Patents by Inventor Alec Hudnut
Alec Hudnut 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).
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Publication number: 20130018741Abstract: Systems and methods for recognizing and identifying items located on the lower shelf of a shopping cart in a checkout lane of a retail store environment for reducing or preventing loss or fraud and increasing the efficiency of a checkout process efficiency. The system includes one or more visual sensors that can take images of items and a computer system that receives the images and automatically identifies the items. The system can be trained to recognize the items using images taken of the items. The system relies on matching visual features from training images to match against features extracted from images taken at the checkout lane. Using the scale-invariant feature transformation (SIFT) method, for example, the system can compare extracted visual features of the images to the features stored in a database to find one or more matches, where the found one or more matches are used to identify the items.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 11, 2012Publication date: January 17, 2013Applicant: Datalogic ADC, Inc.Inventors: Jim Ostrowski, Luis Goncalves, Michael Cremean, Alex Simonini, Alec Hudnut
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Patent number: 8267316Abstract: Systems and methods for recognizing and identifying items located on the lower shelf of a shopping cart in a checkout lane of a retail store environment for the purpose of reducing or preventing loss or fraud and increasing the efficiency of a checkout process. The system includes one or more visual sensors that can take images of items and a computer system that receives the images from the one or more visual sensors and automatically identifies the items. The system can be trained to recognize the items using images taken of the items. The system relies on matching visual features from training images to match against features extracted from images taken at the checkout lane. Using the scale-invariant feature transformation (SIFT) method, for example, the system can compare the visual features of the images to the features stored in a database to find one or more matches, where the found one or more matches are used to identify the items.Type: GrantFiled: August 22, 2006Date of Patent: September 18, 2012Assignee: Datalogic ADC, Inc.Inventors: Jim Ostrowski, Luis Goncalves, Michael Cremean, Alex Simonini, Alec Hudnut
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Patent number: 8229161Abstract: The invention is generally related to the systems and methods through which household appliances can provide intuitive and enhanced interactivity through visual inputs. In particular, the disclosure presents methods relating to control of a household appliance, such as a microwave or a refrigerator, via recognition of visual indicia, such as graphics, text, and the like, using a visual sensor such as a camera.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 2011Date of Patent: July 24, 2012Assignee: Evolution Robotics, Inc.Inventors: Alec Hudnut, William Gross
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Publication number: 20110268311Abstract: The invention is generally related to the systems and methods through which household appliances can provide intuitive and enhanced interactivity through visual inputs. In particular, the disclosure presents methods relating to control of a household appliance, such as a microwave or a refrigerator, via recognition of visual indicia, such as graphics, text, and the like, using a visual sensor such as a camera.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 4, 2011Publication date: November 3, 2011Inventors: Alec Hudnut, William Gross
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Patent number: 7903838Abstract: The invention is generally related to the systems and methods through which household appliances can provide intuitive and enhanced interactivity through visual inputs. In particular, the disclosure presents methods relating to control of a household appliance, such as a microwave or a refrigerator, via recognition of visual indicia, such as graphics, text, and the like, using a visual sensor such as a camera.Type: GrantFiled: January 20, 2005Date of Patent: March 8, 2011Assignee: Evolution Robotics, Inc.Inventors: Alec Hudnut, William Gross
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Patent number: 7819314Abstract: Systems and methods for recognizing and identifying items located on the lower shelf of a shopping cart in a checkout lane of a retail store environment for the purpose of reducing or preventing loss or fraud and increasing the efficiency of a checkout process. The system includes one or more visual sensors that can take images of items and a computer system that receives the images from the one or more visual sensors and automatically identifies the items. The system can be trained to recognize the items using images taken of the items. The system relies on matching visual features from training images to match against features extracted from images taken at the checkout lane. Using the scale-invariant feature transformation (SIFT) method, for example, the system can compare the visual features of the images to the features stored in a database to find one or more matches, where the found one or more matches are used to identify the items.Type: GrantFiled: August 22, 2006Date of Patent: October 26, 2010Assignee: Evolution Robotics Retail, Inc.Inventors: Jim Ostrowski, Luis Goncalves, Michael Cremean, Alex Simonini, Alec Hudnut
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Patent number: 7246745Abstract: Methods and computer readable media for recognizing and identifying items located on the belt of a counter and/or in a shopping cart of a store environment for the purpose of reducing/preventing bottom-of-the-basket loss, checking out the items automatically, reducing the checkout time, preventing consumer fraud, increasing revenue and replacing a conventional UPC scanning system to enhance the checking out speed. The images of the items taken by visual sensors may be analyzed to extract features using the scale-invariant feature-transformation (SIFT) method. Then, the extracted features are compared to those of trained images stored in a database to find a set of matches. Based on the set of matches, the items are recognized and associated with one or more instructions, commands or actions without the need for personnel to visually see the items, such as by having to come out from behind a check out counter or peering over a check out counter.Type: GrantFiled: February 2, 2005Date of Patent: July 24, 2007Assignee: Evolution Robotics Retail, Inc.Inventors: Alec Hudnut, Alex Simonini, Michael Cremean, Howard Morgan
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Publication number: 20060283943Abstract: Systems and methods for recognizing and identifying items located on the lower shelf of a shopping cart in a checkout lane of a retail store environment for the purpose of reducing or preventing loss or fraud and increasing the efficiency of a checkout process. The system includes one or more visual sensors that can take images of items and a computer system that receives the images from the one or more visual sensors and automatically identifies the items. The system can be trained to recognize the items using images taken of the items. The system relies on matching visual features from training images to match against features extracted from images taken at the checkout lane. Using the scale-invariant feature transformation (SIFT) method, for example, the system can compare the visual features of the images to the features stored in a database to find one or more matches, where the found one or more matches are used to identify the items.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 22, 2006Publication date: December 21, 2006Applicant: EVOLUTION ROBOTICS RETAIL, INC.Inventors: Jim Ostrowski, Luis Goncalves, Micheal Cremean, Alex Simonini, Alec Hudnut
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Patent number: 7100824Abstract: Systems and methods for recognizing and identifying items located on the lower shelf of a shopping cart in a checkout lane of a retail store environment for the purpose of reducing or preventing loss or fraud and increasing the efficiency of a checkout process. The system includes one or more visual sensors that can take images of items and a computer system that receives the images from the one or more visual sensors and automatically identifies the items. The system can be trained to recognize the items using images taken of the items. The system relies on matching visual features from training images to match against features extracted from images taken at the checkout lane. Using the scale-invariant feature transformation (SIFT) method, for example, the system can compare the visual features of the images to the features stored in a database to find one or more matches, where the found one or more matches are used to identify the items.Type: GrantFiled: December 27, 2004Date of Patent: September 5, 2006Assignee: Evolution Robotics, Inc.Inventors: Jim Ostrowski, Luis Goncalves, Michael Cremean, Alex Simonini, Alec Hudnut
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Publication number: 20050196046Abstract: The invention is generally related to the systems and methods through which household appliances can provide intuitive and enhanced interactivity through visual inputs. In particular, the disclosure presents methods relating to control of a household appliance, such as a microwave or a refrigerator, via recognition of visual indicia, such as graphics, text, and the like, using a visual sensor such as a camera.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 20, 2005Publication date: September 8, 2005Applicant: Evolution Robotics, Inc.Inventors: Alec Hudnut, William Gross
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Publication number: 20050189411Abstract: Systems and methods for recognizing and identifying items located on the lower shelf of a shopping cart in a checkout lane of a retail store environment for the purpose of reducing or preventing loss or fraud and increasing the efficiency of a checkout process. The system includes one or more visual sensors that can take images of items and a computer system that receives the images from the one or more visual sensors and automatically identifies the items. The system can be trained to recognize the items using images taken of the items. The system relies on matching visual features from training images to match against features extracted from images taken at the checkout lane. Using the scale-invariant feature transformation (SIFT) method, for example, the system can compare the visual features of the images to the features stored in a database to find one or more matches, where the found one or more matches are used to identify the items.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 27, 2004Publication date: September 1, 2005Applicant: Evolution Robotics, Inc.Inventors: Jim Ostrowski, Luis Goncalves, Michael Cremean, Alex Simonini, Alec Hudnut
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Publication number: 20050189412Abstract: Methods and computer readable media for recognizing and identifying items located on the belt of a counter and/or in a shopping cart of a store environment for the purpose of reducing/preventing bottom-of-the-basket loss, checking out the items automatically, reducing the checkout time, preventing consumer fraud, increasing revenue and replacing a conventional UPC scanning system to enhance the checking out speed. The images of the items taken by visual sensors may be analyzed to extract features using the scale-invariant feature-transformation (SIFT) method. Then, the extracted features are compared to those of trained images stored in a database to find a set of matches. Based on the set of matches, the items are recognized and associated with one or more instructions, commands or actions without the need for personnel to visually see the items, such as by having to come out from behind a check out counter or peering over a check out counter.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 2, 2005Publication date: September 1, 2005Applicant: Evolution Robotics, Inc.Inventors: Alec Hudnut, Alex Simonini, Michael Cremean, Howard Morgan