A personal modular trunk and a modular trunk system employing the personal modular trunk for reducing privacy issues and inconveniences that may arise when a vehicle is shared. The personal modular trunk includes: a trunk body; a first communication unit installed in the trunk body and configured to communicate with a vehicle; a first driving unit installed in the trunk body and configured to transport the trunk body; a first engagement unit installed in the trunk body and configured to engage or disengage with a loading space of the vehicle; and a first control unit configured to control the first communication unit to communicate with the vehicle, control the first driving unit to transport the trunk body toward the vehicle, and control the first engagement unit to engage or disengage with the loading space of the vehicle so that the trunk body is coupled to or separated from the vehicle.

A method for controlling a robot is provided. The method includes the steps of: acquiring information on status of communication connections between a plurality of robots located in a serving place, wherein the status of communication connections between the plurality of robots is specified with respect to at least one relay robot among the plurality of robots; and determining a communication scheme to be used between the plurality of robots, with reference to the information on the status of communication connections between the plurality of robots.

Lighting control systems may be commissioned for programming and/or control with the aid of a mobile device. Design software may be used to create a floor plan of how the lighting control system may be designed. The design software may generate floor plan identifiers for each lighting fixture, or group of lighting fixtures. During commissioning of the lighting control system, the mobile device may be used to help identify the lighting devices that have been installed in the physical space. The mobile device may receive a communication from each lighting control device that indicates a unique identifier of the lighting control device. The unique identifier may be communicated by visible light communication (VLC) or RF communication. The unique identifier may be associated with the floor plan identifier for communication of digital messages to lighting fixtures installed in the locations indicated in the floor plan identifier.

Disclosed are a robot system and an operation method thereof. The robot system includes a central controller, a robot configured to communication with the central controller and capable of autonomous driving, and a first sensing module configured to communicate with the central controller, to be mounted inside an elevator, and configured to measure an electric power of a communication radio wave emitted by a mobile communication device inside the elevator. The robot may transmit or receive a wireless signal on a mobile communication network established according to 5G communication.

An audio system includes an audio apparatus, a charger, and a conveyer. The audio apparatus includes a sound receiver to receive ambient sound, and a battery. The charger charges the battery of the audio apparatus. The conveyer includes a motor to transport the audio apparatus.

A robot can include a cart to receive one or more objects; a camera sensor to photograph a periphery of the robot and capture an image of a user of the robot; a handle assembly coupled to the cart; a moving part to move the robot; a force sensor to sense a force applied to the handle assembly; and a controller configured to generate physical characteristics information on physical characteristics of the user of the robot based on the image of the user, and adjust at least one of a moving direction of the robot, a moving speed of the moving part and a value of torque applied to a motor of the moving part, based on the physical characteristics information and a magnitude of the force applied to the handle assembly sensed by the force sensor.

A method for controlling a patrolling robot is provided. The method includes the steps of: acquiring, as first situation information on the patrolling robot, at least one of weight information on a support coupled to the patrolling robot and image information on the support and information on a location of the patrolling robot in a patrolling place; and determining a task and a travel route of the patrolling robot on the basis of the first situation information.

A robotic cart platform with a navigation and movement system that integrates into a conventional utility cart to provide both manual and autonomous modes of operation. The platform includes a drive unit with drive wheels replacing the front wheels of the cart. The drive unit has motors, encoders, a processor and a microcontroller. The system has a work environment mapping sensor and a cabled array of proximity and weight sensors, lights, control panel, battery and on/off, “GO” and emergency stop buttons secured throughout the cart. The encoders obtain drive shaft rotation data that the microcontroller periodically sends to the processor. When in autonomous mode, the system provides navigation, movement and location tracking with or without wireless connection to a server. Stored destinations are set using its location tracking to autonomously navigate the cart. When in manual mode, battery power is off, and back-up power is supplied to the encoders and microcontroller, which continue to obtain shaft rotation data. When in autonomous mode, the shaft rotation data obtained during manual mode is used to determine the present cart location.

A conveyance robot includes a main body at which a conveyed object can be placed; a driving wheel provided at the main body; a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to control the driving wheel such that a progress direction of the conveyance robot is configured to match an extension direction of a running path guide portion, the running path guide portion extending along a running path that is along a wall face of a wall disposed in a building.

Scenario discriminative hybrid motion control for robots and methods of use are disclosed herein. A method may include determining a number of objects in a space, determining when a goal is within the space, and selectively switching between a plurality of control schemes based on the number of objects in the space and whether the goal is within the space. The plurality of control schemes including a model predictive control scheme, a simplified model predictive control scheme, and a proportional-integral-derivative scheme. Selectively switching between the plurality of control schemes reduces power consumption of an automated system compared to when the automated system utilizes only the model predictive control scheme.