Patents by Inventor Gerard Dirk Smits

Gerard Dirk Smits 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).

  • Publication number: 20220050369
    Abstract: An image projection device for displaying an image onto a remote surface. The image projection device employs a scanner to project image beams of visible light and tracer beams of light onto a remote surface to form a display of the image. The device also employs a light detector to sense at least the reflections of light from the tracer beam pulses incident on the remote surface. The device employs the sensed tracer beam light pulses to predict the trajectory of subsequent image beam light pulses and tracer beam light pulses that form a display of the image on the remote surface in a pseudo random pattern. The trajectory of the projected image beam light pulses can be predicted so that the image is displayed from a point of view that can be selected by, or automatically adjusted for, a viewer of the displayed image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Publication date: February 17, 2022
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 11210376
    Abstract: Provided is a disclosure for user authentication using biometric features such as detection of micro-expressions of a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 11137497
    Abstract: A three-dimension position tracking system is presented. The system includes transmitters and receivers. A transmitter scans continuous or pulsed coherent light beams across a target. The receiver detects the reflected beams. The system recursively determines the location of the target, as a function of time, via triangulation and observation of the time-of-flight of the incoming and outgoing beams. The transmitter includes ultra-fast scanning optics to scan the receiver's field-of-view. The receiver includes arrays of ultra-fast photosensitive pixels. The system determines the angles of the incoming beams based on the line-of-sight of the triggered pixels. By observing the incoming angles and correlating timestamps associated with the outgoing and incoming beams, the system accurately, and in near real-time, determines the location of the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20210271158
    Abstract: A scanning light imaging device for continuously pseudo randomly scanning patterns of light in a beam onto a remote surface to achieve spatio-temporal super resolution for finding remotely located objects. The scanning light imaging device employs a scanner to project image beams of visible or non-visible light and/or tracer beams of non-visible light onto a remote surface or remote object to detect reflections. The device employs a light detector to sense at least the reflections of light from one or more of the image beams or the tracer beams incident on the remote surface or remote object. The device employs the sensed reflections of light beams to predict the trajectory of subsequent scanned beams in a pseudo random pattern and determine up to a six degrees of freedom position for the remote surface or remote object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Publication date: September 2, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20210231803
    Abstract: A LIDAR system includes a scanner; a receiver; and one or more processor devices to perform actions, including: scanning a continuous light beam over the field of view in a first scan pass; detecting photons of the continuous light beam that are reflected from one or more objects; determining a coarse range to the one or more objects based on times of departure of the photons of the continuous light beam and times of arrival of the photons at the receiver; scanning light pulses over the field of view in a second scan pass; detecting photons from the light pulses that are reflected from the one or more objects; and determining a refined range to the one or more objects based on times of departure of the photons of the light pulses and times of arrival of the photons at the receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Publication date: July 29, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 11067794
    Abstract: A system to scan a field of view with light beams can include a scanning mirror arrangement having a mirror and a drive mechanism configured to rotate the mirror about an axis between two terminal positions; at least one light source configured to simultaneously produce at least a first light beam and a second light beam directed at the mirror from different directions. Upon rotation of the mirror, the first and second light beams can scan a field of view. The scanning mirror arrangement may include a mirror; hinges attached at opposite sides of the mirror; and a drive mechanism attached to the hinges and configured to twist the hinges resulting in a larger twist to the mirror, wherein the hinges are disposed between the drive mechanism and the mirror.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20210208607
    Abstract: Methods, systems and apparatus for providing a suspension adapted for a vehicle that moves along a surface. In response to a speed of the vehicle moving along the surface being greater than a threshold value, employing force provided by air flowing between a passenger compartment and an undercarriage to lift the passenger compartment away from direct physical contact with the undercarriage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2021
    Publication date: July 8, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20210181312
    Abstract: Embodiments are directed toward a scanning LIDAR system that measures a distance to a target that reflects light from a transmitter to a receiver. A light transmitter is arranged to scan pulses of light that reflect off a remote surface (target) and illuminate fractions of the Field of View (FoV) of a receiver, such as a camera. These fractions of the FoV are smaller than a resolution provided by an array of pixels used to detect Time of Flight (ToF) reflections of the scanned pulses of light from a remote surface. The exemplary scanning LIDAR system may resolve an image of the remote surface at substantially higher resolution than the pixel resolution provided by its receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2020
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 10962867
    Abstract: An image projection device for displaying an image onto a remote surface. The image projection device employs a scanner to project image beams of visible light and tracer beams of light onto a remote surface to form a display of the image. The device also employs a light detector to sense at least the reflections of light from the tracer beam pulses incident on the remote surface. The device employs the sensed tracer beam light pulses to predict the trajectory of subsequent image beam light pulses and tracer beam light pulses that form a display of the image on the remote surface in a pseudo random pattern. The trajectory of the projected image beam light pulses can be predicted so that the image is displayed from a point of view that can be selected by, or automatically adjusted for, a viewer of the displayed image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 10935989
    Abstract: Methods and systems for navigating a vehicle along a surface employ a scanner to scan a light beam over the surface; employ light reflected by one or more fiducial markers on the surface onto pixels of a receiver to determine a spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers on the surface; and compare the spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers with a predetermined map of the fiducial markers to determine a location of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 10935659
    Abstract: A LIDAR system includes a scanner; a receiver; and one or more processor devices to perform actions, including: scanning a continuous light beam over the field of view in a first scan pass; detecting photons of the continuous light beam that are reflected from one or more objects; determining a coarse range to the one or more objects based on times of departure of the photons of the continuous light beam and times of arrival of the photons at the receiver; scanning light pulses over the field of view in a second scan pass; detecting photons from the light pulses that are reflected from the one or more objects; and determining a refined range to the one or more objects based on times of departure of the photons of the light pulses and times of arrival of the photons at the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20210011154
    Abstract: A system to determine a position of one or more objects includes a transmitter to emit a beam of photons to sequentially illuminate regions of one or more objects; multiple cameras that are spaced-apart with each camera having an array of pixels to detect photons; and one or more processor devices that execute stored instructions to perform actions of a method, including: directing the transmitter to sequentially illuminate regions of one or more objects with the beam of photons; for each of the regions, receiving, from the cameras, an array position of each pixel that detected photons of the beam reflected or scattered by the region of the one or more objects; and, for each of the regions detected by the cameras, determining a position of the regions using the received array positions of the pixels that detected the photons of the beam reflected or scattered by that region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Publication date: January 14, 2021
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 10884127
    Abstract: Provided is a disclosure for detection of objects using projected light of one or more frequencies, where the light may be structured or non-structured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2021
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 10725177
    Abstract: Embodiments are directed toward a scanning LIDAR system that measures a distance to a target that reflects light from a transmitter to a receiver. A light transmitter is arranged to scan pulses of light that reflect off a remote surface (target) and illuminate fractions of the Field of View (FoV) of a receiver, such as a camera. These fractions of the FoV are smaller than a resolution provided by an array of pixels used to detect Time of Flight (ToF) reflections of the scanned pulses of light from a remote surface. The exemplary scanning LIDAR system may resolve an image of the remote surface at substantially higher resolution than the pixel resolution provided by its receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20200225357
    Abstract: Methods and systems for navigating a vehicle along a surface employ a scanner to scan a light beam over the surface; employ light reflected by one or more fiducial markers on the surface onto pixels of a receiver to determine a spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers on the surface; and compare the spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers with a predetermined map of the fiducial markers to determine a location of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Publication date: July 16, 2020
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20200191916
    Abstract: Embodiments are directed toward measuring a three dimensional range to a target. A transmitter emits light toward the target. An aperture may receive light reflections from the target. The aperture may direct the reflections toward a sensor that comprises rows of pixels that have columns. The sensor is offset a predetermined distance from the transmitter. Anticipated arrival times of the reflections on the sensor are based on the departure times and the predetermined offset distance. A portion of the pixels are sequentially activated based on the anticipated arrival times. The target's three dimensional range measurement is based on the reflections detected by the portion of the pixels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20200133106
    Abstract: An image projection device for displaying an image onto a remote surface. The image projection device employs a scanner to project image beams of visible light and tracer beams of light onto a remote surface to form a display of the image. The device also employs a light detector to sense at least the reflections of light from the tracer beam pulses incident on the remote surface. The device employs the sensed tracer beam light pulses to predict the trajectory of subsequent image beam light pulses and tracer beam light pulses that form a display of the image on the remote surface in a pseudo random pattern. The trajectory of the projected image beam light pulses can be predicted so that the image is displayed from a point of view that can be selected by, or automatically adjusted for, a viewer of the displayed image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Patent number: 10591605
    Abstract: Methods and systems for navigating a vehicle along a surface employ a scanner to scan a light beam over the surface; employ light reflected by one or more fiducial markers on the surface onto pixels of a receiver to determine a spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers on the surface; and compare the spatial arrangement of the fiducial markers with a predetermined map of the fiducial markers to determine a location of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20200073115
    Abstract: A system to scan a field of view with light beams can include a scanning mirror arrangement having a mirror and a drive mechanism configured to rotate the mirror about an axis between two terminal positions; at least one light source configured to simultaneously produce at least a first light beam and a second light beam directed at the mirror from different directions. Upon rotation of the mirror, the first and second light beams can scan a field of view. The scanning mirror arrangement may include a mirror; hinges attached at opposite sides of the mirror; and a drive mechanism attached to the hinges and configured to twist the hinges resulting in a larger twist to the mirror, wherein the hinges are disposed between the drive mechanism and the mirror.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Publication date: March 5, 2020
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits
  • Publication number: 20200064474
    Abstract: Embodiments are directed toward a scanning LIDAR system that measures a distance to a target that reflects light from a transmitter to a receiver. A light transmitter is arranged to scan pulses of light that reflect off a remote surface (target) and illuminate fractions of the Field of View (FoV) of a receiver, such as a camera. These fractions of the FoV are smaller than a resolution provided by an array of pixels used to detect Time of Flight (ToF) reflections of the scanned pulses of light from a remote surface. The exemplary scanning LIDAR system may resolve an image of the remote surface at substantially higher resolution than the pixel resolution provided by its receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2019
    Publication date: February 27, 2020
    Inventor: Gerard Dirk Smits