System and method for utilizing non-local information to constrain robot services

A robot comprising:

• one or more processors;
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing one or more sequences of program instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:
• obtaining digitally stored dynamic building data comprising a description of a temporary condition of a set of one or more buildings and a location of the temporary condition, wherein the set of one or more buildings comprises a plurality of protected interior paths and at least one unprotected exterior path;
• updating, from the dynamic building data, digital cost data associated with one or more features of a digital map by calculating an increased cost of navigation associated with the location of the temporary condition, the increased cost based on the description of the temporary condition;
• in response to receiving a task that is associated with a destination location, determining a route of the robot to the destination location using the digital map based in part upon the location of the temporary condition and the increased cost, the route not including the at least one unprotected exterior path;
• causing the robot to traverse to the destination location without using the at least one unprotected exterior path.

A robot, comprising:

• one or more digital electronic sensors of environmental conditions comprising any of temperature, humidity or precipitation;
• one or more processors that are coupled to the one or more sensors;
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing one or more sequences of program instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:
• obtaining digitally stored dynamic building data comprising a description of a temporary condition of a set of one or more buildings and a location of the temporary condition, wherein the set of one or more buildings comprises a plurality of protected interior paths and at least one unprotected exterior path;
• obtaining local environment data comprising one or more of a temperature value, humidity value or precipitation value from the one or more sensors and updating the dynamic building data based upon the local environment data;
• updating, from the dynamic building data, digital cost data associated with one or more features of a digital map by calculating an increased cost of navigation associated with the location of the temporary condition, the increased cost based on the description of the temporary condition;
• in response to receiving a task that is associated with a destination location, determining a route of the robot to the destination location using the digital map based in part upon the location of the temporary condition and the increased cost, the route not including the at least one unprotected exterior path;
• wherein determining the route comprises any of:
• determining the route as a fastest route from a current location of the robot to the destination location, by calculating an expected velocity of the robot over a portion of the map layer corresponding to the location of the temporary condition;
• determining the route as a shortest route from a current location of the robot to the destination location by calculating a plurality of different routes having different estimated time of arrival (ETA) values, each different route in the plurality of different routes not using the at least one unprotected exterior path;
• determining the route as an optimized route from the current location to the destination location that traverses a fewest number of personnel locations of the set of buildings in which personnel are likely to be located and not using the at least one unprotected exterior path;
• the dynamic building data comprising any one or more of:
• weather data received from a remote computer;
• data collected by another robot within the set of one or more buildings;
• data detected by other sensors within the set of one or more buildings;
• facilities data pertaining to scheduled events or installations of the set of one or more buildings;
• the temporary condition comprising any of:
• weather;
• or a scheduled event that comprises a large crowd, a construction site, or a temporary installation;
• causing the robot to traverse to the destination location without using the at least one unprotected exterior path.