Mobile Human Interface Robot

Abstract

A mobile robot that includes a drive system, a controller in communication with the drive system, and a volumetric point cloud imaging device supported above the drive system at a height of greater than about one feet above the ground and directed to be capable of obtaining a point cloud from a volume of space that includes a floor plane in a direction of movement of the mobile robot. The controller receives point cloud signals from the imaging device and issues drive commands to the drive system based at least in part on the received point cloud signals.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A mobile robot comprising:
 a drive system;   a controller in communication with the drive system; and   a volumetric point cloud imaging device supported above the drive system at a height of greater than about one feet above the ground and directed to be capable of obtaining a point cloud from a volume of space that includes a floor plane in a direction of movement of the mobile robot;   wherein the controller receives point cloud signals from the imaging device and issues drive commands to the drive system based at least in part on the received point cloud signals.   
     
     
         2 . The mobile robot of  claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a computer capable of processing greater than 1000 million instructions per second (MIPS). 
     
     
         3 . The mobile robot of  claim 1 , wherein the volumetric point cloud imaging device emits light onto a scene about the robot and captures images of the scene along a drive direction of the robot, the images comprising at least one of (a) a three-dimensional depth image, (b) an active illumination image, and (c) an ambient illumination image;
 wherein the controller determines a location of an object in the scene based on the images and issues drive commands to the drive system to maneuver the mobile robot in the scene based on the object location.   
     
     
         4 . The mobile robot of  claim 3 , wherein the volumetric point cloud imaging device determines a time-of-flight between emitting the light and receiving reflected light from the scene, the controller using the time-of-flight for determining a distance to the reflecting surfaces of the object. 
     
     
         5 . The mobile robot of  claim 3 , wherein the volumetric point cloud imaging device comprises:
 a light source for emitting light; and   an imager for receiving reflections of the emitted light from the scene;   wherein the imager comprises an array of light detecting pixels.   
     
     
         6 . The mobile robot of  claim 5 , wherein the light sensor emits the light onto the scene in intermittent pulses. 
     
     
         7 . The mobile robot of  claim 6 , wherein the light sensor emits the light pulses at a first, power saving frequency and upon receiving a sensor event emits the light pulses at a second, active frequency. 
     
     
         8 . The mobile robot of  claim 7 , wherein the sensor event comprises a sensor signal indicative of the presence of an object in the scene. 
     
     
         9 . The mobile robot of  claim 1 , wherein the volumetric point cloud imaging device comprises first and second portions,
 the first portion arranged to emit light substantially onto the ground and receive reflections of the emitted light from the ground, and   the second portion arranged to emit light into a scene substantially above the ground and receive reflections of the emitted light from a scene about the mobile robot.   
     
     
         10 . The mobile robot of  claim 1 , wherein the volumetric point cloud imaging device comprises:
 a speckle emitter emitting a speckle pattern of light onto a scene along a drive direction of the mobile robot; and   an imager receiving reflections of the speckle pattern from the object in the scene;   wherein the controller
 stores reference images of the speckle pattern as reflected off a reference object in the scene, the reference images captured at different distances from the reference object; and 
 compares at least one target image of the speckle pattern as reflected off a target object in the scene with the reference images for determining a distance of the reflecting surfaces of the target object. 
   
     
     
         11 . The mobile robot of  claim 10 , wherein the controller determines a primary speckle pattern on the target object and computes at least one of a respective cross-correlation and a decorrelation between the primary speckle pattern and the speckle patterns of the reference images. 
     
     
         12 . A self-propelled teleconferencing platform for tele-presence applications, the self-propelled teleconferencing platform comprising:
 a drive system chassis supporting a drive system;   a computer chassis disposed above the drive system chassis and supporting a computer capable of processing greater than 1000 million instructions per second (MIPS);   a display supported above the computer chassis; and   a camera supported above the computer chassis and movable within at least one degree of freedom separately from the display, the camera having an objective lens positioned more than 3 feet from the ground and less than 10 percent of a display height from a top edge of a display area of the display.   
     
     
         13 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 12 , wherein the camera comprises a volumetric point cloud imaging device positioned at a height greater than about 1 feet above the ground and directed to be capable of obtaining a point cloud from a volume of space that includes a floor plane in a direction of movement of the platform. 
     
     
         14 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 12 , wherein the camera comprises a volumetric point cloud imaging device positioned to be capable of obtaining a point cloud from a volume of space adjacent the platform. 
     
     
         15 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 12 , wherein the display has a display area of at least 150 square inches and is movable with at least one degree of freedom. 
     
     
         16 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 12 , wherein the objective lens of the camera comprises a zoom lens. 
     
     
         17 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 12 , further comprising a battery configured to power the computer for at least three hours. 
     
     
         18 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 12 , wherein the drive system comprises a motorized omni-directional drive. 
     
     
         19 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 12 , wherein the drive system comprises first, second, and third drive wheels, spaced about a vertical center axis and supported by the drive system chassis, each drive wheel having a drive direction perpendicular to a radial axis with respect to the vertical center axis. 
     
     
         20 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a leg extending upward from the drive system chassis and having a variable height;   a torso supported by the leg, the torso defining a shoulder having a bottom surface overhanging the base; and   a neck supported by the torso; and   a head supported by the neck, the neck panning and tilting the head with respect to the vertical center axis, the display and the camera both supported by the head.   
     
     
         21 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 20 , further comprising a torso imaging sensor disposed on the bottom surface of the torso and pointing downward along a forward drive direction of the drive system, the torso imaging sensor capturing three-dimensional images of a scene about the self-propelled teleconferencing platform. 
     
     
         22 . The self-propelled teleconferencing platform of  claim 20 , further comprising a head imaging sensor mounted on the head and capturing three-dimensional images of a scene about the self-propelled teleconferencing platform.