Robot localization and mapping accommodating non-unique landmarks

US11662743B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• iRobot Corporation · US

Inventors

• Vazgen Karapetyan · Pasadena, US
• Artem Gritsenko · Malden, US
• Zacharias Psarakis · Malden, US
• Guanlai Li · Bedford, US
• Daniele Tamino · Bedford, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 15, 2020
• Grant date: May 30, 2023
• Expiry date: Jun 22, 2041

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G05D1/86
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

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.