# US 12,214,806 B2 · Robotic source detection device and method

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- Number: US 12,214,806 B2
- Document ID: US12214806B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/399,840
- Filed: 2021-08-11
- Published: 2023-02-16
- Granted: 2025-02-04
- Earliest claimed: 2021-08-11
- Assignees: Lunar Outpost Inc.
- Applicants: Lunar Outpost Inc.
- Inventors: Justin Cyrus; Andrew Josef (AJ) Gemer; Van Wagner; Ben Brokaw
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12214806B2

## CPC

- B60W 60/0025: {specially adapted for specific operations}
- G01M 3/005: {using pigs or moles (G01M3/246, G01M3/2823 take precedence)}
- B60K 1/02: comprising more than one electric motor
- B60K 7/0007: {the motor being electric}
- B60K 17/358: {all driven wheels being steerable}
- B60L 15/20: for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
- G01C 21/16: by integrating acceleration or speed, i.e. inertial navigation
- G01C 21/30: Map- or contour-matching
- G01M 3/002: {by using thermal means}
- G01M 3/04: by detecting the presence of fluid at the leakage point
- G01M 3/38: by using light (G01M3/02 takes precedence)
- G01S 19/01: Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
- G05D 1/0038: {by providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras located onboard the vehicle, e.g. tele-operation (images analyzed by a computer and used for automatic navigation G05D1/0246)}
- G05D 1/2246: {displaying a map of the environment}
- G05D 1/2247: {providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras}
- G05D 1/689: Pointing payloads towards fixed or moving targets (positioning towed, pushed or suspended implements G05D1/672)
- G06F 18/251: {of input or preprocessed data}
- G06T 1/0014: {Image feed-back for automatic industrial control, e.g. robot with camera (robots B25J19/023)}
- G06T 1/20: Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
- G06V 20/10: Terrestrial scenes (scenes under surveillance with static cameras G06V20/52; scenes perceived from the exterior of a vehicle G06V20/56; scenes perceived from the interior of a vehicle G06V20/59)
- G06V 20/56: exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
- H04N 7/183: {for receiving images from a single remote source}
- H04N 7/188: {Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position (signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253)}
- H04N 23/695: Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
- B60K 2007/0046: {the motor moving together with the vehicle body, i.e. moving independently from the wheel axle}
- B60L 2200/40: Working vehicles
- B60L 2220/42: with use of more than one motor
- B60L 2220/46: Wheel motors, i.e. motor connected to only one wheel
- B60L 2240/62: Vehicle position
- B60L 2260/32: Auto pilot mode
- B60W 2420/403: Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
- G05D 2105/89: {for inspecting structures, e.g. wind mills, bridges, buildings or vehicles}
- G05D 2107/70: Industrial sites, e.g. warehouses or factories
- G05D 2109/10: Land vehicles
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- G01M: TESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60K: ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
- B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

An autonomous robotic vehicle is capable of detecting, identifying, and locating the source of gas leaks such as methane. Because of the number of operating components within the vehicle, it may also be considered a robotic system. The robotic vehicle can be remotely operated or can move autonomously within a jobsite. The vehicle selectively deploys a source detection device that precisely locates the source of a leak. The vehicle relays data to stakeholders and remains powered that enables operation of the vehicle over an extended period. Monitoring and control of the vehicle is enabled through a software interface viewable to a user on a mobile communications device or personal computer.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A robotic vehicle for detecting a source of interest, comprising:
a vehicle frame;
electric drive motors mounted to the vehicle frame;
wheels connected to drive shafts of the drive motors;
motor controllers communicating with the drive motors to selectively control rotational movement of the wheels;
an extendable and retractable mast assembly mounted to the frame, the mast assembly including a mast base and a mast;
a source detection sensor positioned at an upper end of the mast;
a central computer secured within the vehicle for controlling autonomous operation of the vehicle, said central computer including at least one processor for executing programming tasks and at least one memory element for storing data;
a first software application integral with said central computer for receiving data and for executing commands to control the vehicle through a processor of said central computer, said controlling comprising selectively raising and lowering said mast assembly to obtain sensor readings at different heights, and said data including navigational data, sensor data obtained at the different heights, environmental data, and user defined data; and
at least one navigational camera mounted to the vehicle for providing visual images of an environment in which the vehicle operates.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The robotic vehicle of claim 1, further including:
an external network gateway communicating with the central computer to facilitate flow of data between communication networks associated with the vehicle.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The robotic vehicle of claim 1, further including:
an RTK GPS unit communicating with the central computer to facilitate determining a location of the vehicle through a GPS link.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The robotic vehicle of claim 1, further including:
an IMU unit integral with the central computer to establish a spatial orientation of the vehicle during operation.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The robotic vehicle of claim 1, further including:
a GPU communicating with the central computer to manage graphics rendering tasks associated with display of selected data and visual images to a remote display device.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The robotic vehicle of claim 1, wherein:
said navigational camera includes at least one of a monocular camera, a stereoscopic camera, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The robotic vehicle of claim 1, further including:
a pan/tilt mechanism secured to the upper end of the mast adjacent the source detection sensor, said pan/tilt mechanism being operated to control tilt and rotation of said source detection sensor via electronic commands.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The robotic vehicle of claim 1, wherein:
said source detection sensor is an optical camera.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The robotic vehicle of claim 8, wherein said optical camera is an infrared camera.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The robotic vehicle of claim 1, wherein:
said central computer includes a central processing unit that executes a plurality of functions associated with operation of said robotic vehicle, said plurality of functions including; (a) state estimation facilitated by a linear quadratic estimation algorithm used to fuse data from different sensor sources to create an accurate prediction of where said robotic vehicle is located and how said vehicle is moving; (b) at least one source detection and navigation/integration algorithm used for locating and pinpointing a source of a gas leak; (c) path planning logic associated with defining a path of travel of said robotic vehicle in a three-dimensional environment; and (d) a robot controller function used to parse computer coded path instructions and translating them to commands that can be used by said motor controllers.

### Claim 11

A system for detecting a source of a gas leak, comprising:
a robotic vehicle for detecting a source of a gas leak, said robotic vehicle including:
(a) an extendable and retractable mast assembly mounted to the robotic vehicle, the mast assembly including a mast base and a mast;
(b) a gas detection sensor positioned at an upper end of the mast; and
(c) a central computer secured within the robotic vehicle for controlling autonomous operation of the vehicle, said central computer including at least one processor for executing programming tasks and at least one memory element for storing data, the programming tasks including:
maneuvering the robotic vehicle according to predetermined path in a search mode; and
operating the robotic vehicle according to an exploration mode for determining whether a set of goal conditions are met;
an external network gateway communicating with the central computer to facilitate flow of data between communication networks associated with the vehicle;
a first software application integral with said central computer for receiving data and for executing commands to control the vehicle through a processor of said central computer, said data including navigational data, sensor data, environmental data, and user defined data;
an external network gateway communicating with the central computer to facilitate flow of data between one or more communication networks associated with the vehicle;
a second software application communicating with said robotic vehicle to receive data, display data, and to selectively transfer data to one or more remote computing or communication devices within a communications network of said one more communication networks, said second software application comprising a plurality of user interfaces for displaying said data associated with operational functions of said robotic vehicle including recorded data for detected gas concentrations and locations where said gas concentrations were detected; and
at least one of a mobile communication device or remote computer that runs said second software application wherein the remote display device is incorporated in said mobile communication device or remote computer and wherein at least one user interface is generated on the remote display device that displays said recorded data for detected gas concentrations and said locations where said gas concentrations were detected.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11 wherein:
said robotic vehicle further includes a vehicle frame, electric drive motors mounted to the vehicle frame, wheels connected to drive shafts of the drive motors,
motor controllers communicating with the drive motors to selectively control rotational movement of the wheels, and at least one navigational camera mounted to the vehicle for providing visual images of an environment in which the vehicle operates.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11 wherein said robotic vehicle further includes:
an external network gateway communicating with the central computer to facilitate flow of data between communication networks associated with the vehicle.

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11 wherein said robotic vehicle further includes:
an RTK GPS unit communicating with the central computer to facilitate determining a location of the vehicle through a GPS link.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11 wherein said robotic vehicle further includes:
an IMU unit integral with the central computer to establish a spatial orientation of the vehicle during operation.

### Claim 16 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11 wherein said robotic vehicle further includes:
a GPU communicating with the central computer to accelerate navigation localization and mapping and support the training and deployment of neural models.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein:
said central computer includes a central processing unit that executes a plurality of functions associated with operation of said robotic vehicle, said plurality of functions including; (a) state estimation facilitated by a linear quadratic estimation algorithm used to fuse data from different sensor sources to create an accurate prediction of where said robotic vehicle is located and how said vehicle is moving; (b) at least one source detection and navigation/integration algorithm used for locating and pinpointing a source of a gas leak; (c) path planning logic associated with defining a path of travel of said robotic vehicle in a three-dimensional environment; and (d) a robot controller function used to parse computer coded path instructions and translating them to commands that can be used by said motor controllers.

### Claim 18

A method for detecting a source of a gas leak, comprising:
providing a robotic vehicle including: an extendable and retractable mast assembly mounted to the robotic vehicle, a gas detection sensor positioned at an upper end of the mast, and a central computer secured within the robotic vehicle for controlling autonomous operation of the vehicle, said central computer including at least one processor for executing programming tasks and at least one memory element for storing data;
positioning the robotic vehicle at a jobsite where a gas leak is suspected;
generating commands for the robot to commence movement at the jobsite, said commands being processed by said central computer to actuate electric motors of said robotic to move said vehicle toward a detected leak, said commands being generated from a source detection algorithm based on a gradient descent model, wherein said commands continually refine a position of the robotic vehicle so that it moves to an area of high probability of increased gas concentration;
predetermining a path of travel for said robotic vehicle based on initial gas concentrations detected by said gas detection sensor;
moving said robotic vehicle along said predetermined path in a first search mode;
selectively raising and lowering said mast assembly to obtain sensor readings at different heights as said robotic vehicle travels and when said robotic vehicle comes to a stop;
determining, by said central computer, whether said sensor readings satisfy one or more conditions indicating a likelihood of a detected leak near or at a present location of the robotic vehicle where sensor readings are taken;
determining, by said central computer, when said conditions are satisfied to then operate said robotic vehicle in an exploration mode;
operating said vehicle in said exploration mode to determine when goal conditions are met, said goal conditions defined as data recorded in an area where said gradient descent model indicates the presence of a higher concentration of gas; and
confirming the source of the leak is found by iterative executions of said gradient descent model that are stable.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18, wherein:
said central computer includes a central processing unit that executes a plurality of functions associated with operation of said robotic vehicle, said plurality of functions including; (a) state estimation facilitated by a linear quadratic estimation algorithm used to fuse data from different sensor sources to create an accurate prediction of where said robotic vehicle is located and how said vehicle is moving; (b) path planning logic associated with defining a path of travel of said robotic vehicle in a three-dimensional environment; and (c) a robot controller function used to parse computer coded path instructions and translating them to commands that can be used by said motor controllers.

### Claim 20 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18, further including:
executing a user interface software application communicating with said robotic vehicle to receive data, display data, and to selectively transfer data to one or more remote computing or communication devices within a communications network, said user interface software application comprising a plurality of user interfaces for displaying data associated with operational functions of said robotic vehicle including recorded data for detected gas concentrations and locations where said gas concentrations were detected.