Patents Examined by Donald J. Wallace
  • Patent number: 12153439
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for monocular 3D object detection from an image semantics network. An image semantics network (ISN) is a single stage, single image object detection network that is based on single shot detection (SSD). In an embodiment, the ISN augments the SSD outputs to provide encoded 3D properties of the object along with a 2D bounding box and classification scores. For each priorbox, a 3D bounding box is generated for the object using the dimensions and location of the priorbox, the encoded 3D properties and camera intrinsic parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: Motional AD LLC
    Inventors: Oscar Olof Beijbom, Varun Kumar Reddy Bankiti, Donghyeon Won
  • Patent number: 12145736
    Abstract: A system for stowable propulsion in an electric aircraft that includes at least a propulsor mounted on at least a structural feature that includes at least a rotor and at least a motor mechanically coupled to the at least a rotor, where the motor is configured to cause the rotor to rotate as a function of an activation datum, at least a sensor communicatively coupled to the at least a propulsor configured to detect a position datum as a function of the configuration, generate a clearance datum as a function of the position datum, transmit the clearance datum to a flight controller, and a flight controller communicatively coupled to the at least a propulsor and the at least a sensor configured to receive the clearance datum from the at least a sensor and generate the activation datum as a function of the clearance datum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: BETA AIR LLC
    Inventor: Herman Wiegman
  • Patent number: 12140968
    Abstract: During a vertical landing state, it is decided whether to switch from the vertical landing state to a self adjusting state. The VTOL vehicle includes the flight controller, the rotor, and a fuselage where the rotor is coupled to the fuselage via a vertical connector. If it is so decided, there is a switch from the vertical landing state to the self adjusting state. During the self adjusting state, a control signal for a rotor is generated where the control signal causes: (1) the rotor to rotate during the self adjusting state and (2) the VTOL vehicle to remain in a fixed position during the self adjusting state, in response to the control signal, and independent of docking infrastructure. During a rotors off state, a rotor off control signal is generated for the rotor that causes the rotor to turn off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: Kitty Hawk Corporation
    Inventors: Sebastian Thrun, Benjamin Otto Berry
  • Patent number: 12140950
    Abstract: Technologies and techniques for the at least the partially automated driving of a motor vehicle. A first application and at least one redundant second application provide output data depending on motor vehicle operating data and/or environmental data. Vehicle driving data for the at least partially automated driving of the motor vehicle are determined depending on the output data. Vehicle operating data from another vehicle are received, and, depending on the vehicle operating data, the at least one redundant second application switches from an active state to a standby state in which a computer instance of a computer unit used by the at least one redundant second application is at least executed at a lower frequency than in the active state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Yael Abelardo Martinez Flores, Hendrik Decke, Julian-Steffen Müller, Marcel Aguirre Mehlhorn, Tobias Kain
  • Patent number: 12140962
    Abstract: The technology relates to developing a highly accurate understanding of a vehicle's sensor fields of view in relation to the vehicle itself. A training phase is employed to gather sensor data in various situations and scenarios, and a modeling phase takes such information and identifies self-returns and other signals that should either be excluded from analysis during real-time driving or accounted for to avoid false positives. The result is a sensor field of view model for a particular vehicle, which can be extended to other similar makes and models of that vehicle. This approach enables a vehicle to determine when sensor data is of the vehicle or something else. As a result, the detailed modeling allowing the on-board computing system to make driving decisions and take other actions based on accurate sensor information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Armstrong-Crews, Christian Lauterbach, Scott McCloskey, Peter Morton
  • Patent number: 12135560
    Abstract: A method for centrally aligning a robot with an electronic device, including: transmitting, with at least one transmitter, a first signal; receiving, with a first receiver and a second receiver, the first signal; detecting, with a controller coupled to the first receiver and the second receiver, the robot is centrally aligned with the electronic device when the first receiver and the second receiver simultaneously receive the first signal, wherein a virtual line passing through a center of the robot and a center of the electronic device is aligned with a midpoint between the first receiver and the second receiver; and executing, with the robot, a particular movement type when the robot is aligned with the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2024
    Assignee: AI Incorporated
    Inventor: Ali Ebrahimi Afrouzi
  • Patent number: 12130624
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides autonomous vehicle systems and methods that include or otherwise leverage a motion planning system that generates constraints as part of determining a motion plan for an autonomous vehicle (AV). In particular, a scenario generator within a motion planning system can generate constraints based on where objects of interest are predicted to be relative to an autonomous vehicle. A constraint solver can identify navigation decisions for each of the constraints that provide a consistent solution across all constraints. The solution provided by the constraint solver can be in the form of a trajectory path determined relative to constraint areas for all objects of interest. The trajectory path represents a set of navigation decisions such that a navigation decision relative to one constraint doesn't sacrifice an ability to satisfy a different navigation decision relative to one or more other constraints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: AURORA OPERATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Michael Lee Phillips, Don Burnette, Kalin Vasilev Gochev, Somchaya Liemhetcharat, Harishma Dayanidhi, Eric Michael Perko, Eric Lloyd Wilkinson, Colin Jeffrey Green, Wei Liu, Anthony Joseph Stentz, David Mcallister Bradley, Samuel Philip Marden
  • Patent number: 12128775
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a multi-constraint optimal distribution method for a torque vectoring of a distributed drive electric vehicle, which includes: obtaining a vehicle real-time motion state, taking a pre-constructed tire rotation dynamics model as a control object of an optimal distribution problem, establishing an objective function for tracking a desired additional yaw moment, tracking a desired tire slip ratio, and suppressing a motor output energy consumption to a minimum value, establishing a corresponding system constraint, solving the optimal distribution problem, and obtaining an optimal distribution solution for a torque vectoring of each tire. Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure can effectively track a desired control target, can also effectively constrain an important state and a control input of the vehicle, and can avoid wrong solutions or no solution caused by an optimization problem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: TONGJI UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Lin Zhang, Hong Chen, Haobo Sun, Hanghang Liu, Wei Pan
  • Patent number: 12131652
    Abstract: A control system, and associated control method, that processes aircraft tracking data to determine precise location information for aircraft in the vicinity of an outdoor show that includes laser projectors. The aircraft location information for each aircraft is processed along with heading and speed data to generate a set of laser control data, which is communicated via a monitoring interface to a laser projector operator for use in operating the laser projector. The control system determines the scan field into which the laser projector may project its light during the show, and this scan field is provided, e.g., visually in the monitoring interface, to the laser projector operator along with the sets of laser control data for each aircraft. The laser projector operator may then terminate or continue to operate the laser projector based on this very precise information related to the scan field and location of aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Jesse Milluzzi, Douglas Dixon, Lori D. LaFrance, Amber Lynn Girard
  • Patent number: 12116107
    Abstract: To provide a flying object including a lift generating member deployment device that makes it easier than before to automatically avoid collision with an obstacle. A flying object 30 includes an obstacle detecting unit 5, a control unit 6, a battery 7, a storage unit 8 that stores information transmitted from the control unit 6, a transmitting/receiving unit 9 that receives an operation signal from a controller 40 and transmits information regarding the flying object 30 to the controller 40, and others. The obstacle detecting unit 5 is to detect the altitude of the flying object 30 and outputs an altitude detection signal, which represents the detected altitude information, to the control unit 6.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Inventors: Hiroshi Nakamura, Yasuhiko Yagihashi, Akihiro Tamashiro
  • Patent number: 12120180
    Abstract: A system for determining an existence of a change in a region can include a processor, a communications device, and a memory. The memory can store a change determination module and a communications module. The change determination module can cause the processor to: (1) determine, in response to having obtained an indication of a possible change in the region, a location of a connected car in a vicinity of the region and facts about a sensor disposed on the connected car and (2) determine a strategy to obtain data about the possible change. The strategy can be based on at least one of the location of the connected car or the facts about the sensor. The communications module can cause the processor to transmit, via the communications device and to the connected car, an instruction to control, according to the strategy, the sensor to obtain the data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Seyhan Ucar, Takamasa Higuchi, Chang-Heng Wang, Onur Altintas
  • Patent number: 12118831
    Abstract: An analytics reporting system to perform operations that include: aggregating sensor data collected from a plurality of sensor devices within a database, the sensor data comprising a set of values that correspond with a metric; generating a threshold value based on the set of values that correspond with the metric; accessing a portion of the sensor data based on an identifier associated with the portion of the sensor data; determining the portion of the sensor data transgresses the threshold value; and generating a report that comprises a display of the portion of the sensor data based on the determining that the portion of the sensor data transgresses the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: Samsara Inc.
    Inventors: Alvin Wu, Muhammad Ali Akhtar, Nishant Raman, Jevon Yeoh, Saranyu Phusit, Joanne Wang, Benjamin Chang, Katherine Lee, Jennifer Julia Zhang
  • Patent number: 12102034
    Abstract: A system for mapping a plot of land includes a utility vehicle and a remote computer. The utility vehicle includes a GPS unit configured to collect location data of the utility vehicle during operation on the plot of land. The utility vehicle includes an accelerometer configured to collect roll data and pitch data of the utility vehicle during operation on the plot of land. The utility vehicle includes a transceiver configured to wirelessly transmit the location data, the roll data, and the pitch data. The remote computer is configured to wirelessly receive the location data, the roll data, and the pitch data. The remote computer is configured to generate a three-dimensional contour map of the plot of land based on the location data, the roll data, and the pitch data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership
    Inventors: David H. Dunten, Alyn G. Brown
  • Patent number: 12105536
    Abstract: An autonomous, mobile robotic device (AMR) is configured with one or more UVC radiation sources, and operates to traverse a path while disinfecting an interior space. Each UVC radiation source is connected to the AMR by an articulating arm that is controlled to orient each source towards a feature or surface that is selected for disinfection during the time that the AMR is moving through the space. The location of each feature selected for disinfection can be mapped, and this map information, a current AMR location and pose can be used to generate signals that are used to control the articulating arm to orient each UVC lamp towards a feature that is selected for disinfection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: AVA ROBOTICS INC.
    Inventors: Alyssa Pierson, Saman Amarasinghe, Daniela Rus, Marcio Macedo, Youssef Saleh
  • Patent number: 12091069
    Abstract: A system and method for performing braking operations on a hyperloop pod are disclosed herein. The hyperloop pod may have a secondary braking system, wherein the secondary braking system may be operable to provide a first braking force. The hyperloop pod may have a transponder communication system and a line-of-sight system, wherein the line-of-sight system may be operable to detect a second hyperloop pod at a line-of-sight distance. The hyperloop pod may have a memory and a processor operable to detect a second hyperloop pod and determine a collision margin between the hyperloop pod and the second hyperloop pod. The hyperloop pod may engage the secondary braking system if a safety margin is equal to or greater than the collision margin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: HYPERLOOP TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Yanning Li, Jerome Hubert Wei
  • Patent number: 12083844
    Abstract: A highly reliable and highly efficient air suspension system for a vehicle is provided by improving the trackability of stroke control with respect to pressure fluctuations applied to a linear compressor, suppressing stroke increase due to pressure drop, preventing piston collision, and increasing a flow rate by reducing dead volume. To realize this, the air suspension system includes an air suspension that supplies and discharges compressed air to adjust a length, a compressor body in which a piston reciprocates in a cylinder to compress air, a linear motor that reciprocates the piston, a tank that is connected to the air suspension or the compressor body and stores compressed air, a solenoid valve that opens and closes the air suspension or the tank, and an inverter that changes power supplied to the linear motor according to an open and closed state of the solenoid valve to perform position control of the piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaki Koyama, Kaito Hotta, Wataru Hatsuse, Tsutomu Ito, Yoshinori Kawai, Takahiro Suzuki
  • Patent number: 12085642
    Abstract: A method for orbital collision screening comprising, obtaining trajectory information of a plurality of objects moving on predictable paths. For each one of the plurality of objects, based upon respective trajectory information of the one of the plurality of objects, computing, a respective spatial descriptor of the path of the one of the plurality of objects, and storing the respective spatial descriptors of each of the plurality of objects in a data structure. Subsequently obtaining trajectory information of a further object, and based upon the trajectory information of the further object, computing a spatial descriptor of the path of the further object. Making first comparisons of the spatial descriptor of the further object against the respective spatial descriptors of each of the plurality of objects stored in the data structure to determine whether each of these first comparisons indicates a possible collision risk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: LEOLABS, INC.
    Inventors: Christopher Joshua Rosner, Michael James Nicolls
  • Patent number: 12077113
    Abstract: The present embodiments relate to selection and execution of one or more output actions relating to a modification of at least one feature of a vehicle. A series of sensors on a vehicle can acquire data that can be used to identify vehicle environment characteristics indicative of a status of a vehicle environment and an emotional state of the user. The vehicle environment characteristics and the emotional state can be processed using a user model that corresponds to a user to generate one or more selected output actions. The output actions can be executed on the vehicle to increase user experience. The output actions can relate to any of entertainment features, safety features, and/or comfort features of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: Cobalt Industries Inc.
    Inventor: Rana June Sobhany
  • Patent number: 12080177
    Abstract: A computing device for determining a revised flight plan as a function of battery temperature in an electric aircraft is disclosed. The computing device includes a battery model that may receive a flight plan and communicate with a machine-learning model, which may be trained as a function of a training set correlating data describing the flight plan to battery temperature labels. The battery model may generate a temperature output using the machine-learning model and determine the revised flight plan using the machine-learning model if the temperature output exceeds a threshold temperature. The computing device may receive the temperature output from the battery model and compare the temperature output to the threshold temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: BETA AIR, LLC
    Inventor: Steven J. Foland
  • Patent number: 12078490
    Abstract: A method for determining a 6-dimensional (6D) delta pose of a vehicle includes obtaining a pre-defined roadmodel 2-dimensional (2D) manifold in 6D space, wherein the roadmodel 2D manifold in 6D space is pre-defined by transforming objects in a roadmodel from 3D (x, y, z) space into 6D (x, y, z, r, p, y) space, wherein x and y represent positions of objects on a horizontal plane, and z, r, p and y represent the height, roll angle, pitch angle and yaw angle of the objects in real world; obtaining a delta 3D odometry (?x, ?y, ?) from an odometer of the vehicle, wherein ?x and ?y represent the movements in the lateral and forward-reverse directions, and ? represents a current heading of the vehicle; projecting the obtained delta 3D odometry onto the roadmodel 2D manifold; and determining the 6D delta pose of the vehicle corresponding to the delta 3D odometry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Maximilian Doemling, Qianshan Li, Wenxin Tian