Patents by Inventor Stephen Ernest O'Dea

Stephen Ernest O'Dea 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).

  • Patent number: 12084104
    Abstract: This disclosure describes, in part, a mobile apparatus for identifying items within a facility using an omnidirectional imaging system. For instance, the mobile apparatus may include a main frame, a chassis attached to the main frame, a basket that attaches to the chassis in order to prevent the basket from contacting the main frame, and an omnidirectional imaging system providing image data in and around the mobile apparatus. A user may place item(s) within a receptacle of the basket. The mobile apparatus may further include a handlebar module attached to the main frame, the handlebar module including the omnidirectional imaging system and a computing system for identifying items and events in and around the cart.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Rachid M Alameh, Stephen Ernest O'Dea
  • Patent number: 11994928
    Abstract: This disclosure describes, in part, a mobile apparatus that includes capacitive sensor(s) for detecting the presence of a user. For instance, the mobile apparatus, such as a shopping cart, may include capacitive sensor(s) located proximate to a main frame, the handles, and/or the wheel frame. The mobile apparatus may use one or more of these capacitive sensor(s) to determine that the user is located proximate to the mobile apparatus, in contact with the mobile apparatus, and/or located over the main frame of the mobile apparatus. In some examples, the mobile apparatus may then perform one or more actions based on the presence of the user. For example, the mobile apparatus may activate and/or deactivate one or more devices based on the presence of the user. This way, the mobile apparatus is able to conserve power by using the capacitive sensor(s) to detect the present of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Rachid M Alameh, Andre David Brown, Gopi Prashanth Gopal, Stephen Ernest O'Dea
  • Patent number: 11614746
    Abstract: A multi-robot system includes a first a mobile cleaning robot that has a local storage device to store a persistent map of an environment, at least one sensor to sense the environment, and a control module. The control module is configured to: control the mobile cleaning robot to navigate in the environment using the persistent map and sensing data provided by the at least one sensor, share the persistent map with a second mobile cleaning robot, and coordinate with the second mobile cleaning robot to perform cleaning tasks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Philip Fong, Clifton Eric Smith, Mario Munich, Stephen Ernest O'Dea
  • Patent number: 11556125
    Abstract: A mobile cleaning robot that includes a drive system configured to navigate around an operational environment, a ranging device configured to communicate with other ranging devices of respective electronic devices that are in the operational environment, and processors in communication with the ranging device that are configured to receive a distance measurement from the respective electronic devices present in the operational environment, each distance measurement representing a distance between the mobile cleaning robot and a respective electronic device, tag each of the distance measurements with location data indicative of a spatial location of the mobile cleaning robot in the operational environment, determine spatial locations of each of the electronic devices in the operational environment, and populate a visual representation of the operating environment with visual indications of the electronic devices in the operating environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: iRobot Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher V. Jones, Stephen Ernest O'Dea, Philip Wasserman
  • Publication number: 20190212752
    Abstract: A multi-robot system includes a first a mobile cleaning robot that has a local storage device to store a persistent map of an environment, at least one sensor to sense the environment, and a control module. The control module is configured to: control the mobile cleaning robot to navigate in the environment using the persistent map and sensing data provided by the at least one sensor, share the persistent map with a second mobile cleaning robot, and coordinate with the second mobile cleaning robot to perform cleaning tasks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2018
    Publication date: July 11, 2019
    Inventors: Philip Fong, Clifton Eric Smith, Mario Munich, Stephen Ernest O'Dea
  • Publication number: 20190212730
    Abstract: A mobile cleaning robot that includes a drive system configured to navigate around an operational environment, a ranging device configured to communicate with other ranging devices of respective electronic devices that are in the operational environment, and processors in communication with the ranging device that are configured to receive a distance measurement from the respective electronic devices present in the operational environment, each distance measurement representing a distance between the mobile cleaning robot and a respective electronic device, tag each of the distance measurements with location data indicative of a spatial location of the mobile cleaning robot in the operational environment, determine spatial locations of each of the electronic devices in the operational environment, and populate a visual representation of the operating environment with visual indications of the electronic devices in the operating environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2018
    Publication date: July 11, 2019
    Inventors: Christopher V. Jones, Stephen Ernest O'Dea, Philip Wasserman