Bistatic object detection apparatus and methods

A robotic apparatus comprising:

• a bistatic sensor apparatus comprising a transmitter component and a receiver component;
• a non-transitory computer-readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, the storage medium comprising a plurality of instructions configured to, when executed by a processor apparatus, cause the robotic apparatus to:
• configure an encoded reference pattern, the encoded reference pattern comprising (i) one or more first portions that represent one or more parameters related to a given task of the robotic apparatus and (ii) a second portion comprising human-readable information related to the given task of the robotic apparatus;
• project the encoded reference pattern onto a surface at a front side of the robotic apparatus via the transmitter component, the projection of the encoded reference pattern comprising a dynamic adjustment of the one or more first portions thereof and the second portion thereof, the dynamic adjustment being based on a change in the given task of the robotic apparatus;
• detect a reflected pattern via the receiver component, the receiver component being configured to generate a digital image;
• analyze the digital image to determine a parameter of the detected reflected pattern;
• and
• when the parameter of the detected reflected pattern breaches a threshold, produce an indication of a presence of an object at the front side of the robotic apparatus.

A non-transitory computer-readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, the storage medium comprising a plurality of computer-executable instructions therein, the plurality of instructions being configured to, when executed by a processor apparatus, cause a robotic apparatus to:

• configure an encoded reference pattern, the encoded reference pattern comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first and the second portions being dynamically selected based on an environmental parameter and a task parameter of a given task of the robotic apparatus;
• project the encoded reference pattern onto a surface in front of the robotic apparatus using a transmitter component;
• detect a reflected pattern via a receiver component, the receiver component being configured to produce a digital image;
• analyze the digital image to determine a parameter of the reflected pattern;
• and
• when the parameter of the reflected pattern breaches a threshold, produce an indication of an object being present in front of the robotic apparatus;
• wherein the encoded reference pattern comprises a two-dimensional spatial pattern, and the breaching of the threshold comprises at least a two-dimensional spatial discrepancy between the encoded reference pattern and the reflected pattern.