Multilevel Multisensor-Based Intelligent Recharging System for Mobile Robot

Based on the sensor-based detection method, this paper presents an intelligent recharging system for a mobile robot. First, we design a flexible and reasonable intelligent recharging system for the mobile robot. It consists of a recharging station, a recharging device, and an intelligent power-detection module. The recharging station is designed to have 2 DOFs, such that it can move along the a;-axis and rotate about the z-axis. Meanwhile, a mechanism with two guarding poles is designed to provide a connection between the recharging station and the robot. In the recharging device, four power sensors are used to measure the power variety. Meanwhile, the adaptive fusion method is used to detect and diagnose the power-sensor status. Autoprotection circuits are also designed to prevent short and overload conditions during the recharging process. In the intelligent power-detection module, three power sensors are used to measure the power variety, and a redundant-management method is used to detect and diagnose the power-sensor status. The intelligent power-detection module can transmit a decision output to the main controller using an RS232 interface. Then, the main controller can decide an exact output to control the recharging current using a rule-based method. Before practical implementation of the proposed method, computer simulation is performed, and the results show its feasibility. Then, based on the proposed method, different modules are implemented, and the experimental results also verify the feasibility of this method.