Patents Examined by Michael F Whalen
  • Patent number: 12228948
    Abstract: An imaging system includes: an unmanned flight vehicle; an imager that is mounted on the unmanned flight vehicle and takes an image of a robot which performs work with respect to a target object; a display structure which is located away from the unmanned flight vehicle and displays the image taken by the imager to a user who manipulates the robot; and circuitry which controls operations of the imager and the unmanned flight vehicle. The circuitry acquires operation related information that is information related to an operation of the robot. The circuitry moves the unmanned flight vehicle such that a position and direction of the imager are changed so as to correspond to the operation related information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2025
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Masayuki Kamon, Hirokazu Sugiyama
  • Patent number: 12222732
    Abstract: An autonomous unmanned road vehicle and how it can be used to make deliveries. The unmanned vehicle is capable of operating autonomously on paved roadways. The vehicle has a control system for autonomous driving and a perception system for detecting objects in its surroundings. The vehicle also has one or more cargo compartments for carrying the delivery items. The vehicle may have a flashing light beacon to increase the conspicuousness of the vehicle. In consideration that the vehicle does not carry passengers, the size and/or motor power of the vehicle may be reduced as compared to conventional passenger vehicles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Inventors: Steven Sounyoung Yu, Sounil Yu
  • Patent number: 12221232
    Abstract: A method includes obtaining, at an unmanned aerial vehicle, a flight plan for the unmanned aerial vehicle. The flight plan is based on an aircraft type of an aircraft to be inspected. The method also includes coordinating, with a control device onboard the aircraft, an operation of a particular device of the aircraft based on the flight plan such that a state of the particular device changes when a particular sensor of the one or more sensors is located (i.e., positioned and oriented) to perform a sensing operation on the particular exterior light. The method further includes performing the sensing operation on the particular device using the particular sensor. The method also includes determining a functionality metric associated with the particular device based on the sensing operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2024
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Gregory James Sweers, James J. Troy, Gary E. Georgeson
  • Patent number: 12208892
    Abstract: A system generating an environment for an operation using a set of assets includes processor(s) configured to: obtain data associated with task(s) to be performed by a set of assets, wherein: 1) the set of assets comprises semi-autonomous drones and 2) the data associated with the task(s) comprises parameter(s) pertaining to a geographic location in which at least one asset is to perform the task(s); determine a discretized representation of the geographic location, wherein the discretized representation comprises discrete elements each corresponding to a volume associated with the geographic location; annotate the discretized representation to create an annotated representation with the parameter(s) pertaining to the geographic location with a subset of the discrete elements based on a determination that the parameter(s) pertain to the geographic location; determine a plan to perform the task(s), wherein the plan is based on the annotated representation; and cause the task(s) to be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: Anduril Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Abhay Venkatesh, Brian W. Schimpf, Elston ToChip, Jared Newman, Joshua John Bennett, Nikhil Reddy, Samuel R. Elie
  • Patent number: 12208790
    Abstract: The present disclosure introduces a vehicle safety control system and a vehicle safety control method, which recognize, in advance, an obstacle approaching the vehicle around the vehicle, and, when the vehicle and the obstacle come near each other in distance, operate SVM to determine the possibility of collision between the vehicle and the obstacle in advance, and prevent a collision accident by controlling the vehicle on the basis of the possibility of collision between the vehicle and the obstacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Min Seok Kim, Tae Min Kwon
  • Patent number: 12198556
    Abstract: A formation flight assistance system is placed on board a follower aircraft to benefit from an upwards air flow induced by a wake vortex generated by a leader aircraft. The system determines a wake vortex effect experienced by the follower aircraft as being a difference between measurements taken by sensors and modelling in a wake vortex free environment. Using a recursive Bayesian filter, the system determines an estimated position of the wake vortex on the basis of information relating to the leader aircraft and a wake vortex model, and determines an estimation uncertainty, according to which a potential discomfort window is computed for the passengers of the follower aircraft. The system keeps the follower aircraft outside the potential discomfort window. Thus, the comfort of the passengers of the follower aircraft is provided, while benefiting from an upwards air flow induced by the wake vortex.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2025
    Assignee: Airbus SAS
    Inventors: Guillaume Ta, Clément Frot, Jonathan Beck
  • Patent number: 12181896
    Abstract: An auto clean machine, comprising: a light source configured to emit light to illuminate at least one light region outside and in front of the auto clean machine; a first image sensing area, configured to sense a first brightness distribution of the light region; a second image sensing area below the first image sensing area, configured to sense a second brightness distribution of the light region; and a processor, configured to control movement of the auto clean machine according the first brightness distribution and the second brightness distribution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: PixArt Imaging Inc.
    Inventor: Guo-Zhen Wang
  • Patent number: 12162351
    Abstract: An aspect of the disclosure provides an apparatus and a method for assisting driving capable of calculating a speed limit of a vehicle using curvature information of a road and accurately recognizing a traffic sign through this. The apparatus for assisting driving of a host vehicle includes a front sensor mounted to the host vehicle and having a field of view in front of the host vehicle, the front sensor configured to obtain front image data; and a controller including a processor configured to process the front image data. The controller may be configured to detect a speed displayed on a sign based on the front image data, to calculate a limit speed of the host vehicle on a driving road based on the front image data, and to display a sign speed smaller than the limit speed on a display of the host vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: HL KLEMOVE CORP.
    Inventor: Deokju Kim
  • Patent number: 12157400
    Abstract: A display control device includes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to acquire a momentary power generation amount of a solar power generation device mounted at a vehicle and, in accordance with the acquired momentary power generation amount, change an area of a display region displayed at a display part of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Ayaka Takezawa
  • Patent number: 12148296
    Abstract: A three-dimensional grid model of a traffic scene can be determined based on grid elements. Weights can be determined for the grid elements of the three-dimensional grid model corresponding to priority regions and occluded grid elements. Grid coverage for respective stationary sensors can be determined based on the grid elements of the three-dimensional grid model. A matrix can be determined based on the grid coverage of the plurality of stationary sensors. An optimal subset of stationary sensors can be determined based on applying a greedy search algorithm to the matrix, the weights and costs corresponding to the plurality of stationary sensors to maximize the ratio of grid coverage to the cost based on poses of the plurality of stationary sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Helen E. Kourous-Harrigan, William Thomas Buller, Jeremy Graham, Susan Janiszewski, Colin Brooks
  • Patent number: 12135567
    Abstract: A method, a computer program product, and a computer system position a plurality of sensors in an area. The method includes receiving data from the sensors positioned at respective first locations where the data is indicative of weather and environmental parameters. The method includes determining weather conditions and an environmental condition based on the weather and environmental parameters. The method includes determining an impact to the environmental condition by the weather conditions. The method includes determining a second location for the sensors based on the impact to the environmental condition. The sensors are configured to generate further environmental parameters with an increased granular level at the second location. The method includes transmitting instructions to a delivery robot to move the sensors to the second location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2024
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Hemant Kumar Sivaswamy, Venkata Vara Prasad Karri, Sarbajit K. Rakshit, Sri Harsha Varada
  • Patent number: 12134384
    Abstract: Methods and devices for detecting traffic signals and their associated states are disclosed. In one embodiment, an example method includes a scanning a target area using one or more sensors of a vehicle to obtain target area information. The vehicle may be configured to operate in an autonomous mode, and the target area may be a type of area where traffic signals are typically located. The method may also include detecting a traffic signal in the target area information, determining a location of the traffic signal, and determining a state of the traffic signal. Also, a confidence in the traffic signal may be determined. For example, the location of the traffic signal may be compared to known locations of traffic signals. Based on the state of the traffic signal and the confidence in the traffic signal, the vehicle may be controlled in the autonomous mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: David I. Ferguson, Nathaniel Fairfield, Anthony Levandowski
  • Patent number: 12128891
    Abstract: A control system includes an obtainer that obtains sensing data output from a sensor that performs sensing of an outside of a mobile body, a detector that detects a position of an object outside the mobile body based on the sensing data, a movement predictor that predicts a movement of the object based on the sensing data, a costmap generator that generates a first costmap based on the position detected of the object and a second costmap based on the movement predicted of the object, a path generator that generates a path for the mobile body based on the first costmap, a determination generator that generates a movement determination of the mobile body based on the second costmap and the path generated, and a controller that controls the movement of the mobile body in accordance with the path generated and the movement determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2024
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Shinji Ohyama, Kazuma Takeuchi, Beier Hu, Motoshi Anabuki
  • Patent number: 12122513
    Abstract: Systems and methods provide for the evaluation of flight controls for an aerial vehicle and define a vehicle dynamics model corresponding to an aerial vehicle. One or more barrier functions are constructed based on the defined vehicle dynamics model, and candidate invariant sets are identified for the defined vehicle dynamics model using the one or more barrier functions. A plurality of flight controls of the aerial vehicle are analyzed using the identified candidate invariant sets and within the analyzed candidate invariant sets, command tracking of the aerial vehicle is confirmed with control commands, using the analyzed plurality of flight controls. Control commands falling outside of the analyzed candidate invariant sets are identified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Byron Nicholas Heersink, Pape Maguette Sylla, Michael Alton Warren
  • Patent number: 12122515
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to systems and methods for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle. Boundaries of a user-defined space may be obtained. The boundaries of the user-defined space may be fixed with respect to some reference frame. A user-defined operation associated with the user-selected space may be obtained. Position of the unmanned aerial vehicle may be tracked during an unmanned aerial flight. Responsive to the unmanned aerial vehicle entering the user-defined space, the unmanned aerial vehicle may be automatically controlled to perform the user-defined operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventors: Pascal Gohl, Sammy Omari
  • Patent number: 12122512
    Abstract: A method for autonomous in-flight transfer of a load from a first Aerial Vehicle, AV, to a second AV is provided. Each of the first AV and the second AV includes a frame with a vertical opening for receiving the load. A plurality of rotors are attached to the frame. The method comprising autonomously performing the following in-flight: fastening means of the first AV hold the load in the vertical opening of the first AV such that a bottom end of the load is accessible by the second AV; the second AV approaches the first AV from below in order to couple a fastening means of the second AV to the bottom end of the load; the fastening means of the first AV releases the load after the fastening means of the second AV couples to the bottom end of the load; and the fastening means of the second AV lower the load with respect to the frame of the second AV in order to move the load into a flight position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2024
    Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
    Inventors: Henrik Schäfer, Florian Becker
  • Patent number: 12116127
    Abstract: A system generating an environment for an operation using a set of assets includes processor(s) configured to: obtain data associated with task(s) to be performed by a set of assets, wherein: 1) the set of assets comprises semi-autonomous drones and 2) the data associated with the task(s) comprises parameter(s) pertaining to a geographic location in which at least one asset is to perform the task(s); determine a discretized representation of the geographic location, wherein the discretized representation comprises discrete elements each corresponding to a volume associated with the geographic location; annotate the discretized representation to create an annotated representation with the parameter(s) pertaining to the geographic location with a subset of the discrete elements based on a determination that the parameter(s) pertain to the geographic location; determine a plan to perform the task(s), wherein the plan is based on the annotated representation; and cause the task(s) to be performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: Anduril Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Abhay Venkatesh, Brian W. Schimpf, Elston ToChip, Jared Newman, Joshua John Bennett, Nikhil Reddy, Samuel R. Elie
  • Patent number: 12104427
    Abstract: A vehicle control device includes: an acquisition section configured to acquire a determination result as to whether a predetermined communication terminal is in a vehicle cabin interior area, and acquire another determination result as to whether or not the communication terminal is in a vehicle cabin exterior area; and a control section configured to, based on the determination results of the acquisition section, initiate a closing operation of a vehicle door in cases in which a determination is made that the communication terminal is in the vehicle cabin exterior area, and stop the closing operation in cases in which a determination is made that the communication terminal is in the vehicle cabin interior area after the closing operation was initiated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshiya Sugita, Shutaro Tokunaga, Ryusuke Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 12097836
    Abstract: A brake system in a motor vehicle, the friction brake system of which, on the front and rear wheels, each case including vehicle wheel brakes which can be actuated via an electronic control device which includes an axle-specific braking force distributor unit by which a front axle target deceleration and a rear axle target deceleration can be determined from a friction brake system target deceleration, and which includes a wheel-specific braking force distributor unit by which front wheel target decelerations can be determined from the front axle target deceleration, and rear wheel target decelerations can be determined from the rear axle target deceleration, on the basis of which the wheel-specific braking force distributor unit generates control signals for the actuation of the vehicle wheel brakes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignee: AUDI AG
    Inventor: Ulrich Treffer
  • Patent number: 12100305
    Abstract: An apparatus for automated ground control of an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft includes a flight controller and a remote device. Remote device may transmit a location datum to a flight controller. Location datum may store a location of a charger, terminal, airport, or the like. Flight controller may authorize the location datum and direct aircraft using the information from the location datum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignee: BETA AIR, LLC
    Inventors: John Charles Palombini, Nathan Ward, Skye Carapetyan, Richard Donnelly, Jake Pill, Edward Hall