Patent ID: 8271129

Claim:
A robot system comprising: at least one peripheral device to be placed in an environment and comprising: a power supply; a wireless communication component comprising infrared communication components; and a controller having an active mode in which the peripheral device is fully operative, and a hibernation mode in which the peripheral device is at least partly inactive, the wireless communication component being capable of activation in the hibernation mode; and a mobile robot comprising: a drive system that moves the robot about the environment, a wireless communication component comprising infrared communication components; and a controller having an activating routine that communicates with the peripheral device via the wireless communication components and temporarily activates the peripheral device from the hibernation mode when the wireless communication components of the peripheral device and the robot come within range of one another, and the controller having a binding routine that communicates using the mobile robot's infrared communication components, wherein the mobile robot and the peripheral device are within infrared communication while the controller is executing the binding routine.