Method and apparatus for robot collision avoidance by full surface proximity detection

A method of collision avoidance by surface proximity detection, the method being performed by at least one processor, and the method comprising:

• controlling a first one among piezoelectric elements disposed adjacent to a surface of an object, to generate an acoustic wave along the surface of the object;
• receiving, via a second one among the piezoelectric elements, an acoustic wave signal corresponding to the generated acoustic wave;
• filtering the received acoustic wave signal, using a band-pass filter for reducing noise of the received acoustic wave signal;
• obtaining a proximity signal for proximity detection, from the filtered acoustic wave signal, using a linear time-invariant filter;
• and
• detecting whether an obstacle is proximate to the surface of the object by inputting the obtained proximity signal into a neural network.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

• control a first one among piezoelectric elements disposed adjacent to a surface of an object, to generate an acoustic wave along the surface of the object;
• receive, via a second one among the piezoelectric elements, an acoustic wave signal corresponding to the generated acoustic wave;
• filter the received acoustic wave signal, using a band-pass filter for reducing noise of the received acoustic wave signal;
• obtain a proximity signal for proximity detection, from the filtered acoustic wave signal, using a linear time-invariant filter;
• and
• detect whether an obstacle is proximate to the surface of the object by inputting the obtained proximity signal into a neural network.