---
publication_id: "OT-2026-000000731"
title: "Method of operating a printing robot in shadows"
published_at: "2026-09-15T19:03:18.914357Z"
canonical_url: "https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000000731"
categories:
  - "sensors-controls-machine-vision/industrial-control"
keywords:
  - "g05d1/0276"
  - "b41j29/06"
  - "e04g21/00"
  - "g05d1/0223"
  - "g05d1/0268"
---

# Method of operating a printing robot in shadows

## Abstract

A mobile printing robot system for printing a construction layout. The method addresses a problem that occurs when there is a loss of a tracking lock to an absolute positioning device, such as a total station. In a construction site, a line of sight between a mobile robot and an absolute positioning device may be lost when the mobile robot moves into a shadowed region behind an obstacle, such as a column. The mobile printing robot may use its local sensor data to continue to print until a maximum estimated position is reached. The mobile robot may also provide position updates to the absolute positioning device to aid it to regain a track lock when the mobile robot emerged from the shadowed region.