Systems and methods for surveying a manufacturing environment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12007757-B2
Application number	US-202117385300-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2021
Priority date	Jul 27, 2020
Publication date	Jun 11, 2024
Grant date	Jun 11, 2024

Abstract

A survey system includes a controller storing a map comprising a plurality of nodes representing data capture points of the environment. The controller is configured to segment the plurality of nodes into a plurality of communities, where each community from among the plurality of communities includes a set of nodes from among the plurality of nodes. The controller is configured to generate, for each community from among the plurality of communities, one or more traversability scores. The controller is configured to assign, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one robot from among a plurality of robots to survey the community based on the one or more traversability scores. The controller is configured to deploy, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one of the plurality of robots based on the plurality of robots assigned to the community.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A survey system for surveying an environment, the survey system comprising:
a controller storing a map comprising a plurality of nodes representing data capture points of the environment, the controller configured to:
segment the plurality of nodes into a plurality of communities, wherein each community from among the plurality of communities includes a set of nodes from among the plurality of nodes;
generate, for each community from among the plurality of communities, one or more traversability scores indicating a traversability of a given region of the environment corresponding to the community, wherein the traversability score comprises a numeric range, a categorical description, or a combination thereof;
assign, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one robot from among a plurality of robots to survey the community based on the one or more traversability scores; and
deploy, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one of the plurality of robots based on the plurality of robots assigned to the community.

2. The survey system of claim 1 further comprises the plurality of robots, wherein the plurality of robots includes:
a central robot comprising a central mobility characteristic;
a first auxiliary robot comprising a first auxiliary mobility characteristic; and
a second auxiliary robot comprising a second auxiliary mobility characteristic.

3. The survey system of claim 2 , wherein:
the central robot is a wheeled carrier platform robot;
the first auxiliary robot is a legged robot; and
the second auxiliary robot is an unmanned aerial vehicle robot.

4. The survey system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to segment the plurality of nodes into the plurality of communities based on Euclidean distances between the plurality of nodes, traversability scores between the plurality of nodes, obstructions of the environment, a communication range of the plurality of robots, or a combination thereof.

5. The survey system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to assign, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one of the plurality of robots based on a battery life of the plurality of robots.

6. The survey system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to assign, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one of the plurality of robots based on a knapsack optimization routine.

7. The survey system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to generate, for the plurality of robots, a community route among the plurality of communities, an intracommunity route within each community from among the plurality of communities, or a combination thereof.

8. The survey system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to generate the community route and the intracommunity route based on a traveling salesman problem routine.

9. The survey system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a plurality of traversability scores, as the one or more traversability scores, for each robot from among the plurality of robots.

10. A survey system for surveying an environment, the survey system comprising:
a plurality of robots configured to travel within environment, wherein the plurality of robots comprises a central robot comprising a first mobility characteristic and an auxiliary robot comprising a second mobility characteristic;
a controller storing a map comprising a plurality of nodes representing data capture points of the environment, the controller configured to:
segment the plurality of nodes into a plurality of communities, wherein each community from among the plurality of communities includes a set of nodes from among the plurality of nodes;
generate, for each community from among the plurality of communities, one or more traversability scores indicating a traversability of a given region of the environment corresponding to the community, wherein the traversability score comprises a numeric range, a categorical description, or a combination thereof;
assign, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one robot from among the plurality of robots to survey the community based on the one or more traversability scores and a battery life of the plurality of robots; and
deploy, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one of the plurality of robots based on the plurality of robots assigned to the community.

11. The survey system of claim 10 , wherein:
the central robot is a wheeled carrier platform robot; and
the auxiliary robot is one of a legged robot and an unmanned aerial vehicle robot.

12. The survey system of claim 10 , wherein the auxiliary robot is attached to the first robot, and the central robot further comprises a charging device configured to charge the auxiliary robot when the auxiliary robot is attached to the first robot.

13. The survey system of claim 10 further comprising one or more sensors disposed on at least one of the plurality of robots, wherein the controller is configured to:
obtain data representing the environment from the one or more sensors; and
update the map based on the data.

14. The survey system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to instruct the auxiliary robot to detach from the central robot in response to the plurality of robots being at a location of the environment associated with a community that is assigned to the auxiliary robot.

15. A method for surveying an environment, the method comprising:
segmenting a plurality of nodes representing data capture points of the environment into a plurality of communities, wherein each community from among the plurality of communities includes a set of nodes from among the plurality of nodes;
generating, for each community from among the plurality of communities, one or more traversability scores indicating a traversability of a given region of the environment corresponding to the community, wherein the traversability score comprises a numeric range, a categorical description, or a combination thereof;
assigning, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one robot from among a plurality of robots to survey the community based on the one or more traversability scores;
generating, for the plurality of robots, an intracommunity route within each community from among the plurality of communities; and
deploying, for each community from among the plurality of communities, at least one of the plurality of robots based on the plurality of robots assigned to the community and the intracommunity route of the community.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising generating, for the plurality of robots, a community route among the plurality of communities, wherein the community route and the intracommunity route are generated based on a traveling salesman problem routine.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of nodes is segmented into the plurality of communities based on Euclidean distances between the plurality of nodes, traversability scores between the plurality of nodes, obstructions of the environment, a communication range of the plurality of robots, or a combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising assigning, for each community from among the plurality of communities, the at least one robot from among the plurality of robots based on a battery life of the plurality of robots.

19. The survey system of claim 15 , wh

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Mohan Shankar Narayan
• Khan Ansar Zunnoon
• Goderis Mark
• Schuchard Steven

Classifications

• B64U50/37 Primary

  Charging when not in flight · CPC title

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• B64U80/86

  Land vehicles · CPC title

• G05D1/223

  Command input arrangements on the remote controller, e.g. joysticks or touch screens · CPC title

• G05D1/246

  using environment maps, e.g. simultaneous localisation and mapping [SLAM] · CPC title