Systems and methods for safe operation of robots

A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a plurality of instructions that, when executed, by at least one computer processor, perform a method of:

• identifying, based on first sensor data received from one or more sensors, a first unobserved portion of a safety field in an environment of a mobile robot, the first sensor data being captured at a first time, wherein the first unobserved portion of the safety field corresponds to a portion of the safety field that the one or more sensors cannot observe at the first time due to a first occlusion;
• assigning, to each region of a plurality of contiguous regions within the first unobserved portion of the safety field, an occupancy state;
• updating, at a second time after the first time, the occupancy state of one or more regions of the plurality of contiguous regions within the first unobserved portion of the safety field;
• determining one or more operating parameters for a mobile robot, the one or more operating parameters based, at least in part, on the occupancy state of at least some regions of the plurality of contiguous regions within the first unobserved portion of the safety field at the second time;
• and
• controlling the mobile robot to operate according to the one or more operating parameters.

A mobile robot, comprising:

• one or more sensors configured to sense first sensor data at a first time;
• and
• at least one computer processor programmed to perform a method of:
• identifying, based on the first sensor data, a first unobserved portion of a safety field in an environment of the mobile robot, wherein the first unobserved portion of the safety field corresponds to a portion of the safety field that the one or more sensors cannot observe at the first time due to a first occlusion;
• assigning, to each region of a plurality of contiguous regions within the first unobserved portion of the safety field, an occupancy state;
• updating, at a second time after the first time, the occupancy state of one or more regions of the plurality of contiguous regions within the first unobserved portion of the safety field;
• determining one or more operating parameters for the mobile robot, the one or more operating parameters based, at least in part, on the occupancy state of at least some regions of the plurality of contiguous regions within the first unobserved portion of the safety field at the second time;
• and
• controlling the mobile robot to operate according to the one or more operating parameters.