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Vorwerk is presenting the first carpet containing integrated RFID technology
Vorwerk is presenting the first carpet containing integrated RFID technology for the intelligent navigation of service robots. An outstanding lead in technology resulting from a surface coverage and control accuracy unattained until now.
Hamlin, June 7th 2005 - Today textile products are an integral element of our daily lives. We can wear them, sit on them or walk across them. They serve towards functionality, a sense of aesthetics and provide for both atmosphere and style. Starting now, however, completely new areas of application are also conceivable, because textiles from everyday use have been successfully linked to integrated microelectronics, thus imparting them with a degree of functionality which had been unknown to date.
Intelligent carpets as a navigation system for robots
For the first time, Vorwerk Teppichwerke, the manufacturer of creative carpet solutions with a history of tradition, working jointly with Infineon Technologies AG, one of the most innovative companies in the field of semiconductor technology with headquarters in Munich, has successfully developed a textile floor covering as a one-of-its-kind electronic guidance system on the basis of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology. This "Smart Carpet" enables robots equipped with an RFID reader to navigate automatically and intelligently across the floor. Robots of this type can be deployed for example as an automatically controlled transport unit or a self-propelling automated cleaner.
The advantages are self-evident:
- navigation system for the efficient and economic utilisation of service robots
- targeted navigation on nearly 100 per cent of the surface area
- blocked surface areas are circumvented intelligently, and can be re-targeted later on
- flexible, time-controlled approach and accessing of various precisely defined sectors
- great savings of both time and energy - as compared with randomly controlled systems - through controlled navigation
Smart Carpet: To all "appearances", a quite normal carpet
Externally the "Smart Carpet" does not differ from a normal carpet. The secret lies in its backing. Invisibly placed RFID tags are integrated into the carpet's basic construction. There those tags are enscribed and read out electromagnetically. In turn, this serves to transfer information and control whatever crosses them. An individual RFID tag consists of an ultra-thin sheet of PET which has been equipped with metal conductors, an antenna coil and a tiny silicon microchip. These flat units are integrated into the carpet in such a way that they form a network across the entire carpet surface. The RFID tags do not impair walking comfort in the least thereby.
Each of the RFID tags has its own ID number which can be detected and identified by an RFID reader via wireless data transmission (13.56 MHz) across a distance of 10 centimetres. The power required for this process is supplied exclusively by the robot. The RFID tags themselves are completely passive, meaning that no electrical voltage whatsoever is laid down on the carpet.
The individual "signal transmitters" are linked by the robot into a virtual map by reading out the individual RFID tags in the carpet. The robot then moves precisely along the "routing network" formed in this manner towards a certain point or room, functioning for instance as a hospital-bed transporter on pre-defined wards, or moving back and forth to cover a space, as in the case of a cleaning robot. A reading memory analyses which wards have already been driven to or which areas of a given surface have already been processed. The robot can also store date and time information on the RFID tag, for example. This opens up the possibility for a simple form of service control.
Smart Carpet knows no obstacles
The Smart Carpet System thus enables controlled navigation, even in the case of obstacles. Fixed obstacles are noted on the "map" and subsequently circumvented. Temporary obstacles are detected, triggering a spontaneous change in navigation. If the obstacle no longer exists later on, that area of the floor is targeted once again. In the case of cleaning robots, working in this manner means that a nearly 100-per-cent coverage of the surface can be achieved. And both time and energy are being saved, too. A distinct advance over existing robot systems, which until now have merely moved randomly across a space.
Yet the Smart Carpet System can do even more. For instance, using this system it is possible for a robot to go to different areas on a scheduled basis, e.g. when experience has shown that no one else will be moving around there at that time. And furthermore, information regarding the space itself (for example corridor or room numbers) or certain properties of the flooring underneath can also be deposited on an RFID tag as well.
Smart Carpet combines comfort, economy and safety
The technology within the Smart Carpet functions safely and without laying down electrical voltage on the carpet surface. The power required for transferring information is supplied by the robot point-for-point when crossing over an RFID tag. The RFID tag itself is passive. The carpet can thus be used and cleaned on an unrestricted basis, fully in alignment with its respective properties for usage. In addition, as the individual RFID tags integrated into the carpet backing are also protected against breakage, neither humidity nor wetness impairs their function. The lack of voltage means that short circuits are ruled out. The practical Smart Carpet utilising wireless data transfer between the robot and RFID tag offers substantial economic advantages, too. Robots using RFID technology are thus considerably less expensive to construct than conventional laser-radar-assisted or 3D-camera-supported devices. Thanks to their intelligent control units, they save time and energy as well.
These days "Smart Textiles", as textiles containing integrated electronics are described, are still viewed as innovations with surprising effects, but it's certain that they will soon take their place in our everyday lives. Vorwerk has already taken the first step towards this with the development of the "Smart Carpet". This innovation, which arose in co-operation with Infineon, was successfully presented by Vorwerk in a "live test" at the Techtextil 2005 together with an RFID-capable robot. The technology is scheduled to be ready for the market in 2006. Its area of use shall primarily be in the contract carpet sector.
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