# US 10,369,696 B1 · Spatiotemporal robot reservation systems and method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,369,696 B1 - Document ID: US10369696B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 15/641,882 - Filed: 2017-07-05 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2015-08-21 - Assignees: X Development LLC - Applicants: X Development LLC - Inventors: Jared Russell; Julian Mac Neille Mason; Kurt Mauro Dresner - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10369696B1 ## CPC - B25J 9/1666: {Avoiding collision or forbidden zones} - G05D 1/0289: {with means for avoiding collisions between vehicles (vehicle fittings for automatically controlling speed including means for detecting potential obstacles B60K31/0008; avoiding obstacles by action on the steering system B62D; radar, sonar, lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93)} - Y10S 901/01: Mobile robot - Y10S 901/09: Closed loop, sensor feedback controls arm movement - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES - Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS ## Abstract Methods, apparatus, systems, and computer-readable media are provided for spatiotemporal reservations for robots. In various implementations, a sequence of spatial regions of an environment, and a sequence of respective time intervals that are reserved for a robot to operate within the sequence of spatial regions, may be reserved for the robot. A default path through the sequence of spatial regions may be identified. During traversal of the default path, it may be determined that the default path will be unpassable by the robot through a given spatial region during a given time interval reserved for the robot to operate within the given spatial region. Thus, an alternative path through the given spatial region that is traversable by the robot during the given time interval may be identified. The robot may then be traversed along the alternative path through the given spatial region within the given time interval. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A robot comprising: logic; one or more operational components operably coupled with the logic; and memory operably coupled with the logic and storing instructions configured to cause the logic to: identify a sequence of spatiotemporal regions of an environment that are reserved for the robot; cause the operational components to move the robot through the spatiotemporal regions subject to an inter-region influence that tends to maintain the robot along a first path through all of the spatiotemporal regions; determine that the first path will be unpassable by the robot through a given spatiotemporal region; and cause the operational components to move the robot through the given spatiotemporal region subject to an intra-region influence that maintains the robot along a second path through the given spatiotemporal region, wherein the intra-region influence outweighs the inter-region influence. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The robot of claim 1, wherein at least two of the sequence of spatiotemporal regions overlap temporally. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The robot of claim 1, wherein the sequence of spatiotemporal regions are spaced contiguously. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The robot of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions configured to cause the logic to determine that an obstacle has been detected obstructing the first path. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The robot of claim 4, wherein the detection is performed by the robot. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The robot of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions configured to cause the logic to determine that an obstacle is predicted to obstruct the first path through the given spatiotemporal region. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The robot of claim 1, wherein the first path is calculated by the robot. ### Claim 8 A method for implementation by one or more processors, comprising: identifying a sequence of spatiotemporal regions of an environment that are reserved for a robot; causing operational components of the robot to move the robot through the spatiotemporal regions subject to an inter-region influence that tends to maintain the robot along a first path through all of the spatiotemporal regions; determining that the first path will be unpassable by the robot through a given spatiotemporal region; and causing the operational components to move the robot through the given spatiotemporal region subject to an intra-region influence that maintains the robot along a second path through the given spatiotemporal region, wherein the intra-region influence outweighs the inter-region influence. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein at least two of the sequence of spatiotemporal regions overlap temporally. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the sequence of spatiotemporal regions are spaced contiguously. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising determining that an obstacle has been detected obstructing the first path. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein the detection is performed by the robot. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising determining that an obstacle is predicted to obstruct the first path through the given spatiotemporal region. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the first path is calculated by the robot. ### Claim 15 At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution of the instructions by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the following operations: identifying a sequence of spatiotemporal regions of an environment that are reserved for a robot; causing operational components of the robot to move the robot through the spatiotemporal regions subject to an inter-region influence that tends to maintain the robot along a first path through all of the spatiotemporal regions; determining that the first path will be unpassable by the robot through a given spatiotemporal region; and causing the operational components to move the robot through the given spatiotemporal region subject to an intra-region influence that maintains the robot along a second path through the given spatiotemporal region, wherein the intra-region influence outweighs the inter-region influence. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The at least one computer-readable medium, of claim 15, wherein at least two of the sequence of spatiotemporal regions overlap temporally. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The at least one computer-readable medium, of claim 15, wherein the sequence of spatiotemporal regions are spaced contiguously. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The at least one computer-readable medium, of claim 15, further comprising instructions for determining that an obstacle has been detected obstructing the first path. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The at least one computer-readable medium, of claim 18, wherein the detection is performed by the robot. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The at least one computer-readable medium, of claim 15, further comprising instructions for determining that an obstacle is predicted to obstruct the first path through the given spatiotemporal region.