Tilt and Distance Profiling Vehicle

• US 20190242743A1
• Filed: 09/05/2018
• Published: 08/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Original Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Inventors: Patel, Sahejad, Abdellatif, Fadl, Parrott, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 11,035,669 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 57/024 specially adapted for moving on inclined or vertical surfaces endless-track vehicles for ascending or descending stairs B62D55/075; hand-carts with provision for travelling up or down stairs B62B5/02
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/245 using a plurality of fixed, simultaneously operating transducers G01B11/2408 - G01B11/2425, G01B11/255 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/025 by scanning the object
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 7/00 Tracing profiles by photogrammetry or videogrammetry G01C11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 7/04 involving a vehicle which moves along the profile to be traced
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 25/0084 for measuring volume
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45066 Inspection robot
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0238 using obstacle or wall sensors G05D1/0246 and G05D1/0289 take precedence; lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S17/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for profiling a surface. In some embodiments, the systems and methods perform profiling using a robotic vehicle. The vehicle can include a drive system, one or more wheel encoders, and one or more distance sensors and/or inertial measurement units for capturing measurement data, such as the slope of the surface or the angle of the robotic vehicle relative to the surface or the gravity vector. A control computing system is included having one or more processors that execute instructions stored in software modules to process movement data. In some embodiments, the processed movement data determines a plurality of snapshots of the surface at different times and positions as the robotic vehicle traverses the surface. These snapshots are combined to generate a profile of the surface.

Claims

1. A system for profiling a surface comprising:

a robotic vehicle having a drive system, at least one wheel, and one or more wheel encoders housed within each wheel for measuring movement of the robotic vehicle when driven by the drive system;

one or more distance sensors coupled to the robotic vehicle to measure a slope of the surface;

a control computing system comprising;

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium,

one or more processors in electronic communication with the one or more sensors, each wheel encoder, the robotic vehicle and the computer readable storage medium,

one or more software modules comprising executable instructions stored in the storage medium, wherein the one or more software modules are executable by the processor and include;

a movement module that configures the processor to receive movement data from the one or more wheel encoders to determine the position of the robotic vehicle,

a sensor control module that configures the processor to instruct the one or more distance sensors to transmit one or more signals toward the surface at respective impulse times and to detect a time for the one or more signals to reflect off of the surface, and to receive movement data from the movement module, wherein the sensor control module determines a snapshot of the surface by calculating a slope of the surface using the time for the one or more signals to reflect and the movement data,

wherein the robotic vehicle is driven by the drive system to traverse the surface while the control computing system continuously determines a plurality of snapshots of the surface as the position of the robotic vehicle changes to generate a profile of the surface.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein a first sensor of the one or more sensors is mounted on a front portion of the robotic vehicle, and a second sensor of the one or more sensors is mounted on a rear portion of the robotic vehicle.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more distance sensors are arranged linearly lengthwise along a longitudinal axis of the robotic vehicle.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more distance sensors are arranged linearly along a horizontal axis of the vehicle axis of the robotic vehicle.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more distance sensors are arranged substantially equidistant from one another.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the distance sensors are arranged on an outer surface of the robotic vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the distance sensors are arranged within the robotic vehicle.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an inertial measurement unit housed in the robotic vehicle for capturing orientation data of the robotic vehicle.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the inertial measurement unit is an accelerometer.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the movement data includes a speed of the robotic vehicle or a distance traveled of the robotic vehicle.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the control computing system further comprises:

a profile analysis module that configures the processor to calculate a respective time of flight (TOF) for the one or more signals traveling between the sensor and the surface, to determine a respective slope of the surface at a given point based on the respective TOF and the movement data, and to store the respective slope of the surface at the given point in the non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

12. A system for profiling a surface comprising:

a robotic vehicle having a drive system, at least one wheel, and one or more wheel encoders housed within each wheel for measuring movement of the robotic vehicle when driven by the drive system;

an inertial measurement unit coupled to the robotic vehicle for measuring an angle of the robotic vehicle relative to the direction of gravity;

a control computing system comprising;

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium,

one or more processors in electronic communication with the inertial measurement unit, each wheel encoder, the robotic vehicle and the computer readable storage medium,

one or more software modules comprising executable instructions stored in the storage medium, wherein the one or more software modules are executable by the processor and include;

a movement module that configures the processor to receive movement data from the one or more wheel encoders to determine the changing position of the robotic vehicle,

a sensor control module that configures the processor to instruct the inertial measurement unit to determine a first angle at a first position on the surface relative to gravity, and to determine a second angle at a second position on the surface relative to gravity,

a profile analysis module that configures the processor to determine an offset in angle between the first angle and the second angle and calculate a change in slope between the first position and the second position, to receive the movement data from the movement module, and to determine a snapshot of the surface between the first position and the second position using the calculated change in slope and movement data and to store the snapshot in the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,

wherein the robotic vehicle is driven by the drive system to traverse the surface while the control computing system continuously determines a plurality of snapshots of the surface as the position of the robotic vehicle changes to generate a profile of the surface.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the profile analysis module determines an offset by calculating a sine of an average of the first angle and the second angle multiplied by a distance measured by the one or more wheel encoders between the first position and the second position.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising one or more distance sensors mounted to or within the robotic vehicle to measure a slope of the surface.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the sensor control module configures the processor to instruct the one or more distance sensors to transmit one or more signals toward the surface at respective impulse times, wherein the sensor control module further configures the processor to, using the one or more distance sensors, detect a reflection of the one or more signals off of the surface.