# US 12,108,926 B2 · Visual fiducial for behavior control zone > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,108,926 B2 - Document ID: US12108926B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/236,073 - Filed: 2023-08-21 - Published: 2023-12-07 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2020-08-14 - Assignees: iRobot Corporation - Applicants: iRobot Corporation - Inventors: Eric J. Burbank; Oliver Lewis - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12108926B2 ## CPC - A47L 9/2852: {Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles} - G05D 1/2446: {the passive navigation aids having encoded information, e.g. QR codes or ground control points} - A47L 9/009: {Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles} - A47L 9/2805: {Parameters or conditions being sensed} - A47L 11/4011: {Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor} - G01C 21/383: {Indoor data} - G01C 21/3837: {Data obtained from a single source} - G05D 1/0214: {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)} - G05D 1/0221: {involving a learning process} - G05D 1/0234: {using optical markers or beacons (optical beacons per se G01S1/70)} - G05D 1/2232: {Touch screens} - G05D 1/2295: {defining restricted zones, e.g. no-flight zones or geofences} - G05D 1/2297: {positional data taught by the user, e.g. paths (G05D1/2295 takes precedence)} - G05D 1/243: Means capturing signals occurring naturally from the environment, e.g. ambient optical, acoustic, gravitational or magnetic signals (using passive navigation aids external to the vehicle G05D1/244; using signals from positioning sensors located off-board the vehicle G05D1/249) - G05D 1/2467: {using a semantic description of the environment} - G05D 1/617: 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) - G06N 3/08: Learning methods - A47L 2201/04: Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection - G05D 1/0088: {characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours (using knowledge based models G06N5/00)} - G05D 1/227: Handing over between remote control and on-board control; Handing over between remote control arrangements - G05D 2105/10: for cleaning, vacuuming or polishing - G05D 2107/40: Indoor domestic environment - G05D 2109/10: Land vehicles - G05D 2111/10: Optical signals - A47L: DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING (brushes A46B; cleaning quantities of bottles or of other hollow articles of one kind B08B9/00; laundry D06F); SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL (cleaning in general B08) - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - G06N: COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS ## Abstract A mobile cleaning robot system can include a mobile cleaning robot and processing circuitry. The mobile cleaning robot can include a camera and can be operable to clean a floor surface of an environment. The processing circuitry can be in communication with the mobile cleaning robot and the camera, the processing circuitry configured to produce an image output based on an optical field of view of the camera. The processing circuitry can also detect a visual fiducial in the image output and can determine a behavior modification based on the visual fiducial. The processing circuitry can modify movement of the mobile cleaning robot based on the behavior modification. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A mobile cleaning robot system comprising: a mobile cleaning robot operable to clean a floor surface of an environment, the mobile cleaning robot including an image capture device; a tower including a visual fiducial, the tower positionable in the environment; and processing circuitry in communication with the mobile cleaning robot and the image capture device, the processing circuitry configured to: produce an image output based on an optical field of view of the image capture device; detect the visual fiducial located in the image output; display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a behavior modification; receive a selected behavior modification from the user interface; and associate the visual fiducial with the selected behavior modification. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 1, the processing circuitry further configured to: adjust a cleaning behavior of the mobile cleaning robot based on detection of the visual fiducial. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 1, the processing circuitry further configured to: detect, during a mission, the visual fiducial located in the image output; determine the behavior modification based on the visual fiducial; and modify movement of the mobile cleaning robot based on the behavior modification. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 1, wherein the visual fiducial indicates a behavior control zone. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 4, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a size of the behavior control zone; receive a selected size of the behavior control zone from the user interface; and associate the visual fiducial with the selected size of the behavior control zone. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 4, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a shape of the behavior control zone; receive a selected shape of the behavior control zone from the user interface; and associate the visual fiducial with the selected shape of the behavior control zone. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 4, wherein the image capture device is a front-facing camera. ### Claim 8 A mobile cleaning robot system comprising: processing circuitry in communication with a mobile cleaning robot and an image capture device of the mobile cleaning robot, the processing circuitry configured to: produce an image output based on an optical field of view of an environment of the image capture device; detect, in the image output, a visual fiducial located on a user-placeable base in the environment; display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a behavior modification based on detection of the visual fiducial; receive a selected behavior modification from the user interface; and associate the visual fiducial with the selected behavior modification. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 8, the processing circuitry further configured to: detect, during a mission, the visual fiducial located in the image output; determine the behavior modification based on the visual fiducial; and modify movement of the mobile cleaning robot based on the behavior modification. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 9, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a type of behavior control; receive a keep-out zone modification from the user interface; and update a map of the environment to include a keep-out zone. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 10, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a shape of a behavior control zone; receive a keep-out zone shape from the user interface; and update a map of the environment to include the keep-out zone shape. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 11, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a size of the behavior control zone; receive a keep-out zone size from the user interface; and update a map of the environment to include the keep-out zone size. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 12, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on the user interface, a keep-out zone image representing the keep-out zone size and keep-out zone shape based on the received keep-out zone size and the received keep-out zone shape, respectively. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 8, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on the user interface, an image representing the visual fiducial based on detection of the visual fiducial. ### Claim 15 A mobile cleaning robot system comprising: a mobile cleaning robot operable to clean a floor surface of an environment, the mobile cleaning robot including an image capture device; processing circuitry in communication with the mobile cleaning robot and the image capture device, the processing circuitry configured to: produce an image output based on an optical field of view of the image capture device; detect a visual fiducial of a user-placed tower located in the image output; display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a behavior modification based on detection of the visual fiducial; receive a selected behavior modification from the user interface; and associate the visual fiducial with the selected behavior modification. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 15, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a type of behavior control; receive a keep-out zone modification from the user interface; and update a map of the environment to include a keep-out zone. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 16, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a shape of a behavior control zone; receive a keep-out zone shape from the user interface; and update a map of the environment to include the keep-out zone shape. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 17, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on a user interface, a menu for selecting a size of the behavior control zone; receive a keep-out zone size from the user interface; and update a map of the environment to include the keep-out zone size. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 18, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on the user interface, a keep-out zone image representing the keep-out zone size and keep-out zone shape based on the received keep-out zone size and the received keep-out zone shape, respectively. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The mobile cleaning robot system of claim 15, the processing circuitry further configured to: display, on the user interface, an image representing the visual fiducial based on detection of the visual fiducial.