Patents by Inventor Stephen Charles Paschall

Stephen Charles Paschall has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11994874
    Abstract: Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) having adaptive safety systems may operate individually or as part of a convoy. During individual operations, an AMR may determine a safety zone and stop responsive to detecting an object within the safety zone. During convoy operations, an AMR may selectively mute a portion of the safety zone and allow a forward AMR of a convoy within the portion of the safety zone. In this manner, the adaptive safety systems may enable convoy operations of multiple AMRs with relatively greater density and greater speed, thereby improving speed and efficiency of AMR operations without negatively impacting safety.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Charles Paschall, Justin Croyle
  • Publication number: 20240004403
    Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for optimizing robot utilization in autonomous mobile robots by accounting for the battery charge state when assigning missions to be performed by the autonomous mobile robots in a material handling facility. In particular, mission data associated with one or more missions and robot data including a battery charge state associated with one or more robots can be analyzed to determine a robot mission assignment that accounts for battery state charge in order to maximize robot utilization and productivity of material handling tasks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2022
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventors: Fahrudin Alagic, John Enright, Stephen Charles Paschall
  • Patent number: 11762390
    Abstract: An autonomous robot system to enable flexible, safe, efficient, and automated movement of goods and materials in a dynamic environment including one or more dynamic objects (e.g., humans). The autonomous robot system includes a modular autonomous ground vehicle (AGV) including a vehicle management system having a safety management system. The safety management system includes one or more safety management controllers to perform safety functions to enable the modular AGV to operate safely and efficiently alongside humans in a dynamic environment (e.g., a warehouse or fulfillment facility).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Fahrudin Alagic, Stephen Charles Paschall, Anatoly Mitlin
  • Patent number: 11703861
    Abstract: Aspects described herein include an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) for operation within an inventory system of an environment. The ASV includes a drive system, a docking system, a plurality of sensors, and a memory storing a map of the environment. The ASV further includes one or more computer processors configured to (i) detect, using a location sensor, a location of the ASV within the environment; (ii) control the drive system to actuate the ASV toward a corridor defined in the map at a first speed setting; and control the drive system to actuate the ASV through the corridor along at least one barrier defined in the map. A second, greater speed setting is applied when (i) the location sensor indicates that the ASV is within the corridor and (ii) one or more fiducials along the at least one barrier are visually detected by one or more proximity sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Charles Paschall, Justin Croyle
  • Patent number: 11130630
    Abstract: Disclosed autonomous mobile robot systems can be used to safely and efficiently navigate through a facility while avoiding objects in the path of the autonomous mobile robot during completion of a task. Specifically, a safety zone of a first size may be generated around an autonomous mobile robot based at least in part on first data from a first set of sensors associated with the autonomous mobile robot that are configured to identify an object within the safety zone. Information indicating a current speed of the autonomous mobile robot from associated propulsion components may be received and utilized to update the first size and a shape of the safety zone. Instructions to cease propulsion of the autonomous mobile robot may be transmitted to the propulsion components based on first data identifying the object within the updated first size of the safety zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Charles Paschall, II, Justin Croyle, Shilpi Gupta, Anatoly Mitlin, Ashish Shah
  • Publication number: 20210260764
    Abstract: Disclosed autonomous mobile robot systems can be used to safely and efficiently navigate through a facility while avoiding objects in the path of the autonomous mobile robot during completion of a task. Specifically, a first bounded area based on first sensor data may be generated around an autonomous mobile robot where the first sensor data is used to identify objects in a travel path for the autonomous mobile robot and determine a speed for navigating the facility. A second bounded area of a size less than the first bounded area may be generated around the autonomous mobile robot based on speed information from propulsion components of the autonomous mobile robot. A new travel path and new speed information may be generated based on identifying an object in the travel path, dimensional measurements of a space around the object, and a current size of the second bounded area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Inventors: Stephen Charles Paschall, II, Justin Croyle, Shilpi Gupta, Anatoly Mitlin, Ashish Shah
  • Patent number: 11014238
    Abstract: Disclosed autonomous mobile robot systems can be used to safely and efficiently navigate through a facility while avoiding objects in the path of the autonomous mobile robot during completion of a task. Specifically, a first bounded area based on first sensor data may be generated around an autonomous mobile robot where the first sensor data is used to identify objects in a travel path for the autonomous mobile robot and determine a speed for navigating the facility. A second bounded area of a size less than the first bounded area may be generated around the autonomous mobile robot based on speed information from propulsion components of the autonomous mobile robot. A new travel path and new speed information may be generated based on identifying an object in the travel path, dimensional measurements of a space around the object, and a current size of the second bounded area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2021
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Charles Paschall, II, Justin Croyle, Shilpi Gupta, Anatoly Mitlin, Ashish Shah
  • Publication number: 20190161274
    Abstract: Disclosed autonomous mobile robot systems can be used to safely and efficiently navigate through a facility while avoiding objects in the path of the autonomous mobile robot during completion of a task. Specifically, a safety zone of a first size may be generated around an autonomous mobile robot based at least in part on first data from a first set of sensors associated with the autonomous mobile robot that are configured to identify an object within the safety zone. Information indicating a current speed of the autonomous mobile robot from associated propulsion components may be received and utilized to update the first size and a shape of the safety zone. Instructions to cease propulsion of the autonomous mobile robot may be transmitted to the propulsion components based on first data identifying the object within the updated first size of the safety zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Publication date: May 30, 2019
    Inventors: Stephen Charles Paschall, II, Justin Croyle, Shilpi Gupta, Anatoly Mitlin, Ashish Shah
  • Publication number: 20190160675
    Abstract: Disclosed autonomous mobile robot systems can be used to safely and efficiently navigate through a facility while avoiding objects in the path of the autonomous mobile robot during completion of a task. Specifically, a first bounded area based on first sensor data may be generated around an autonomous mobile robot where the first sensor data is used to identify objects in a travel path for the autonomous mobile robot and determine a speed for navigating the facility. A second bounded area of a size less than the first bounded area may be generated around the autonomous mobile robot based on speed information from propulsion components of the autonomous mobile robot. A new travel path and new speed information may be generated based on identifying an object in the travel path, dimensional measurements of a space around the object, and a current size of the second bounded area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Publication date: May 30, 2019
    Inventors: Stephen Charles Paschall II, Justin Croyle, Shilpi Gupta, Anatoly Mitlin, Ashish Shah