Vision-and environment-based programming of robots and/or computer systems
OwnerPaolo Pirjanian, Barton Elliott Listickinventors
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Abstract
The invention is related to methods and apparatus for programming and/or control of a computer system via a video camera or other imaging device. Objects in the environment, such as printed cards, can be placed within the field of view of the video camera or other imaging device. Indicia on the cards can be recognized and associated with one or more programming instructions or computer commands for control. In one embodiment, a computer system that is programmed and/or is controlled corresponds to a robot, such as a stationary robot or a mobile robot.
Claims49
A method of programming a device, the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of card-like objects, where at least one surface of the card-like objects includes indicia, wherein at least a portion of the indicia is machine readable and at least a portion is human recognizable;
- visually recognizing the indicia on at least some of the card-like objects using an image recognition process;
- associating the recognized indicia with one or more executable program instructions;
- and
- arranging the one or more executable program instructions to create at least a portion of a computer program.
A method of programming a device, the method comprising:
- visually recognizing indicia that are visible on at least one surface of one or more planar objects, where at least one surface of the planar objects includes indicia, where at least a portion of the indicia is machine readable and at least a portion is human recognizable;
- automatically associating at least some of the recognized indicia with one or more executable program instructions;
- and
- arranging the one or more executable program instructions to create at least a portion of a computer program for the device.
A method of controlling a machine, the method comprising:
- visually observing indicia that are visible on at least a surface of an object, where the indicia are at least partially machine readable and at least partially human recognizable, where at least some of the indicia is associated with a desired behavior for the machine;
- associating the recognized indicia with corresponding behavior based at least in part on data retrieved from a data store;
- and
- controlling a behavior of the machine according to the recognized indicia.
A set of computer control cards comprising:
- a plurality of cards with visually-recognizable indicia, where the indicia are intended to be at least partially machine readable and are intended to be at least partially human recognizable, where the indicia are associated with at least one of computer commands and computer programming statements, where the associations between the visually-recognizable indicia and the at least one of computer commands and computer programming statements are stored in a computer data store;
- where the cards further comprise:
- a plurality of cards with indicia associated with operators;
- a plurality of cards with indicia associated with flow control;
- a plurality of cards with indicia associated with actions for a computer;
- and
- a plurality of cards with indicia associated with command parameters.
A computer program embodied in a tangible medium for controlling a device, the computer program comprising:
- a module with instructions configured to visually recognize indicia that are visible on at least one surface of one or more planar objects, where at least one surface of the planar objects includes indicia, where at least a portion of the indicia is machine readable and at least a portion is human recognizable;
- a module with instructions configured to automatically associate at least some of the recognized indicia with one or more executable program instructions;
- and
- a module with instructions configured to arrange the one or more executable program instructions to create at least a portion of a computer program.
A circuit for controlling a device, the circuit comprising:
- a circuit configured to visually recognize indicia that are visible on at least one surface of one or more planar objects, where at least one surface of the planar objects includes indicia, where at least a portion of the indicia is machine readable and at least a portion is human recognizable;
- a circuit configured to automatically associate at least some of the recognized indicia with one or more executable program instructions;
- and
- a circuit configured to arrange the one or more executable program instructions to create at least a portion of a computer program.
A circuit for controlling a device, the circuit comprising:
- means for visually recognizing indicia that are visible on at least one surface of one or more planar objects, where at least one surface of the planar objects includes indicia, where at least a portion of the indicia is machine readable and at least a portion is human recognizable;
- means for automatically associating at least some of the recognized indicia with one or more executable program instructions;
- and
- means for arranging the one or more executable program instructions to create at least a portion of a computer program.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.