Patents by Inventor Richard D. Garcia

Richard D. Garcia 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).

  • Unmanned ground/aerial vehicle system having autonomous ground vehicle that remotely controls one or more aerial vehicles
    Patent number: 9625904
    Abstract: An unmanned vehicle system, having at least one autonomous ground vehicle (A-GV) and at least one remote controlled aerial vehicle (RC-AV). The A-GV autonomously navigates across the ground, and on-board perception sensors, whose field of view that contains at least a portion of the ground ahead of the direction of travel of the ground vehicle as well as the RC-GV. The RC-AV flies in response to commands received from the control system of the A-GV. The RC-AV has on-board in-sky perception sensors having a field of view that contains at least a portion of the ground path to be followed by the ground vehicle. The control system of the A-GV locate the aerial vehicle, receives perception data from the on-ground perception sensors and the in-sky perception sensors, and uses combined perception data to determine a ground path for itself and for the RC-AV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE
    Inventors: Ryan D. Lamm, Christopher I. Mentzer, Kristopher C. Kozak, Marc C. Alban, Jason C. Gassaway, Richard D. Garcia
  • Unmanned Ground/Aerial Vehicle System Having Autonomous Ground Vehicle That Remotely Controls One or More Aerial Vehicles
    Publication number: 20160282864
    Abstract: An unmanned vehicle system, having at least one autonomous ground vehicle (A-GV) and at least one remote controlled aerial vehicle (RC-AV). The A-GV autonomously navigates across the ground, and on-board perception sensors, whose field of view that contains at least a portion of the ground ahead of the direction of travel of the ground vehicle as well as the RC-GV. The RC-AV flies in response to commands received from the control system of the A-GV. The RC-AV has on-board in-sky perception sensors having a field of view that contains at least a portion of the ground path to be followed by the ground vehicle. The control system of the A-GV locate the aerial vehicle, receives perception data from the on-ground perception sensors and the in-sky perception sensors, and uses combined perception data to determine a ground path for itself and for the RC-AV.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2015
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: Ryan D. Lamm, Christopher I. Mentzer, Kristopher C. Kozak, Marc C. Alban, Jason C. Gassaway, Richard D. Garcia