Patent ID: 6502017
Filing Date: 2002-12-31
Classification: A01D,B60L,Y02T

Abstract:
A method of programming the motion of a mobile appliance that is designed to perform a task over a designated work area using a routing algorithm comprising the steps ofdefining geographic perimeter data of an area within which work is adapted to be performed along a path of predetermined width, storing the geographic perimeter data, mapping the area into a plurality of substantially equally spaced grid points with the distance between adjacent grid points corresponding substantially to one of the predetermined path width and a fraction of the predetermined path width, quantizing the direction of movement of the mobile appliance into a set of vectors connecting the grid point representing the present location of the mobile appliance with the grid points immediately adjacent to the present location grid point, initiating the movement of the mobile appliance along the path from one grid point to an adjacent grid point, and recording the sequence of grid points crossed by the mobile appliance toward ensuring that work is performed substantially over the area represented by the grid points.