An autonomous mower including a housing; a mowing module, a traveling module, an information collection device, an energy module, a control module and the control module includes an identification unit, and an alarm module. The autonomous mower has a security patrol working mode in which the identification unit analyzes and judges whether an abnormal object exists in the working area according to the information collected by the information collection device; if the abnormal object exists, the control module controls the alarm module to send an alarm signal to the outside. Therefore, the autonomous mower can achieve a security patrol function in addition to having a function of trimming the lawn. The autonomous mower has multiple uses, so as to save the cost.

In one embodiment the disclosure provides a portable and mountable apparatus and method capable of powering and deploying an illuminable tether to an unmanned robotic device (flying drone, ROV, terrestrial robot, to be referred to as a “URD”) that not only can provide power and command control to the robotic device, but also receive telemetry back from said robotic device's sensor(s) and data gathering instrumentation transferable to an operator's interface.

Various arrangements for recharging an energy source are provided herein. In response to a device having a state of charge below a first threshold, a mobile device, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be provided location information for the device. The mobile device may travel to within a certain proximity from the device. The mobile device may then a connection with the device. A charging sequence may then be initiated to recharge the energy source of the device.

Leading and trailing electrified vehicles are coupled together in a towing arrangement for in-flight transfer of an electrical charge between their battery systems. With the vehicles connected by a towing device, a parking maneuver is initiated in which the trailing vehicle leads the leading vehicle. For the parking maneuver, one of the vehicles is designated (e.g., automatically or by driver agreement) to be an active steering vehicle and the other vehicle to be a passive steering vehicle. At least the passive steering vehicle comprises an electrically-controlled steering actuator. During movement, a turning (e.g., steering angle) of the active steering vehicle is monitored. Based on the turning of the active steering vehicle, an assistive steering angle is determined for the passive steering vehicle. The electrically-controlled steering actuator is commanded according to the assistive steering angle. The parking maneuver may be reverse or forward.

Disclosed herein is a compliant joint that is movable in three degrees of freedom (DOF), as well as systems including the compliant joint, and a process for assembling the compliant joint. The compliant joint may comprise an elongate arm, a ball joint, and a carrier. The ball joint is configured to couple to the carrier, and the elongate arm is configured to couple to the ball joint. The ball joint may have a cross section that is ellipsoidal, an outer surface that is convex, and a first hole. The carrier may comprise a second hole that is ellipsoidal, and an inner surface that is concave. The elongate arm, when disposed within the first hole, is movable axially through the first hole, and the ball joint, when disposed within the second hole, is movable with at least one of pitch rotation or yaw rotation.

A method for preventing a robot from colliding with a charging base, including: step 1, during a process of moving in a current working area of the robot, detecting, in real time, a reception condition of a base avoidance signal of the robot within a received signal coverage range thereof; and step 2, establishing a safety area in the current working area according to a direction feature relationship between the base avoidance signal and a preset working path of the robot, and before establishing the safety area, according to an orientation relationship between the base avoidance signal and a direction of a current moving path of the robot, marking and establishing a danger area at a position that satisfies a collision avoidance relationship with a current position of the robot, so that the robot avoids the charging base during the process of moving in the current working area.

Example implementations may relate to self-deployment of operational infrastructure by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Specifically, a control system may determine operational location(s) from which a group of UAVs is to provide aerial transport services in a geographic area. For at least a first of the operational location(s), the system may cause a first UAV from the group to perform an infrastructure deployment task that includes (i) a flight from a source location to the first operational location and (ii) installation of operational infrastructure at the first operational location by the first UAV. In turn, this may enable the first UAV to operate from the first operational location, as the first UAV can charge a battery of the first UAV using the operational infrastructure installed at the first operational location and/or can carry out item transport task(s) at location(s) that are in the vicinity of the first operational location.

Techniques are described for aligning a vehicle to a wireless charger. Wireless communication is performed between at least a first wireless device of the vehicle and at least a second wireless device external to the vehicle. The first wireless device has a stationary position relative to the vehicle. The second wireless device has a stationary position relative to the wireless charger. Based on the wireless communication, a distance between the first and second wireless devices is measured and used to determine the relative position of the vehicle. A trajectory is calculated, based on the relative position of the vehicle, to enable the vehicle to be maneuvered into a charging position in which a charge receiving device of the vehicle is aligned with respect to the wireless charger. In some embodiments, multiple wireless devices on the vehicle or external to the vehicle participate in determining the relative position of the vehicle.

A crop monitoring system may include an observation robot, a centralized server, and a user device. An observation robot may be autonomous. The observation robot may include a suite of sensors. The observation robot may include two cameras oriented towards opposite sides of the observation robot to capture images of plants on either side of the observation robot. The centralized server may store and/or execute various instructions for operating and/or communicating with the observation robot. The centralized server may store and/or execute various instructions for processing data such as images, sensor measurements, and environmental data obtained from the observation robot. The centralized server may store and/or execute various instructions for analyzing such data. The centralized server may store and/or execute various instructions for presenting the data to a user, such as via the user device.

Systems, methods, and apparatus for tracking location of an inspection robot are disclosed. An example apparatus for tracking inspection data may include an inspection chassis having a plurality of inspection sensors configured to interrogate an inspection surface, a first drive module and a second drive module, both coupled to the inspection chassis. The first and second drive module may each include a passive encoder wheel and a non-contact sensor positioned in proximity to the passive encoder wheel, wherein the non-contact sensor provides a movement value corresponding to the first passive encoder wheel. An inspection position circuit may determine a relative position of the inspection chassis in response to the movement values from the first and second drive modules.