Synchronized multi-robot orientation coordination.
Systems, methods and articles of manufacture for synchronized robot orientation are described herein. A magnetometer, gyroscope, and accelerometer in a remotely controlled device are used to determine a current orientation of that device, and a command with a specified orientation or location are set to several such devices. The remotely controlled devices self-align based on the specified orientation/location, and when in position, receive swarm commands to perform actions as a group of devices in coordination with one another.
BACKGROUND
The remote manipulation and control of devices via radio-transmitted commands relies on the controller being able to coordinate between remotely controlled devices. When several devices are present in the environment, each device may be associated with an individual controller, and the control thereof may rely on several users coordinating activities with one another to coordinate the associated devices.SUMMARY
The present disclosure provides, in one embodiment, a method for synchronized robot orientation, comprising: receiving, at a given bot in a plurality of robotic devices, a swarm command, the swarm command including a specified orientation and a specified location; determining a current orientation of the given robotic device in an environment, based at least in part on a magnetometer indicating an alignment deviation of the given robotic device from a magnetic field direction and an accelerometer and a gyroscope indicating an alignment of the given robotic device relative to gravity; determining a current location of the given robotic device relative to a reference point in the environment; in response to determining that at least one of the current orientation of the given robotic device does not match the specified orientation and the current location of the given robotic device does not match the specified location, adjusting a position of the given robotic device to affect at least one of the current orientation and the current location.[0003
1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a given bot in a plurality of robotic devices, a swarm command, the swarm command including a specified orientation and a specified location; determining a current orientation of the given robotic device in an environment, based at least in part on a magnetometer indicating an alignment deviation of the given robotic device from a magnetic field direction and an accelerometer and a gyroscope indicating an alignment of the given robotic device relative to gravity; determining a current location of the given robotic device relative to a reference point in the environment; in response to determining that at least one of the current orientation of the given robotic device does not match the specified orientation and the current location of the given robotic device does not match the specified location, adjusting a position of the given robotic device to affect at least one of the current orientation and the current location.
8. A computer program product for synchronizing robot orientation, the computer-readable program code comprising: a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code that when executed by a processor, enable the processor to: receive, at a given bot in a plurality of robotic devices, a swarm command, the swarm command including a specified orientation and a specified location; determine a current orientation of the given robotic device in an environment, based at least in part on a magnetometer indicating an alignment deviation of the given robotic device from a magnetic field line; determine a current location of the given robotic device relative to a reference point in the environment; in response to determining that at least one of the current orientation of the given robotic device does not match the specified orientation and the current location of the given robotic device does not match the specified location, adjust a position of the given robotic device to affect at least one of the current orientation and the current location.
15. A system, comprising: a radio; an accelerometer; a gyroscope; a magnetometer; a motor; a processor; a memory, including instructions that when executed by the processor, enable the system to: receive, via the radio, a swarm command, the swarm command including a specified orientation and a specified location for the system and other systems in a swarm; determine a current orientation of the system in an environment, based at least in part on the magnetometer indicating an alignment deviation of the system from a magnetic field line; determining a current location of the system relative to a reference point in the environment; in response to determining that at least one of the current orientation of the system does not match the specified orientation and the current location of the system does not match the specified location, adjusting a position of the system, via the motor, to affect at least one of the current orientation and the current location.