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US 12,066,553 B2Granted
Object location using offset
OwnerKevin Macvittie, John S. McNeely +2inventors
InventorsKevin Macvittie, John S. McNeely, George S. Smith, II, Brian Kausler
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Abstract
An apparatus for locating an object of interest using offset. The object may be a mobile platform, or portion of same, associated with a vehicle, or a pavement segment or feature of or on a pavement segment on which the mobile platform is located. The vehicle includes first and second fixed points having a known offset from each other. An image sensor whose field of view includes the second fixed point and a segment of the pavement surface provides image data which is used with the known offset to calculate the precise location of the object of interest.
Claims21
An apparatus comprising:
- (a) a vehicle comprising:
- i) a first position sensor configured to obtain and transmit first location data;
- ii) a first processor configured to receive first location data transmitted from said first position sensor;
- iii) non-volatile memory integrated with said first processor containing instructions executable by said first processor to calculate, from said first location data, a first location representing a first fixed point on said vehicle;
- iv) a first image sensor configured to transmit first image data and having a field of view that includes:
- A) a second fixed point which has a first known offset from the first fixed point, and
- B) a segment of a first pavement surface;
- v) a second processor configured to receive said first image data transmitted from said first image sensor;
- vi) non-volatile memory integrated with said second processor containing instructions executable by said second processor to calculate the location of the segment of the first pavement surface using the first location, the first known offset, and the first image data;
- and
- (b) a first mobile platform located on the first pavement surface adjacent to said vehicle;
- further wherein said first processor and said second processor may be the same or different.
9 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- (a) a vehicle;
- (b) a first mobile platform adjacent to said vehicle;
- (c) a first image sensor, located on said vehicle, configured to transmit first image data and having a field of view that includes:
- i) at least a first portion of said first mobile platform, and
- ii) an object of interest located externally to both said vehicle and said first mobile platform;
- (d) a first processor configured to receive first image data transmitted from said first image sensor;
- (e) non-volatile memory integrated with said first processor containing instructions executable by said first processor to:
- i) calculate, from said first image data, the actual location of the object of interest in relation to the first portion of said first mobile platform;
- ii) compare the actual location of the object of interest in relation to the first portion of said first mobile platform to a desired location of the object of interest in relation to the first portion of said first mobile platform;
- and,
- iii) calculate the difference between the actual location and the desired location;
- (f) a control system comprising at least one of a steering unit, a throttle, a brake unit, a sensor fusion algorithm, a computer vision system, a navigation system, a pathing system, and an obstacle avoidance system,
- (g) said control system being configured, if the difference between the actual location and the desired location exceeds a predetermined threshold, to adjust the position of at least one of said vehicle and said first mobile platform to decrease the difference between the actual location and the desired location until that difference is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold.
10 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- (a) a vehicle comprising a first position sensor configured to obtain and transmit first location data;
- (b) a first processor configured to receive first location data transmitted from said first position sensor;
- (c) non-volatile memory integrated with said first processor containing instructions executable by said first processor to calculate, from said first location data, a first location representing a first fixed point on said vehicle;
- (d) a mobile platform adjacent to said vehicle;
- (e) a second position sensor, configured to obtain and transmit second location data, located on said mobile platform and having a first known offset from a first selected portion of said mobile platform;
- (f) a second processor configured to receive second location data transmitted from said second position sensor;
- (g) non-volatile memory integrated with said second processor containing instructions executable by said second processor to calculate the location of the first selected portion of said mobile platform using the first location data, the second location data, and the first known offset;
- further wherein said first processor and said second processor may be the same or different.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.