System and method for autonomous sanding

An autonomous sander system comprising:

• a chassis;
• a drive system operatively coupled to the chassis, wherein the drive system is configured to propel the autonomous sander system across a workpiece;
• at least one processor coupled to the autonomous sander system and at least one area-monitoring sensor;
• and
• system memory coupled to the at least one processor and that includes at least one instruction that, when executed by the at least one processor, effectuate operations comprising:
• obtaining a surface treatment command for the autonomous sander system, wherein the surface treatment command includes a threshold condition;
• obtaining workpiece assessment data from the at least one area-monitoring sensor based on the surface treatment command;
• directing the autonomous sander system to execute a sanding operation on the workpiece based on the surface treatment command and the workpiece assessment data;
• directing the drive system to propel the autonomous sander system across the workpiece in accordance with the sanding operation;
• and
• terminating the sanding operation if the autonomous sander system satisfies the threshold condition.

A method comprising:

• obtaining, via at least one processor, a surface treatment command for an autonomous sander system, wherein the surface treatment command includes a threshold condition;
• obtaining, via the at least one processor, workpiece assessment data of a workpiece from at least one area-monitoring sensor based on the surface treatment command;
• directing, via the at least one processor, the autonomous sander system to execute a sanding operation on the workpiece based on the surface treatment command and the workpiece assessment data;
• directing, via the at least one processor, a drive system to propel the autonomous sander system across the workpiece in accordance with the sanding operation;
• terminating, via the at least one processor, the sanding operation if the autonomous sander system satisfies the threshold condition;
• wherein the sanding operation comprises;
• directing, via the at least one processor, the drive system to propel the autonomous sander system in a first direction;
• directing, via the at least one processor, a sanding component of the autonomous sander system to sand a surface of the workpiece;
• directing, via the at least one processor, the drive system to stop the autonomous sander system if the workpiece assessment data indicates an edge or obstacle is within a threshold distance of the autonomous sander system in the first direction;
• integrating, via the at least one processor, the workpiece assessment data into an area map of the workpiece;
• determining, via the at least one processor, if the area map is sufficiently detailed to model a workpiece surface of the workpiece;
• executing, via the at least one processor, a path refinement operation based on the determining, wherein the path refinement operation includes:
• directing, via the at least one processor, the drive system to maneuver the autonomous sander system to be propelled along a second direction if the area map is not sufficiently detailed, and
• generating, via the at least one processor, an optimal path for the autonomous sander system to travel during the sanding operation;
• directing, via the at least one processor, the drive system to maneuver the autonomous sander system to be propelled along the optimal path during the sanding operation;
• and
• directing, via the at least one processor, the autonomous sander system to restart the optimal path if the threshold condition is not satisfied.