Autonomous path treatment systems and methods

Abstract

An autonomous path treatment system and associated path treatment method uses a mobile path recording device having a locator, a processor and firmware to capture a sequence of coordinates and directions of travel of a path as the mobile device is moved along the path and generate a path program file. The system also has an autonomous path treatment robot having: a treatment mechanism for treating the path; a controller having a processor and memory storing firmware that when executed obeys steps of the path program file to control the motor and the treatment mechanism to treat the path; and a server configured to execute a path program to process the captured sequence of coordinates and directions into the path program file containing instructions for controlling the autonomous path treatment robot to treat the path based upon the coordinates.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for autonomously treating a path, comprising:
 receiving, within a computer server, coordinates defining the path;   generating, based upon the coordinates, a path program for controlling an autonomous path treatment robot to autonomously treat the path;   sending the path program to control the autonomous path treatment robot to treat the path;   receiving status information from the autonomous path treatment robot during treatment of the path; and   generating documentation indicative of the path treatment by the autonomous path treatment robot based upon the status information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, from the status information, when the autonomous path treatment robot has encountered an unexpected obstacle;   analyzing sensor data within the status information to identify the unexpected obstacle;   generating one or more directives, based upon the type of the unexpected obstacle, to control the autonomous path treatment robot to negotiate the unexpected obstacle; and   sending the directives to the autonomous path treatment robot.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, in association with at least one of the coordinates received from the mobile device, a feature indicator indicative of a physical feature of, or around, the path; and   the step of generating the path program further comprising validating the path program to ensure that the robot is capable of following the path.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , the step of validating further comprising modifying the path program to adjust a speed of the autonomous path treatment robot when proximate the physical feature. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , the step of validating further comprising generating a warning when the robot cannot follow the path because of turn radius and length of the autonomous path treatment robot. 
     
     
         6 . A non-transitory computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by a digital processor, perform steps for autonomously treating a path, comprising:
 instructions for receiving, within a computer server, coordinates defining the path;   instructions for generating, based upon the coordinates, a path program for controlling an autonomous path treatment robot to autonomously treat the path;   instructions for sending the path program to control the autonomous path treatment robot to treat the path;   instructions for receiving status information from the autonomous path treatment robot during treatment of the path; and   instructions for generating documentation indicative of the path treatment by the autonomous path treatment robot based upon the status information.   
     
     
         7 . An autonomous path treatment system, comprising:
 a source of coordinates and directions of travel corresponding to a path to be treated selected from the group consisting of a computer executing mapping and path designation software using an aerial photograph and a mobile path recording device having a locator, a processor and machine-readable instructions executable by the processor to capture the path to be treated as the mobile device is moved along the path by an operator;   an autonomous path treatment robot having:
 a motor for maneuvering the robot along the path; 
 a treatment mechanism for treating the path; 
 a controller having a processor and memory storing machine readable instructions that when executed by the processor obeys steps of a path program to control the motor and the treatment mechanism to treat the path; and 
   a server having been configured to generate the path program from recorded sequence of coordinates and instructions, the path program comprising instructions for controlling the autonomous path treatment robot to treat the path based upon the coordinates;
 the server configured to:
 send the path program to the autonomous path treatment robot; 
 receive the status information from the autonomous path treatment robot via the wireless interface as the autonomous path treatment robot treats the path; and 
 generate a dashboard illustrating a status of the autonomous path treatment robot based upon the status information. 
 
   
     
     
         8 . An autonomous path treatment system of  claim 7 , wherein the server further comprises:
 a processor and a memory storing machine readable instructions executable by the processor to:
 receive the coordinates of the path from the mobile device; 
   determine, from the status information, when the autonomous path treatment robot has encountered an unexpected obstacle;   analyze sensor data within the status information to identify the unexpected obstacle;   generate one or more directives, based upon the identified unexpected obstacle, to control the autonomous path treatment robot to negotiate the unexpected obstacle; and   send the directives to the autonomous path treatment robot via the wireless interface.   
     
     
         9 . The autonomous path treatment system of  claim 7 , the memory of the mobile device further storing machine readable instructions executable by the processor to capture one or more features of the path selected from the group including a curb, a step, a wall, and a drop-off, the memory of the server further storing machine readable instructions executable by the processor to generate the path program to include instructions for controlling the autonomous path treatment robot to treat the path based upon the features. 
     
     
         10 . The autonomous path treatment system of  claim 7 , the memory of the mobile device further storing machine readable instructions executable by the processor to interact with the operator to receive feature information of the path, the feature information defining a location of one or more of a curb, a wall, and a step, together with its location relative to the path. 
     
     
         11 . An autonomous path treatment robot for treating a path, comprising:
 a motor driving at least one wheel to maneuver the autonomous path treatment robot along the path;   a path treatment device positioned ahead of the motor and wheel for treating the path;   a wireless interface for receiving, from a remote server, a path program that includes a sequence of directives; and   a controller having a processor and memory storing machine readable instructions that are executed by the processor to cooperatively control the motor and the path treatment device to treat the path based upon the sequence of directives.   
     
     
         12 . The autonomous path treatment robot of  claim 11 , further comprising at least one sensor for sensing an environment of the robot to generate sensor data, the memory further storing instructions that when executed by the processor direct the robot to:
 detect an unexpected obstacle in the path of the robot based upon the sensor data;   pause operation of the robot when the unexpected obstacle is detected;   send the sensor data corresponding to the unexpected obstacle to the remote server;   receive additional directives from the remote server;   control the motor based upon the additional directives to maneuver the robot around the unexpected obstacle; and   resume operation of the robot to treat the path.   
     
     
         13 . The autonomous path treatment robot of  claim 12 , the memory further storing instructions that are executed by the processor to:
 store the additional directives within the memory in association with a first type of the unexpected obstacle;   match a subsequent unexpected obstacle to the first identify; and   control the motor based upon the additional directives to maneuver the robot around the subsequent unexpected obstacle.   
     
     
         14 . The autonomous path treatment robot of  claim 11 , the wireless interface being configured to transmit status information indicative of progress of the autonomous path treatment robot through the sequence of directives. 
     
     
         15 . The autonomous path treatment robot of  claim 11 , the wireless interface being configured to transmit status information indicative of operational status of the autonomous path treatment robot. 
     
     
         16 . The autonomous path treatment system of  claim 7  wherein the mobile path recording device is the autonomous path treatment robot.