A mobile robot with one or more deployable scanning wands that advantageously mounts each scanning wand for movement from a storage position in or adjacent to a wall of the mobile base unit to a deployed position extending outwardly from the robot adjacent ground level. Preferably, the robot includes two or more deployable scanning wands and a holonomic drive function is provided in the mobile base unit. This drive allows controlled linear and rotational movement of the robot to provide an effective scan area. Sensors can be provided in the sides of the mobile base for assistance in control of the drive and/or further scanning of a vehicle, trailer or object of interest.

An autonomous work machine that works in a work area while autonomously traveling in the work area, comprises a specification unit configured to specify, based on information of a position detection unit configured to detect position information, a self-position of the autonomous work machine, a determination unit configured to determine, based on the self-position, whether the autonomous work machine has reached a perimeter portion of a no-work area positioned within the work area, and a control unit configured to control the autonomous work machine to do a lap along the perimeter portion in a case in which the autonomous work machine is determined to have reached the perimeter portion.

An automatically moving floor treatment appliance has an appliance housing, a drive, a computing element and a plurality of fall sensors. The computing element compares a detection result of a fall sensor with a known reference result, and when the detection result does not correspond with the reference result, determines a malfunctioning of the fall sensor. The computing element determines distances detected chronologically successively by the same fall sensor during a movement of the appliance with one another, and when the distances are identical, determines a malfunctioning of the fall sensor, and/or compares a detection result of the leading fall sensor with a detection result of a trailing fall sensor and when the trailing fall sensor detects a slope without the leading fall sensor having detected the slope before, determines a malfunctioning of the leading fall sensor and the trailing fall sensor takes over the from the leading fall sensor.

An automatically moving floor treatment appliance has an appliance housing, a drive, a computing element and a plurality of fall sensors. The computing element compares a detection result of a fall sensor with a known reference result, and when the detection result does not correspond with the reference result, determines a malfunctioning of the fall sensor. The computing element determines distances detected chronologically successively by the same fall sensor during a movement of the appliance with one another, and when the distances are identical, determines a malfunctioning of the fall sensor, and/or compares a detection result of the leading fall sensor with a detection result of a trailing fall sensor and when the trailing fall sensor detects a slope without the leading fall sensor having detected the slope before, determines a malfunctioning of the leading fall sensor and the trailing fall sensor takes over the from the leading fall sensor.

A grow system. The system includes growing plants in grow modules that are individually moveable. The plants grow in trays where roots never touch the water supply. The plumbing to the grow modules is a low flow, one way flow continual drip system that is hands free. A mobile robot can navigate around a growspace, bring any grow module from one location to another, and perform growspace operations. The growspace is a control space with data source zones and a control space manager. The control space manager can collect data and control different variables across different data source zones in order to determine optimal policies and conditions for data source growth and generation.

In one embodiment, a computing system of a vehicle may access sensor data associated with a surrounding environment of a vehicle. The system may generate, based on the sensor data, a first trajectory having one or more first driving characteristics for navigating the vehicle in the surrounding environment. The system may generate a second trajectory having one or more second driving characteristics by modifying the one or more first driving characteristics of the first trajectory. The modifying may use adjustment parameters based on one or more human-driving characteristics of observed human-driven trajectories such that the one or more second driving characteristics satisfy a similarity threshold relative to the one or more human-driving characteristics. The system may determine, based on the second trajectory, vehicle operations to navigate the vehicle in the surrounding environment.

In one embodiment, a computing system of a vehicle may access sensor data associated with a surrounding environment of a vehicle. The system may generate, based on the sensor data, a first trajectory having one or more first driving characteristics for navigating the vehicle in the surrounding environment. The system may generate a second trajectory having one or more second driving characteristics by modifying the one or more first driving characteristics of the first trajectory. The modifying may use adjustment parameters based on one or more human-driving characteristics of observed human-driven trajectories such that the one or more second driving characteristics satisfy a similarity threshold relative to the one or more human-driving characteristics. The system may determine, based on the second trajectory, vehicle operations to navigate the vehicle in the surrounding environment.

An autonomous vehicle having sensors advantageously varied in capabilities, advantageously positioned, and advantageously impervious to environmental conditions. A system executing on the autonomous vehicle that can receive a map including, for example, substantially discontinuous surface features along with data from the sensors, create an occupancy grid based upon the map and the data, and change the configuration of the autonomous vehicle based upon the type of surface on which the autonomous vehicle navigates. The device can safely navigate surfaces and surface features, including traversing discontinuous surfaces and other obstacles.

An autonomous vehicle having sensors advantageously varied in capabilities, advantageously positioned, and advantageously impervious to environmental conditions. A system executing on the autonomous vehicle that can receive a map including, for example, substantially discontinuous surface features along with data from the sensors, create an occupancy grid based upon the map and the data, and change the configuration of the autonomous vehicle based upon the type of surface on which the autonomous vehicle navigates. The device can safely navigate surfaces and surface features, including traversing discontinuous surfaces and other obstacles.

The technology relates to assisting large self-driving vehicles, such as cargo vehicles, as they maneuver towards and/or park at a destination facility. This may include a given vehicle transitioning between different autonomous driving modes. Such a vehicles may be permitted to drive in a fully autonomous mode on certain roadways for the majority of a trip, but may need to change to a partially autonomous mode on other roadways or when entering or leaving a destination facility such as a warehouse, depot or service center. Large vehicles such as cargo truck may have limited room to maneuver in and park at the destination, which may also prevent operation in a fully autonomous mode. Here, information from the destination facility and/or a remote assistance service can be employed to aid in real-time semi-autonomous maneuvering.