Abstract: Methods and apparatus allow for passive determination of a driver's Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC). Alcohol concentrations can be determined from exhaled breath, however inconvenience to a driver is often a barrier for incorporation of BrAC sensors into vehicles. The methods and apparatus allow for passive determination of a driver's BrAC, while detecting and accounting for a wide range of environmental conditions that may reduce the accuracy of a passive BrAC reading.

Abstract: Some aspects include a schedule development method for a robotic floor-cleaning device that recognizes patterns in user input to automatically devise a work schedule.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to mobile correctional facility robots and systems and methods for coordinating mobile correctional facility robots to perform various tasks in a correctional facility. The mobile correctional facility robots can be used to perform many of the tasks traditionally assigned to correctional facility guards to help reduce the number of guards needed in any given correctional facility. When cooperation is employed among multiple mobile correctional facility robots to execute tasks, a central controller can be used to coordinate the efforts of the multiple robots to improve the performance of the overall system of robots as compared to the performance of the robots when working in uncoordinated effort to execute the tasks.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to an electrified vehicle configured to selectively deactivate a restricted power mode based on an acceleration request, such as an imminent or current acceleration request. A corresponding method is also disclosed. An example electrified vehicle includes a battery and a controller configured to apply a restricted power mode when a state of health of the battery is below a predefined lower threshold. Further, when in the restricted power mode, the controller is configured to limit an amount of power drawn from the battery. Additionally, the controller is configured to selectively deactivate the restricted power mode in response to a signal indicating a current or imminent request for acceleration of the electrified vehicle requiring power to be drawn from the battery above an upper limit of the restricted power mode.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a container treatment system for the treatment of containers, such as bottles, in the beverage processing industry, comprising a clean room and a container treatment machine arranged therein with at least one exchangeable component, where the container treatment system comprises a robot which is arranged in the clean room and is designed to exchange said exchangeable component, and a corresponding method.

Abstract: A gait planning method and a robot using the same as well as a computer readable storage medium are provided. The method includes: determining a reference leg length l0 and a leg length variation range A of a robot; performing a trajectory planning on a length of at least one of the legs of the robot using; an equation including the reference leg length, the leg length variation range, and a preset recurrent excitation function of a time variable t. In this manner, the trajectory planning for the leg length of the robot during motion is performed according to the characteristics of motion scene such as robot jumping or running so that the change of the leg length of the robot is adapted to the motion process, which greatly improves the stability of the robot in the motion scene such as jumping or running.

Abstract: A remote control manipulator system includes: a manipulator being controlled by an operator remotely to handle an object; a stereoscopic display device that displays a right-eye image and a left-eye image so as to be stereoscopically viewed; a model image generator that generates a model image being an image of an integrated three-dimensional model viewed from a viewpoint designated by the operator, the integrated three-dimensional model being a three-dimensional model obtained by integrating the manipulator model and a surrounding environment model being generated by performing image processing on the right-eye image and the left-eye image and being a three-dimensional model of the object and a surrounding environment thereof; and a model image display device that displays the model image and is configured to be able to be viewed by the operator switching between the stereoscopic display device and the model image display device through moving the head of the operator.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of determining a position of a portable electronic device in an indoor environment includes: at a first rate, updating an absolute position of a portable electronic device within the indoor environment based on at least one of radio signal data and magnetic field data captured using the portable electronic device; at a second rate that is different than the first rate, selectively updating an estimated displacement of the portable electronic device within the indoor environment, the updating the estimated displacement comprising generating an estimated displacement, by a neural network module, based on inertial sensor data of the portable electronic device; and determining a present position of the portable electronic device within the indoor environment by updating a previous position based on at least one of (a) the estimated displacement and (b) the absolute position.

Abstract: A system and a method for controlling a bicycle used in an online to offline (O2O) service platform that provides a sharing service of bicycles are provided. The system may detect a pressure signal from at least one part of the bicycle. The system may determine an access permission level based at least on the pressure signal. The system may further control at least one electric control component of the bicycle according to at least the user permission level.

Abstract: A method estimates an intention of a lead vehicle by an ego vehicle. The method includes: (a) receiving, from at least one of a first plurality of sensors coupled to the ego vehicle, information associated with a parametric variable, (b) selecting a partition of an operating region of the parametric variable based on the parametric variable information, wherein the operating region includes a predetermined range of values for the parametric variable, wherein the partition includes a subset of the predetermined range of values and being associated with a predetermined ego vehicle input, and wherein the predetermined vehicle input includes at least one value for a parameter corresponding to dynamics of the ego vehicle, and (c) causing a vehicle control system of the ego vehicle to perform a vehicle maneuver based on the predetermined ego vehicle input.

Abstract: A system receives data from a submersible remote operated vehicle (ROV), the data being about the operation of an arm of the ROV. The system automatically controls, based on the data, movement of the arm in docking the arm to a tool holder. In certain instances, the system implements an image based control. In certain instances, the system implements a force accommodation control. In certain instances, the system implements both.

Abstract: In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for performing vehicle control. A computing system determines a difference between a recent rate of change and a historical rate of change of a rotating vehicle shaft of a vehicle during a vehicle race. The computing system determines that the difference between the recent rate of change of the rotating vehicle shaft and the historical rate of change of the rotating vehicle shaft satisfies a criteria for limiting vehicle power, wherein the computing system changes the criteria for limiting vehicle power during the vehicle race. The computing system sends a signal for receipt by a vehicle component of the vehicle, to cause the vehicle component to limit rotation of the rotating vehicle shaft.

Abstract: Integrated table motion includes a computer-assisted device. The computer-assisted device includes an articulated arm and a control unit coupled to the articulated arm. To support integrated motion with a table physically separate from and communicatively coupled to the computer-assisted device via a communications connection, the control unit is configured to receive a table movement request from a table command unit of the table, determine whether the table movement request should be allowed, and allow the table to perform the table movement request based on determining that the table movement request should be allowed.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods to obtain feedback descriptive of autonomous vehicle failures. In particular, the systems and methods of the present disclosure can detect that a vehicle failure event occurred at an autonomous vehicle and, in response, provide an interactive user interface that enables a human located within the autonomous vehicle to enter feedback that describes the vehicle failure event. Thus, the systems and methods of the present disclosure can actively prompt and/or enable entry of feedback in response to a particular instance of a vehicle failure event, thereby enabling improved and streamlined collection of information about autonomous vehicle failures.

Abstract: A device for decoupling and/or protecting against compensation currents when at least one electropneumatic actuator is used jointly by a plurality of independently voltage-supplied control unit devices in redundant systems for autonomous driving. The electropneumatic actuator has, in each case, a common connection, via which the electropneumatic actuator can be coupled and switched to a common connection of other electropneumatic actuators, and has at least one dedicated connection via which the at least one electropneumatic actuator can be individually supplied with current. Switching devices, corresponding to the common connection and the number of dedicated connections of all the electropneumatic actuators, are arranged to apply or not apply a switched current in the at least one electropneumatic actuator. Provided is at least one current flow blocking device to prevent an unwanted current flow to a non-active electronic control unit of the first and second control unit devices.

Abstract: Implementations utilize deep reinforcement learning to train a policy neural network that parameterizes a policy for determining a robotic action based on a current state. Some of those implementations collect experience data from multiple robots that operate simultaneously. Each robot generates instances of experience data during iterative performance of episodes that are each explorations of performing a task, and that are each guided based on the policy network and the current policy parameters for the policy network during the episode. The collected experience data is generated during the episodes and is used to train the policy network by iteratively updating policy parameters of the policy network based on a batch of collected experience data. Further, prior to performance of each of a plurality of episodes performed by the robots, the current updated policy parameters can be provided (or retrieved) for utilization in performance of the episode.

Abstract: Provided are systems and methods for configuring a robotic simulator that is used to train a robot via machine learning. In one example, a method may include storing a domain description which comprises information about an operating environment of a robot, generating, via an automated planner, a plurality configuration files for a robotic simulator based on the domain description, where each configuration file comprises different configurations of a simulation environment for training a machine learning algorithm of the robot, and storing the plurality of configuration files in a memory device.

Abstract: Systems and techniques for a sensor carrier, and intelligent track infrastructure for the navigation and operation of the sensor carrier are described. The sensor carrier is an autonomous robot navigating a track. The carrier holds cameras and other sensors to receive horticultural images and telemetry for plants in a grow operation. The carrier reads embedded signals in the track including Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) tags, embedded positioning magnets, and drilled hole patterns for a beam breaking system to determine navigation and operation. For tracks placed at sharp angles, a transfer station with wall guards to prevent the carrier from falling enable safe transfers from different track segments. Additional features include an emergency stop (e-stop) switch and power management for autonomous sensor carriers.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided for predicting a state of visibility for a road object. For example, at least one processor receives road sign attribute data indicating at least one attribute of a road sign. The processor further receives weather forecast data indicating a weather forecast of a location in which the road sign is disposed, and using the road sign attribute data and the weather forecast data, a state of visibility for the road sign is identified.

Abstract: The assistance system for correcting vessel path comprises a receiver, a memory, at least one sensor, a processor and a display. The processor connects to the receiver, the memory and the at least one sensor, and the display is coupled to the processor. The assistance system based on the processor is able to be utilizing the preset machine-readable grid in determining the distance parameters of obstacles above water, and in which these distance parameters are corrected by using the sensor measurement data acquired by the at least one sensor. Thereby the assistance system could finish the distance measurements of abovementioned obstacles without using Lidar, and even in the case of high-undulating water surface.