Behavior control of mobile cleaning robot

Abstract

A method of operating a mobile cleaning robot can include navigating the mobile cleaning robot within an environment. Whether a movement condition is satisfied can be determined and a mopping pad tray can be moved relative to a body of the mobile cleaning robot between a cleaning position and a stored position in response to receipt of a command to move the mopping pad tray when the movement condition is satisfied.

1 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions, for operating a mobile cleaning robot, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:
 navigate the mobile cleaning robot within an environment;   determine whether a movement condition is satisfied;   move a mopping pad tray in a horizontal direction relative to a body of the mobile cleaning robot and in a vertical direction relative to the body between a cleaning position and a stored position in response to receipt of a command to move the mopping pad tray when the movement condition is satisfied;   detect a stall condition of the mopping pad tray; and   determine that the movement condition is not satisfied when the stall condition is detected.   
     
     
         2 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 receive an encoder signal from an encoder connected to a pad drive motor, the pad drive motor configured to move the mopping pad tray; and   detect the stall condition based on the encoder signal.   
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 receive a current signal from a current sensor connected to a pad drive motor, the pad drive motor configured to move the mopping pad tray; and   detect the stall condition based on the current signal.   
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 3 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 detect a rear cliff; and   determine whether the movement condition is satisfied based on detection of the rear cliff.   
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 4 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 inhibit or interrupt movement of the mopping pad tray when the rear cliff is detected.   
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 5 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 detect at least one of a front cliff or a side cliff; and   determine whether the movement condition is satisfied based on detection of the front cliff or the side cliff.   
     
     
         7 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 6 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 inhibit or interrupt vertical movement of the mopping pad tray when at least one of the front cliff is detected or the side cliff is detected; and   allow horizontal movement of the mopping pad tray when at least one of the front cliff is detected or the side cliff is detected.   
     
     
         8 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 7 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 inhibit or interrupt movement of the mopping pad tray when the stall condition is detected;   determine a location of the mobile cleaning robot in the environment;   navigate the mobile cleaning robot to a new location in the environment; and   move the mopping pad tray between the cleaning position and the stored position after navigating to the new location.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether the movement condition is satisfied includes determining whether a set of movement conditions is met. 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , further comprising: inhibiting or interrupting movement of the mopping pad tray when the movement condition is not satisfied. 
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions, for operating a mobile cleaning robot, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:
 navigate the mobile cleaning robot within an environment;   receive an encoder signal from an encoder connected to a pad drive motor, the pad drive motor configured to move a mopping pad tray;   determine whether a movement condition is satisfied based on the encoder signal;   move the mopping pad tray in a horizontal direction relative to a body of the mobile cleaning robot and in a vertical direction relative to the body between a cleaning position and a stored position in response to receipt of a command to move the mopping pad tray when the movement condition is satisfied;   detect a stall condition based on the encoder signal; and   determine that the movement condition is not satisfied when the stall condition is detected.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 11 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 operate a drive train including one or more motors to move the mopping pad tray.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 12 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 engage the mopping pad tray or a drive train thereof with a brake when the movement condition is not satisfied.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 13 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 release the brake from engagement with the mopping pad tray or the drive train when the movement condition is satisfied.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the stored position of the mopping pad tray is on top of the body and wherein the cleaning position of the mopping pad tray is at least partially under the body. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 14 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 detect a rear cliff; and   determine whether the movement condition is satisfied based on detection of the rear cliff.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 16 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 inhibit or interrupt movement of the mopping pad tray when the rear cliff is detected.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 17 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 detect at least one of a front cliff or a side cliff; and   determine whether the movement condition is satisfied based on detection of the front cliff or the side cliff.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 18 , the instructions to further cause the machine to:
 inhibit or interrupt vertical movement of the mopping pad tray when at least one of the front cliff is detected or the side cliff is detected; and   allow horizontal movement of the mopping pad tray when at least one of the front cliff is detected or the side cliff is detected.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein determining whether the movement condition is satisfied includes determining whether a space to a rear of the body of the mobile cleaning robot is clear of clutter based on a location of the mobile cleaning robot in the environment and based on a map of the environment, and wherein determining whether the movement condition is satisfied includes determining whether the mobile cleaning robot is moving within the environment.