel may be divided into one or more zones Z1 to Z3, and cleaning is performed in units of the divided zones.

When the cooperative driving is started, the first robot 100a may start cleaning the first zone Z1, while the second robot 100b stands by near the initial position of the first robot 100a. When the first robot 100a finishes cleaning the first zone Z1 above the predetermined reference level, the first robot 100a may transmit the information of the cleanable zone to the second robot 100b. For example, the first robot 100a can transmit the information of the first zone Z1, or the information of the path the first robot 100a has traveled in the first zone Z1 to the second robot 100b, so that the second robot 100b can follow the first robot The travel path of 100a is driven.

The first robot 100a can transmit the information of the cleanable zone to the second robot 100b, and then clean the remaining part of the first zone Z1, or move to the second zone Z2 to clean the second zone Z2, and the second robot 100b can The information received by the first robot 100a cleans the first zone Z1. In this case, based on the information received from the first robot 100a, the second robot 100b can perform cleaning while traveling along the path that the first robot 100a has traveled.

While the second robot 100b cleans the first zone Z1, the first robot 100a cleans the second zone Z2, and then moves to the third zone Z3, wherein after the cleaning of the second zone Z2 is completed, the third zone Z3 is the next Uncleaned area. At this time, when the first robot 100a transmits the information of the cleanable area of the first zone Z1 to the second robot 100b, the information of the cleanable area of the second zone Z2 may also be transmitted to the second robot 100b. Therefore, after completing the cleaning of the first zone Z1, the second robot 100b may move to the second zone Z2 to perform the cleaning of the second zone Z2.

Then, the first robot 100a may clean the third zone Z3, and the second robot 100b may clean the second zone Z2 while the first robot 100a is cleaning the third zone Z3. When the first robot 100a finishes cleaning the third zone Z3, likewise, the second robot 100b may move to the third zone Z3 to clean the third zone Z3 while traveling along the path that the first robot 100a has traveled.

As described above, the system 1 that performs the cooperation of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can perform the cooperative driving according to the driving states of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b.

For example, when at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is in a driving state in which cooperative driving is not permitted, or when there is a fear that at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may cause an error during cooperative driving , cooperative driving may not be performed.

As a specific example, the cooperative driving cannot be completed because the battery charging capacity of at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b does not meet the predetermined reference capacity, or because at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b cannot complete the cooperative driving If one is located in an area that does not allow each other's position to be recognized, and the other robot does not perform position recognition, and it is difficult to initiate cooperative driving, cooperative driving may not be performed.

In other words, when the traveling states of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b satisfy the predetermined reference state, the cooperative traveling of the system 1 can be performed.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the system 1 for performing cooperative driving according to the initial driving state will be explained.

Embodiments of the system 1 may include: a plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b that clean while traveling in an area to be cleaned; and a controller 600 that communicates with the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b and will use the The control command in the remote control is transmitted to the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b.

The plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may include two robots, preferably a first robot 100a and a second robot 100b.

Here, the first robot 100a may be a robot that sucks dust while traveling forward in an area where cooperative traveling is performed, and the second robot 100b may be a robot that wipes dust while traveling behind the area where the first robot 100a travels.

In other words, for cooperative driving, the first robot 100a may inhale dust while driving forward, and the second robot 100b may perform sweeping to wipe dust on a path where the first robot 100a inhales dust while driving forward.

Hereinafter, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b are used to represent the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b including both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b.

The controller 600 may be at least one of the terminal 300, a control device of the server 500, and a remote controller of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b.

Therefore, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can be driven by receiving a control command from at least one of the terminal 300, the control device of the server 500, and the remote controllers of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b.

The controller 600 can preferably be a mobile terminal.

Therefore, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can execute the cooperative driving mode through the terminal 300 .

The cooperative travel of the system 1 can be performed by transmitting a control command for cooperative travel from the controller 600 to the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b.

After receiving from the controller 600 a control instruction of the cooperative travel mode for cooperatively cleaning the area to be cleaned, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b confirm whether the travel states of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b conform to the preset reference conditions, and execute the actions of the cooperative driving mode according to the confirmation result.

In other words, when a control command is received, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b can compare the respective travel states with the reference conditions to execute the actions of the cooperative travel mode according to the comparison results.

The cooperative travel mode may represent an operation mode in which the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b perform cooperative travel.

The cooperative travel mode may be a mode in which a plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b are sequentially driven while cleaning.

For example, the cooperative travel mode may be a mode in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are sequentially driven while cleaning within a predetermined area.

The cooperative travel mode may be a mode in which any one of the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b cleans while traveling behind the area that has been cleaned when the other robot travels forward.

For example, cleaning may be performed while the first robot 100a is traveling forward and the second robot 100b is traveling behind it.

The flow of executing the cooperative driving mode in the system 1 can be as shown in FIG. 12 . Furthermore, according to the flow shown in FIG. 12 , the conditions for executing the cooperative driving mode in the system 1 may be as shown in FIG. 13 .

First, when the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b receive a control instruction for executing the cooperative travel mode (S10), the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may stop the operation performed at the current position to confirm the travel state (S20) . Here, when the control instruction is received, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may already be executing another operation mode, or may be docked with the charging bases 400a, 400b, respectively. Regardless of whether another operation mode is already being executed or whether it is docked with the charging stand 400a, 400b, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b can receive control commands to confirm the driving state at the current position (S20).

The travel state may represent a state for performing cooperative travel of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b. Furthermore, the driving state may include a meaning that the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b have at least one state information compared to the reference condition.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the driving state may include a map sharing state (driving state 1 ), a battery charging state (driving state 2 ) of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b , and a charging stand position information state (driving state 2 ) of another robot. at least one of state 3). In other words, when confirming the travel state ( S20 ), the map of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b can be shared with the state (the travel state 1 ), the battery charging state (the travel state 2 ), and the position information of the charging stand of the other robot. At least one of the states (driving state 3) is confirmed.

The map sharing state may indicate a state in which map information of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b is shared with each other. In other words, the map sharing state may be a state of whether the map information of the second robot 100b is shared with the first robot 100a and whether the map information of the first robot 100a is shared with the second robot 100b.

The battery charge state may represent the battery charge capacity state of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b. In other words, the battery charging state may be the respective states of the battery charging capacity of the first robot 100a and the battery charging capacity of the second robot 100b.

The state of the position information of the charging stand of the other robot may indicate a state of whether the position information of the charging stand of the other robot is stored in each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b. In other words, the position information status of the charging stand may be whether the location information of the charging stand 400b of the second robot 100b is stored in the first robot 100a as the paired robot, and whether the location information of the charging stand 400a of the first robot 100a is stored in the paired robot The state in the second robot 100b of the robot.

The driving state may include all of the following states: the respective map sharing state of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b, the battery charging state, and the charging stand position information state of another robot.

After each of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b confirms the traveling state ( S20 ), the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b may communicate with each other to share the confirmation result. Therefore, each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b can recognize the traveling states of all the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b. Then, at least one of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may compare the travel state with the reference condition to confirm whether the travel state meets the reference condition (S30 to S50).

The reference condition may be a condition of a travel state in which the cooperative travel mode can be executed. In other words, the reference condition may represent an initial state condition in which the cooperative driving mode can be executed. Therefore, the reference condition can be preset as a condition conforming to the driving state.

The reference condition may include at least one of the following conditions: the first condition is that each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b share a map; the second condition is that the battery charging capacity of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b is higher than the preset reference capacity ; and the third condition is that the charging stand position information of the other robot is stored in each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b.

The reference conditions may preferably include all of the first to third conditions. Therefore, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may compare the traveling states with the reference conditions (S30 to S50) to confirm whether the respective map sharing states of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b meet the first condition (S30), and Confirm whether the respective battery charging states of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b meet the second condition (S40), and confirm whether the charging base position information state of the other robot of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b meets the first condition. Three conditions (S50).

As a result of confirming whether the traveling state complies with the reference conditions ( S30 to S50 ), when each of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a , 100 b shares a map and the battery charging capacity of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a , 100 b is higher than the preset reference capacity , the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may execute the action of the cooperative driving mode according to the confirmation result of whether the position information of the charging stand of the other robot is stored in each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b (S50).

As a result of confirming whether the map sharing states of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b satisfy the first condition ( S30 ), when the map sharing states of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b satisfy the first condition, the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b satisfy the first condition. The robots 100a and 100b can confirm whether or not the respective battery charge capacity states of the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b satisfy the second condition ( S40 ). Then, as a result of confirming whether the map sharing states of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b satisfy the first condition ( S30 ), when the map sharing states of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b do not satisfy the first condition, the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b The mobile robots 100a, 100b may not execute the cooperative driving mode (R2). In other words, when the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b each share a map, it can be determined that the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b can execute the cooperative driving mode by sharing the map, and when the mobile robots 100a, 100b do not share the map, they can It is determined that the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b cannot execute the cooperative driving mode because the cooperative cleaning of the same area is restricted because the map information is not shared, and thus the cooperative driving mode ( R2 ) is not executed.

As a result of confirming whether the battery charging capacity states of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b meet the second condition ( S40 ), when the battery charging capacities of the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b meet the second condition, the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b are moved. The mobile robots 100a and 100b can confirm whether the position information states of the respective charging bases of the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b meet the third condition ( S50 ). In addition, as a result of confirming whether the battery charging capacity states of the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b meet the second condition ( S40 ), when the battery charging capacities of the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b do not meet the second condition, then The plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may not execute the cooperative driving mode (R2). In other words, when the respective battery charging capacity states of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b are higher than the reference capacity, it can be determined that the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b can execute the cooperative travel mode at the charging capacity, and when the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b When the respective battery charging capacity states of 100a and 100b are lower than the reference capacity, it can be determined that the plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b cannot execute the cooperative driving mode due to insufficient charging capacity, so that the cooperative driving mode ( R2 ) is not executed. In this case, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may output a notification that the charging capacity of the battery is insufficient. For example, a notification that charging is required can be output from a robot whose charging capacity is lower than a reference capacity.

For the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b, as a result of confirming whether the position information of the charging stand 400a, 400b of the other robot is stored in each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b (S50), when the other When the position information of the charging stand 400a, 400b of the robot is stored in each of the mobile robots 100a, 100b, the robot that needs to drive ahead can move to a position within a predetermined distance from the other robot to execute the cooperative driving mode (R1 ). As a result of confirming whether the location information of the charging stand 400a, 400b of the other robot is stored in each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b (S50), when the location information of the charging stand 400a, 400b of the other robot is not stored In each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may recognize each other's positions (S60) to perform the action of the cooperative driving mode according to the recognition result.

As a result of confirming whether the position information state of the charging stand 400a, 400b of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b meets the third condition (S50), when the charging of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b When the position information states of the seats 400a and 400b meet the third condition, the first robot 100a can move to a position within a predetermined distance in front of the second robot 100b to execute the cooperative driving mode ( R1 ). For example, the first robot 100a may move to a point 1 m in front of the second robot 100b to perform the cooperative driving mode by guiding the second robot 100b. Then, as a result of confirming whether the position information state of the charging stand 400a, 400b of the other robot of each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b satisfies the third condition (S50), when the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b When the position information status of the charging base 400a, 400b of the other robot of each of them does not meet the third condition, then each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may perform an operation of recognizing each other's positions (S60). In other words, when the position information of the charging stand 400a, 400b of another robot is stored in each of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b, it can be determined that the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b can perform cooperation with the stored position information driving mode, so that the first robot 100a moves to a position within a predetermined distance in front of the second robot 100b to execute the cooperative driving mode (R1), and when the position information of the charging stand 400a, 400b of the other robot is not stored in the plurality of movements In each of the two robots 100a and 100b, since the position of the charging stand 400a and 400b of the other robot cannot be recognized and the initial position and the end position of the other robot cannot be recognized, the operation of recognizing each other's positions is performed (S60).

For the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b, as a result of recognizing the positions of each other ( S60 ), when the positions of each other are recognized ( S70 ), the robot that needs to travel in front can move to another robot within a predetermined distance. position to execute the cooperative driving mode (R1). For the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b, as a result of recognizing the positions of each other ( S60 ), when either one of the robots does not recognize the position of the other robot ( S80 ), the mobile robots 100 a and 100 b can be selected from the plurality of mobile robots 100 a and 100 b . At least one of the output notifications informs the unidentified robot to move to the vicinity of another robot, and then can perform the actions of the cooperative driving mode according to the result of the movement. When the unrecognized robot moves to the vicinity of another robot, the unrecognized robot can perform a position recognition operation for recognizing the position of the other robot using the communication result with the other robot, and then can drive according to the preset Refer to Executing the Cooperative Driving Mode (R3). For the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b, as a result of recognizing the positions of each other (S60), when all the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b do not recognize the position (S80), the first robot 100a may move to A position within a predetermined distance in the vicinity of the second robot 100b to perform an action for executing the cooperative travel mode ( R4 ).

For the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b, as a result of recognizing the positions of each other (S60), when the positions of each other are recognized (S70), the first robot 100a may move to a predetermined distance in front of the second robot 100b. position to execute the cooperative driving mode (R1). For example, the first robot 100a may move to a point 1 m in front of the second robot 100b to perform the cooperative driving mode by guiding the second robot 100b. In addition, when any one of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b does not recognize the position of the other robot (S80), a notification may be output from at least one of the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b notifying the unrecognized The robot moves to the vicinity of another robot, and then, when the unrecognized robot is moved to the vicinity of another robot by the user, the unrecognized robot can use the The communication result of the other robot performs a position recognition operation for recognizing the position of the other robot, and then performs the cooperative driving mode (R3) according to the driving reference. For example, when the first robot 100a does not recognize the position of the second robot 100b, the first robot 100a can move to a position within a radius of 50 cm of the second robot 100b, and then according to the map-free position identification method shown in FIG. The position of the second robot 100b is identified. Conversely, when the second robot 100b does not recognize the position of the first robot 100a, the second robot 100b can move to a position within a radius of 50 cm of the first robot 100a, and then use the map-free position identification method shown in FIG. 9 . The position of the first robot 100a is recognized. Here, the nearby area of the other robot may represent a distance where the viewing angle overlaps with the camera 131 of the other robot, and may be a radius of 50 cm or about 50 cm of the other robot. Then, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b may execute the cooperative driving mode ( R3 ) according to the driving reference. Here, the driving reference may be a reference for changing or restricting the setting of the cooperative driving mode. For example, the area set in the cooperative driving mode may be divided into two or more small areas to be driven. Therefore, even during the execution of the cooperative driving mode, the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b can try to recognize each other's positions, and can correct the results of the position recognition according to the results of the attempts. If all the plurality of mobile robots 100a, 100b do not recognize the position (S80), the first robot 100a may move to a position within a predetermined distance in the vicinity of the second robot 100b, and then the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b respectively The position of the other robot can be recognized according to the map-free position recognition method shown in FIG. 9 , and then the action ( R4 ) for executing the cooperative driving mode can be performed.

The system 1 in which the cooperative travel mode is executed according to whether the travel state meets the reference condition may use the method for executing cooperative travel as shown in FIG. 14 to execute cooperative travel.

The method for performing cooperative driving (hereinafter referred to as the implementation method) is a method for performing cooperative driving by the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b. As shown in FIG. 14 , the method may include: the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b receiving an instruction to perform cooperative driving (S100); comparing the driving states of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b with a preset reference condition by the first robot (S200); and the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b each An action of cooperative driving is performed according to the comparison result ( S300 ).

Here, the first robot 100a may inhale dust while driving forward in an area where cooperative driving is performed, and the second robot 100b may wipe dust while driving behind the area where the first robot 100a is driving. In other words, when cooperative driving is performed according to the execution method, the first robot 100a can inhale dust while guiding the second robot 100b, and the second robot 100b can wipe the dust while following the first robot 100a.

Receiving an instruction for performing cooperative driving ( S100 ) may receive an instruction for each of the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b to perform cooperative driving.

Receiving the instruction for performing cooperative driving ( S100 ) may stop the operation performed by the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b at the current position.

Comparison of Traveling State with Preset Reference Conditions (S200) The traveling state may be compared with preset reference conditions of the first robot 100a.

The comparison of the driving state with the preset reference condition ( S200 ) may include comparing the map sharing state and the battery charging capacity state, respectively, of the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b with the first and second conditions in the reference conditions ( S210), and according to the comparison result with the first condition and the second condition, compare the storage state of the position information of the charging stand of the other robot of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b with the third condition in the reference condition (S220).

The action of performing cooperative driving ( S300 ) may be performed by at least one of the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b according to a comparison result of comparing the driving state with a preset reference condition ( S200 ).

The act of performing cooperative driving ( S300 ) may be moved by the first robot 100 a to a position within a predetermined distance from the second robot 100 b when the driving state meets all the first to third conditions.

In this case, the first robot 100a may move to a position within x m in front of the second robot 100b to initiate cooperative driving.

The act of performing cooperative driving ( S300 ) may allow the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b to recognize each other’s positions when the driving state meets the first condition and the second condition, so that the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b At least one of the actions performs cooperative driving according to the recognition result.

The act of performing cooperative driving ( S300 ) may output a notification by at least one of the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b when either one of the robots does not recognize the position of the other robot as a result of recognizing each other’s positions, notifying the unrecognized The robot moves to the vicinity of another robot, and then performs cooperative driving according to the result of the movement.

In this case, the unidentified robot can move within the radius y cm of the other robot to perform cooperative driving maneuvers.

The action of performing cooperative driving (S300) may be performed by the unrecognized robot to perform a position recognition operation for recognizing another robot's position by using the communication result with the other robot when the unrecognized robot moves to the vicinity of the other robot. position and then perform cooperative driving according to the preset driving reference.

An execution method including receiving an instruction to perform cooperative driving ( S100 ), comparing a driving state with a preset reference condition ( S200 ), and performing an action of cooperative driving ( S300 ) can be implemented on a program recording medium as computer-readable codes. The computer-readable medium includes all types of recording devices in which data readable by a computer system are stored. Examples of computer readable media include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), silicon disk drives (SDDs), ROM, RAM, CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, etc. , can also be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (eg, transmitted over the Internet). Also, the computer may include the control unit 1800 .

Hereinafter, an embodiment 1 of a mobile robot system 1 that executes a preset scene in response to a trap state that occurs when cooperative driving is executed will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 21 .

16 , when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the cooperative driving mode and recognize each other's position information, the first robot 100a may inhale pollutants in the area to be cleaned in front of the second robot 100b. In addition, as shown in the drawings, the area to be cleaned can be divided into one or more areas Z4 to Z6, and the divided areas are used as units for cleaning.

The fourth zone Z4 refers to a cleaning zone in which the second robot 100b is expected to travel after the first robot 100a finishes traveling. The fifth zone Z5 refers to a cleaning zone in which the first robot 100a is expected to travel. The sixth zone Z6 refers to a cleaning zone in which the first robot 100a is expected to travel after the cleaning of the fifth zone Z5 is completed.

At this time, in the drawing, the fourth zone Z4 to the sixth zone Z6 are divided by the outer walls as boundaries and the entrances D1 and D2. However, the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and the fourth zone Z4 to the sixth zone Z6 may be divided based on a predetermined size, or may be divided based on outer walls, corners, furniture, etc., and can also be effectively executed by the mobile robot system as described above. 1. The cooperative driving method is divided.

During cooperative travel of the mobile robot system 1, the first robot 100a may travel along the first travel path L1, and the second robot 100b may travel along the second travel path L2. In this case, the first path L1 refers to all paths for the first robot 100a to clean the area to be cleaned, such as bypassing obstacles. In addition, the second travel path L2 refers to all paths in which the second robot 100b cleans the area to be cleaned, and may be set to be the same as the travel path that the first robot 100a has traveled. However, when an obstacle that does not exist during the travel of the first robot 100a appears, the second robot 100b may travel on a modified path, such as a detour.

Hereinafter, a scenario according to a trap state and a case where the first robot 100a is in a trap state will be explained with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 .

17 , the first robot 100a shows a state in which the fifth zone Z5 has been cleaned and the second robot 100b has completed the fourth zone Z4. Further, a state is shown in which the entrance D1 that allows the robot to move from the fifth zone Z5 to the sixth zone Z6 is closed. Therefore, it refers to the case where the first robot 100a is in a trap state.

The trap state refers to a situation in which the first robot 100a or the second robot 100b cannot enter the area to be cleaned that has not been driven. In other words, it refers to the case where the first robot 100a and/or the second robot 100b cannot enter the uncleaned area. Therefore, the trap state of the first robot 100a in FIG. 17 refers to the state where the first robot 100a has completed the cleaning of the fifth zone Z5, but cannot enter the sixth zone Z6, that is, the expected cleaning zone.

In addition, in order to indicate the division of the cleaning area and whether it is possible to move to the cleaning area, it is displayed whether the movement between the cleaning areas is permitted by opening and closing the first entrance D1 and the second entrance D2, but the embodiment is not limited thereto, and traps The state includes a situation in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b cannot enter an area to be cleaned that has not been driven due to various obstacles such as chairs, tables, furniture, and the like other than doors.

When a trap state occurs while the first robot 100a is executing the cooperative travel mode of the mobile robot system 1, the first robot 100a executes the trap escape travel. Trap escape travel refers to a travel method in which the first robot 100a travels along the outer periphery or boundary of the cleaning area. In other words, the trap escape travel refers to a travel method in which the first robot 100a or the second robot 100b travels while pushing the outer periphery or boundary of the cleaning area that has been traveled. The third path L3 refers to all paths that the first robot 100a or the second robot 100b travels while pushing the outer periphery or boundary of the cleaning area when the trap escape travel is performed.

The state of being released from the trap state means that the first robot 100a and/or the second robot 100b have entered an uncleaned area that has never been able to enter. Therefore, in the case where the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state, when the first robot 100a performs the trap escape travel to escape from the trap state, that is, when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b When neither is in the trap state, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b perform cooperative driving again.

In addition, when the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state, the second robot 100b may stand by for a preset first period of time. In addition, the second robot 100b may end the traveling of the fourth zone Z4 being cleaned, and then stand by at the end point within a preset first period of time. When the first robot 100a escapes from the trap state while the second robot 100b is on standby, the second robot 100b releases the standby state to perform cooperative travel with the first robot 100a.

In addition, when the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state, the second robot 100b may stand by for a preset first period of time, and then follow the fourth path in the cleaned fourth zone Z4 L4 is re-cleaned again. In this case, the re-cleaning period may be set as a preset second period. The fourth path L4 refers to all paths for re-cleaning the area to be cleaned, for example, returning to the second path L2 that has been traveled, or avoiding obstacles during driving to perform re-cleaning. When the first robot 100a is released from the trap state and the second robot 100b performs re-cleaning in the cleaned fourth zone Z4, the second robot 100b and the first robot 100a perform cooperative driving again.

The first period of time may be set to 1 minute, and the second period of time may be set to be 9 minutes, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. Since water may accumulate on the floor when the standby period of the second robot 100b becomes longer, the first period may be set to an appropriate period to prevent the accumulation of water. In addition, the second period may be set as an appropriate period for the second robot 100b to perform re-cleaning and wait for the first robot 100a to come out of the trap state.

While the second robot 100b is re-cleaning within the second period, the first robot 100a is disengaged from the trap state, and the second robot 100b stops re-cleaning to perform cooperative driving with the first robot 100a again.

18 is a view showing the passage of a first period in which the second robot 100b stands by and a second period in which the second robot 100b performs re-cleaning when the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state.

When the first robot 100a fails to escape from the trap state within the first period and the second period, the second robot 100b releases the cooperative driving mode to return to the second charging stand 400b. At this time, the fifth path L5 for the second robot 100b to return to the second charging stand 400b refers to all paths returning to the second charging stand 400b after the second robot 100b stands by for the first period and the second period of re-cleaning.

In addition, when the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state, the second robot 100b can immediately release the cooperative driving mode to return to the second charging stand 400b without waiting for the first period of time, or in the When the first robot 100a is in the trap state, re-cleaning is performed within the second period of time.

In addition, when only the first robot 100a is in the trap state, the second robot 100b returns to the second charging stand 400b without releasing the cooperative travel mode, and then cleans according to the cooperative travel mode when the first robot 100a leaves the trap state. After the second robot 100b returns to the second charging base 400b, when the first robot 100a fails to escape the trap state within a preset period of time, the second robot 100b may cancel the cooperative driving mode to end cleaning.

In addition, when the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state, the second robot 100b can clean the first robot 100a but has not yet traveled when the first robot 100a performs the trap escape travel. Five areas Z5 are cleaned.

Hereinafter, a scenario according to a case where the second robot 100b is in a trap state will be explained with reference to FIG. 19 .

19 , the first robot 100a is in a state where the cleaning of the fifth zone Z5 is completed, and the second robot 100b is in a state where the cleaning of the fourth zone Z4 is completed. In addition, a state is shown in which the entrance D2 that allows the robot to move from the fourth zone Z4 to the fifth zone Z5 is closed. Therefore, it refers to the case where the second robot 100b is in a trap state.

When the first robot 100a is not in the trap state and the second robot 100b is in the trap state, the second robot 100b performs the trap escape travel along the third path L3. As described above, the trap escape travel along the third path L3 refers to a travel method in which the second robot 100b travels while pushing the outer periphery or boundary of the cleaning area that has traveled.

When the second robot 100b performs the trap escape travel, the first robot 100a may stand by for a first period of time. In addition, the first robot 100a may end the traveling of the fifth zone Z5 being cleaned, and then stand by at the end point for the first period of time. When the second robot 100b is released from the trap state while the first robot 100a is on standby, the first robot 100a releases the standby state to perform cooperative travel with the second robot 100b.

In addition, when the first robot 100a is not in the trap state and the second robot 100b is in the trap state, the first robot 100a may stand by for a preset first period of time, and then follow the fourth path in the cleaned fifth zone Z5 L4 is re-cleaned again. At this time, the re-cleaning period can be set as a preset second period, and the fourth path L4 refers to all paths for re-cleaning the cleaning area, such as returning to the first path L1 that has been traveled, or avoiding the travel obstacles for re-cleaning. When the second robot 100b leaves the trap state and the first robot 100a re-cleans the cleaned fifth zone Z5, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b perform cooperative driving again.

Hereinafter, a scenario according to a case where the second robot 100b is in a trap state will be explained with reference to FIG. 20 .

20 is a view showing the passage of a first period in which the first robot 100a stands by and a second period in which the first robot 100a performs re-cleaning from the case where the second robot 100b is in the trap state and the first robot 100a is not in the trap state.

When the first robot 100a is in the trap state as described above, during the first period in which the second robot 100b stands by and the second period in which the second robot 100b performs re-cleaning, the first robot 100a fails to escape from the trap state. In this case, the first robot 100a releases the cooperative driving mode to perform independent driving, instead of causing the second robot 100b to release the cooperative driving to return to the second robot 100b after the first period and the second period when the second robot 100b is in the trap state. Charging stand 400b.

In other words, when the first robot 100a is not in the trap state but the second robot 100b is in the trap state, when the first period in which the first robot 100a waits and the second period in which the first robot 100a performs re-cleaning has elapsed, the first The robot 100a releases the cooperative travel mode and enters the independent travel mode to perform independent travel. Therefore, the first robot 100a travels in the sixth zone Z6 which is the intended cleaning zone. In this case, the first route L1 that the first robot 100a travels in the sixth zone Z6 refers to all routes for cleaning the cleaning zone.

In addition, in the case where the first robot 100a is not in the trap state and the second robot 100b is in the trap state, the first robot 100a can immediately cancel the cooperative driving mode when the second robot 100b is in the trap state, and enter the independent driving mode to Driving in the sixth zone Z6 as the intended cleaning zone.

In addition, when the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state, the second robot 100b can immediately release the cooperative driving mode to return to the second charging stand 400b without waiting for the first period of time, or in the Re-clean in the second period. In other words, when the first robot 100a is not in the trap state, the first robot 100a can immediately release the cooperative driving mode to return to the first charging stand 400a when the second robot 100b is in the trap state.

In addition, when only the second robot 100b is in the trap state, the first robot 100a can return to the first charging stand 400a without releasing the cooperative travel mode, and then execute the cooperative travel mode again when the second robot 100b leaves the trap state, to perform cooperative driving. After the first robot 100a returns to the first charging base 400a and the second robot 100b fails to escape the trap state within a preset period of time, the first robot 100a may cancel the cooperative driving mode to end cleaning.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 21, a scenario according to a case where the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in a trap state will be explained.

Referring to FIG. 21 , a state is shown in which both the first entrance D1 and the second entrance D2 are closed, and both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in a trap state. However, this is for the convenience of description, and the present embodiment is not limited to this, but refers to all cases where the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in the trap state, including the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b cleaning in the same A trap condition occurs while driving in the zone.

When both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in the trap state, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b respectively perform the trap escape travel. Further, when only the first robot 100a escapes from the trap state according to the trap escape travel, it operates according to the aforementioned scenario in which the first robot 100a is not in the trap state and the second robot 100b is in the trap state. In addition, when only the second robot 100b escapes from the trap state according to the trap escape travel, it operates according to the aforementioned scenario in which the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state.

Hereinafter, a method of performing cooperative travel of the mobile robot system 1 when a trap state occurs will be explained with reference to FIG. 22 .

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a method of performing cooperative travel of the mobile robot system 1 when a trap state occurs.

Referring to FIG. 22 , step S1100 refers to a process in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the cooperative driving mode by identifying each other's position information and perform cooperative driving. At this time, the area to be cleaned can be divided into one or more areas Z4 to Z6, and the divided areas are used as a unit for cleaning.

In step S1200, it is determined whether the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in a trap state. At this time, according to the trap status, there are three cases to execute the scenario. First, the case A represents the case where the first robot 100a is in the trap state and the second robot 100b is not in the trap state. Case B represents a case where the first robot 100a is not in a trap state and the second robot 100b is in a trap state. Case C represents a case where both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in a trap state.

In step S1300, the trap scenario according to the case A is performed. 17 and 18 , the trap scene according to Case A refers to the driving situations of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b when the first robot 100a is in a trap state and the second robot 100b is not in a trap state.

Therefore, according to the trap scene of the case A, when only the first robot 100a is in the trap state, the first robot 100a performs the trap escape travel. When the first robot 100a performs the trap escape travel, the second robot 100b may stand by for a preset first period of time. In addition, the second robot 100b may end the traveling of the cleaning area being cleaned, and then stand by at the point where the cleaning ends within the first period of time. When the first robot 100a is released from the trap state and the second robot 100b is in the standby state, the second robot 100b releases the standby state to perform cooperative travel with the first robot 100a again.

In addition, while the first robot 100a is performing the trap escape driving, the second robot 100b may wait for a first period of time, and then re-clean the cleaning area that has been cleaned. In this case, the re-cleaning period may be set as a preset second period. When the second robot 100b is re-cleaning in the second period and the first robot 100a is detached from the trap state, the second robot 100b stops re-cleaning to perform cooperative driving again with the first robot 100a.

In addition, when the first robot 100a fails to escape the trap state during the first period when the second robot 100b is on standby and the second period when the second robot 100b is re-cleaning, the second robot 100b releases the cooperative driving mode to return to the second charging Block 400b.

In addition, when only the first robot 100a is in the trap state, the second robot 100b can immediately release the cooperative driving mode to return to the second charging stand 400b without waiting for the first period of time, or when the first robot 100a is in the trap state Reclean in the second period.

Furthermore, although only a representative scenario is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 22 , when only the first robot 100a is in the trap state, the second robot 100b can return to the second charging stand 400b without releasing the cooperative driving mode, and then When the first robot 100a is out of the trap state, the cooperative travel mode is executed again for cleaning. After the second robot 100b returns to the second charging base 400b, when the first robot 100a fails to escape the trap state within a preset period of time, the second robot 100b may cancel the cooperative driving mode to end cleaning.

In addition, when only the first robot 100a is in the trap state, the second robot 100b can perform cleaning of the cleaning area where the first robot 100a has completed cleaning but the second robot 100b has not yet traveled.

In step S1310, as a result of the first robot 100a executing the trap escape travel, it is confirmed whether or not the first robot 100a has escaped from the trap state. When the first robot 100a is out of the trap state, neither the first robot 100a nor the second robot 100b is in the trap state. Therefore, cooperative driving is performed ( S1100 ). However, when the first robot 100a fails to escape from the trap state, the second robot 100b returns to the second charging stand 400b (S1600).

In step S1400, the trap scenario according to the case B is performed. As disclosed in FIGS. 19 and 20 , the trap scene according to Case B refers to the driving situations of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b when the second robot 100b is in a trap state and the first robot 100a is not in a trap state.

Therefore, according to the trap scene of the case B, when only the second robot 100b is in the trap state, the second robot 100b performs the trap escape travel. When the second robot 100b performs the trap escape travel, the first robot 100a may stand by for a preset first period of time. In addition, the first robot 100a may end the traveling of the cleaning area being cleaned, and then stand by at the point where the cleaning ends within the first period of time. When the second robot 100b is released from the trap state and the first robot 100a is in the standby state, the first robot 100a releases the standby state to perform cooperative travel with the second robot 100b again.

In addition, while the second robot 100b performs the trap escape travel, the first robot 100a may wait for a first period of time, and then perform re-cleaning in the cleaning area that has been cleaned. In this case, the re-cleaning period may be set as a preset second period. When the second robot 100b is released from the trap state while the first robot 100a performs re-cleaning within the second period, the first robot 100a stops re-cleaning to perform cooperative driving again with the second robot 100b.

In addition, when the second robot 100b fails to escape the trap state during the first period when the second robot 100b is on standby and the second period when the second robot 100b is re-cleaning, the first robot 100a can cancel the cooperative driving and enter the independent driving mode to perform independent driving. In other words, while the second robot 100b performs the trap escape travel, the first robot 100a may stand by for the first period, perform re-cleaning within the second period, and then perform the independent travel according to the independent travel mode.

In addition, although only a representative scenario is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 22 , when only the second robot 100b is in the trap state, the first robot 100a can immediately release the cooperative driving mode to return to the first charging stand 400a without having to When the two robots 100b are in the trap state, they stand by in the first period of time or perform re-cleaning in the second period of time.

Also, when only the second robot 100b is in the trap state, the first robot 100a can return to the first charging stand 400a without releasing the cooperative travel mode, and then perform cooperative travel again when the second robot 100b leaves the trap state. After the first robot 100a returns to the first charging base 400a and the second robot 100b fails to escape the trap state within a preset period of time, the first robot 100a may cancel the cooperative driving mode to end cleaning.

In step S1410, as a result of the second robot 100b executing the trap escape travel, it is checked whether or not the second robot 100b has escaped from the trap state. When the second robot 100b is out of the trap state, neither the first robot 100a nor the second robot 100b is in the trap state. Therefore, cooperative driving is performed ( S1100 ). However, when the second robot 100b fails to escape from the trap state, the first robot 100a performs independent travel according to the independent travel mode (S1700).

In step S1500, for the case C in which both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in the trap state, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b respectively perform trap escape travel. Then, in step S1510, it is checked whether or not the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b have escaped from the trap state, respectively. When only the second robot 100b is out of the trap state, since it corresponds to the case A, the trap scene of the case A is executed ( S1300 ). When only the first robot 100 a is out of the trap state, since it corresponds to the case B, the trap scene of the case B is executed ( S1400 ). Also, when both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are out of the trap state, cooperative driving may be performed ( S1100 ).

Hereinafter, Embodiment 2 of the mobile robot system 1 that executes a preset scene in response to an error that occurs when executing cooperative driving will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 to 29 .

The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can enter the cooperative driving mode using the network 50 . Referring to FIG. 23 , when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the cooperative driving mode and recognize each other's position information, the first robot 100a can drive before the second robot 100b to inhale the pollution in the to-be-cleaned zone Z4 thing. Here, the contamination may include all inhalable substances present in the zone Z4 to be cleaned, such as dust, foreign objects and debris. In addition, the second robot 100b may travel along the path L1 traveled by the first robot 100a to wipe the floor in the zone Z4 to be cleaned. Here, wiping the floor by the second robot 100b may mean wiping a substance that cannot be inhaled by the first robot 100a, such as liquid, by mopping the floor. However, when the cooperative driving is performed, there may be a case where at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b makes an error to stop the cooperative driving. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may execute a preset scene in response to an error that occurs when performing cooperative driving.

Table 1 shows a table of the first to seventh embodiments in which the preset scene is executed by the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b in response to an error that occurs when the cooperative driving is executed. In Table 1, "error" indicates a state in which the first robot 100a or the second robot 100b cannot continuously perform cooperative driving, such as being caught by an obstacle, falling off a roller, or a motor that rotates the roller malfunctioning. In addition, "OK" represents a state in which the first robot 100a or the second robot 100b can continuously perform cooperative driving without causing an error.

In Table 1, for convenience of description, different reference numerals are assigned to errors in the first to seventh embodiments, respectively. In addition, it should be understood that each embodiment to be described below is independent. Meanwhile, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may include a button for receiving a recovery instruction from a user. The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may perform cooperative driving again upon receiving the recovery command, and recognize each other's position information after resolving the error. The restoration instruction relates to the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the sixth embodiment and the seventh embodiment which will be described later. Hereinafter, the first to seventh embodiments will be described in detail with reference to Table 1. FIG.

[Table 1] Implementation Status of the first robot 100a Status of the second robot 100b 1 error (a) OK 2 error (b) OK 3 error (c) OK 4 error (a) error (a) 5 OK error (b) 6 OK error (c) 7 OK error (a)

The first embodiment shows a scenario in which an error (a) occurs in the first robot 100 a and a preset standby time period has elapsed when the cooperative driving is performed. In this case, the first robot 100a may turn off the power after a preset standby time period. Here, the preset standby time period may be 10 minutes. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 24A , in the first embodiment, the second robot 100b may cancel the cooperative travel mode and travel to the point P1 ( L2 ) where the first robot 100 a has traveled, and then return to the charging stand 400 b ( L3 ). Here, the point P1 that the first robot 100a has traveled is the position of the first robot 100a when the error (a) occurs. In other words, the second robot 100b may travel to the point P1 ( L2 ) where the first robot 100 a has inhaled pollutants, wipe the floor, and then return to the second charging stand 400 b ( L3 ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the first embodiment, it is conceivable that the second robot 100b releases the cooperative travel mode and then performs independent travel without returning to the second charging stand 400b. The second embodiment shows that the first robot 100a has an error (b) while performing cooperative driving, but the error (b) is resolved, and the first robot 100a receives a recovery instruction, and the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in A scenario in which the location information of each other is recognized within a preset standby period. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can perform cooperative driving again. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 24B , in the second embodiment, the second robot 100 b can drive again ( L4 ) in the to-be-cleaned area that it has traveled through within the time period from the occurrence of the error (b) to the execution of cooperative travel again. . In other words, when the second robot 100b remains in place during the standby period, since the floor of the standby point may be wet with water, the second robot 100b may wipe the floor of the area to be cleaned which has been wiped again. On the other hand, as another embodiment of the second embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b release the cooperative travel mode without performing cooperative travel, and then perform independent travel, respectively. The third embodiment shows that while performing cooperative driving, an error (c) occurs in the first robot 100a, and the error (c) is resolved, the first robot 100a receives a recovery instruction, but the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in A scenario in which the location information of each other is not recognized within the preset standby period. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. Referring to FIG. 24C , the first robot 100 a may release the cooperative travel mode, and then perform independent travel ( L5 ). Also, the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode and travel to the point P2 ( L6 ) where the first robot 100 a has traveled, and then return to the second charging stand 400 b ( L7 ). Here, the point P2 that the first robot 100a has traveled is the position of the first robot 100a when the error (c) occurs. In other words, the second robot 100b may travel to the point P2 ( L6 ) where the first robot 100 a has inhaled pollutants, wipe the floor, and then return to the second charging stand 400 b ( L7 ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the third embodiment, it can be considered that the second robot 100b releases the cooperative travel mode and then performs independent travel without returning to the second charging stand 400b. In addition, as another embodiment of the third embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b cancel the cooperative driving mode and then return to the charging bases 400a and 400b, respectively. In addition, as another embodiment of the third embodiment, after the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b release the cooperative travel mode, it may be considered that the first robot 100a returns to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b performs independent travel .

The fourth embodiment represents a scenario in which an error occurs in both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, and a preset standby period has elapsed when cooperative driving is performed. In other words, in the fourth embodiment, the first robot 100a has an error (d), and the second robot has an error (e). Referring to FIG. 25 , the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may respectively turn off their power sources after a preset standby period. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes.

The fifth embodiment represents a scenario in which an error (f) occurs in the second robot 100 b and a preset standby time period has elapsed when cooperative driving is performed. In this case, the second robot 100b may turn off the power after a preset standby period. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 26A , in the fifth embodiment, the first robot 100 a may release the cooperative travel mode and then perform independent travel ( L8 ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the fifth embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a releases the cooperative travel mode and then returns to the charging stand 400a without performing independent travel.

The sixth embodiment indicates that while the cooperative driving is being performed, an error (g) occurs in the second robot 100b, but the error (g) is resolved, and the second robot 100b receives a recovery instruction, and the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are A scenario in which the location information of each other is recognized within a preset standby period. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can perform cooperative driving again. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 26B , in the sixth embodiment, the first robot 100 a can drive again ( L9 ) in the to-be-cleaned area where it has traveled within the time period from the occurrence of the error (g) to the execution of cooperative travel again. . On the other hand, as another embodiment of the sixth embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b release the cooperative travel mode without performing cooperative travel, and then perform independent travel, respectively.

The seventh embodiment shows that while the cooperative driving is being performed, an error (h) occurs in the second robot 100b, and the error (h) is resolved, and the second robot 100b receives a recovery instruction, but the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are in the same state. A scenario in which the location information of each other is not recognized within the preset standby period. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. Referring to FIG. 26C , the first robot 100a may release the cooperative travel mode, and then perform independent travel ( L10 ). In addition, the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode and travel to the point P3 where the first robot 100a has traveled, and then return to the second charging stand 400b. Here, the point P3 that the first robot 100a has traveled is the position of the first robot 100a when the error (h) occurs. In other words, the second robot 100b may travel to the point P3 ( L11 ) where the first robot 100a has inhaled pollutants, wipe the floor, and then return to the second charging stand 400b ( L12 ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the seventh embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a releases the cooperative travel mode and then returns to the first charging stand 400a without performing independent travel. In addition, as another embodiment of the seventh embodiment, it can be considered that the second robot 100b releases the cooperative travel mode and then performs independent travel without returning to the second charging stand 400b, and the first robot 100a releases the cooperative travel mode and then performs independent travel Drive or return to the charging stand 400a.

Hereinafter, the mobile robot system 1 that executes a preset scene in response to a trap that occurs when performing cooperative driving will be described with reference to FIGS. 27A to 28C .

The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can enter the cooperative driving mode using the network 50 . Referring back to FIG. 23 , when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the cooperative travel mode and recognize each other's position information, the first robot 100a may travel before the travel of the second robot 100b to inhale the air in the to-be-cleaned zone Z4 pollutants. Here, the contamination may include all inhalable substances present in the zone Z4 to be cleaned, such as dust, foreign objects and debris. In addition, the second robot 100b may travel along the path L1 traveled by the first robot 100a to wipe the floor in the zone Z4 to be cleaned. Here, wiping the floor by the second robot 100b may mean wiping a substance that cannot be inhaled by the first robot 100a, such as liquid, by mopping the floor. However, when the cooperative driving is performed, there may be a case where at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b becomes trapped to stop the cooperative driving. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may execute a preset scene in response to the trapping that occurs when performing cooperative driving.

Table 2 shows a table of the first to seventh embodiments in which a preset scene is executed by the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b in response to the trapping that occurs when the cooperative driving is executed. In Table 2, "trapped" means that the user picks up the traveling first robot 100a or the second robot 100b and places them in different positions. In addition, "OK" indicates a state in which the first robot 100a or the second robot 100b can continuously perform cooperative driving without being trapped.

In Table 2, for convenience of explanation, different reference numerals are assigned to traps in the first to seventh embodiments, respectively. In addition, it should be understood that each embodiment to be described below is independent. Meanwhile, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may include a button for receiving a recovery instruction from a user. The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can perform cooperative driving again when receiving the recovery instruction, and recognize each other's position information. The restoration instruction relates to the second embodiment, the third embodiment, the fourth embodiment, the sixth embodiment and the seventh embodiment which will be described later. Hereinafter, the first to seventh embodiments will be described in detail with reference to Table 2. FIG.

[Table 2] Implementation Status of the first robot 100a Status of the second robot 100b 1 Trapped (i) OK 2 Trapped (j) OK 3 Trapped (k) OK 4 Trapped (l) Trapped (m) 5 OK Trapped (n) 6 OK Trapped (o) 7 OK Trapped (p)

The first embodiment shows a scenario in which the first robot 100 a is trapped (i) and a preset standby period has elapsed when the cooperative driving is performed. In this case, the first robot 100a may turn off the power after a preset standby period. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 27A , in the first embodiment, the second robot 100b may cancel the cooperative travel mode and travel to point Q1 ( L13 ) where the first robot 100 a has traveled, and then return to the charging stand 400 b ( L14 ). Here, the point Q1 that the first robot 100a has traveled is the position of the first robot 100a when the trapping (i) occurs. In other words, the second robot 100b may travel to the point Q1 ( L13 ) where the first robot 100a has inhaled pollutants, wipe the floor, and then return to the second charging stand 400b ( L14 ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the first embodiment, it is also conceivable that the second robot 100b releases the cooperative travel mode and then executes independent travel without returning to the second charging stand 400b. The second embodiment indicates that the first robot 100a is trapped (i) while performing cooperative driving, and the first robot 100a receives a recovery instruction, and the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b recognize each other within a preset standby period The scene in the case of location information. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can perform cooperative driving again. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 27B , in the second embodiment, the second robot 100b may drive again in the to-be-cleaned area that it has traveled through within the time from the occurrence of being trapped (j) to the time when the cooperative travel is performed again ( L15 ). ). In other words, when the second robot 100b remains in place during the standby period, since the floor of the standby point may be wet with water, the second robot 100b may wipe the floor of the area to be cleaned which has been wiped again. On the other hand, as another embodiment of the second embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b release the cooperative travel mode without performing cooperative travel, and then perform independent travel, respectively. The third embodiment shows that the first robot 100a is trapped (k) while performing cooperative driving, the first robot 100a receives a recovery instruction, but the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are not recognized within the preset standby period The scene in the case of each other's location information. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. Referring to FIG. 27C , the first robot 100 a may release the cooperative travel mode and then perform independent travel ( L16 ). In addition, the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode and travel to the point Q2 ( L17 ) where the first robot 100 a has traveled, and then return to the second charging stand 400 b ( L18 ). Here, the point Q2 that the first robot 100a has traveled is the position of the first robot 100a when the trapping (i) occurs. In other words, the second robot 100b may travel to the point Q2 where the first robot 100a has inhaled pollutants ( L17 ), wipe the floor, and then return to the second charging stand 400 b ( L18 ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the third embodiment, it can be considered that the second robot 100b releases the cooperative travel mode and then performs independent travel without returning to the second charging stand 400b. In addition, as another embodiment of the third embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b cancel the cooperative driving mode and then return to the charging bases 400a and 400b, respectively. In addition, as another embodiment of the third embodiment, after the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b release the cooperative travel mode, it may be considered that the first robot 100a returns to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b performs independent travel .

The fourth embodiment shows a scenario in which both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are trapped, and a preset standby period has elapsed when cooperative driving is performed. In other words, in the fourth embodiment, the first robot 100a is trapped (l), and the second robot is trapped (m). In this case, when a recovery instruction is received at the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, and the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b recognize each other's positions within a preset standby period, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b The second robot 100b can perform cooperative driving again. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. On the other hand, as another implementation of the fourth embodiment, when only one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b receives the recovery instruction, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may follow the above-mentioned according to the situation Any one of the first to third embodiments and the fifth to seventh embodiments to be described later.

The fifth embodiment represents a scenario in which the second robot 100b is trapped (n) and a preset standby period has elapsed when cooperative driving is performed. In this case, the second robot 100b may turn off the power after a preset standby period. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 28A , in the fifth embodiment, the first robot 100 a may release the cooperative travel mode and then perform independent travel ( L19 ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the fifth embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a releases the cooperative travel mode and then returns to the charging stand 400a without performing independent travel.

The sixth embodiment indicates that while the cooperative driving is performed, the second robot 100b is trapped (o), and a recovery instruction is received at the second robot 100b, and the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are within a preset standby period Scenarios in the case of identifying each other's location information. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can perform cooperative driving again. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. On the other hand, referring to FIG. 28B , in the sixth embodiment, the first robot 100 a may drive again in the to-be-cleaned area that it has traveled through within the time period from the occurrence of being trapped (o) until the cooperative travel is performed again ( L20 ). ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the sixth embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b release the cooperative travel mode without performing cooperative travel, and then perform independent travel, respectively.

The seventh embodiment shows that the first robot 100a is trapped (p) while performing cooperative driving, and a recovery instruction is received at the first robot 100a, but the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are within the preset standby period Scenarios where the location information of each other is not recognized. Here, the preset standby period may be 10 minutes. Referring to FIG. 28C , the first robot 100 a may release the cooperative travel mode, and then perform independent travel ( L21 ). In addition, the second robot 100b may cancel the cooperative travel mode and travel to the point Q3 where the first robot 100a has traveled, and then return to the second charging stand 400b. Here, the point Q3 that the first robot 100 a has traveled is the position of the first robot 100 a when the trapping (p) occurs. In other words, the second robot 100b may travel to the point Q3 ( L22 ) where the first robot 100 a has inhaled pollutants, wipe the floor, and then return to the second charging stand 400 b ( L23 ). On the other hand, as another embodiment of the seventh embodiment, it is conceivable that the first robot 100a releases the cooperative travel mode and then returns to the first charging stand 400a without performing independent travel. In addition, as another embodiment of the seventh embodiment, it can be considered that the second robot 100b releases the cooperative travel mode and then performs independent travel without returning to the second charging stand 400b, and the first robot 100a releases the cooperative travel mode and then performs independent travel Drive or return to the charging stand 400a.

Hereinafter, a mobile robot system 1 that executes a preset scene in response to a communication failure that occurs while executing cooperative driving will be described.

The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can enter the cooperative driving mode using the network 50 . Referring back to FIG. 23 , when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the cooperative travel mode and recognize each other's position information, the first robot 100a may travel before the travel of the second robot 100b to inhale the air in the to-be-cleaned zone Z4 pollutants. Here, the contamination may include all inhalable substances present in the zone Z4 to be cleaned, such as dust, foreign objects and debris. In addition, the second robot 100b may travel along the path L1 traveled by the first robot 100a to wipe the floor in the zone Z4 to be cleaned. Here, wiping the floor by the second robot 100b may mean wiping a substance that cannot be inhaled by the first robot 100a, such as liquid, by mopping the floor. However, while the cooperative driving is performed, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may have a communication failure. Here, the communication failure refers to any type of failure in which the first robot 100a or the second robot 100b cannot transmit or receive data with other mobile robots using a network. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may execute a preset scene in response to a communication failure that occurs when performing cooperative driving.

The network 50 connecting the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b to each other may include a first network and a second network. The first network may be a network where the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b share the map information of the area Z4 to be cleaned. Here, the first network may be Wi-Fi. Furthermore, the second network may be a network for the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b to determine the separation distance between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b. Here, the second network may be UWB. The method of sharing map information between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b using Wi-Fi and the method of determining the separation distance between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b using UWB have been described above, and will be described above. A description thereof is omitted. Hereinafter, the first and second embodiments of the preset scenario executed by the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b in response to a communication failure that occurs while executing cooperative driving will be described in detail.

The first embodiment shows a scenario in which the first network or the second network between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is disconnected when cooperative driving is performed. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can continuously perform cooperative travel. In other words, the first network or the second network is disconnected between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, which means that either the first network or the second network is connected between the first robot 100a and the second robot. The robots 100b are connected.

The second embodiment shows a scenario in which both the first network or the second network between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are disconnected when cooperative driving is performed. In this case, the first robot 100a may release the cooperative travel mode and then perform independent travel. In addition, the second robot 100b may release the cooperative driving mode, and then return to the second charging stand 400b.

Hereinafter, a method in which the mobile robot system 1 executes a preset scene in response to an error, trapping, or a communication failure occurring while executing cooperative driving will be described with reference to FIG. 29 .

Referring to FIG. 29 , in step S2100, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may use the network 50 to enter a cooperative driving mode. The process of entering the cooperative travel mode by the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is as described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In step S2200, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may perform cooperative driving by recognizing each other's positions. Referring back to FIG. 23 , the first robot 100a may travel before the travel of the second robot 100b to inhale the pollutants in the zone Z4 to be cleaned. Here, the contamination may include all inhalable substances present in the zone Z4 to be cleaned, such as dust, foreign objects and debris. In addition, the second robot 100b may travel along the path L1 traveled by the first robot 100a to wipe the floor in the zone Z4 to be cleaned. Here, wiping the floor by the second robot 100b may mean wiping a substance that cannot be inhaled by the first robot 100a, such as liquid, by mopping the floor.

In step S2300, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may confirm whether to release the cooperative driving mode in response to an error, a trap or a communication failure that occurs when the cooperative driving is performed. In other words, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may have an error, be trapped, or a communication failure when performing cooperative driving. In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may execute a preset scene in response to an error, trapping, or communication failure that occurs when performing cooperative driving. The preset scenarios for responding to errors, traps, or communication failures that occur when performing cooperative driving have been described above, and thus detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Meanwhile, the mobile robot system 1 may include a first robot 100a and a second robot 100b. The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may each include a main body 110, and a communication unit 1100 disposed inside the main body 110 to exchange data with another mobile robot using the network 50. Also, the first robot 100a may include a cleaning unit 120 installed on one side of the main body 110 to suck in contaminants in the area to be cleaned. In addition, the second robot 100b may include a mop unit (not shown) installed on one side of the main body 110 to wipe the floor in the area to be cleaned. On the other hand, the network 50 connecting the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b to each other may include a first network and a second network. The first network may be a network in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b share map information of the area to be cleaned. Here, the first network may be Wi-Fi. Furthermore, the second network may be a network for the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b to determine the separation distance between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b. Here, the second network may be UWB. With such a configuration, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can perform independent travel or cooperative travel. Furthermore, depending on the configuration, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may execute a preset scene in response to an error, trapping, or communication failure that occurs when performing cooperative driving. The preset scenarios corresponding to errors, traps, or communication failures that occur during cooperative driving of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b have been described above, and thus detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, Embodiment 3 of the mobile robot system 1 that executes a preset scenario in response to an obstacle sensed during cooperative driving will be described with reference to FIGS. 30 to 34 .

The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can enter the cooperative driving mode using the network 50 . 30 , when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the cooperative driving mode, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may divide the to-be-cleaned area X1 into a plurality of unit areas (for example, divide the to-be-cleaned area X1 into for the first unit area A1 and the second unit area A2) to perform cooperative driving in each unit area. When the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b perform cooperative travel, the first robot 100a may travel before the travel of the second robot 100b to suck in any one of the plurality of unit areas (eg, the first unit area A1 ) pollutants. Here, contaminants may include all inhalable substances such as dust, foreign objects and debris present in each unit area. In addition, the second robot 100b may travel along the path L1 that the first robot 100a has traveled to wipe any one of the plurality of unit areas (the first unit area A1, the unit area where the pollutants are sucked by the first robot 100a) of the floor. Here, wiping the floor by the second robot 100b may mean wiping a substance that cannot be inhaled by the first robot 100a, such as liquid, by mopping the floor. The method in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b perform cooperative driving for each divided unit area has been described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

At least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense an obstacle in any one of a plurality of unit areas during cooperative driving. Specifically, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense presence between divided areas (eg, between the first unit area A1 and the second unit area A2 ) or inside the divided areas (eg, obstacles inside the first unit area A1). Here, the obstacles existing between the divided areas are defined as the first obstacle OB1, and the obstacles existing in the divided areas are defined as the second obstacle OB2. The first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2 may be a threshold, a carpet or a cliff. Specifically, the first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2, as an obstacle that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can climb, may be an obstacle set at a height or depth within a preset range. For example, the first robot 100a may recognize an obstacle provided at a height of 5 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. In addition, the second robot 100b may recognize an obstacle provided at a height of 4 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. Also, in the case of traveling independently, the first robot 100a can recognize an obstacle provided at a depth of 30 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. In addition, in the case of cooperative driving, the first robot 100a may recognize an obstacle provided at a height of 10 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. In addition, the second robot 100b can recognize an obstacle having a depth of 10 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. Here, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b to climb the obstacle refer to crossing the threshold, crossing the carpet, passing through the gap on the cliff, or going down and up from the slope of the cliff.

Hereinafter, the first to fourth embodiments of the preset scene executed when at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b senses the first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2 will be described in detail . 31 to 34 , symbols M1 to M17 denote a travel path of the first robot 100a, and symbols N1 to N13 denote a travel path of the second robot 100b.

31 , the first embodiment represents a scenario in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b sense the first obstacle OB1 during cooperative travel (M1, N1) in the first unit area A1. In this case, the first robot 100a may complete cooperative driving (M3) in the first unit area A1 by avoiding the first obstacle OB1 (M2), and then enter the second unit area A2 (M4) to perform independent driving (M5). In the first embodiment, the second robot 100b may complete cooperative driving (M3) in the first unit area A1 by avoiding the first obstacle OB1 (M2), and then return to the second charging stand 400b (N4). Meanwhile, as another implementation of the first embodiment, it can be considered that the first robot 100a enters the second unit area A2 without avoiding the first obstacle OB1, and the second robot 100b completes the first unit area A1 Wipe the floor, and stand by until the first robot 100a completes the inhalation of the contaminants in the second unit area A2.

32 , the second embodiment shows that when the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b perform cooperative driving in the first unit area A1 ( M6 , N5 ), the first robot 100 a does not sense the first obstacle OB1 when the first robot 100 a In the case of entering the second unit area A2 (M7), the second robot 100b avoids the first obstacle OB1 (N6) by sensing the first obstacle OB1. In this case, the second robot 100b may transmit a notification to the first robot 100a that the second robot 100b cannot enter the second unit area A2 (N7) after completing the wiping of the floor of the first unit area A1. In addition, the first robot 100a may complete the inhalation of the contaminants in the second unit area A2 ( M8 ), and then move to the position P1 ( M9 ) where the second robot 100 b has transmitted the notification. In the second embodiment, even when the first robot 100a enters the second unit area A2 without completing the suction of the contaminants of the first unit area A1, the second robot 100b can complete the wiping of the floor of the first unit area A1 . In addition, in the second embodiment, the second robot 100b may not wipe the floor in the second unit area A2 where the first robot 100a has completed the inhalation of pollutants. The driving of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b in the above-described second embodiment should be understood as driving in a cooperative driving mode other than independent driving. Meanwhile, in the second embodiment, the second robot 100b can sense the first obstacle OB1 to transmit the information of the first obstacle OB1 to the first robot 100a. In addition, the first robot 100a may receive the information of the first obstacle OB1 from the second robot 100b to merge the first obstacle OB1 into the map stored in the memory 1700 . In other words, the second robot 100b can share the information of the first obstacle OB1 with the first robot 100a.

33 , the third embodiment represents a scenario in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the second unit area A2 without sensing the first obstacle OB1 when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are cooperatively traveling in the first unit area A1 ( M10, N8). In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may perform cooperative driving in the second unit area A2 ( M12 , N10 ).

34 , the fourth embodiment shows that when the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b perform cooperative driving in the first unit area A1 ( M13 , N11 ), the first robot 100 a avoids by sensing the second obstacle OB2 Open the second obstacle (M14), then move to the second unit area A2 (M15), and the second robot 100b cannot avoid the second obstacle OB2 without sensing the second obstacle OB2 (N12) . In this case, the second robot 100b may transmit a notification to the first robot 100a that the second robot 100b cannot enter the second unit area A2 ( N13 ) after completing the wiping of the floor of the first unit area A1 . In addition, the first robot 100a may complete the inhalation of the contaminants in the second unit area A2 ( M16 ), and then move to the position where the second robot 100 b has transmitted the notification ( M17 ). In the fourth embodiment, even when the first robot 100a moves to the second unit area A2 without completing the inhalation of the contaminants of the first unit area A1, the second robot 100b can complete the cleaning of the floor of the first unit area A1 wipe. In addition, the second robot 100b may not wipe the floor in the second unit area A2 where the first robot 100a has completed the inhalation of pollutants. The driving of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b in the above-described fourth embodiment should be understood as driving in a cooperative driving mode other than independent driving. Meanwhile, in the fourth embodiment, the first robot 100a can sense the second obstacle OB2 to transmit the information of the second obstacle OB2 to the second robot 100b. In addition, the second robot 100b may receive the information of the second obstacle OB2 from the first robot 100a to incorporate the second obstacle OB2 into the map stored in the memory 1700 . In other words, the first robot 100a can share the information of the second obstacle OB2 with the second robot 100b.

Hereinafter, a method in which the mobile robot system 1 executes a preset scene in response to an obstacle sensed during cooperative driving will be explained with reference to FIG. 35 .

Referring to FIG. 35 , in step S3100, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may use the network 50 to enter a cooperative driving mode. The process of entering the cooperative travel mode by the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is as described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In step S3200, referring back to FIG. 30, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may divide the to-be-cleaned area X1 into a plurality of unit areas (for example, divide the to-be-cleaned area X1 into a first unit area A1 and a second unit area Zone A2) to perform cooperative driving in each unit zone. When the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b perform cooperative travel, the first robot 100a may travel before the travel of the second robot 100b to suck in any one of the plurality of unit areas (eg, the first unit area A1 ) pollutants. Here, contaminants may include all inhalable substances such as dust, foreign objects and debris present in each unit area. In addition, the second robot 100b may travel along the path L1 that the first robot 100a has traveled to wipe any one of the plurality of unit areas (the first unit area A1, the unit area where the pollutants are sucked by the first robot 100a) of the floor. Here, wiping the floor by the second robot 100b may mean wiping a substance that cannot be inhaled by the first robot 100a, such as liquid, by mopping the floor. The method in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b perform cooperative driving for each divided unit area has been described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In step S3300, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense an obstacle in any one of a plurality of unit areas during cooperative driving. Specifically, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense presence between divided areas (eg, between the first unit area A1 and the second unit area A2 ) or inside the divided areas (eg, obstacles inside the first unit area A1). Here, the obstacles existing between the divided areas are defined as the first obstacle OB1, and the obstacles existing in the divided areas are defined as the second obstacle OB2. The first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2 may be a threshold, a carpet or a cliff. Specifically, the first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2, as an obstacle that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can climb, may be an obstacle set at a height or depth within a preset range. For example, the first robot 100a may recognize an obstacle provided at a height of 5 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. In addition, the second robot 100b may recognize an obstacle provided at a height of 4 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. Also, in the case of traveling independently, the first robot 100a can recognize an obstacle provided at a depth of 30 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. In addition, in the case of cooperative driving, the first robot 100a may recognize an obstacle provided at a height of 10 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. In addition, the second robot 100b can recognize an obstacle having a depth of 10 mm or more as a climbable obstacle. Here, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b to climb the obstacle refer to crossing the threshold, crossing the carpet, passing through the gap on the cliff, or going down and up from the slope of the cliff. Hereinafter, for the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, in step S3300, it will be explained in detail that at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b senses the first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2 The first embodiment to the fourth embodiment of the preset scene executed at the time.

31 , the first embodiment represents a scenario in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b sense the first obstacle OB1 during cooperative travel (M1, N1) in the first unit area A1. In this case, the first robot 100a may complete cooperative driving (M3) in the first unit area A1 by avoiding the first obstacle OB1 (M2), and then enter the second unit area A2 (M4) to perform independent driving (M5). In the first embodiment, the second robot 100b can complete cooperative driving ( M3 ) in the first unit area A1 by avoiding the first obstacle OB1 ( M2 ), and then return to the second charging stand 100 b ( N4 ). Meanwhile, as another implementation of the first embodiment, it can be considered that the first robot 100a enters the second unit area A2 without avoiding the first obstacle OB1, and the second robot 100b completes the first unit area A1 Wipe the floor, and stand by until the first robot 100a completes the inhalation of the contaminants in the second unit area A2.

32 , the second embodiment shows that when the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b perform cooperative driving in the first unit area A1 ( M6 , N5 ), the first robot 100 a does not sense the first obstacle OB1 when the first robot 100 a In the case of entering the second unit area A2 (M7), the second robot 100b avoids the first obstacle OB1 (N6) by sensing the first obstacle OB1. In this case, the second robot 100b may transmit a notification to the first robot 100a that the second robot 100b cannot enter the second unit area A2 (N7) after completing the wiping of the floor of the first unit area A1. In addition, the first robot 100a may complete the inhalation of the contaminants in the second unit area A2 ( M8 ), and then move to the position P1 ( M9 ) where the second robot 100 b has transmitted the notification. In the second embodiment, even when the first robot 100a enters the second unit area A2 without completing the suction of the contaminants of the first unit area A1, the second robot 100b can complete the wiping of the floor of the first unit area A1 . In addition, in the second embodiment, the second robot 100b may not wipe the floor in the second unit area A2 where the first robot 100a has completed the inhalation of pollutants. The driving of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b in the above-described second embodiment should be understood as driving in a cooperative driving mode other than independent driving. Meanwhile, in the second embodiment, the second robot 100b can sense the first obstacle OB1 to transmit the information of the first obstacle OB1 to the first robot 100a. In addition, the first robot 100a may receive the information of the first obstacle OB1 from the second robot 100b to merge the first obstacle OB1 into the map stored in the memory 1700 . In other words, the second robot 100b can share the information of the first obstacle OB1 with the first robot 100a.

33 , the third embodiment represents a scenario in which the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the second unit area A2 without sensing the first obstacle OB1 when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are cooperatively traveling in the first unit area A1 ( M10, N8). In this case, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may perform cooperative driving in the second unit area A2 ( M12 , N10 ).

34 , the fourth embodiment shows that when the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b perform cooperative driving in the first unit area A1 ( M13 , N11 ), the first robot 100 a avoids by sensing the second obstacle OB2 Open the second obstacle (M14), then move to the second unit area A2 (M15), and the second robot 100b cannot avoid the second obstacle OB2 without sensing the second obstacle OB2 (N12) . In this case, the second robot 100b may transmit a notification to the first robot 100a that the second robot 100b cannot enter the second unit area A2 ( N13 ) after completing the wiping of the floor of the first unit area A1 . In addition, the first robot 100a may complete the inhalation of the contaminants in the second unit area A2 ( M16 ), and then move to the position where the second robot 100 b has transmitted the notification ( M17 ). In the fourth embodiment, even when the first robot 100a moves to the second unit area A2 without completing the inhalation of the contaminants of the first unit area A1, the second robot 100b can complete the cleaning of the floor of the first unit area A1 wipe. In addition, the second robot 100b may not wipe the floor in the second unit area A2 where the first robot 100a has completed the inhalation of pollutants. The driving of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b in the above-described fourth embodiment should be understood as driving in a cooperative driving mode other than independent driving. Meanwhile, in the fourth embodiment, the first robot 100a can sense the second obstacle OB2 to transmit the information of the second obstacle OB2 to the second robot 100b. In addition, the second robot 100b may receive the information of the second obstacle OB2 from the first robot 100a to incorporate the second obstacle OB2 into the map stored in the memory 1700 . In other words, the first robot 100a can share the information of the second obstacle OB2 with the second robot 100b.

Meanwhile, the mobile robot system 1 may include a first robot 100a and a second robot 100b. The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may each include a main body 110, and a communication unit 1100 disposed inside the main body 110 to exchange data with another mobile robot using the network 50. Also, the first robot 100a may include a cleaning unit 120 installed on one side of the main body 110 to suck in contaminants in the area to be cleaned. In addition, the second robot 100b may include a mop unit (not shown) installed on one side of the main body 110 to wipe the floor in the area to be cleaned. The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may perform independent driving in the independent driving mode, or may enter the cooperative driving mode using the network 50 to perform cooperative driving. When the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b enter the cooperative driving mode, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may divide the area to be cleaned into a plurality of unit areas to perform cooperative driving in each unit area. On the other hand, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense an obstacle in any one of a plurality of unit areas during cooperative driving. Specifically, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense presence between divided areas (eg, between the first unit area A1 and the second unit area A2 ) or inside the divided areas (eg, obstacles inside the first unit area A1). Here, the obstacles existing between the divided areas are defined as the first obstacle OB1, and the obstacles existing in the divided areas are defined as the second obstacle OB2. The first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2 may be a threshold, a carpet or a cliff. Specifically, the first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2, as an obstacle that the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can climb, may be an obstacle set at a height or depth within a preset range. Here, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b to climb the obstacle refer to crossing the threshold, crossing the carpet, passing through the gap on the cliff, or going down and up from the slope of the cliff. The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may execute a preset scene in response to the first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2 sensed during cooperative driving. The preset scene corresponding to the first obstacle OB1 or the second obstacle OB2 sensed by the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b during the execution of cooperative driving has been described above, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, when the cooperative driving is performed in the system 1 as described above, and the charging capacity in each battery of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is lower than the predetermined value, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may be charged due to charging Insufficient capacity to perform cooperative driving.

For example, when the charging capacity of any one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is insufficient, since it is difficult to travel forward or backward, it is necessary to stop performing cooperative travel. When the cooperative traveling is stopped without a specific action, there is a concern of causing a problem of rear traveling of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b, or causing user inconvenience.

Therefore, the present specification provides Embodiment 4 of the mobile robot system 1 in which an appropriate response can be made according to changes in the charging capacity of the battery during such cooperative driving.

As shown in FIG. 11 , in the embodiment of the system 1, a plurality of mobile robots 100a and 100b cooperatively travel, including: a first robot 100a that operates based on the electric power charged by the first charging stand 400a to and a second robot 100b that operates based on the electric power charged by the second charging stand 400b to travel along the path that the first robot has traveled.

In other words, in the system 1, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b each charge the battery at the respective first charging stand 400a and the second charging stand 400b.

The first robot 100a may be a robot that sucks dust while driving forward in an area where cooperative driving is performed, and the second robot 100b may be a robot that wipes dust while driving behind an area where the first robot 100a has traveled.

In other words, for cooperative driving, the first robot 100a may inhale dust while driving forward, and the second robot 100b may sweep to wipe the dust on a path where the first robot 100a inhales dust while driving forward.

In the system 1, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b detect the charging capacity of each battery when executing the cooperative driving mode, release the cooperative driving mode according to the charging capacity value of the battery, and respond to the charging capacity value respectively Instead, at least one of the independent travel mode and the battery charging mode is performed.

Specifically, when the charging capacity value of the battery is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b each release the cooperative driving mode, and move to each charging stand 400a, 400b to charge the battery or perform independent driving model.

In other words, when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a can move to the first charging stand 400a to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity The second robot 100b may move to the second charging stand 400b to charge the battery, or perform an independent driving mode when the value is reached.

For example, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may release the cooperative driving mode being performed, and at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may move to the associated charging stand 400a and/or 400b to recharge the battery charging, or at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may perform an independent travel mode.

Here, the independent travel mode may be executed immediately after releasing the cooperative travel mode, or may be executed after moving to the relevant charging stand 400a and/or 400b to charge the battery.

Each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense the charging capacity of the battery while traveling.

For example, each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense the charging capacity of the battery while performing the cooperative driving mode.

In addition, each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense the charging capacity of the battery when another mode other than the cooperative travel mode is performed.

Each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense the charging capacity of the battery in real time while traveling.

In other words, the first robot 100a can sense the charging capacity of the battery built in the first robot 100a in real time while traveling, and the second robot 100b can sense the charging capacity of the battery built in the second robot 100b in real time while traveling .

Each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may sense the charging capacity of the battery while driving, and quantify the sensing result into a charging capacity value. Therefore, the sensing result of the charging capacity of the battery can be compared with the reference capacity value.

When the respective charging capacity values are lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each release the cooperative driving mode, and then move to the charging bases 400a and 400b to charge the batteries.

Here, the release of the cooperative travel mode may mean that the cooperative travel mode that is being executed is stopped.

In other words, as a result of sensing the charging capacity of the battery when the first robot 100a performs the cooperative driving mode, when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a may stop performing the cooperative driving mode, and then moves to the first charging stand 400a to charge the battery, and as a result of sensing the charging capacity of the battery when the second robot 100b performs the cooperative driving mode, when the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, The second robot 100b may stop performing the cooperative driving mode, and then move to the second charging stand 400b to charge the battery.

In this case, each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can share information on releasing the cooperative driving mode with the other robot.

In other words, when the cooperative travel mode is released, each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may transmit the release information of the cooperative travel mode to the other robot to notify the other robot of the release of the cooperative travel mode.

For example, the first robot 100a may transmit the release information of the cooperative driving mode to the second robot 100b because the charging capacity value is lower than the reference capacity value, so as to allow the second robot 100b to recognize the cooperative driving mode when the first robot 100a releases the cooperative driving mode The travel mode is released, and the second robot 100b can transmit the release information of the cooperative travel mode to the first robot 100a because the charging capacity value is lower than the reference capacity value, so as to allow the first robot 100a to release the cooperative travel mode when the second robot cancels the cooperative travel mode. The release of the cooperative driving mode is recognized.

Therefore, when the charging capacity value of at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, both the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may stop the execution of the cooperative driving mode.

The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each move to the charging bases 400a, 400b, and then charge the battery until the charging capacity of the battery is charged above a predetermined reference capacity.

In other words, when the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b each move to the charging bases 400a, 400b because the charging capacity value is lower than the reference capacity, the battery can be charged until the charging capacity of the battery is charged above the predetermined reference capacity.

Here, the predetermined reference capacity may represent the level of the charging capacity of the battery. The predetermined reference capacity may be set as a ratio [%] to the total capacity of the battery, or may be set as a capacity unit [Ah] of the battery.

The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each preferably move to the charging bases 400a, 400b, and then charge the battery until the charging of the battery is completed.

Since the respective charging capacity values of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are lower than the reference capacity value, each of them can recognize the current position to store the position information value before moving to the charging stand 400a, 400b, and store the position information value at the charging station 400a, 400b. After the charging capacity of the battery is higher than the predetermined reference capacity, the vehicle starts driving using the position information value.

In other words, each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can store the position information value corresponding to the position before moving to the charging stand 400a, 400b, and use it when driving resumes after charging the battery in the charging stand 400a, 400b. This location information value starts driving.

For example, after the charging bases 400a, 400b complete the charging of the batteries, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each move to a position according to the position information value to start driving or output for moving to a position according to the position information when starting to travel Notification of the location of the value.

In the system 1, travel corresponding to the respective charging capacities of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can be performed as shown in the table shown in FIG. 36A . {response 1(a)}

When the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is higher than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a may cancel the cooperative driving mode, and then move to the first charging stand 400a to The battery is charged, and when the charging capacity of the battery exceeds a predetermined (capacity) reference level, it is moved to the position before moving to the first charging stand 400a to perform the independent travel mode. In this case, the second robot 100b may release the cooperative driving mode, and then move to the second charging stand 400b to charge the battery according to whether there is a remaining cleaning area. If the area of the remaining cleaning area corresponds to a predetermined (area) reference value, the second robot 100b can complete the driving of the remaining cleaning area, and then move to the second charging stand 400b. Also, if the area of the remaining cleaning area does not correspond to the predetermined reference area, the second robot 100b may move to the second charging stand 400b.

In other words, when only the charging capacity value of the first robot 100 a is lower than the reference capacity value, as shown in FIG. 37 , the first robot 100 a may release the cooperative travel mode ( P10 ) while executing the cooperative travel mode, and then move to the first robot 100 a The charging stand 400a (P11 or P12), but when the area of the remaining cleaning area corresponds to the predetermined reference value, the second robot 100b can complete the driving of the remaining cleaning area (P11), and then move to the second charging stand 400b (P12), And when the area of the remaining cleaning area does not correspond to the predetermined reference area, immediately move to the second charging stand 400b (P12), and the first robot 100a can charge the battery's charging capacity at the first charging stand 400a to the predetermined reference value The above, and then move to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging stand 400a to execute the independent travel mode of the first robot 100a (P13). {response 2(b)}

In addition, when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is higher than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may each release the cooperative travel mode, and then move to the respective charging stand 400a, 400b to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above the reference capacity level, move to the position before moving to the respective charging stand 400a, 400b to perform the independent driving mode .

In other words, when only the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, as shown in FIG. 38, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each release the cooperative travel mode (P20) while performing cooperative travel, Then the first robot 100a can move to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b can move to the second charging stand 400b (P21), and then the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each be at their respective first charging stand 400a and the second charging base 400b to charge the charging capacity of the battery above the predetermined reference capacity, and then the first robot 100a can move to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging base 400a to execute the independent driving mode of the first robot 100a, while The second robot 100b may be moved to the position XX2 before moving to the second charging stand 400b to perform the independent travel mode (P22) of the second robot 100b. {response 3(c)}

When the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is higher than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may release the cooperative driving mode, and then move to their respective The charging cradles 400a, 400b to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above a predetermined reference capacity, the first robot 100a can move to the position before moving to the first charging cradle 400a to perform the independent driving mode .

In other words, when the charging capacity values of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are both lower than the reference capacity value, as shown in FIG. 37 , the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each cancel the cooperative travel while performing cooperative travel mode (P10), then the first robot 100a can move to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b can move to the second charging stand 400b (P12), but the first robot 100a can transfer the battery's battery at the first charging stand 400a The charging capacity is charged above the predetermined reference capacity, and then moved to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging stand 400a to execute the independent travel mode of the first robot 100a (P13). {response 4(d)}

In addition, when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is higher than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may each release the cooperative travel mode, and then move to the respective charging stand 400a, 400b to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above the reference capacity level, move to the position before moving to the respective charging stand 400a, 400b to perform the independent driving mode .

In other words, when only the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, as shown in FIG. 38, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each release the cooperative travel mode (P20) while performing cooperative travel, Then the first robot 100a can move to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b can move to the second charging stand 400b (P21), and then the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each be at their respective first charging stand 400a and the second charging base 400b to charge the charging capacity of the battery above the predetermined reference capacity, and then the first robot 100a can move to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging base 400a to execute the independent driving mode of the first robot 100a, while The second robot 100b may be moved to the position XX2 before moving to the second charging stand 400b to perform the independent travel mode (P22) of the second robot 100b. {response 5(e)}

When the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b are both lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot and the second robot can each cancel the cooperative driving mode, and then move to their respective charging bases 400a, 400b charges the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above a predetermined reference capacity, the first robot may move to a position before moving to the first charging stand 400a to perform the independent travel mode.

In other words, when the charging capacity values of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are both lower than the reference capacity value, as shown in FIG. 37 , the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each cancel the cooperative travel while performing cooperative travel mode (P10), then the first robot 100a can move to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b can move to the second charging stand 400b (P12), but the first robot 100a can transfer the battery's battery at the first charging stand 400a The charging capacity is charged above the predetermined reference capacity, and then moved to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging stand 400a to execute the independent travel mode of the first robot 100a (P13). {response 6(f)}

In addition, when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b are both lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each release the cooperative driving mode and then move to their respective charging The stand 400a, 400b is used to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above the reference capacity level, it is moved to the position before moving to the respective charging stand 400a, 400b to perform the independent driving mode.

In other words, when only the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, as shown in FIG. 38, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each release the cooperative travel mode (P20) while performing cooperative travel, Then the first robot 100a can move to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b can move to the second charging stand 400b (P21), and then the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each be at their respective first charging stand 400a and the second charging base 400b to charge the charging capacity of the battery above the predetermined reference capacity, and then the first robot 100a can move to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging base 400a to execute the independent driving mode of the first robot 100a, while The second robot 100b may be moved to the position XX2 before moving to the second charging stand 400b to perform the independent travel mode (P22) of the second robot 100b.

In addition, in the system 1, travel corresponding to the respective charging capacities of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may be performed as shown in the table shown in FIG. 36B . {response 7(g)}

When the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is higher than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a may cancel the cooperative driving mode and switch to the independent driving mode, and then execute the The second robot 100b can move to the charging stand 400b to charge the battery according to whether there is a remaining cleaning area or not while traveling in the independent traveling mode, and the second robot 100b can cancel the cooperative traveling mode. When the area of the remaining cleaning area corresponds to a predetermined (area) reference value, the second robot 100b can complete the driving of the remaining cleaning area, and then move to the second charging stand 400b. Also, if the area of the remaining cleaning area does not correspond to the predetermined reference area, the second robot 100b may move to the second charging stand 400b.

In other words, while executing the cooperative travel mode, when only the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a may release the cooperative travel mode and then switch to the independent travel mode to execute the independent travel mode, but when When the area of the remaining cleaning area corresponds to the predetermined reference area, the second robot 100b can complete the driving of the remaining cleaning area and then move to the second charging stand 400b, but when the area of the remaining cleaning area does not correspond to the predetermined reference area, the second robot 100b The robot 100b immediately moves to the second charging base 400b, and the first robot 100a can charge the battery's charging capacity above the predetermined capacity at the first charging base 400a, and then move to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging base 400a to The independent travel mode of the first robot 100a is executed. {response 8(h)}

In addition, when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is higher than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a may release the cooperative driving mode and switch to the independent driving mode, and then The second robot 100b travels while executing the independent travel mode, and the second robot 100b can release the cooperative travel mode, then moves to the charging stand 400b to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above a predetermined (capacity) reference level, Move to the position before moving to the second charging stand 400b to execute the independent travel mode.

In other words, while executing the cooperative travel mode, when only the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may each release the cooperative execution mode, and then the first robot 100a may switch to the independent travel mode to execute the independent travel mode, but the second robot 100b may move to the second charging stand 400b, charge the battery's charging capacity above the predetermined reference capacity at the second charging stand 400b, and then move to the second charging stand 400b The position XX2 before the charging stand 400b to execute the independent driving mode of the second robot 100b. {response 9(i)}

When the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is higher than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a can cancel the cooperative driving mode and switch to the independent driving mode, and then execute the while traveling in the independent traveling mode, and the second robot 100b may release the cooperative traveling mode, and then move to the charging stand 400b to charge the battery.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 39 , when only the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value while the cooperative travel mode (P30) is being performed, the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode, and then move to the first robot 100b. The second charging stand 400b (P31), but the first robot 100a can release the cooperative driving mode and then switch to the independent driving mode to execute the independent driving mode (P32). {response 10(j)}

In addition, when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is higher than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a may release the cooperative driving mode and switch to the independent driving mode, and then The second robot 100b travels while executing the independent travel mode, and the second robot 100b can release the cooperative travel mode, and then moves to the charging stand 400b to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above a predetermined (capacity) reference level , move to the position before moving to the second charging stand 400b to execute the independent driving mode.

In other words, while executing the cooperative travel mode, when only the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, each of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode, and then the first robot 100a may switch to the independent travel mode to perform the independent travel mode, but the second robot 100b may move to the second charging stand 400b to charge the battery's charging capacity above the predetermined reference capacity at the second charging stand 400b, and then move to the second charging stand 400b The position XX2 before the charging stand 400b to execute the independent driving mode of the second robot 100b. {response to 11(k)}

When both the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b are lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a may cancel the cooperative driving mode and switch to the independent driving mode, and then execute the independent driving mode while executing the independent driving mode. travel, and the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode, and then move to the charging stand 400b to charge the battery.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 39 , when only the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value while the cooperative travel mode (P30) is being performed, the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode, and then move to the first robot 100b. The second charging stand 400b (P31), but the first robot 100a can release the cooperative driving mode and then switch to the independent driving mode to execute the independent driving mode (P32). {response 12(l)}

In addition, when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b are both lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a may cancel the cooperative driving mode and switch to the independent driving mode, and then execute the independent driving mode while driving, and the second robot 100b can release the cooperative driving mode, then move to the charging stand 400b to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above a predetermined (capacity) reference level, move to The position before the second charging stand 400b to perform the independent driving mode.

In other words, while the cooperative travel mode is being performed, when only the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b may each release the cooperative travel mode, and then the first robot 100a may release the cooperative travel mode. Switch to the independent travel mode to perform the independent travel mode, but the second robot 100b may move to the second charging stand 400b to charge the battery's charging capacity above the predetermined reference capacity at the second charging stand 400b, and then move to the second charging stand 400b. The second position XX2 before the charging stand 400b, so as to execute the independent driving mode of the second robot 100b.

On the other hand, in the system 1 according to the response to the state of the charging capacity of the battery as described above, cooperative driving can be performed by the method of performing cooperative driving as shown in FIG. 40 .

A method of performing cooperative driving (hereinafter referred to as an implementation method) is a method of performing cooperative driving in a system 1 including: a first robot 100a that operates based on electric power charged by the first charging stand 400a to and a second robot 100b that operates based on the power charged by the second charging stand 400b to travel along a path that the first robot 100a has traveled, the method may include driving the first robot 100a and the second robot The robots 100b each start the execution of the cooperative driving mode (S4100); the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b each sense the charging capacity of the battery (S4200); and the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b each determine the charging capacity value Comparing with a preset reference capacity value (S4300), and according to the comparison result, at least one of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b executes an independent driving mode or moves to the charging stand 400a, 400b to charge the battery (S4400 ).

Here, the first robot 100a may inhale dust while driving forward in an area where cooperative driving is performed, and the second robot 100b may wipe dust while driving behind the area where the first robot 100a is driving.

The starting step ( S4100 ) may be a step in which the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b start traveling according to the cooperative traveling mode.

The sensing step ( S4200 ) may be a step in which each of the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b senses the capacity charged in the battery in real time while driving according to the cooperative driving mode.

In the sensing step (S4200), the first robot 100a may sense the charging capacity of the battery built in the first robot 100a to quantify the sensing result as a charging capacity value, and the second robot 100b may sense the charging capacity of the battery built in the first robot 100a. The charging capacity of the battery in the second robot 100b to quantify the sensing result as a charging capacity value.

The comparing step ( S4300 ) may be a step in which the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b each compare the charging capacity value obtained by quantifying the sensing result in the sensing step ( S4200 ) with a reference capacity value.

In the comparing step (S4300), the first robot 100a may compare the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a with the reference capacity value, and the second robot 100b may compare the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b with the reference capacity value .

In the comparing step ( S4300 ), each of the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b may transmit and share a comparison result of the charging capacity value and the reference capacity value.

The charging step (S4400) may be a step in which the robot whose charging capacity value is lower than the reference capacity value between the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b moves to the charging bases 400a, 400b to charge the battery.

In the charging step (S4400), when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is higher than the reference capacity value, as shown in (a) of FIG. 36A, the first A robot 100a can release the cooperative driving mode, then move to the first charging stand 400a to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above a predetermined reference capacity, move to the position before moving to the first charging stand 400a to perform the independent travel mode, and the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode, and then move to the second charging stand 400b to charge the battery according to whether there is a remaining cleaning area.

Therefore, when only the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, in the charging step ( S4400 ), as shown in FIG. 37 , the first robot 100a may release the cooperative driving mode ( P10), and then move to the first charging stand 400a (P11 or P12), but when the area of the remaining cleaning area corresponds to the predetermined reference area, the second robot 100b can complete the driving of the remaining cleaning area (P11), and then move to the first cleaning area. Two charging bases 400b (P12), and when the area of the remaining cleaning area does not correspond to the predetermined reference area, the second robot 100b immediately moves to the second charging base 400b (P12), and the first robot 100a can be in the first charging base 400a charges the charging capacity of the battery to a predetermined reference value or more, and then moves to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging stand 400a to perform the independent travel movement of the first robot 100a (P13).

In the charging step (S4400), when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is higher than the reference capacity value, as shown in (b) of FIG. 36A, the first The first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each release the cooperative travel mode, then move to the respective charging bases 400a, 400b to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above a predetermined reference capacity, move to The position in front of the respective charging stand 400a, 400b to perform the independent driving mode.

Therefore, when only the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is lower than the reference capacity value, in the charging step ( S4400 ), as shown in FIG. 38 , the first robot 100 a and the first robot 100 a and the The two robots 100b can each release the cooperative driving mode, then the first robot 100a can move to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b can move to the second charging stand 400b (P21), then the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b Each may charge the charging capacity of the battery above a predetermined reference capacity at the respective first charging stand 400a and the second charging stand 400b, and the first robot 100a may move to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging stand 400a to perform The independent travel mode of the first robot 100a, and the second robot 100b may be moved to the position XX2 before moving to the second charging stand 400b to execute the independent travel mode of the second robot 100b (P22).

In the charging step (S4400), when the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a is higher than the reference capacity value and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, as shown in (c) of FIG. 36A, the first One robot 100a may release the cooperative travel mode and switch to the independent travel mode, and then travel while executing the independent travel mode, and the second robot 100b may release the cooperative travel mode and then move to the charging stand 400b to charge the battery.

Therefore, when only the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b is lower than the reference capacity value, in the charging step ( S4400 ), as shown in FIG. 39 , the second robot 100 b can release the cooperation while executing the cooperative travel mode ( P30 ). The travel mode is then moved to the second charging stand 400b (P31), but the first robot 100a may release the cooperative travel mode and then switch to the independent travel mode to execute the independent travel mode (P32).

In the charging step ( S4400 ), as shown in (e) of FIG. 36A , when both the charging capacity value of the first robot 100 a and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100 b are lower than the reference capacity value, the first robot 100 a and the second robot 100 b are both lower than the reference capacity value. Each of the two robots 100b can release the cooperative driving mode, and then move to the respective charging bases 400a and 400b to charge the battery, and when the charging capacity of the battery is charged above the predetermined reference level, the first robot can move to the second A position before the charging stand 400a to perform the independent driving mode.

Therefore, when the charging capacity values of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are both lower than the reference capacity value, in the charging step (S4400), as shown in FIG. 37, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b can each be The cooperative driving mode is released while performing cooperative driving (P10), then the first robot 100a may move to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b may move to the second charging stand 400b (P12), but the first robot 100a may The first charging stand 400a charges the charging capacity of the battery above a predetermined reference capacity, and then moves to the position XX1 before moving to the first charging stand 400a to execute the independent travel mode of the first robot 100a (P13).

In the charging step (S4400), when both the charging capacity value of the first robot 100a and the charging capacity value of the second robot 100b are lower than the reference capacity value, as shown in (f) of FIG. 36A, the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b The two robots 100b can each release the cooperative driving mode, then move to the respective charging bases 400a, 400b to charge the batteries, and when the charging capacity of the batteries is charged above a predetermined reference capacity, move to the respective charging bases 400a , before 400b to perform independent driving mode.

Therefore, when the charging capacity values of the first robot 100a and the second robot 100b are both lower than the reference capacity value, in the charging step ( S4400 ), as shown in FIG. 38 , while the cooperative driving ( P20 ) is performed, the first The robot 100a and the second robot 100b may each release the cooperative execution mode, then the first robot 100a may move to the first charging stand 400a and the second robot 100b may move to the second charging stand 400b (P21), and then the first robot 100a and Each of the second robots 100b may charge the charging capacity of the battery above a predetermined reference capacity at the respective first charging stand 400a and the second charging stand 400b, and then the first robot 100a may move to the position before moving to the first charging stand 400a XX1 to execute the independent travel mode of the first robot 100a, and the second robot 100b may move to the position XX2 before moving to the second charging stand 400b to execute the independent travel mode of the second robot 100b (P22).

The execution method including the activation step ( S4100 ), the sensing step ( S4200 ), the comparison step ( S4300 ), and the charging step ( S4400 ) can be implemented on a program recording medium as computer-readable codes. The computer-readable medium includes all types of recording devices in which data readable by a computer system are stored. Examples of computer readable media include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), silicon disk drives (SDDs), ROM, RAM, CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, etc. , can also be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (eg, transmitted over the Internet). Also, the computer may include the control unit 1800 .

Although specific embodiments according to the present invention have been described so far, various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims to be described later and their equivalents.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited to those embodiments and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made from the description disclosed herein. Therefore, the concept of the present invention should be construed in light of the appended claims and all the same and equivalent changes will fall within the scope of the present invention.

1: Mobile robot systems, systems 10: Buildings 100: Robot 100a: First Robot, Robot 100b: Second Robot, Robot 110: Subject 111: Roller unit 120: Cleaning unit 130: Sensing unit 131: Camera 300, 300a, 300b: Terminal 400a: charging stand, first charging stand 400b: charging stand, second charging stand 50: Internet 500: Server 600: Controller 1100: Communication unit 1200: Input unit 1300: Drive unit 1400: Sensing unit 1500: Output unit 1600: Power Unit 1700: Memory 1800: Control Unit 1900: Sweeping unit a1,a2,a3,a4: feature points D1: entrance, first entrance D2: entrance, second entrance F: Forward direction Va, Vb: travel speed L1: The first driving path L2: Second driving path L3~L23: driving path M1~M17: The driving path of the first robot N1~N13: The driving path of the second robot OB1: first obstacle OB2: Second Obstacle P1, P2, P3: travel point P10~P13: Driving mode P20~P22: Driving mode P30~P32: Driving mode Q1, Q2, Q3: driving point X1: Area to be cleaned A1: The first unit area A2: Second unit area XX1,XX2: Location Z1: Zone 1 Z2: Zone 2 Z3: The third zone Z4: The fourth area, the area to be cleaned Z5: District 5 Z6: District Six S1~S6: Steps S10~S80: Steps R1~R4: Steps S100~S300: Steps S200~S220: Steps S1100~S1700: Steps S2100~S2300: Steps S3100~S3300: Steps S4100~S4400: Steps

1A and 1B are configuration diagrams (a) and (b) of the mobile robot. FIG. 2 is a detailed structural diagram of the mobile robot. FIG. 3 is an example diagram of a mobile robot system. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating network communication among a plurality of mobile robots in the mobile robot system. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of travel of a plurality of mobile robots in the mobile robot system. FIG. 6 is a detailed example diagram of traveling of a plurality of mobile robots according to the conceptual diagram shown in FIG. 5 . FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a sequence in which a plurality of mobile robots execute cooperative driving. FIG. 8 is an example diagram for explaining the concept of recognizing a position through image comparison between a plurality of mobile robots. FIG. 9 is an example diagram for explaining the concept of position recognition among a plurality of mobile robots. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a plurality of mobile robots perform cooperative driving. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a mobile robot system according to an embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a process for implementing a cooperative driving mode in a mobile robot system according to an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of performing a cooperative driving mode in a mobile robot system according to an embodiment. 14 is a flowchart of a method of performing cooperative driving in a mobile robotic system according to an embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart according to a specific embodiment of the method for performing cooperative driving shown in FIG. 14 . FIG. 16 is a view showing cooperative travel of the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 17 is a view showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene when the first robot according to Embodiment 1 is in a trap state. 18 is a view showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene when the first robot according to Embodiment 1 is in a trap state. 19 is a view showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene when the second robot according to Embodiment 1 is in a trap state. 20 is a view showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene when the first robot according to Embodiment 1 is in a trap state. 21 is a view showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene when the first robot and the second robot according to Embodiment 1 are in a trap state. 22 is a flowchart of a method in which the mobile robot system performs cooperative travel when a trap state according to Embodiment 1 occurs. FIG. 23 is a view showing cooperative travel of the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 24A is a view (a) showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to an error occurring in the first robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 24B is a view (b) showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to an error occurring in the first robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 24C is a view (c) showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to an error occurring in the first robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 25 is a view showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to an error occurring in the first robot and the second robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 26A is a view (a) showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to an error occurring in the second robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 26B is a view (b) showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to an error occurring in the second robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 26C is a view (c) showing a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to an error occurring in the second robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 27A is a view (a) illustrating a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to the trapping that occurs in the first robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 27B is a view (b) illustrating a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to the trapping that occurs in the first robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 27C is a diagram (c) illustrating a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to the trapping that occurs in the first robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 28A is a view (a) of a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to the trapping occurring in the second robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 28B is a view (b) illustrating a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to the trapping occurring in the second robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 28C is a view (c) illustrating a mobile robot system that executes a preset scene in response to the trapping that occurs in the second robot according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a method for the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 2 to execute a preset scene in response to an error, a trap, or a communication failure that occurs while executing cooperative driving. 30 is a view showing a method in which the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 3 divides an area to be cleaned into a plurality of unit areas and travels cooperatively for each unit area. 31 is a view showing a preset scene executed when the first robot and the second robot sense the first obstacle according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 32 is a view showing a preset scene executed when the first robot does not sense the first obstacle and the second robot senses the first obstacle according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 33 is a view showing a preset scene executed when the first robot and the second robot do not sense the first obstacle according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 34 is a view showing a preset scene executed when the first robot senses the second obstacle and the second robot does not sense the second obstacle according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating a method in which the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 3 executes a preset scene in response to an obstacle sensed during cooperative driving. 36A is a graph (a) showing an example of the response according to the state of charge capacity of the battery while the cooperative travel mode is executed in the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 4. FIG. 36B is a graph (b) showing an example of the response according to the state of charge capacity of the battery while executing the cooperative travel mode in the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 4. FIG. 37 is an example diagram ( 1 ) showing responses of a plurality of mobile robots in the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 4. FIG. FIG. 38 is an example diagram ( 2 ) showing responses of a plurality of mobile robots in the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 4. FIG. 39 is an example diagram ( 3 ) showing responses of a plurality of mobile robots in the mobile robot system according to Embodiment 4. FIG. 40 is a flowchart of a method for performing cooperative driving of a mobile robot system according to Embodiment 4.

1: Mobile robot systems, systems

100a: First Robot, Robot

100b: Second Robot, Robot

400a: charging stand, first charging stand

400b: charging stand, second charging stand

600: Controller

Claims (18)

A mobile robot system driving in an area to be cleaned, the mobile robot system comprising: a first robot for inhaling pollutants in the area to be cleaned; a second robot for wiping the area to be cleaned a floor; a first charging base that charges the first robot; a second charging base that charges the second robot; and a network that connects the first robot and the second robot to each other , wherein the first robot and the second robot use the network to enter a cooperative driving mode, and divide the area to be cleaned into a plurality of unit areas to drive cooperatively for each unit area, and While the first robot and/or the second robot is performing cooperative driving in any one of the plurality of unit areas, when sensing an obstacle formed at a height or depth of a preset range, avoid Drive or climb the obstacle to continue the cooperative drive. The mobile robot system of claim 1, wherein, for the cooperative driving, The first robot travels before the travel of the second robot to inhale pollutants in any one of the plurality of cell areas, and The second robot travels along a path that the first robot has traveled to wipe the floor in any one of the plurality of unit areas. The mobile robot system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of unit areas include: a first unit area; and a second unit area, and The obstacles include: a first obstacle existing between the first unit area and the second unit area; and a second obstacle existing inside the first unit area. The mobile robot system of claim 3, wherein when the first robot and the second robot sense the first obstacle in the first unit area during the cooperative driving, The first robot completes the cooperative travel in the first unit area by avoiding the first obstacle, and then enters the second unit area to perform independent travel, and The second robot completes the cooperative driving in the first unit area by avoiding the first obstacle, and then returns to the second charging base. The mobile robot system of claim 3, wherein, while the first robot and the second robot are performing the cooperative driving in the first unit area, when the first robot does not sense the first robot When entering the second unit area without an obstacle, and the second robot avoids the first obstacle by sensing the first obstacle, The second robot finishes wiping the floor in the first unit area, and then transmits a notification to the first robot that the second robot cannot enter the second unit area, and The first robot completes the inhalation of contaminants in the second unit area, and then moves to the position where the second robot has transmitted the notification. The mobile robot system of claim 3, wherein the first robot and the second robot enter the second without sensing the first obstacle during the cooperative travel in the first unit area unit area, The first robot and the second robot perform the cooperative travel in the second unit area. The mobile robot system of claim 3, wherein, while the first robot and the second robot are performing the cooperative driving in the first unit area, when the first robot senses the second obstacle by when the second robot is unable to avoid the second obstacle without sensing the second obstacle, the second robot finishes wiping the floor in the first unit area, and then transmits to the first robot a notification that the second robot cannot enter the second unit area, and The first robot completes the inhalation of contaminants in the second unit area, and then moves to the position where the second robot has transmitted the notification. The mobile robot system of claim 1, wherein the obstacle is a threshold, a carpet, or a cliff. A method of performing cooperative driving by a mobile robot system driving in an area to be cleaned, Wherein, the mobile robot system includes: a first robot, which is used to inhale the pollutants in the area to be cleaned; a second robot, which is used to wipe the floor of the area to be cleaned; a first charging base, which charging the first robot; a second charging stand that charges the second robot; and a network that connects the first robot and the second robot to each other, and Wherein, the method for performing cooperative driving includes: entering a cooperative driving mode by the first robot and the second robot using the network; dividing the area to be cleaned into a plurality of unit areas by the first robot and the second robot to drive cooperatively for each unit area; and While the first robot and/or the second robot is performing the cooperative driving in any one of the plurality of unit areas, when an obstacle formed at a height or depth of a preset range is sensed, the Avoid or climb the obstacle to continue the cooperative drive. The method of claim 9, wherein, in performing the cooperative travel for each unit area, the first robot travels before the travel of the second robot to inhale contamination in any one of the plurality of unit areas object, and the second robot travels along a path that the first robot has traveled to wipe the floor in any one of the plurality of unit areas. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of unit areas comprises: a first unit area; and a second unit area, and The obstacles include: a first obstacle existing between the first unit area and the second unit area; and a second obstacle existing inside the first unit area. The method of claim 11, wherein, in the continuous execution of the cooperative driving, When the first robot and the second robot sense the first obstacle in the first unit area during the cooperative driving, The first robot completes the cooperative travel in the first unit area by avoiding the first obstacle, and then enters the second unit area to perform independent travel, and The second robot completes cooperative driving in the first unit area by avoiding the first obstacle, and then returns to the second charging base. The method of claim 11, wherein, in the continuous execution of the cooperative driving, While the first robot and the second robot are performing the cooperative driving in the first unit area, when the first robot enters the second unit area without sensing the first obstacle, the When the second robot avoids the first obstacle by sensing the first obstacle, the second robot finishes wiping the floor in the first unit area, and then transmits to the first robot a notification that the second robot cannot enter the second unit area, and The first robot completes the inhalation of contaminants in the second unit area, and then moves to the position where the second robot has transmitted the notification. The method of claim 11, wherein, in the continuous execution of the cooperative driving, When the first robot and the second robot enter the second unit area without sensing the first obstacle during the cooperative driving in the first unit area, The first robot and the second robot perform the cooperative travel in the second unit area. The method of claim 11, wherein, in the continuous execution of the cooperative driving, While the first robot and the second robot are performing the cooperative driving in the first unit area, when the first robot avoids the second obstacle by sensing the second obstacle, and then moves to the the second unit area, and the second robot cannot avoid the second obstacle without sensing the second obstacle, the second robot finishes wiping the floor in the first unit area, and then transmits a notification to the first robot that the second robot cannot enter the second unit area, and The first robot completes the inhalation of contaminants in the second unit area, and then moves to the position where the second robot has transmitted the notification. The method of claim 9, wherein the obstacle is a threshold, a carpet, or a cliff. A mobile robot driving in an area to be cleaned, the mobile robot comprising: a main body, defining the appearance of the mobile robot; a cleaning unit mounted on one side of the main body to suck in contaminants in the area to be cleaned; and a communication unit arranged inside the main body to exchange data with another mobile robot using a network; wherein the mobile robot uses the network to enter a cooperative driving mode, divides the area to be cleaned into a plurality of unit areas, and performs cooperative driving on each unit area with the other mobile robot, and While the first robot and/or the second robot is performing the cooperative driving in any one of the plurality of unit areas, when an obstacle formed at a height or depth of a preset range is sensed, the movement The mobile robot and/or another mobile robot continues to perform the cooperative driving by avoiding or climbing the obstacle. A mobile robot driving in an area to be cleaned, the mobile robot comprising: a main body, defining the appearance of the mobile robot; a mop unit mounted on one side of the main body to wipe the floor of the area to be cleaned; and a communication unit arranged inside the main body to exchange data with another mobile robot using a network; wherein the mobile robot uses the network to enter a cooperative driving mode, divides the area to be cleaned into a plurality of unit areas, and performs cooperative driving on each unit area with the other mobile robot, and While the first robot and/or the second robot is performing the cooperative driving in any one of the plurality of unit areas, when an obstacle formed at a height or depth of a preset range is sensed, the movement The mobile robot and/or another mobile robot continues to perform the cooperative driving by avoiding or climbing the obstacle.

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