阅读说明：本技术 自主移动设备及其控制方法 (Autonomous mobile device and control method thereof ) 是由 邢兴国 吴欣 张一茗 陈震 于 2020-06-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种自主移动设备及其控制方法,涉及智能家居技术领域,用于解决自主移动设备位于障碍物下方时,自主移动设备难以判断自身工作状态的技术问题,该自主移动设备包括本体以及设置在本体上的拍摄单元、探测装置、光源组件、控制器；拍摄单元用于采集本体预设方向的图像信息,预设方向包括本体的上方；探测装置用于探测本体上方的障碍物信息；光源组件的出光方向包括本体的上方；控制器与探测装置和光源组件电连接,用于当探测装置探测到本体上方预设距离范围内存在障碍物时,控制器控制光源组件启动,并为拍摄单元提供照明。该控制方法应用于上述自主移动设备。本发明提供的自主移动设备可以在障碍物下方判断自身的工作状态。(The invention provides autonomous mobile equipment and a control method thereof, relates to the technical field of smart home, and is used for solving the technical problem that the autonomous mobile equipment is difficult to judge the working state of the autonomous mobile equipment when the autonomous mobile equipment is positioned below an obstacle; the shooting unit is used for collecting image information of the body in a preset direction, and the preset direction comprises the upper part of the body; the detection device is used for detecting the barrier information above the body; the light-emitting direction of the light source component comprises the upper part of the body; the controller is connected with detection device and light source subassembly electricity for when detection device detects the body top and predetermines when distance range exists the barrier, the controller control light source subassembly starts, and provides the illumination for shooting the unit. The control method is applied to the autonomous mobile device. The autonomous mobile equipment provided by the invention can judge the working state of the autonomous mobile equipment under the obstacle.)

1. An autonomous mobile device, comprising: the device comprises a body, and a shooting unit, a detection device, a light source assembly and a controller which are arranged on the body;

the shooting unit is connected with the body and used for collecting image information of the body in a preset direction, and the preset direction comprises the upper part of the body;

the detection device is connected with the body and used for detecting the barrier information above the body;

the light source assembly is connected with the body, and the light emitting direction of the light source assembly comprises the upper part of the body;

the controller is electrically connected with the detection device and the light source assembly and used for controlling the light source assembly to be started when the detection device detects that an obstacle exists in the preset distance range above the body, so that the lower surface of the obstacle above the body is illuminated, and illumination is provided for the shooting unit.

2. The autonomous mobile apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting means comprises a first detector;

the first detector comprises a first transmitting end and a first receiving end, the first transmitting end is used for transmitting first detection light to the upper part of the body, and the first receiving end is used for receiving reflected light of the first detection light after being reflected by an obstacle so as to detect whether the obstacle exists in a preset distance range above the body according to the reflected light;

or, the first transmitting end is used for transmitting the probe wave to the upper part of the body, and the first receiving end is used for receiving the reflected wave of the probe wave after being reflected by the obstacle, so as to detect whether the obstacle exists in a preset distance range above the body according to the reflected wave.

3. The autonomous mobile apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first detector is one or more of an infrared pair detector, a laser ranging sensor, an ultrasonic sensor.

4. The autonomous mobile apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting means comprises a second detector;

the second detector comprises a second transmitting end and a second receiving end, the second transmitting end is used for transmitting second detection light to the upper portion of the body, and the second receiving end receives image information of the second detection light reflected by an obstacle so as to detect whether the obstacle exists in a preset distance range above the body or not according to the image information.

5. The autonomous mobile apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second transmitting end is a structured light emitter and the second receiving end is an image grabber.

6. The autonomous moving apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting means is located in front of the light source assembly and the photographing unit in a forward direction of the body;

or the detection device is flush with the light source assembly and the shooting unit.

7. The autonomous mobile device of any of claims 1-6 wherein the preset distance is less than or equal to 0.85 m.

8. The autonomous mobile apparatus of any of claims 1-6, wherein the light source assembly has an adjustable light intensity;

the detection device also comprises a distance measuring device, wherein the distance measuring device is connected with the body and is used for measuring the distance between the body and an obstacle above the body;

the controller is electrically connected with the distance measuring device and used for controlling the light intensity of the light source component according to the distance between the body and the obstacle measured by the distance measuring device; wherein the light intensity of the light source component is increased along with the increase of the distance, and the light intensity of the light source component is weakened along with the decrease of the distance.

9. The autonomous mobile apparatus of any of claims 1-6 wherein the detecting means comprises an illumination intensity measuring device coupled to the body for measuring an intensity of ambient light above the body;

the controller is electrically connected with the illumination intensity measuring device and used for controlling whether the light source component emits light or not according to the ambient light intensity measured by the illumination intensity measuring device;

or the light-emitting intensity of the light source component is adjustable, and the controller is electrically connected with the illumination intensity measuring device and used for controlling the light-emitting intensity of the light source component according to the ambient light intensity measured by the illumination intensity measuring device.

10. An autonomous mobile apparatus control method applied to the autonomous mobile apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 9, the method comprising:

detecting whether an obstacle exists within a preset distance range above a body of the autonomous mobile device;

if the obstacle exists in the preset distance range above the body, the lower surface of the obstacle above the body is illuminated to provide illumination for the shooting unit.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed, implements the autonomous mobile device control method of claim 10.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of smart home, in particular to an autonomous mobile device and a control method thereof.

Background

With the improvement of science and technology and the improvement of living standard, artificial intelligent autonomous mobile equipment with different functions increasingly enters families of people, such as cleaning robots, accompanying mobile robots and the like, so that the life of people is more comfortable and convenient.

Taking the example of a cleaning robot, the cleaning robot may be used to clean the floor of a room. The cleaning robot comprises a body, a moving unit, a shooting unit and a cleaning assembly, wherein the moving unit, the shooting unit and the cleaning assembly are arranged on the body; the motion unit is used for driving the body to operate; in the operation process of the body, the shooting unit collects image information in a room in real time, such as image information of the top of the room or an indoor obstacle, and extracts characteristic points based on the image information to assist indoor positioning and navigation, and meanwhile, the cleaning assembly achieves ground cleaning. The body can judge the position and the working state of the cleaning robot according to the image information and the total mileage of the body operation, and carry out corresponding processing according to the working state. For example, when the image information collected by the shooting unit is consistent and the total mileage is continuously increased, the cleaning robot is in a blocked state, and the cleaning robot can give an alarm to prompt a user.

However, when the cleaning robot is located under an obstacle, such as the bottom of a bed or a sofa, the light is dark under the obstacle, it is difficult for the photographing unit to collect image information of the side of the obstacle facing the ground, and it is difficult for the cleaning robot to judge the current working state.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the foregoing problems, embodiments of the present invention provide an autonomous moving apparatus and a control method thereof, which can acquire image information of a ground side of an obstacle when the obstacle is located below the obstacle, and is favorable for determining an operating state of the autonomous moving apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:

a first aspect of embodiments of the present invention provides an autonomous mobile apparatus, including: the device comprises a body, and a shooting unit, a detection device, a light source assembly and a controller which are arranged on the body; the shooting unit is connected with the body and used for collecting image information of the body in a preset direction, and the preset direction comprises the upper part of the body; the detection device is connected with the body and used for detecting the barrier information above the body; the light source assembly is connected with the body, and the light emitting direction of the light source assembly comprises the upper part of the body; the controller is electrically connected with the detection device and the light source assembly and used for controlling the light source assembly to be started when the detection device detects that an obstacle exists in the preset distance range above the body, so that the lower surface of the obstacle above the body is illuminated, and illumination is provided for the shooting unit.

The autonomous mobile device of above, wherein the detecting means comprises a first detector; the first detector comprises a first transmitting end and a first receiving end, the first transmitting end is used for transmitting first detection light to the upper part of the body, and the first receiving end is used for receiving reflected light of the first detection light after being reflected by an obstacle so as to detect whether the obstacle exists in a preset distance range above the body according to the reflected light; or, the first transmitting end is used for transmitting the probe wave to the upper part of the body, and the first receiving end is used for receiving the reflected wave of the probe wave after being reflected by the obstacle, so as to detect whether the obstacle exists in a preset distance range above the body according to the reflected wave.

The autonomous mobile device as described above, wherein the first detector is one or more of an infrared pair tube detector, a laser ranging sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor.

The autonomous mobile device of the above, wherein said detecting means comprises a second detector; the second detector comprises a second transmitting end and a second receiving end, the second transmitting end is used for transmitting second detection light to the upper portion of the body, and the second receiving end receives image information of the second detection light reflected by an obstacle so as to detect whether the obstacle exists in a preset distance range above the body or not according to the image information.

The autonomous mobile device as described above, wherein the second transmitting end is a structured light emitter, and the second receiving end is an image collector.

The autonomous moving apparatus as described above, wherein the detecting means is located in front of the light source assembly and the photographing unit in a forward direction of the body; or the detection device is flush with the light source assembly and the shooting unit.

The autonomous mobile device of above, wherein the preset distance is less than or equal to 0.85 m.

The autonomous moving apparatus as described above, wherein the preset direction further includes a lateral upper side of the body.

The autonomous mobile device as described above, wherein the light source module has adjustable light intensity; the detection device also comprises a distance measuring device, wherein the distance measuring device is connected with the body and is used for measuring the distance between the body and an obstacle above the body; the controller is electrically connected with the distance measuring device and used for controlling the light intensity of the light source component according to the distance between the body and the obstacle measured by the distance measuring device; wherein the light intensity of the light source component is increased along with the increase of the distance, and the light intensity of the light source component is weakened along with the decrease of the distance.

The autonomous mobile device as described above, wherein the detecting means includes an illumination intensity measuring means connected to the body for measuring the intensity of ambient light above the body; the controller is electrically connected with the illumination intensity measuring device and used for controlling whether the light source component emits light or not according to the ambient light intensity measured by the illumination intensity measuring device; or the light-emitting intensity of the light source component is adjustable, and the controller is electrically connected with the illumination intensity measuring device and used for controlling the light-emitting intensity of the light source component according to the ambient light intensity measured by the illumination intensity measuring device.

A second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides an autonomous mobile apparatus control method, which is applied to the autonomous mobile apparatus described above, and the method includes:

detecting whether an obstacle exists within a preset distance range above a body of the autonomous mobile device;

if the obstacle exists in the preset distance range above the body, the lower surface of the obstacle above the body is illuminated to provide illumination for the shooting unit.

A third aspect of embodiments of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored therein, where the computer program, when executed, implements the above-mentioned autonomous mobile apparatus control method.

Compared with the prior art, the autonomous mobile equipment provided by the embodiment of the invention has the following advantages: the autonomous mobile equipment comprises a body, wherein the body is provided with components such as a shooting unit, a detection device, a light source component and a controller. The body can run on the ground or other working surfaces, and the detection device is used for detecting whether an obstacle exists in a preset distance range above the body or not in the running process of the body; the shooting unit is used for collecting image information of a preset direction of the body in the running process of the body, and the preset direction at least comprises the upper part of the body. When detecting device detects the body top and predetermines the distance range in, the controller can control the light source subassembly and start, and the light source subassembly illuminates the barrier towards one side on ground for autonomic mobile device does not receive the influence of barrier below light intensity, and the image information of barrier towards one side on ground still can be gathered to the shooting unit, and the operating condition of autonomic mobile device is judged according to the motion parameter information of this image information and body.

A second aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an autonomous mobile apparatus control method, which is applied to the autonomous mobile apparatus in the first aspect, and includes: detecting whether an obstacle exists within a preset distance range above a body of the autonomous mobile device; if the obstacle exists in the preset distance range above the body, the lower surface of the obstacle above the body is illuminated to provide illumination for the shooting unit.

A third aspect of embodiments of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed, implements the autonomous mobile apparatus control method according to the second aspect.

In addition to the technical problems solved by the embodiments of the present invention, the technical features constituting the technical solutions, and the advantages brought by the technical features of the technical solutions described above, other technical problems that can be solved by the autonomous mobile apparatus and the control method thereof provided by the embodiments of the present invention, other technical features included in the technical solutions, and advantages brought by the technical features will be further described in detail in the detailed description.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings according to the drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an autonomous mobile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when detecting an obstacle in a lower space;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an autonomous moving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when illuminating an overhead obstacle;

fig. 3 is a top view of the autonomous mobile apparatus of fig. 1 and 2;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an electrical connection structure of an autonomous mobile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an autonomous mobile device control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a working principle diagram of the infrared pair tube detector.

Reference numerals:

10: a body; 20: a shooting unit; 30: a detection device; 31: a first detector; 311: a first transmitting end; 312: a first receiving end; 313: a first detection light; 314: reflecting the light; 32: a second detector; 40: a light source assembly; 50: a motion unit; 60: a hollow type obstacle; 70: a controller; 80: a communication unit; 90: a storage unit; 100: a cleaning assembly; x: and (4) a positive direction.

Detailed Description

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more comprehensible, embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the described embodiments are merely a few embodiments of the invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The autonomous mobile device may operate in a random collision navigation mode to cover the work area. The autonomous mobile device may also preset a travel path and travel along the preset travel path. For the autonomous mobile equipment provided with the vision system, the vision system can acquire image information of the surrounding environment of the autonomous mobile equipment, and the autonomous mobile equipment can judge the working state of the autonomous mobile equipment according to the image information and motion parameter information such as the speed, the angular velocity and the operating mileage of the autonomous mobile equipment. For example, when the mileage measured by the odometer of the autonomous moving apparatus is increased and the image information collected by the vision system is the same, it may be considered that the autonomous moving apparatus is stuck by an obstacle or that the autonomous moving apparatus is in a slipping fault state. When the autonomous mobile equipment judges that the autonomous mobile equipment is in a fault state, the autonomous mobile equipment can be controlled to retreat or alarm, and the like, so that the electricity consumption and the map building error are avoided.

However, when the autonomous mobile device is located under an empty obstacle such as a bed, a table, a cabinet, a sofa, etc., the light intensity under the obstacle is usually weak, so that the vision system cannot acquire image information of the side of the obstacle facing the ground; or due to the fact that the light rays below the hollow obstacle change, the feature points of a plurality of images acquired by shooting the same obstacle for multiple times by the autonomous mobile device are different, the same obstacle may be judged to be not the same obstacle, and the autonomous mobile device is difficult to judge the self pose and the working state. In view of this, the embodiment of the present invention may provide the light source assembly on the autonomous mobile device, so that when the autonomous mobile device is located below the obstacle, the light source assembly is started and illuminates the lower side of the obstacle, thereby improving the light intensity below the obstacle, and enabling the vision system to easily acquire the image information of the lower-altitude obstacle facing the ground; in addition, the image information obtained by photographing the same obstacle under the same light source can identify the same characteristic information of the same obstacle more easily, so that the same obstacle can be identified more easily when the autonomous mobile device operates for multiple times, and the positioning and mapping accuracy of the SLAM (synchronous positioning and mapping) is improved.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an autonomous mobile device according to an embodiment of the present invention when detecting an obstacle in a lower space. Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an autonomous mobile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when illuminating an overhead obstacle. Fig. 3 is a top view of the autonomous mobile apparatus of fig. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an electrical connection structure of an autonomous mobile device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1 to 4, an embodiment of the invention provides an autonomous mobile apparatus, which includes: a main body 10, and a photographing unit 20, a detecting device 30, a light source assembly 40, and a controller 70 provided on the main body 10; the shooting unit 20 is connected with the body 10 and is used for acquiring image information of the body 10 in a preset direction, wherein the preset direction comprises the upper part of the body 10, and the upper part can comprise the right upper part, the side upper part or both the right upper part and the side upper part of the body 10; the detection device 30 is connected with the body 10 and used for detecting the information of the obstacles above the body 10; the light source assembly 40 is connected with the body 10, and the light emitting direction of the light source assembly 40 includes the upper part of the body 10; the controller 70 is electrically connected to the detecting device 30 and the light source assembly 40, and when the detecting device 30 detects that the hollow obstacle 60 exists within a predetermined distance range above the body 10, the controller 70 controls the light source assembly 40 to be activated to illuminate the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 above the body 10, so as to provide illumination for the photographing unit 20. The lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 may be the lower surface directly below the hollow obstacle 60, the side surface below the hollow obstacle 60, or another surface of the hollow obstacle 60 that can be illuminated by the light source assembly 40 below the hollow obstacle 60.

Specifically, the autonomous mobile device refers to a smart mobile device autonomously performing a preset task within a set area, and may include, but is not limited to, a cleaning robot (e.g., a smart cleaning robot, a smart floor wiping robot, a window wiping robot), a companion type mobile robot (e.g., a smart cyber pet, a nurse robot), a service type mobile robot (e.g., a reception robot of a hotel, a meeting place, etc.), an industrial patrol smart robot (e.g., a power patrol robot, a smart forklift, etc.), a security robot (e.g., a home or commercial smart guard robot), and the like.

The present embodiment is described by taking a cleaning robot as an example.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, the autonomous mobile apparatus includes: a photographing unit 20, a detecting device 30, a moving unit 50, a communication unit 80, a storage unit 90, and a controller 70.

The autonomous moving apparatus further includes a body 10 (the body 10 is not shown in fig. 4), the body 10 may be designed according to the requirement, and the material, shape and size of the body are not limited in this embodiment.

The communication unit 80, the storage unit 90 and the controller 70 are provided in the main body 10; the shooting unit 20, the detecting device 30, the light source assembly 40 and the like are arranged on the body 10 or in the body 10; the motion unit 50 may be a chassis disposed on the body 10 as a part of the body 10, or may be a separate chassis mounted on the body 10, or a separate wheel set independent from the body 10, and the motion unit 50 operates and moves the entire autonomous moving apparatus.

The moving unit 50 is electrically connected to the controller 70 for movement under the control of the controller 70. In detail, the moving unit 50 may include a driving motor and a moving part, and the driving motor drives the moving part to move the moving part according to the control of the controller 70. In some embodiments, the moving part may include a wheel set rotated by the driving motor to operate the autonomous mobile device, and a universal wheel for assisting the autonomous mobile device in steering. The moving part is, for example, a wheel set, a track, or a walking part, and the embodiment is not limited to how the moving part is specifically.

The photographing unit 20 is connected to the controller 70, and is configured to photograph the surrounding environment and send the photographed image to the controller 70. The photographing unit 20 has a photographing and/or image-taking function, such as a camera, a camera (e.g., a fisheye camera), and the like.

The communication unit 80 is connected to the controller 70 for interacting information and instructions with the mobile terminal and/or the server, and specifically, the communication unit 80 may send information to the mobile terminal and/or the server and receive instructions of the mobile terminal and/or the server. The communication unit may be a wired communication device, or may also be a wireless communication device, such as a WiFi module, a GPRS module, a Zigbee module, a bluetooth module, or the like.

The storage unit 90 is connected to the controller 70 and is configured to store various information and instructions, including but not limited to various instructions, environmental information and parameters obtained by various sensors, images obtained by the capturing unit, and the like.

The controller 70 processes the various types of information and instructions received. The controller 70 may be located locally on the autonomous mobile device or may be located on the user terminal device or on a network server. When the controller 70 is provided locally to the autonomous mobile device, the photographing unit 20, the moving unit 50, and the communication unit 80 may be directly connected to the controller 70. When the controller 70 is provided in a user terminal device or a web server, the photographing unit 20 and the moving unit 50 may be connected to the controller 70 through the communication unit 80. In implementation, the controller may be a programmable processor having functions of operation, information processing, control, and the like, such as an ARM, a DSP, an FPGA, a GPU, a CPU, and the like.

In some embodiments, the autonomous mobile device may be a smart cleaning robot (cleaning robot for short). The autonomous mobile device includes an execution unit, the execution unit of the cleaning robot may include a cleaning assembly 100, the cleaning assembly 100 may include a sweeping assembly such as a side brush, a roll brush, a dust box, and/or the like, and/or a mopping assembly such as a mop, a water tank, and the like.

The autonomous mobile device may have a forward direction X, i.e., a forward movement direction of the autonomous mobile device during normal operation, and the "normal operation" refers to movement of the autonomous mobile device during task execution, which is different from abnormal operation modes such as backward movement and swing movement of the autonomous mobile device in the escape mode.

The detection device 30 includes a sensor group, which may include a collision sensor, and the autonomous mobile apparatus senses an obstacle through a collision of the collision sensor with a front obstacle, for example, the obstacle may be a wall, a refrigerator, a floor cabinet, etc., and when the collision sensor collides with the obstacle, the body 10 may re-plan a travel path; the number of the collision sensors may be one or more, and when the number of the collision sensors is plural, the collision sensors may be provided at intervals in the circumferential direction of the front outer side and/or the side outer side of the body 10.

The sensor group may further include a proximity sensor that may sense whether an obstacle exists within a front or side preset distance range without colliding with a surrounding obstacle. When the proximity sensor senses that an obstacle exists in the front or the side, the controller can control the body 10 to avoid the obstacle or replan a running path; the number of proximity sensors may be one or more and are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction of the front outer side and/or the side outer side of the body 10.

The sensor group may further include a cliff sensor for sensing whether the ground in front of the traveling direction and/or the ground at the side has a concave or convex area, such as a staircase or a floor lamp base, and the body 10 may avoid and re-plan the traveling path when sensing that the ground in front has a concave or convex area; the number of cliff sensors may be one or more and is provided on the lower front and/or lower side of the body 10.

It will be appreciated that the sensor group may include any one or more of a crash sensor, a proximity sensor, a cliff sensor, but may also include other types of sensors such as wheel drop sensors, current/voltage sensing devices, etc.

The autonomous mobile device also includes a motion sensor to obtain motion parameter information of itself, which may include one or more of a position, a displacement, a velocity, an acceleration, an angle, an angular velocity, and an angular acceleration. Accordingly, the motion sensor may include an odometer and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), the odometer may be disposed on the wheel set, and the IMU may obtain motion parameter information as long as it moves with the autonomous mobile device, and thus may be disposed on a housing or any follower component of the autonomous mobile device, not necessarily connected with the motion Unit. The motion sensor may also comprise a displacement sensor, which may be a resistive displacement sensor, an inductive displacement sensor, a capacitive displacement sensor, a strain gauge displacement sensor, a hall-type displacement sensor, or the like, as known to those skilled in the art. The motion sensor can measure or calculate one or more motion parameter information such as position, distance, displacement, angle, speed, acceleration, etc. of the body 10 according to its characteristics.

Taking the motion sensor comprising an odometer and an IMU as an example, in some embodiments, the odometer can obtain the moving mileage, the speed and the angular velocity of the body 10, and then obtain the angle of the body 10 by angular velocity integration, and the IMU can obtain the acceleration and the angular velocity of the body 10, and then obtain the speed and the angle of the body 10 by integration respectively; the motion parameter information acquired by the odometer and the IMU can be mutually supplemented and corrected, so that the accuracy of the motion parameter information is improved. The controller 70 may correct accumulated errors of sensors such as the IMU in real time according to the image information acquired by the photographing unit 20 and the motion parameter information of the body 10, enhance the position reliability of the autonomous mobile device, and re-plan the operation path of the body 10.

Alternatively, the photographing unit 20 may be disposed on an upper surface of the body 10 or on a front circumference side of the body 10 to photograph an object above the body 10 and/or in a front environment. Wherein, the upper surface of the body 10 may be provided with a recess, the shooting unit 20 is disposed in the recess, and the camera of the shooting unit 20 may be located in the recess or protruded from the upper surface of the body 10. The photographing unit 20 may be a monocular camera, a binocular camera, or the like.

The image information acquired by the shooting unit 20 is affected by the light intensity in the environment, if the light intensity is weak, after the image shot by the shooting unit 20 is denoised, the image contrast between the brightest pixel point and the darkest pixel point in the same image is low, so that the autonomous mobile device may not be able to extract the feature points from the image, and the autonomous mobile device may not be located according to the feature point information in the image; or due to the change of the ambient light conditions, the feature points extracted for multiple times from multiple images of the same object shot by the autonomous mobile device in multiple operations cannot be identified as belonging to the same object, so that the motion sensor cannot be helped to correct the accumulated error. Therefore, when the autonomous moving apparatus moves to a position under the empty obstacle 60 such as a bed, a table, a cabinet, or a sofa, the intensity of light in the environment is generally weakened, which makes it difficult for the autonomous moving apparatus to determine its operating state and its accurate position.

Accordingly, the autonomous mobile apparatus provided by the present embodiment may include the detecting device 30 and the light source assembly 40. The detecting device 30 and the light source assembly 40 are electrically connected to the controller 70, respectively; wherein, detecting device 30 is used for surveying whether there is empty type barrier 60 in the preset distance range above body 10, and detecting device 30 is not influenced by visible light intensity basically, for example, can be whether there is a barrier in the preset distance range through infrared laser range finder or ultrasonic detection. When the detecting device 30 detects that the hollow obstacle 60 exists within the preset distance range above the body 10, the controller 70 may control the light source assembly 40 to start and illuminate the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60, so that the shooting unit 20 may accurately acquire the image information of the ground-facing side of the hollow obstacle 60. The lower surface of the obstacle 60 is as described above, and will not be described in detail here.

The light source assembly 40 may include a photodiode that is energized to emit light that provides illumination for the camera unit 20. The light source assembly 40 may be disposed on an upper surface of the body 10 facing away from the ground, or may be disposed on a circumferential side surface of the body 10.

In order to protect the detecting means 30 from the intensity of light, the detecting means 30 may comprise a first detector 31; the first detector 31 includes a first transmitting end and a first receiving end; the first emitting end is used for emitting first detection light to the upper part of the body 10, and the first detection light is not influenced by the intensity of the ambient light (such as infrared rays or infrared laser light); the first receiving end is configured to receive a reflected light of the first detection light reflected by the hollow obstacle 60, so as to detect whether the hollow obstacle 60 exists within a preset distance range above the main body 10 according to the reflected light. The first detector 31 may have a different structure according to the first detection light.

For example, the first detection light may be an infrared ray, the first detector 31 may be an infrared pair tube detector, and fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an operation of the infrared pair tube detector, as shown in fig. 6, the infrared pair tube detector has a first emitting end 311 and a first receiving end 312, the first emitting end 311 may emit an infrared ray with a set wavelength, that is, a first detection light 313, the infrared ray may be reflected after encountering the hollow obstacle 60, and the first receiving end 312 of the infrared pair tube detector receives the infrared ray reflected by the hollow obstacle 60, that is, the reflected light 314 of the first detection light 313 after being reflected by the hollow obstacle 60.

The preset distance L between the infrared pair detector and the obstacle can be determined by adjusting the position and the light emitting direction of the first emitting end 311 and adjusting the position and the light incident direction of the first receiving end 312₁. As shown in FIG. 6, assume a predetermined distance L₁The lower surface of the hollow barrier 60 is parallel or approximately parallel to the upper surface of the main body 10, after the distance D between the first emitting end 311 and the first receiving end 312 is determined, the direction of the first emitting end 311 may be adjusted to adjust the light emitting direction of the first probe light 313, assuming that the angle between the light emitting direction of the first probe light 313 and the main body 10 is α, and then the direction of the first receiving end 312 is adjusted to make the first probe light 313 irradiate the infrared pair tube at a distance L from the infrared pair tube₁The reflected light 314 reflected by the hollow obstacle 60 can enter the first receiving end 312, and the reflected light 314 and the body 10 are assumed to form an angle β.

Then, as can be seen from figure 6,from the above formulaPreset distance L between infrared pair tube detector and barrier₁In order to realize the purpose,

if the distance L is preset above the main body 10₁If there is no obstacle, the first detection light 313 emitted from the first emitting end 311 will not be reflected into the first receiving end 312, and thus the first detector will not be triggered; on the contrary, if the distance L is preset above the body 10₁When there is an obstacle, the first detection light 313 emitted from the first emitting end 311 is reflected by the lower surface of the obstacle 60, the reflected light 314 enters the first receiving end 312, and when the light intensity of the reflected light 314 reaches a set threshold, the first detector is triggered, so that the autonomous mobile apparatus senses the preset distance L above the autonomous mobile apparatus₁There is an obstacle. Of course, in the present embodiment, when the infrared pair detector operates, the shape of the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 is not limited.

The first detection light may also be laser light or modulated light, and the first detector 31 may be a Time of flight (TOF) sensor or a laser sensor. Taking the time-of-flight sensor as an example, the transmitting end of the time-of-flight sensor is used for transmitting laser to the upper part of the body 10, the laser is reflected after encountering the hollow obstacle 60, and the receiving end of the time-of-flight sensor receives the laser reflected by the hollow obstacle 60. The time-of-flight sensor may calculate whether the lower hollow type obstacle 60 exists within a preset distance range above the body 10 according to a time difference δ t between the laser emitted from the emitting end and the laser reflected by the receiving end, and a formula L ═ c × δ t. Where c is the speed of light, and the maximum and minimum values of the preset distance range can be respectively substituted into the above formula to obtain a time range. When the measured time difference falls within the range, it can be considered that the hollow type obstacle 60 exists within a predetermined distance range above the body 10.

In view of the high price of time-of-flight sensors that directly measure laser light, measurement may also be performed by a phase shift method that detects modulated light by pulse modulation or continuous wave modulation of laser light. At this time, it is possible to measure a time difference between the emission of the modulated light and the reception of the modulated light, and calculate a distance between the time-of-flight sensor and the hollow type obstacle 60 from the speed of light and the wavelength of the modulated light.

Alternatively, the probe wave of the first transmitting end may be a light wave or other types of waves, such as acoustic waves, ultrasonic waves, millimeter waves, microwaves, and the like. Accordingly, the first detector 31 may be an infrared pair detector, a laser ranging sensor (also called a lidar; and the time-of-flight sensor belongs to a lidar), an ultrasonic sensor, or the like. The distance measurement principle of the ultrasonic sensor is similar to that of the time-of-flight sensor, and the principle is not described again in this embodiment.

To increase the testing accuracy, the first detector 31 may be one or more of an infrared pair detector, a laser ranging sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor.

The detecting device 30 can also detect whether there is a hollow obstacle 60 above the body 10 by collecting image information formed by detecting light. In particular, the detection device 30 may further comprise a second detector 32; the second detector 32 includes a second emitting end and a second receiving end, the second emitting end is used for emitting second detection light to the upper side of the body 10, and the second receiving end receives image information of the second detection light reflected by the hollow obstacle 60, so as to detect whether the hollow obstacle 60 exists within a preset distance range above the body 10 according to the image information.

The second detection light may be structured light, the structured light is modulated by the height of the surface of the object to be detected after being projected on the surface of the object, the modulated structured light is received and collected by the second receiving end, and the controller 70 may calculate the position and depth information of the object to be detected according to the image information.

The structured light is a probe light actively emitted by the second emitting end, and is not affected by the light intensity in the environment where the body 10 is located, so that the autonomous mobile device can conveniently acquire the image information of the side, facing the ground, of the hollow obstacle 60.

Correspondingly, the second transmitting end can be a structured light emitter, and the emitted structured light can be stripe structured light, coded structured light or speckle structured light according to different types of the structured light emitters. The second receiving end is an image collector, which may be a monocular camera or a binocular camera known to those skilled in the art.

It will be appreciated that the autonomous mobile device may also be provided with both the first detector 31 and the second detector 32, increasing the detection accuracy.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 3, the detecting device 30 may be located in front of the light source assembly 40 and the photographing unit 20 along the forward direction X of the body 10, such that when the body 10 moves along the forward direction X, if the autonomous moving apparatus moves below the hollow obstacle 60, the detecting device 30 moves below the hollow obstacle 60 before the light source assembly 40 and the photographing unit 20 move. When the detecting device 30 detects the hollow type obstacle 60, the controller 70 controls the light source assembly 40 to be activated such that the light source assembly 40 illuminates the lower portion of the hollow type obstacle 60 before the photographing unit 20 moves under the hollow type obstacle 60 or moves under the hollow type obstacle 60.

Alternatively, the detecting device 30, the light source assembly 40 and the photographing unit 20 may be sequentially disposed at intervals along the forward direction X of the body 10; or a connecting line of the detecting device 30, the light source assembly 40 and the photographing unit 20 may be disposed in a triangle shape, wherein the detecting device 30 is located in front of the light source assembly 40 and the photographing unit 20 in the forward direction X.

Considering that the body 10 can be moved backward, the detecting device 30 can be flush with the light source assembly 40 and the camera unit 20, that is, the connecting line between the detecting device 30, the light source assembly 40 and the camera unit 20 can be perpendicular to the forward moving direction of the body 10. So that when the detecting device 30 detects the empty obstacle 60, the light source assembly 40 can be simultaneously activated and illuminate the photographing unit 20 without being affected by the forward or backward movement of the body 10.

As can be seen from the above description, when the autonomous moving apparatus moves below the hollow obstacle 60, the controller 70 determines the operating state of the body 10 according to the image information and other motion parameter information of the lower portion of the hollow obstacle 60 collected by the photographing unit 20. When the image information of the autonomous moving apparatus at the edge of the hollow obstacle 60 and within a preset distance, for example, within 0-20cm, entering the hollow obstacle 60, the present embodiment may not limit the relative positions between two of the detecting device 30, the light source assembly 40, and the shooting unit 20, and the detecting device 30, the light source assembly 40, and the shooting unit 20 may be disposed at any position on the body 10 according to the setting requirement, as long as the detecting device 30 can detect the hollow obstacle 60 above, and the light source assembly 40 can emit light upward, and the shooting unit 20 can collect the image information of the hollow obstacle 60 facing the ground. In other words, the embodiment of the invention does not limit the relative positions of the detecting device 30, the light source assembly 40 and the shooting unit 20, and even if the detecting device 30 is disposed at the light source assembly 40 and/or the shooting unit 20 in the forward direction of the body 10 (the forward direction relative to the body 10), the detection of the obstacle 60 above the body 10 is delayed, but the light supplement of the light source assembly 40 to the shooting unit 20 in the subsequent process is not seriously hindered.

It can be understood that, when the height of the obstacle exceeds the preset range, the light intensity below the obstacle is relatively large, and does not affect the image information collected by the shooting unit 20, and the light supplement to the shooting unit 20 is not necessary, so that the preset distance in this embodiment may be less than or equal to 0.85m, that is, the highest point of the body 10 along the vertical direction or the distance between the highest point of the detecting device 30 along the vertical direction and the hollow obstacle 60 may be less than or equal to 0.85 m. In the related art, the height of the space under the bed, the table and the sofa usually does not exceed 0.85 meter, that is, does not exceed the sum of 0.85 meter and the height of the body 10 in the vertical direction, and the coverage of the autonomous mobile device is wide.

Further, the preset direction also includes a lateral upper side of the body 10, and the lateral upper side may be a lateral upper side of any position in the circumferential direction of the body 10.

Illustratively, the side upper part can be the front upper part located in the front of the body 10, and the shooting unit 20 collects the image information of the front upper part of the body 10, so that the collection range is wide and the measurement precision is high.

It is understood that the illumination required by the photographing unit 20 (the illumination unit is lux, lx) is different according to the type of the photographing unit 20, that is, the minimum light intensity required for imaging is different. When a point light source is used for illumination, the illumination intensity on the surface of an object perpendicular to the light is proportional to the light emitting intensity of the light source and inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the illuminated surface to the point light source, i.e., the illumination intensity of the illuminated surface of the illuminated object is related to the light emitting intensity of the light source assembly 40 and the distance between the light source assembly 40 and the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60.

In the case where the light source assemblies 40 have the same luminous intensity, the greater the distance between the light source assemblies 40 and the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60, the smaller the illuminance on the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60; conversely, the smaller the distance between the light source assembly 40 and the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60, the greater the illuminance on the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60. When the illuminance is too low, the photographing unit 20 may not effectively collect the image information of the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 by reflected light, and when the illuminance is too high, the photographing unit 20 may be blinded, similar to the case where the vehicle lights directly irradiate the human eyes to make people not see the surrounding objects clearly at night, and at this time, the photographing unit 20 may not effectively collect the image information of the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60.

In order to avoid that the illumination intensity of the light emitted by the light source assembly 40 after being reflected by the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 is too weak or too strong due to too large or too small distance between the hollow obstacle 60 and the body 10, which affects the shooting unit 20 to collect the image information of the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60, in this embodiment, the detection device further includes a distance measuring device disposed on the body 10, the distance measuring device may be a laser distance measuring sensor as described in the above embodiments, the controller 70 may directly obtain the distance value between the body 10 and the hollow obstacle 60 through the distance measuring device, and adjust the light-emitting intensity of the light source assembly 40 according to the distance value and the square inverse ratio of the illumination intensity to the distance.

Specifically, if the measured distance value is larger, the controller 70 controls the light intensity of the light source module 40 to become stronger; if the measured distance value is smaller, the controller 70 controls the light intensity of the light source module 40 to be weaker. The autonomous mobile device can calibrate the light intensity of the light source module 40 at a plurality of set standard distances, so that when the light intensity of the light source module 40 is irradiated to an obstacle within a set distance range, the illuminance of the light source module can ensure that the shooting unit 20 can acquire distinguishable image information. Alternatively, in some alternative embodiments, the distance measuring device is a separate component from the first detecting device, and is arranged on the body in parallel with the first detecting device.

The distance measuring device is used to measure the distance between the body 10 and the hollow type obstacle 60. In some embodiments, the distance measuring device is used to measure the distance between the position to be measured of the body 10 and the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60, wherein the position to be measured of the body 10 may be the upper surface of the body 10, in some alternative embodiments, a groove for installing the distance measuring device may be provided on the body 10, and then the position to be measured on the body 10 may also be any position in the groove. As long as the distance between the body 10 and the hollow obstacle 60 can correspond to the illuminance. The present embodiment does not limit the position to be measured where the body 10 is measured. In some embodiments, if the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 is not a plane parallel to the ground, such as a plurality of planes parallel to the ground or an inclined plane having a certain non-zero included angle with the ground, the distance between the body 10 and the hollow obstacle 60 may be represented by the distance between the body 10 and a plane parallel to the ground of the hollow obstacle 60, or by the average of the distances between the body 10 and a plurality of measuring points of the hollow obstacle 60.

Specifically, in the above embodiments, the distance between the body 10 and the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 can be obtained by the distance measuring device, and the light intensity of the light source assembly 40 is controlled by the distance, so as to provide sufficient and not excessive illumination for the shooting unit 20, and facilitate the shooting unit 20 to acquire distinguishable image information.

It is understood that the light intensity in the environment is different at different time periods, for example, the light intensity is large at noon and small at morning and evening. And in the morning and evening, the inclination angle of the light is large, when the ground is a bright ground such as marble, the ground can form mirror reflection, so that the light intensity of the hollow barrier 60 towards one side of the ground is larger. At this time, if light is supplemented through the light source assembly 40, the shooting unit 20 may have a hidden danger of causing blindness, and may not effectively acquire image information.

Correspondingly, the detecting device in this embodiment may further include an illumination intensity measuring device for detecting the intensity of the ambient light in the space on the ground side of the hollow obstacle 60, and the controller 70 is electrically connected to the illumination intensity measuring device for controlling the light-emitting intensity of the light source assembly 40 according to the measured intensity of the ambient light on the ground side of the hollow obstacle 60. The illumination intensity detection means may include a light intensity sensor and the like well known to those skilled in the art, and the present embodiment is not limited.

As can be seen from the above embodiments, the required illumination intensity varies from one photographing unit 20 to another. In this embodiment, the illumination required by the photographing unit 20 may be 0.5lx to 10000 lx.

That is, when the illuminance of the hollow obstacle 60 toward the ground, measured by the illuminance measuring device, is greater than 10000lx, the photographing unit 20 is also blinded even if the light source assembly 40 does not supplement light, and the autonomous moving apparatus may beep to alarm. When the illuminance of the side of the hollow obstacle 60 facing the ground is lower than 0.5lx, the light source assembly 40 needs to be activated and supplement light, and the illuminance of the side of the hollow obstacle 60 facing the ground is preferably adjusted to 2000lx-4000 lx.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an autonomous mobile device control method, and fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the autonomous mobile device control method. As shown in fig. 5, it includes: detecting whether a hollow obstacle 60 exists within a preset distance range above the body 10 of the autonomous moving apparatus; if there is a hollow obstacle 60 within a predetermined distance range above the main body 10, the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 above the main body 10 is illuminated to provide illumination for the photographing unit 20. The activation of the light source assembly 40 of the autonomous moving apparatus may be controlled by the controller 70 to illuminate the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 above the body 10, the first detector 31 in the above-described embodiment may also be directly electrically connected to the light source assembly 40, and the activation of the light source assembly 40 may be directly controlled when the first detector 31 senses the obstacle 60 above the first detector, although the direct or indirect control of the light source assembly 40 by the first detector 31 may also be implemented by other prior art techniques known to those skilled in the art.

Specifically, the control method is applied to the autonomous mobile device described above. When the autonomous moving apparatus moves in the work area, it may encounter obstacles such as walls and refrigerators, or recessed obstacles such as stairs, or hollow obstacles 60 having a space at the lower part such as a bed and a sofa.

The intensity of light below the hollow obstacle 60 is weak, and the photographing unit 20 of the autonomous moving apparatus may not be able to collect clear image information of the ground-facing side of the hollow obstacle 60, so that the autonomous moving apparatus may not be able to determine its position and/or working state.

In this embodiment, when the detecting device 30 of the autonomous mobile apparatus detects that the body 10 enters the lower portion of the hollow obstacle 60, the controller 70 of the autonomous mobile apparatus controls the light source assembly 40 to start, and the light source assembly 40 illuminates the lower surface of the hollow obstacle 60 to provide illumination for the shooting unit 20, so that the shooting unit 20 can acquire available image information of the hollow obstacle 60 facing the ground, and the autonomous mobile apparatus can conveniently locate and construct a map and judge its working state.

The present embodiment also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the autonomous mobile device control method according to the above embodiment.

The readable storage medium may be implemented by any type or combination of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks. Readable storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

An exemplary readable storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the readable storage medium. Of course, the readable storage medium may also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the readable storage medium may reside in an Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC). Of course, the processor and the readable storage medium may also reside as discrete components in the apparatus.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or a portion of the steps of implementing the above-described method embodiments may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs steps comprising the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

The embodiments or implementation modes in the present specification are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments may be referred to each other.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the description of the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "an illustrative embodiment", "an example", "a specific example", or "some examples", etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and not to limit the same; while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.