Abstract: Multi-modal planning method and system that search a path for the most constrained mode first, and then expands the searches for path in a less constrained mode. By searching the path for the most constrained mode first, less resource are wasted on searching for paths that does not result in a feasible path in the most constrained mode. Multi-modal planning is performed by precomputing feasibility and utility of transition configurations of two adjacent modes. The feasibility is used to exclude non-feasible transition configurations in the most constrained mode from being sampled. The utility is used to bias sampling of the transition configuration so that transition configurations with higher utility are sampled with higher probability. Paths of configurations with higher utility and efficiency are obtained by biasing the sampling of the transition configurations.

Abstract: Multi-modal planning method and system that search a path for the most constrained mode first, and then expands the searches for path in a less constrained mode. By searching the path for the most constrained mode first, less resource are wasted on searching for paths that does not result in a feasible path in the most constrained mode. Multi-modal planning is performed by precomputing feasibility and utility of transition configurations of two adjacent modes. The feasibility is used to exclude non-feasible transition configurations in the most constrained mode from being sampled. The utility is used to bias sampling of the transition configuration so that transition configurations with higher utility are sampled with higher probability. Paths of configurations with higher utility and efficiency are obtained by biasing the sampling of the transition configurations.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a jotting implement that infers hand-jotted information from viewing a jotting surface and environmental landmarks. The hand-jotted information is any information marked on the jotting surface as a result of writing, jotting, drawing, sketching or otherwise operating on the jotting surface as well as hand-generated information produced by moving the implement in the air with respect to the jotting surface. The jotting implement has a nib for jotting and an arrangement for determining when the nib is jotting on the jotting surface. Further, the implement has an optical unit for viewing an environmental landmark and the jotting surface. The implement has a processing unit for receiving optical data of the environmental landmark and the jotting surface from the optical unit and determining from the optical data the physical coordinates of the nib with respect to the jotting surface.

Abstract: Systems and methods are presented that enable a higher-level software application to query and control a sensor through a generic interface. In one embodiment, a system includes a controller, and interface, and a set of sensor driver modules. The interface receives a command from the controller and sends it to the driver modules. The interface includes a client, a server, and a network. The server includes two interfaces: a client interface to communicate with the client and a driver interface to communicate with the driver modules. The server also includes two buffers: a command queue and a reply queue. The command queue stores commands received from the controller (via the client). The reply queue stores replies received from the driver modules.

Abstract: Systems and methods are presented that cancel the dynamics of a motor and a joint controller in the presence of communication time delays, measurement noise, and controller parameter uncertainties inherent in a robot system. A cancellation system includes feedback of the measured output Ê of a controller block C. A first summing node (?1) subtracts Ê from the desired voltage Ed to determine a voltage error, which is fed into a G(s) block. A second summing node (?2) adds the output of the G(s) block to the desired voltage Ed to generate the signal E, which is fed into a non-robust controller inversion block C?1. The block C?1 outputs a value ?, which is fed into the block C. The block C outputs the actual voltage E, which is input into a motor block M. Under perfect conditions, the voltage error is zero, in which case the input to block G(s) is zero.

Abstract: Systems and methods are presented that enable robot commands to be determined based on the pose of an object. A method is described for determining the orientation and pose of an object using indistinguishable points. The resolution of the pose detection is based on the robot'command vocabulary. A system is described for controlling a robot by pose detection using unlabelled points.

Abstract: Systems and methods are presented that enable a higher-level software application to control a robot's motion through a generic motion interface. In one embodiment, a system includes a controller, an interface, and a set of robot driver modules. The interface receives a command from the controller and translates the command into another command to send to the driver modules. The interface includes a client, a server, and a network. The server includes two interfaces: a client interface to communicate with the client and a driver interface to communicate with the driver modules. The server also includes two buffers: a command queue and a reply queue. The command queue stores commands received from the controller (via the client). The reply queue stores replies received from the driver modules.

Abstract: Systems and methods are presented that use light sensors and computing devices to compute the depth of an object using shuttered light pulses. In one embodiment, depth is determined as follows: A light emitter emits a pulse of light that is directed toward an object. The pulse is reflected off the object and travels toward a beam splitter. The beam splitter splits the reflected pulse into multiple pulses, with each pulse directed to a shuttered sensor with a different shutter location. The shuttered sensors measure the integrated intensity of the light, and these values are used to determine the depth of the object. A method is presented which calibrates a system that has an arbitrary number of shutters and enables the system to determine the depth of an object, even in the presence of ambient illumination and scattered light.

Abstract: An apparatus and method employing principles of stereo vision for determining one or more orientation parameters and especially the second and third Euler angles ?, ? of an elongate object whose tip is contacting a surface at a contact point. The apparatus has a projector mounted on the elongate object for illuminating the surface with a probe radiation in a known pattern from a first point of view and a detector mounted on the elongate object for detecting a scattered portion of the probe radiation returning from the surface to the elongate object from a second point of view. The orientation parameters are determined from a difference between the projected and detected probe radiation such as the difference between the shape of the feature produced by the projected probe radiation and the shape of the feature detected by the detector.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for processing pose data derived from a pose of an elongate object such as, for example, a jotting implement, a pointer, a robotic arm or a cane. The elongate object has a tip contacting a plane surface with one or more invariant features. The pose of the elongate object is measured optically from on-board by an optical measuring system with the aid of the invariant feature. The pose is used for preparing a corresponding pose data and a subset of the pose data is identified and transmitted to an application such as a user application, where the subset can serve as command data or input data. Since the elongate object moves while its tip is contacting the surface the pose is measured periodically at sufficiently frequent measurement times ti to describe the motion at a desired temporal resolution. The subset can include all or a portion of the orientation data that describe the orientation of the elongate object in space and/or position data of the tip on the surface.

Abstract: Apparatuses and methods are presented that use a direct synthesis approach using layers in order to directly generate a virtual view from a pair of images. In one embodiment, a range space is discretized into a plurality of layers. For each layer, the first input image and the second input image are warped to the layer. A matching score is then determined for each pixel in the new view based on the warped input images. For each pixel in the virtual view, a best layer is determined. After the best layer has been determined, the color of the pixel in that layer is used for that pixel in the generated view.

Abstract: Embodiments provide a strategy for computing the motions of a mobile robot operating in an obstacle-laden environment without requiring prior knowledge of the distribution of obstacles in the environment or knowing the trajectory of a target tracked by the robot. Embodiments provide an algorithm that governs the motion of the observer robot based on measurements of the target's position and the location of obstacles in the environment. The algorithm computes a description of the geometric arrangement between the target and the observer's visibility region produced by the obstacles and computes a continuous control rule using this description. Embodiments employ an escape-path tree data structure to categorize the target's possible modes of escaping from the observer robot's sensors and use the escape-path tree to determine the target's shortest escape path.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining a pose of an elongate object and an absolute position of its tip while the tip is in contact with a plane surface having invariant features. The surface and features are illuminated with a probe radiation and a scattered portion, e.g., the back-scattered portion, of the probe radiation returning from the plane surface and the feature to the elongate object at an angle ? with respect to an axis of the object is detected. The pose is derived from a response of the scattered portion to the surface and the features and the absolute position of the tip on the surface is obtained from the pose and knowledge about the feature. The probe radiation can be directed from the object to the surface at an angle ? to the axis of the object in the form of a scan beam. The scan beam can be made to follow a scan pattern with the aid of a scanning arrangement with one or more arms and one or more uniaxial or biaxial scanners. Angle ? can also be varied, e.g.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for determining an inclination angle ? between an axis of an elongate object such as a cane, a pointer or a jotting implement such as a pen, pencil, stylus or the like and a normal to a plane surface at times when a tip of the elongate object is contacting that plane surface. The apparatus has an emitter mounted on the object for illuminating the plane surface with a probe radiation at an angle ? with respect to the axis of the object. The apparatus also has a detector mounted on the elongate object for detecting a radiation characteristic of a scattered portion of the probe radiation returning from the plane surface and a computing unit for deriving the inclination angle ? from the radiation characteristic. A scanning arrangement, such as a uniaxial or biaxial scanner, or a light guiding optic can be used for varying angle ?, and the probe radiation can be emitted in the form of a scan beam.

Abstract: Systems, apparatuses, and methods are presented that determine the number of people in a crowd using visual hull information. In one embodiment, an image sensor generates a conventional image of a crowd. A silhouette image is then determined based on the conventional image. The intersection of the silhouette image cone and a working volume is determined. The projection of the intersection onto a plane is determined. Planar projections from several image sensors are aggregated by intersecting them, forming a subdivision pattern. Polygons that are actually empty are identified and removed. Upper and lower bounds of the number of people in each polygon are determined and stored in a tree data structure. This tree is updated as time passes and new information is received from image sensors. The number of people in the crowd is equal to the lower bound of the root node of the tree.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a strategy for computing the motions of a mobile robot operating in an obstacle-laden environment without requiring prior knowledge of the distribution of obstacles in the environment or knowing the trajectory of a target tracked by the robot. Embodiments of the invention provide an algorithm that governs the motion of the observer robot based on measurements of the target's position and the location of obstacles in the environment. The algorithm computes a description of the geometric arrangement between the target and the observer's visibility region produced by the obstacles and computes a continuous control rule using this description. Embodiments of the invention employ an escape-path tree data structure to categorize the target's possible modes of escaping from the observer robot's sensors and use the escape-path tree to determine the target's shortest escape path.