Methods and apparatus for position estimation using reflected light sources
First Claim
1. A robot comprising:
- a drive system comprising a plurality of wheels;
an optical position sensor; and
a control system configured to perform operations comprising;
estimating a position of the robot using the optical position sensor and wheel odometry data for the plurality of wheels;
tracking a history of a plurality of paths taken by the robot using a plurality of estimated positions; and
detecting a light projected by a handheld device and guiding the robot to a location based on the light projected by the handheld device.
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Abstract
The invention is generally related to the estimation of position and orientation of an object with respect to a local or a global coordinate system using reflected light sources. A typical application of the method and apparatus includes estimation and tracking of the position of a mobile autonomous robot. Other applications include estimation and tracking of an object for position-aware, ubiquitous devices. Additional applications include tracking of the positions of people or pets in an indoor environment. The methods and apparatus comprise one or more optical emitters, one or more optical sensors, signal processing circuitry, and signal processing methods to determine the position and orientation of at least one of the optical sensors based at least in part on the detection of the signal of one or more emitted light sources reflected from a surface.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A robot comprising:
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a drive system comprising a plurality of wheels; an optical position sensor; and a control system configured to perform operations comprising; estimating a position of the robot using the optical position sensor and wheel odometry data for the plurality of wheels; tracking a history of a plurality of paths taken by the robot using a plurality of estimated positions; and detecting a light projected by a handheld device and guiding the robot to a location based on the light projected by the handheld device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method performed by a control system of a robot, the method comprising:
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estimating a position of the robot using an optical position sensor and wheel odometry data for a plurality of wheels of a drive system for the robot; tracking a history of a plurality of paths taken by the robot using a plurality of estimated positions; and detecting a light projected by a handheld device and guiding the robot to a location based on the light projected by the handheld device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification