Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
701514000 | Including radar or optical ground scanner | 10 |
20120022785 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR POSITION ESTIMATION USING REFLECTED LIGHT SOURCES - The invention is generally related to the estimation of position and orientation of an object with respect to a local or a global coordinate system using reflected light sources. A typical application of the method and apparatus includes estimation and tracking of the position of a mobile autonomous robot. Other applications include estimation and tracking of an object for position-aware, ubiquitous devices. Additional applications include tracking of the positions of people or pets in an indoor environment. The methods and apparatus comprise one or more optical emitters, one or more optical sensors, signal processing circuitry, and signal processing methods to determine the position and orientation of at least one of the optical sensors based at least in part on the detection of the signal of one or more emitted light sources reflected from a surface. | 01-26-2012 |
20130131984 | RAPID LIDAR IMAGE CORRELATION FOR GROUND NAVIGATION - A method includes generating current coarse edge count representation based on current fine grid representation of current section, correlating current edge quantity values of current coarse pixels with historical edge quantity values of historical coarse pixels of historical coarse edge count representation of environment, and identifying first subsection of historical coarse edge count representation with highest correlation to current coarse edge count representation. Each current coarse pixel in current coarse edge count representation represents current fine pixels from current fine grid representation. Fine grid representation of current section of environment is based on data from range and attitude sensor. Each current coarse pixel within current coarse edge count representation includes current edge quantity value that represents quantity of current fine pixels represented by current coarse pixel that include edge. Each historical coarse pixel corresponds to historical fine pixels in historical fine grid representation of environment. | 05-23-2013 |
20130151147 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY MONITORING ON AN AIRCRAFT AN IDENTIFICATION CODE OF A GROUND STATION OF A NAVIGATION SYSTEM - A monitoring device is provided. The monitoring device includes means for verifying whether an identifier received from a ground station of a radionavigation system is among the identifiers of the ground stations situated in a monitoring zone around the current horizontal position of the aircraft. | 06-13-2013 |
20130245937 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR POSITION ESTIMATION USING REFLECTED LIGHT SOURCES - The invention is generally related to the estimation of position and orientation of an object with respect to a local or a global coordinate system using reflected light sources. A typical application of the method and apparatus includes estimation and tracking of the position of a mobile autonomous robot. Other applications include estimation and tracking of an object for position-aware, ubiquitous devices. Additional applications include tracking of the positions of people or pets in an indoor environment. The methods and apparatus comprise one or more optical emitters, one or more optical sensors, signal processing circuitry, and signal processing methods to determine the position and orientation of at least one of the optical sensors based at least in part on the detection of the signal of one or more emitted light sources reflected from a surface. | 09-19-2013 |
20140046589 | MEASURING SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING 3D COORDINATES OF AN OBJECT SURFACE - A measuring system for determining 3D coordinates of measurement points on an object surface which has a scanning apparatus for measuring the measurement points on the object surface and for determining inner measurement point coordinates in an inner scanning coordinate system. Furthermore, a referencing arrangement for producing referencing information for referencing the inner measurement point coordinates in the outer object coordinate system and an evaluation unit for determining the 3D coordinates of the measurement points in the outer object coordinate system on the basis of the inner measurement point coordinates and the referencing information are provided such that the inner measurement point coordinates are in the form of 3D coordinates in the outer object coordinate system. The scanning apparatus is in this case carried in an unmanned, controllable, automotive air vehicle. | 02-13-2014 |
20140058667 | LOCALIZATION AND TRACKING SYSTEM FOR MOBILE ROBOTS - Localization and tracking system. The system includes at least one laser mounted for pointing its beam at arbitrary locations within a three-dimensional space. An object within the three-dimensional space supports a screen at its top for receiving the laser beam to create a shaped image on the screen. The shaped image on the screen is observed by a camera and computing apparatus determines the location of the object in the three-dimensional space from pointing parameters of the laser and from shape and center points of the shaped image on the screen. | 02-27-2014 |
20140121964 | VEHICLE LOCALIZATION USING SURFACE PENETRATING RADAR - Described are a method and a system for localization of a vehicle. The method includes the acquisition of SPR images of a subsurface region along a vehicle track. Acquired SPR images are compared to SPR images previously acquired for a subsurface region that at least partially overlaps the subsurface region along the vehicle track. In some embodiments, the comparison includes an image correlation procedure. Location data for the vehicle are determined based in part on location data for the SPR images previously acquired for the second subsurface region. Location data can be used to guide the vehicle along a desired path. The relatively static nature of features in the subsurface region provides the method with advantages over other sensor-based navigation systems that may be adversely affected by weather conditions, dynamic features and time-varying illumination. The method can be used in a variety of applications, including self-driving automobiles and autonomous platforms. | 05-01-2014 |
20140372028 | TARGET RECOGNITION AND LOCALIZATION METHODS USING A LASER SENSOR FOR WHEELED MOBILE ROBOTS - A localization scheme and method using a laser sensor for indoor wheeled mobile robots (IWMR), which need to localize themselves for working autonomously, is provided. In this method, a laser sensor moves inside an onboard guide way and its distance measurements are used to robustly detect and recognize a unique target based on edge detection and pattern recognition techniques. From the distance measurements with respect to the recognized target, a kinematic model is developed to determine the IWMR orientation and location in the global co-ordinates (in 2-D). Such target recognition and localization methods are validated with experimental results. | 12-18-2014 |
20150094953 | SYSTEM FOR LOCATING AND CHARACTERIZING A TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURE FROM A WORK VEHICLE - The present disclosure relates to a work vehicle having a system for locating and characterizing a topographic feature at a job site. The located topographic feature may be characterized using or more optical instruments, such as a visible-light camera, an infrared-radiation camera, a spectrometer, an infrared thermometer, and a laser-based gas detector. The location and the characteristic of the topographic feature may be combined to produce an informative record of the topographic feature at the job site. | 04-02-2015 |
20150369622 | NAVIGATION SYSTEM, TERMINAL DEVICE, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM - The terminal holding device includes an attaching unit to be attached to a vehicle, a holding unit which removably holds a terminal device in such a manner that a display unit of the terminal device is exposed and which includes a contact surface to be contact with the terminal device, an acceleration sensor which detects acceleration in a direction from a side of the contact surface to a side opposite to the contact surface, and a supplying unit which supplies a detection signal of the acceleration sensor to the terminal device. | 12-24-2015 |