Irobot Corporation

Zacharias Psarakis

Artem Gritsenko

John JianShi Wang

Vazgen Karapetyan

Erik Schembor

Daniele Tamino

James R Salvati

Jonathan J Dorich

Steven Kordell

Tadvana S Canakapalli

Guanlai Li

Robot localization or mapping can be provided without requiring the expense or complexity an 'at-a-distance' sensor, such as a camera, a LIDAR sensor, or the like. Adjacency-derived landmark features can be used and non-unique landmark features can be accommodated. Uncertainty in robot pose can be tracked and compared to an adaptive threshold, and non-dock and dock-based localization behavior can be controlled based on the uncertainty, the adaptive threshold, one or more other thresholds, and the accessibility of available differently oriented landmark features, such as perpendicularly oriented straight wall segments landmark features. Available features can be sorted according to a quality metric, and path planning and navigation techniques are also included for helping obtain successful wall-following and localization observations.

Robot localization and mapping accommodating non-unique landmarks

Robot localization or mapping can be provided without requiring the expense or complexity an 'at-a-distance' sensor, such as a camera, a LIDAR sensor, or the like. Adjacency-derived landmark features can be used and non-unique landmark features can be accommodated. Uncertainty in robot pose can be tracked and compared to an adaptive threshold, and non-dock and docks based localization behavior can be controlled based on the uncertainty, the adaptive threshold, one or more other thresholds, and the accessibility of available differently oriented landmark features, such as perpendicularly oriented straight wall segments landmark features. Available features can be sorted according to a quality metric, and path planning and navigation techniques are also included for helping obtain successful wall-following and localization observations.

An autonomous cleaning robot includes a controller configured to execute instructions to perform one or more operations. The one or more operations includes operating a drive system to move the cleaning robot in a forward drive direction along a first obstacle surface with a side surface of the cleaning robot facing the first obstacle surface, then operating the drive system to turn the cleaning robot such that the side surface of the cleaning robot faces a second obstacle surface, then operating the drive system to move the cleaning robot in a rearward drive direction along the second obstacle surface, and then operating the drive system to move the cleaning robot in the forward drive direction along the second obstacle surface.

Navigation of autonomous mobile robots

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Malden, MA, United States of America

Zacharias Psarakis