Method and system for remote control of mobile robot
AssigneeiRobot Corporation
InventorJames R. Allard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods of remote control of a mobile robot and an intuitive user interface for remotely controlling a mobile robot are provided. Using a point-and-click device (405), the user is able to choose a target location (430) within a heads-up display (400) toward which to move a mobile robot. Additional graphical overlays (410 & 412) are provided to aid the user in navigating even in systems with asynchronous communication.
Claims23
A method for tele-operating a robot in an environment, comprising the steps of:
- providing a user interface for controlling the tele-operation of the robot;
- providing, via an imaging device associated with the robot, image information representative of the environment around the robot to the user interface;
- using the image information to provide a user-perceptible image at the user interface representative of the environment around the robot;
- designating a target anywhere in the user-perceptible image towards which the robot will move;
- automatically converting the target designated in the user-perceptible image into a target location having x, y, and z coordinates in the environment of the robot at the user interface;
- and
- providing real-time instructions to the robot from the user interface to move from the robot's current location in the environment to the x, y, and z coordinates of the target location in the environment.
A system for tele-operating a robot in an environment, comprising:
- a user interface for controlling the tele-operation of the robot;
- an imaging device associated with the robot for providing image information representative of the environment around the robot;
- means for transmitting the image information to the user interface;
- means for converting the image information to a user-perceptible image at the user interface;
- means for designating a target in the user-perceptible image towards which the robot should move;
- means for automatically converting the target designated in the user-perceptible image into a target location having x, y, and z coordinates in the environment of the robot;
- and
- means for providing real-time instructions to the robot from the user interface to move from the robot's current location in the environment to the x, y, and z coordinates of the target location in the environment.
A graphical user interface for tele-operating a robot in an environment, comprising:
- a display device for providing a user-perceptible image representative of the environment around the robot;
- means for designating a target in the user-perceptible image towards which the robot thould move;
- and
- means for superimposing at least one projection in the user-perceptible image in correlation with movement of the target designating means;
- wherein the at least one projection represents an area to which the robot may move prior to target designation and represents the area to which the robot will move upon target designation.
A graphical user interface for tele-operating a robot in an environment, comprising:
- a display device for providing a user-perceptible image representative of the environment around the robot;
- means for designating a target in the user-perceptible image towards which the robot should move;
- and
- means for overlaying a floor plan grid on top of the user-perceptible image to provide an indication of relative distance of objects within the environment of the robot based upon the robot's current position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.