Handheld multi-sensor system for sizing irregular objects

• US 9,575,172 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2015
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BodiData, Inc.
• Original Assignee: BodiData, Inc.
• Inventors: Charpentier, Albert, Boylan, Michael, Kutnick, Robert, Worsnop, Kent, Harvill, Young
• Primary Examiner(s): BYTHROW, PETER M
• Application Number:
  US14/969,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20160178747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 434 Days
• Field of Search: 342/22, 342 52- 54
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/24 for measuring contours or curvatures
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 15/04 for measuring contours or curvatures
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/865 Combination of radar systems with lidar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/887 for detection of concealed objects, e.g. contraband or weapons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/466 by Trilateration, i.e. two antennas or two sensors determine separately the distance to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, i.e. the distance between the antennas or sensors, the position data of the target is determined

Abstract

A handheld scanner system for obtaining sizing of an irregularly shaped object. The system includes a housing and an inertial measurement unit configured to record orientation and displacement history of the housing. An optical module includes at least one 3D optical sensor configured to generate a 3D point cloud of information about the object. A radar module includes at least one radar sensor configured to sense spacing between the housing and the object. A processor receives data from the inertial measurement unit, the optical module and the radar module and creates a map representing the object based on the received data.

Claims

1. A handheld scanner system for obtaining sizing of an irregularly shaped object, the system comprising:

a housing,

an optical module including at least one 3D optical sensor configured to generate a 3D point cloud of information about the object;

a radar module including at least one radar sensor configured to sense spacing between the housing and the object; and

a processor which receives data from the optical module and the radar module and creates a map representing the object based on the received data.

2. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the optical system provides range information of a visual surface of the object and the optical range information is utilized to provide a reference for the radar processing system to limit the range of the scan of the radar module to a surface of the object below the visual surface.

3. The handheld scanner system according to claim 2 wherein the object is an individual wearing a garment and the garment defines the visual surface and the individual'"'"'s body defines the surface of the object below the visual surface.

4. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the 3D point cloud is used to aid in resolving the radar data into the surface of said object below said visual surface.

5. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the 3D point cloud is used along with statistical fitting for a variety of body types and refinement is obtained by incorporation of the radar ranging data.

6. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the processor uses the 3D point cloud as a starting point to limit the solution sets of a radar trilateration algorithm to determine the dimensional information of an area of interest.

7. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the processor utilizes a side scan radar algorithm to determine range information to the target.

8. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the radar module operates in any band from 1 GHz to 1 THz.

9. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein each radar sensor includes an antenna having a transmitting element and a receiving element.

10. The handheld scanner system according to claim 9 wherein the processor is configured to dwell on one or more antenna combinations based on threshold criteria and the associated correspondence between optical and radar data.

11. The handheld scanner system according to claim 9 wherein the system includes at least four apertures, each of said apertures having an associated radar transmitting element and receiving element, said apertures having a relative spacing of 1:

1;

2.

12. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to compute and maintain an inertial state vector to track movement of said scanner with respect to said object, using available sensor data from an inertial measurement unit.

13. The handheld scanner system according to claim 12 wherein the inertial state vector is further computed and maintained using data from one or more of the 3D optical sensors.

14. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the system is configured to communicate with an external device for further processing.

15. The handheld scanner system according to claim 14 wherein the processor outputs the created map to said external device.

16. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the housing defines a handle.

17. The handheld scanner system according to claim 1 wherein the system is configured to provide feedback to an operator.

18. The handheld scanner system according to claim 17 wherein the feedback is haptic, auditory, visual or a combination thereof.