Patents Examined by Anne Marie Antonucci
  • Patent number: 12174030
    Abstract: A system and method for high-precision automated guidance of a drone via a local (on-site) computing device for delivery of items is disclosed. The drone navigates to a location in proximity to the recipient's home using standard navigation protocols. Once the UAV arrives at this local destination, communication between the UAV and an on-site computing device occurs. The on-site device serves as a micro air-traffic controller to the UAV's precise drop off target location. The on-site device can provide approach vectors, guidance around obstacles and navigation instructions to a final micro-destination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: United Services Automobile Association (USAA)
    Inventors: Bradly Jay Billman, Sacha Melquiades De'Angeli
  • Patent number: 12172549
    Abstract: A braking method includes: obtaining a first state information of the vehicle, which includes a vehicle mass and a deceleration required by braking; calculating a braking torque according to the first state information, and controlling the vehicle to output an electric braking torque according to the braking torque; obtaining a current vehicle speed and a mechanical braking application delay time; calculating an electric braking exit speed according to the braking torque required by the vehicle and the deceleration required by braking; calculating a mechanical braking application speed according to the mechanical braking application delay time, the deceleration required by braking, and the electric braking exit speed; and determining whether to control the vehicle to unload the electric braking torque, and whether to control the vehicle to apply a mechanical braking torque according to the current vehicle speed, the electric braking exit speed, and the mechanical braking application speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: BYD COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Dong Ma, Lu Wang, Daolin Li
  • Patent number: 12169404
    Abstract: Technology for operating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is disclosed herein that allows a drone to be flown along a computed spline, while also accommodating in-flight modifications. In various implementations, a UAV includes a flight control subsystem and an electromechanical subsystem. The flight control subsystem records keyframes during flight and computes a spline based on the keyframes. The flight control subsystem then saves the computed spline for playback, at which time the UAV automatically flies in accordance with the computed spline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2024
    Assignee: Skydio, Inc.
    Inventors: Saumya Pravinbhai Shah, Matthew Thomas Beaudouin-Lafon, Kristen Marie Holtz, James Anthony Ferrandini, Hayk Martirosyan, Matthew Joseph Donahoe, Charles Vanschoonhoven Wood, Clara Kelley, Adam Parker Bry, Jack Louis Zhu
  • Patent number: 12164037
    Abstract: Techniques described in this application are directed to determining safe path navigation of an unmanned vehicle, including a sidewalk robot, using LIDAR sensors and/or other data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Serve Operating Co.
    Inventors: Zhenyu Guo, Kaiwen Yuan, Ali Haghighat Kashani, Bastian Jan Michael Lehmann, Sean Tracey Plaice
  • Patent number: 12163797
    Abstract: Some aspects of this disclosure include apparatuses and methods for detecting objects along a driving route, storing information associated with the detected objects, and using the stored objects and information to assist the driver of a motor vehicle (and/or for automated driving of the motor vehicle) when the motor vehicle is driven along the same driving area. For example, some aspects of this disclosure relate to a method including capturing, using a first sensor, information associated with a route driven by a motor vehicle. The method can further include determining, using a processor and the captured information, whether an object associated with the route and data associated with the object are stored in a memory. In response to determining that the object is stored in the memory, the method can further include displaying the object in a virtual reality (VR) mode using the stored data associated with the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventor: Frank Grosshauser
  • Patent number: 12162517
    Abstract: Systems and methods for determining a cause of a change in driver assistance capability may be based on probe data generated by a mobile device or vehicle. The probe data is matched to a path segment. A cause of the change in driver assistance capability for the path segment is determined based on the probe data matched to the path segment. A geographic database record including the cause of the change in the driver assistance capability is output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: HERE Global B.V.
    Inventors: Jingwei Xu, Yuxin Guan
  • Patent number: 12165444
    Abstract: Method and server for supporting generation of scenarios for testing autonomous driving and/or advanced driver assistance system, AD/ADAS, functionality for real world vehicles. A server (101; 500) provides (301) a virtual environment (200) simulating an environment relevant for operation of vehicles having said AD/ADAS functionality and in which is operating: fully computer controlled movable virtual objects (230a-c), human controlled movable virtual objects (220a-c) and at least one virtual AD/ADAS vehicle (210) operating according to said AD/ADAS functionality. The server (101; 500) allows devices (101-103) to remotely connect to the server (105; 500) and users of said devices (101-103) to, via user interfaces of the devices (101-103), control said human controlled movable virtual objects (220a-c), respectively, in the virtual environment (200), and thereby cause generation of scenarios that said at least one virtual AD/ADAS vehicle (210) is subjected to.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: ZENUITY AB
    Inventors: Feng Liu, Majid Khorsand Vakilzadeh
  • Patent number: 12165526
    Abstract: A system for providing maneuvering behaviors to a vehicle is disclosed. The system may include one or more controllers communicatively coupled to one or more vehicles. The one or more controllers may include one or more processors configured to execute one or more program instructions causing the one or more processors to: initiate one or more maneuver primitives in response to decision engine selection; receive a plurality of input parameters for the one or more maneuver primitives, the plurality of input parameters including one or more initialization definition input parameters, one or more goal definition input parameters, one or more navigation state input parameters, one or more design input parameters, and one or more vehicle performance envelope input parameters; and generate one or more control signals at one or more predetermined intervals of time to maneuver the one or more vehicles based on the decision engine selection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander V. Roup, Bryan M. Krawiec, Angus L. McLean, Vladislav Gavrilets
  • Patent number: 12164021
    Abstract: A computer includes a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to receive radar data including a radar pixel having a radial velocity from a radar; receive camera data including an image frame including camera pixels from a camera; map the radar pixel to the image frame; generate a region of the image frame surrounding the radar pixel; determine association scores for the respective camera pixels in the region; select a first camera pixel of the camera pixels from the region, the first camera pixel having a greatest association score of the association scores; and calculate a full velocity of the radar pixel using the radial velocity of the radar pixel and a first optical flow at the first camera pixel. The association scores indicate a likelihood that the respective camera pixels correspond to a same point in an environment as the radar pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Board of Trustees of Michigan State University
    Inventors: Xiaoming Liu, Daniel Morris, Yunfei Long, Marcos Paul Gerardo Castro, Punarjay Chakravarty, Praveen Narayanan
  • Patent number: 12163313
    Abstract: A control device of a work vehicle is provided with: a start operation determination unit that determines whether or not a generation state exists in which a start signal of a start switch for starting an electric motor has been generated; a lock state determination unit that determines whether or not a safe operation unit is in a lock state; a circuit state determination unit that determines whether or not a supply circuit is in a state of being capable of supplying power to the electric motor; and a drive instruction unit that, in the generation state and the lock state, outputs a drive instruction to the electric motor when the supply circuit transitions from a state of being incapable of supplying the power to a supply-capable state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Nomura, Takanori Yamane
  • Patent number: 12162364
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a converter with a connection on the input side for a vehicle-integrated or vehicle-external supply network and which can generate a DC voltage on the output side; and an internal DC network which can be operated using the DC voltage of the converter. A standby power supply device is connected between the converter and the internal DC network. The input voltage of the standby power supply device is formed directly or indirectly by the DC voltage of the converter and the standby power supply device feeds its input voltage or alternatively an auxiliary operating voltage supplied by a stored energy source into the internal DC network as output voltage. The vehicle has a monitoring device which is configured to process at least three control signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Siemens Mobility GmbH
    Inventor: Mirko Schwozer
  • Patent number: 12162511
    Abstract: There are realized a vehicle control device and an electronic control system with high reliability capable of safely shifting control even when an operation abnormality occurs in a sensor around a vehicle or an arithmetic block that processes sensor fusion. The vehicle control device includes a first arithmetic block which performs sensor fusion processing based on pieces of raw data output from a plurality of surrounding environment sensors, a second arithmetic block which performs sensor fusion processing based on pieces of object data generated by processing the pieces of raw data output from the plurality of surrounding environment sensors, and a third arithmetic block which diagnoses an output result of the first arithmetic block by using the output result of the first arithmetic block and an output result of the second arithmetic block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: HITACHI ASTEMO, LTD.
    Inventors: Hideyuki Sakamoto, Teppei Hirotsu, Taisuke Ueta, Hidetatsu Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 12157580
    Abstract: Systems and methods for transferring aircraft within a landing area of an aerial transport are provided. A system includes a plurality of robotic devices configured to move aircraft within the landing area. The system obtains facility data to dynamically determine accessible and prohibited areas of the landing area. The system determines a robotic device to transfer an aircraft based on map data representing the prohibited/accessible areas of the landing area and robotic data representing attributes of each robotic device. The system determines a number of routes for the selected robotic device to transfer the aircraft within the landing area while avoiding prohibited areas of the landing area. The system generates command instructions for the selected robotic device and provides the command instructions to the selected robotic device to travel in accordance with the number of routes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: JOBY AERO, INC.
    Inventors: Jalen Doherty, Ian Andreas Villa, Matthew Derkach, Philipp Haban
  • Patent number: 12157990
    Abstract: A shovel includes an undercarriage, an upper slewing structure which is rotatably mounted on the undercarriage, a boom attached to the upper slewing structure, an arm attached to a tip end of the boom, an auxiliary attachment attached to a tip end of the arm, a main pump configured to supply a hydraulic oil to the auxiliary attachment and other hydraulic actuators, and a controller. The controller performs a setting related to a flow rate of the main pump at a time of a combined operation in which the auxiliary attachment and the other hydraulic actuators are operated simultaneously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Daisuke Tagami
  • Patent number: 12157460
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for object detection for a work machine. In an embodiment, data may be received from at least one sensor associated with the work machine and corresponding to a field of view extending from the main frame. Objects are classified in respective locations in the field of view, and at least one segmentation mask is generated corresponding to contours for at least one portion of, or attachment to, the work machine as determined to be in the field of view, wherein each of the at least one segmentation mask defines a respective masked zone in the field of view. One or more of the classified objects may then be determined as separate from the portion/attachment, wherein the at least one segmentation mask is applied to the portion/attachment independently of the one or more separate objects in the field of view. The at least one segmentation mask may be dynamic in nature to account for detected movements of, e.g., attachments to the work machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Nathaniel M. Czarnecki, Giovanni A. Wuisan, Rachel Bruflodt, Christopher B. Howard
  • Patent number: 12159494
    Abstract: A handheld, interactive connector for an automotive diagnostic device configured for engagement with a diagnostic port on a includes a housing and a connector port coupled to the housing. The connector port is configured to be plug connectable to the diagnostic port to establish a communication pathway between the connector and the vehicle. The connector further includes a control unit configured to receive a user initiation signal from a user sensing device and generate a speaker command signal in response to receiving the user initiation signal. A speaker is coupled to the housing and is in operative communication with the control unit to receive the speaker command signal therefrom. The speaker is configured to emit an audible signal corresponding to the speaker command signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: Innova Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Jonathan Tran
  • Patent number: 12159539
    Abstract: An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) return method and apparatus and a UAV. The method includes: performing real-time fusion to generate velocity information of the UAV; determining, through integrating the velocity information, displacement information of a current location of the UAV relative to a takeoff location; determining a return starting point location of the UAV according to the displacement information; obtaining a return instruction, and determining a return mode; and controlling, according to the return mode, the UAV to return from the return starting point location to the takeoff location. In the foregoing manner, the present invention resolves the technical problem of poor accuracy that a current UAV returns by relying on GPS location information, and improves the returning accuracy of the UAV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: AUTEL ROBOTICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yingjie Li, Gang Chen
  • Patent number: 12153416
    Abstract: A mobile communication terminal device may include one or more image sensors, configured to generate image sensor data representing an environment of the mobile communication terminal device; one or more processors, configured to receive the image sensor data from the one or more image sensors; implement at least one artificial neural network to receive the image sensor data as an artificial neural network input and output an artificial neural network output representing a detected environment parameter of the environment of the mobile communication terminal; determine a navigation instruction based on the artificial neural network output; and send a signal representing the navigation instruction to a robot terminal via a communication interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Matthias Mueller, Vladlen Koltun
  • Patent number: 12153444
    Abstract: A technique relates to route planning. Points associated with a start location and a destination location are received. It is determined whether the points comprise one or more hard points, one or more soft points, or both. At least one obstruction to avoid is determined. A route is autonomously generated comprising the points and segments associated with the points, the segments comprising rhumb lines, great-circle arcs, or both. Responsive to the points comprising the one or more soft points, the at least one obstruction is avoided by permitting a distance associated with the one or more soft points to be reached and adding at least one free waypoint. Responsive to the points comprising the one or more hard points, the at least one obstruction is avoided by requiring the one or more hard points to be reached and adding the at least one free waypoint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION
    Inventors: Navid Dadkhah Tehrani, Brian Henri LeFloch, Brian Scott MacAllister, Jr., Suraj Unnikrishnan, Igor Cherepinksy
  • Patent number: 12151712
    Abstract: A vehicle control device configured to perform control related to pickup and delivery by a vehicle. The vehicle is movable forward bi-directionally and includes package compartments on first and second sides. The vehicle control device is configured to perform operations including: acquiring position information of a target user point; acquiring position information of a target package compartment for storing a package to be delivered or picked up with respect to an advancing direction in which the vehicle travels toward the target user point; and outputting an instruction to reverse the advancing direction of the vehicle to a vehicle controller configured to perform traveling control of the vehicle in a case where a side of a side surface where the target package compartment is positioned and a side of the target user point with respect to the advancing direction of the vehicle do not coincide with each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuo Morimura