CN103565366A - Cleaning robot and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a cleaning robot and a control method thereof. The robot includes: a first container, a second container, and a camera, which capture images of surrounding objects during the working process of the cleaning robot; a recognition device, which matches the images captured by the camera with pre-stored images in a database to determine the object be useful or trash, wherein the item is placed into the first container if it is determined to be useful, and into the second container otherwise. According to the solutions of the above embodiments, it is possible to avoid cleaning useful objects away by mistake while cleaning.

Description

Cleaning robot and control method thereof

technical field

The invention relates to robot technology, in particular to a cleaning robot and a control method thereof, which can identify useful objects or avoid cleaning useful objects by mistake.

Background technique

Cleaning robots are widely used in offices or homes. But the cleaning robot of prior art is only used for cleaning the ground, that is, all objects and rubbish on the ground are collected. During this process, some important small objects, such as coins, rings or small jewelry, may be cleaned out as garbage, causing losses to users.

Patent Document 1 (KR20080082711) discloses a cleaning robot system using a location recognition algorithm. In order to minimize the image processing time and identify the position and direction of the cleaning robot, Patent Document 1 proposes to correct the identification mark through image processing, such as correcting barrel distortion, so that the center position of the identification mark can be accurately determined.

Patent Document 2 (US8108092B2) discloses a cleaning robot capable of dry cleaning and wet cleaning. This patent document 2 has the 1st cleaning part which can clean a floor, and the 2nd cleaning part which performs wet cleaning by applying cleaning liquid. The cleaning robot also has a cleaning liquid supply portion and a waste storage portion for waste material collected from the cleaning surface.

Existing cleaning robots all only possess the cleaning function, and also remove various objects that the robot encounters. Even if important small objects such as coins and rings are encountered, the robot will sweep them out.

Contents of the invention

In view of one or more problems in the prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning robot and its control method, which can avoid cleaning useful objects by mistake.

In another aspect of the present invention, a cleaning robot is proposed, including: a first container, a second container, and a camera, which capture images of surrounding objects during the working process of the cleaning robot; Matching with pre-stored images in the database to determine whether the object is useful or garbage, wherein if the object is determined to be useful, the object is placed into the first container, otherwise it is placed into the second container.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling a cleaning robot is proposed, comprising the steps of: capturing images of surrounding objects during the working process of the cleaning robot; matching the captured images with pre-stored images in a database to determine the Whether the item is useful or trash, where the item is placed in a first container if it is determined to be useful, otherwise it is placed in a second container.

According to the solutions of the above embodiments, it is possible to avoid cleaning useful objects as garbage while cleaning.

Description of drawings

From the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic top view of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a front view of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic structural view of a special container and a dust container of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 shows an example of the working process of the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 shows another example of the working process of the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 7 shows another example of the working process of the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, although shown in different drawings. For clarity and conciseness, detailed descriptions of known functions and constructions incorporated herein will be omitted since they would otherwise obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning robot has an object recognition function. The cleaning robot includes two containers and a camera set at the front of the robot to scan images and perform object recognition, thereby distinguishing those useful objects such as coins and rings from garbage, and marking the location of those useful objects.

According to other embodiments, the cleaning robot also stores the working path and the time when the object was collected. If some important objects are found missing, the user can ask the robot to search for the object according to the image and tell the user whether the object has been discarded. In addition, the recognition part is able to store a series of images by scanning the camera during work. The system remembers what should be discarded and compares the images of those objects with stored images. The cleaning robot will automatically identify the matching process, place the object that should not be discarded in a special container, and mark the location of the object, and put the garbage in the dust container.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic top view of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention is equipped with a camera module 12 , a dedicated container 10 and a dust container 11 . The cleaning robot of this embodiment further includes a recognition portion (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2 , the camera module 12 , such as a camera, is arranged at the front end of the cleaning robot. When the robot moves, the camera captures images of various small objects encountered.

The camera module 12 captures images of small objects encountered during the working process of the cleaning robot, and stores them in a memory. The recognition part matches the captured image of the small object with the pre-stored image in the database. Once the attributes of the two images match, it is judged that the encountered small object is useful, and it may be a useful object lost by the user, such as a coin , rings and more. In this case, the cleaning part puts the object judged as useful into the special container, and in the case of judging as garbage, puts it into the dust container.

According to another embodiment, the user can set not to clean the object. For example, images of certain objects on the ground are input into the database of the cleaning robot as a basis for judging objects not to be cleaned. When the cleaning robot encounters such an object, it decides whether to clean the object by judging whether the image matches the image in the database. In this case, if the object is not to be cleaned, the cleaning robot bypasses that particular item.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic structural diagram of a special container and a dust container of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3, the special container 10 in the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention is connected with the dust container 11 through a pipe, and a valve part is provided at the position of the pipe connecting the above two containers, as shown in Figure 3, the mark 1 As shown, the valve part connects the inlet part of the cleaning robot to one of the two containers at the identification part according to the judgment result of the identification part.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4 , the camera module 12 captures images of various small objects encountered and sends them to the recognition module 13 . The recognition module 13 matches the image with pre-stored images in the database. If there is a matching image, the small object is considered to be useful, so the cleaning module 14 places it into a dedicated container, otherwise it is placed into a dust container as garbage.

Fig. 5 shows an example of the working process of the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5 , the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention can avoid cleaning useful objects by mistake when performing cleaning tasks.

In step 51 , the camera scans the small objects encountered by the cleaning robot. For example, in step 52 , an object search is performed, and after the small objects are found, an image of the small objects is captured and sent to the recognition module 13 . In step 53 , the recognition module 13 analyzes the image, for example, extracts features of the image, and compares the extracted features with features of the image in the database, and judges in step 54 whether the two match.

In case of a match, at step 55 the recognition module 13 marks the location of the encountered small object in the surrounding layout map stored in memory, and at step 57 alerts the user while placing it in a dedicated container.

In the event of a mismatch, at step 56 the cleaning module 14 places the item as trash into a dust container.

Fig. 6 shows another example of the working process of the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6 , the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention can also only work in the object finding mode. In step 61, the user finds that a certain object is missing, and in step 62, the image of the object (assuming there is an image of the object) is input into the cleaning robot. The recognition module 13 judges whether the image matches an image in the database or not. If it does not match, look for it in other places outside the working range of the cleaning robot. If there is a match, then at step 65 the user is notified of the location of the item.

Fig. 7 shows another example of the working process of the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7 , the cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention can search for specific objects according to the user's requirements, for example, looking for electronic components on the ground in a factory.

At step 71, the user inputs an image of the electronic component to be found into the cleaning robot. At step 72, the robot goes to work and scans through the camera. In step 73 , the recognition module matches the image of the small object captured by the camera with the image input by the user, and if matched, puts it into a special container in step 75 and records it in step 76 . Otherwise, at step 74, the item is placed as trash in a dust container. Repeatedly, specific electronic components on the factory floor can be collected together.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, based on the database inside the robot, the cleaning robot can collect "suspicious" objects, separate them from garbage or alert the user, and find objects that may be useful. The robot is also able to remember the location of objects it finds, so when something is missing in a room, users can input images of the missing item into the cleaning robot to see if it was cleaned by mistake. At the same time, the image database in the cleaning robot can store a series of images of various objects by scanning before the robot works. If during the cleaning process, the cleaning robot finds that the captured image matches the attributes of the image of an object, it puts the object into a special container and marks the location of the object.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a cleaning robot is provided, including: two containers, a camera and an identification device. The camera captures images of surrounding objects while the cleaning robot is working. The recognition device matches the image captured by the camera with the pre-stored images in the database to determine whether the object is useful or garbage, wherein the object is placed into the first container if it is determined that the object is useful, otherwise it is placed in the first container. into the second container.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning robot further includes: a layout storage device for storing the layout of the working site of the cleaning robot; a positioning device for determining the position of the useful object when the identification device finds the useful object, and in the mark the location in the layout stored in the layout storage device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning robot works in a mode of cleaning alone, or in a mode of finding objects, or in a mode of searching for objects while performing a cleaning function.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the recognition device receives an image of a specified object input by a user, and when the cleaning robot determines that the image of the specified object matches the image captured by the camera, puts the specified object into the first container, and Also notify the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the identification device also receives an image of a designated object not to be cleaned inputted by the user, and when the cleaning robot determines that the image of the designated object to be cleaned matches the image captured by the camera, it actively avoids the object.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning robot further includes: a notification device for notifying the user that the useful object is found when the identification device finds the useful object when the object finding function and the cleaning function are performed simultaneously.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first container has a first inlet passage, the second container has a second inlet passage, and the first inlet passage and the second inlet passage are connected with a valve, the A valve allows the item to enter either the first container or the second container in response to a match of the identification means.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning robot further includes: a notification device for regularly notifying the user of the matching result obtained by the recognition device

Although the camera module and the identification module are described as separate modules in the above description, those skilled in the art should realize that some modules may be combined together, for example, the identification module may be incorporated into the camera module.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth numerous embodiments of the cleaning robot and/or method by using block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Where such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, those skilled in the art will understand that each function and/or operation in such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples may Individually and/or collectively implemented by various hardware, software, firmware, or essentially any combination thereof. In one embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented in Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein may be equivalently implemented in whole or in part in an integrated circuit, implemented as one or more Computer programs (e.g., implemented as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), implemented as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., implemented as One or more programs running on multiple microprocessors), implemented as firmware, or substantially implemented as any combination of the above methods, and those skilled in the art will have the ability to design circuits and/or write software and and/or firmware code capabilities. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that the mechanisms of the presently disclosed subject matter can be distributed as a variety of forms of program products and that regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution, the subject matter of the presently disclosed Exemplary embodiments are applicable. Examples of signal bearing media include, but are not limited to: recordable-type media such as floppy disks, hard drives, compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), digital tapes, computer memory, etc.; and transmission-type media such as digital and and/or simulated communication media (eg, fiber optic cables, waveguides, wired communication links, wireless communication links, etc.).

While this invention has been described with reference to a few exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the terms which have been used are words of description and illustration, rather than of limitation. Since the present invention can be embodied in many forms without departing from the spirit or essence of the invention, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited to any of the foregoing details, but should be construed broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. , all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the claims or their equivalents shall be covered by the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. A cleaning robot, comprising: first container, second container, A video camera captures images of surrounding objects during the working process of the cleaning robot; a recognition device, matching the image captured by the camera with the pre-stored image in the database to determine whether the object is useful or garbage, wherein the object is placed into the first A container, otherwise placed in said second container. 2. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a layout storage device for storing the layout of the working site of the cleaning robot; positioning means for determining the position of the object if the identification means finds the object useful, and marking the position in the layout stored in the layout storage means. 3. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot works in a mode of cleaning alone or in a mode of finding objects or in a mode of finding objects while performing a cleaning function. 4. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the recognition device receives an image of a specified object input by a user, and when the cleaning robot determines that the image of the specified object matches the image captured by the camera, it will The specified object is put into the first container, and the user is notified at the same time. 5. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recognition device also receives an image of the designated object not to be cleaned by the user, and when the cleaning robot determines that the image of the designated object not to be cleaned matches the image captured by the camera , actively avoid the object. 6. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: The notification device is configured to notify the user that the object is found when the object is found to be useful by the identification device when the function of finding the object and the function of cleaning are performed simultaneously. 7. The cleaning robot of claim 1, wherein the first container has a first inlet passage, the second container has a second inlet passage, and the first inlet passage and the second inlet passage are connected to A valve is connected, the valve allowing the article to enter the first container or the second container in response to the matching result of the identification device. 8. The cleaning robot of claim 1, further comprising: The notification device regularly notifies the user of the matching result obtained by the identification device. 9. A method of controlling a cleaning robot, comprising the steps of: Capture images of surrounding objects while the cleaning robot is working; Matching the captured image with pre-stored images in the database to determine whether the object is useful or garbage, wherein the object is placed into the first container if it is determined to be useful, otherwise it is placed into the second container Two containers. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the cleaning robot has a layout storage device for storing the layout of the working site of the cleaning robot, and the method further comprises the steps of: Where the object is found to be useful, the location of the object is determined, and the location is marked in the layout stored by the layout storage means. 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the cleaning robot works in a mode of cleaning alone or in a mode of finding objects or in a mode of searching for objects while performing a cleaning function. 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the cleaning robot receives an image of a designated object input by a user, and when the cleaning robot determines that the image of the designated object matches the image captured by the camera, the The specified object is put into the first container, and the user is notified at the same time. 13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the cleaning robot receives an image of the specified object to be cleaned by the user, and when the cleaning robot determines that the image of the specified object to be cleaned matches the image captured by the camera, Actively avoid the object. 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of: In case the item is found to be useful, the user is notified that the item was found. 15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of: Periodically notify the user of matching results.

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