Mobile robot with arm for door interactions
AssigneeCobalt Robotics Inc.
InventorsTravis J. Deyle, Erik Schluntz, Michael Ferguson, Peregrine Badger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mobile robot is configured for operation in a commercial or industrial setting, such as an office building or retail store. The mobile robot can have a motorized base and a robot body on the motorized base, the robot body including a rotatable ring that rotates horizontally around the robot body. A mechanical arm that can contract and extend relative to the robot body is coupled to the rotatable ring and performs a plurality of actions. A controller of the mobile robot provides instructions to the rotatable ring and the mechanical arm and can cause the mechanical arm to open a door, take an elevator to move to a different floor, and test whether a door is locked properly.
Claims19
A mobile robot comprising:
- a motorized base configured to move the mobile robot within an environment;
- a robot body on the motorized base comprising a rotatable ring configured to rotate horizontally around the robot body and a mechanical arm extending from the rotatable ring;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- identify a door to be opened;
- cause the motorized base of the mobile robot to move to a location within a threshold distance from the door;
- identify a location of a handle or a knob;
- determine a first force of a first magnitude and a first direction to apply to the handle or the knob using the mechanical arm to unlatch the door;
- cause the mechanical arm to apply the first force to the handle or the knob of the door to unlatch the door;
- cause the rotatable ring to rotate relative to the robot body such that the mechanical arm applies a second force of a second magnitude and a second direction toward the mobile robot to pull the door open by a displacement selected to enable the mobile robot to move through the door;
- determining a displacement of the door responsive to the second force applied by the mechanical arm to the handle or the knob of the door;
- responsive to the determined displacement being less than the selected displacement, increasing the second magnitude of the second force up to a predetermined threshold until the door is opened by the selected displacement;
- and
- responsive to the door being opened to at least the selected displacement, cause the motorized base to move through the door, wherein the rotatable ring rotates to hold the door open as the motorized base moves through the door.
A method of operating a mobile robot comprising:
- identifying a door to be opened;
- causing a motorized base of the mobile robot to move to a location within a threshold distance of the door;
- identifying a location of a handle or a knob of the door;
- determining a first force of a first magnitude and a first direction to apply to the handle or the knob of the door to unlatch the door;
- causing a mechanical arm of the mobile robot to apply the first force to the handle or the knob of the door to unlatch the door, the mechanical arm coupled to a rotatable ring of the mobile robot, the rotatable ring configured to rotate horizontally around a body of the mobile robot;
- causing the rotatable ring to rotate relative to the body of the mobile robot such that the mechanical arm applies a second force of a second magnitude and a second direction toward the mobile robot to pull the door open by a displacement selected to enable the mobile robot to move through the door;
- determining a displacement of the door responsive to the second force applied by the mechanical arm to the handle or the knob of the door;
- responsive to the determined displacement being less than the selected displacement, increasing the second magnitude of the second force up to a predetermined threshold until the door is opened by the selected displacement;
- and
- responsive to the door being opened to at least the selected displacement, causing the motorized base to move through the door, wherein the rotatable ring rotates to hold the door open as the motorized base moves through the door.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.