Self-protection of robotic vehicles in invisible hazardous gaseous surrounding

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12429877-B2
Application number	US-202318351536-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 13, 2023
Priority date	Jul 13, 2023
Publication date	Sep 30, 2025
Grant date	Sep 30, 2025

Abstract

A computer-implemented system and method protect a robot in a hazardous environment. The method comprises detecting, with a hazardous environment detector, the presence of a hazardous gas within a bounded environment defining the boundaries of the hazardous environment, and detecting a wind flow speed and wind flow direction proximate the hazardous environment detector. The method further comprises determining a hazardous gas concentration (HGC) that is at least one of a present HGC and a predicted future HGC, and reading, from a database, a maximum HGC for at least one of the robot and a payload of the robot. Conditioned upon the HGC exceeding a threshold value of the maximum HGC, the method directs the robot to move to a safe location in which the HGC does not exceed the threshold value of the maximum HGC.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for protecting a robot in a hazardous environment, the method comprising:
detecting, with a hazardous environment detector, a presence of a hazardous gas within a bounded environment defining boundaries of the hazardous environment, wherein an attribute of the hazardous gas is that the hazardous gas is invisible to a human eye;
detecting a wind flow speed and wind flow direction proximate the hazardous environment detector;
determining a hazardous gas concentration (HGC) that is at least one of a present HGC and a predicted future HGC;
reading, from a database, a maximum HGC for at least one of the robot and a payload of the robot;
conditioned upon the HGC exceeding a threshold value of the maximum HGC, directing the robot to move to a safe location in which the HGC does not exceed the threshold value of the maximum HGC; and
dispensing, with a colored fume dispenser of a warning device, a colored or clouded fume, wherein the colored or the clouded fume intensity is dependent on a type of the hazardous gas.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
creating a four-dimensional (4D) map, comprising three orthogonal spatial dimensions and one time dimension, of the environment that indicates or predicts the HGC at each point, wherein the creating of the 4D map uses a type of the hazardous gas, a rate of leaking of the hazardous gas, the wind flow speed, and the wind flow direction; and
using the 4D map, calculating a time and trajectory for a path of the robot to direct the robot to the safe location.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the creating of the 4D map uses Bernoulli principles.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the colored fume dispenser of the warning device is provided to alert people nearby of the presence of the hazardous gas.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining that an attribute of the hazardous gas is odorless; and
directing the warning device, which comprises a gas having an odor fume dispensing device, to dispense a gas having an odor within the environment.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining an availability of an other robot that is capable of safely operating within the bounded environment; and
adjusting or maintaining the safe location so that a movement path exists for the other robot to operate within the bounded environment.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the HGC exceeds the threshold value only for the payload, the method further comprising:
determining an availability of an other robot that is capable of safely operating within the bounded environment and that the other robot comprises a payload carrier that protects the payload from the HGC.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
conditioned upon the HGC no longer exceeding the threshold value of the maximum HGC, directing the robot to move from the safe location back to the bounded environment to resume normal operation.

9. A system for protecting a robot in a hazardous environment, the system comprising:
a memory; and
a processor that is configured to:
detect, with a hazardous environment detector, a presence of a hazardous gas within a bounded environment defining boundaries of the hazardous environment, wherein an attribute of the hazardous gas is that the hazardous gas is invisible to a human eye;
detect a wind flow speed and wind flow direction proximate the hazardous environment detector;
determine a hazardous gas concentration (HGC) that is at least one of a present HGC and a predicted future HGC;
read, from a database, a maximum HGC for at least one of the robot and a payload of the robot;
conditioned upon the HGC exceeding a threshold value of the maximum HGC, direct the robot to move to a safe location in which the HGC does not exceed the threshold value of the maximum HGC; and
dispense, with a colored fume dispenser of a warning device, a colored or clouded fume, wherein the colored or the clouded fume intensity is dependent on a type of the hazardous gas.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
create a four-dimensional (4D) map, comprising three orthogonal spatial dimensions and one time dimension, of the environment that indicates or predicts the HGC at each point using Bernoulli principles, wherein the creation of the 4D map uses a type of the hazardous gas, a rate of leaking of the hazardous gas, the wind flow speed, and the wind flow direction; and
use the 4D map, calculating a time and trajectory for a path of the robot to direct the robot to the safe location.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine that an attribute of the hazardous gas is odorless; and
direct a warning device, which comprises a fume dispenser for a gas having an odor fume and a colored fume, to release a gas having an odor and a gas that is colored or clouded within the environment.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine an availability of an other robot that is capable of safely operating within the bounded environment; and
adjust or maintain the safe location so that a movement path exists for the other robot to operate within the bounded environment.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the HGC exceeds the threshold value only for the payload, processor being further configured to:
determine an availability of an other robot that is capable of safely operating within the bounded environment and that the other robot comprises a payload carrier that sufficiently protects the payload from the HGC.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
conditioned upon the HGC no longer exceeding the threshold value of the maximum HGC, direct the robot to move from the safe location back to the bounded environment to resume normal operation.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
create a four-dimensional (4D) map, comprising three orthogonal spatial dimensions and one time dimension, of the environment that indicates or predicts the HGC at each point using Bernoulli principles, wherein the creation of the 4D map uses a type of the hazardous gas, a rate of leaking of the hazardous gas, the wind flow speed, and the wind flow direction;
use the 4D map, calculating a time and trajectory for a path of the robot to direct the robot to the safe location;
determine that an attribute of the hazardous gas is at least one of invisibility and odorless;
direct a warning device, which comprises a gas having an odor fume and a colored fume dispenser, to release a gas having an odor and a gas that is colored or clouded within the environment;
determine the availability of an other robot that is capable of safely operating within the bounded environment;
adjust or maintain the safe location so that a movement path exists for the other robot to operate within the bounded environment;
determine the availability of an other robot that is capable of safely operating within the bounded environment and that the other robot comprises a payload carrier that sufficiently protects the payload from the HGC; and
conditioned upon the HGC no longer exceeding the threshold value of the maximum HGC, direct the robot to move from the safe location back to the bounded environment to resume normal operation.

16. A computer program product for an apparatus that protects a robot in a hazardous environment, the computer program product comprising:
one or more computer readable storage media, and program instructions

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Thomas Binoy
• Kairali Sudheesh S
• Rakshit Sarbajit K

Classifications

• G05D1/646

  Following a predefined trajectory, e.g. a line marked on the floor or a flight path · CPC title

• G05D1/617

  Safety or protection, e.g. defining protection zones around obstacles or avoiding hazards (arrangements for controlling the position or course of two or more vehicles for avoiding collisions therebetween G05D1/693; arrangements for reacting to or preventing system or operator failure G05D1/80) · CPC title

• G01N33/0063 Primary

  using a threshold to release an alarm or displaying means · CPC title

• G05D1/0219

  ensuring the processing of the whole working surface · CPC title

• G05D1/0214 Primary

  in accordance with safety or protection criteria, e.g. avoiding hazardous areas (monitoring the location of vehicles within a certain area, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas, in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/13) · CPC title