Three-dimensional time-of-flight sensors for a transportation system

1. A system, comprising:

a first time-of-flight (TOF) sensor array including a plurality of first TOF sensors, a first TOF sensor of the plurality of first TOF sensors being configured to measure a distance between the first TOF sensor and one or more objects positioned in a transportation system and in a field of view of the first TOF sensor and output data representative of the distance measurement;

a controller, communicatively coupled to the first TOF sensor array, configured to:

receive a plurality of distance measurements made by the plurality of first TOF sensors, respectively;

generate, based on the plurality of distance measurements, a three-dimensional (3-D) map of the one or more objects positioned in a transportation system; and

output data representative of the 3-D map;

an output device, communicatively coupled to the controller, configured to:

receive the data representative of the 3-D map; and

display the 3-D map; and

a second TOF sensor array, mounted on a side wall of the transportation system and communicatively coupled to the controller, the second TOF sensor array including a plurality of second TOF sensors, a second TOF sensor of the plurality of second TOF sensors being configured to measure a lateral distance between the second TOF sensor and the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system and output the lateral distance measurement.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

memory, coupled to the controller, configured to store information representative of inter-TOF sensor spacing within the first TOF sensor array.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to:

access the information representative of the inter-TOF sensor spacing within the first TOF sensor array;

stitch together the plurality of distance measurements based at least in part on the inter-TOF sensor spacing; and

generate the 3-D map based at least in part on the stitching together of the plurality of distance measurements.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the memory is configured to store a height at which the plurality of first TOF sensors are mounted in the transportation system and the controller is configured to generate the 3-D map based at least in part on the height at which the plurality of first TOF sensors are mounted in the transportation system.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first TOF sensor array includes an adhesive for removably mounting the first TOF sensor array to a ceiling, floor or sidewall of the transportation system.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:

receive a plurality of lateral distance measurements made by the plurality of second TOF sensors of the second TOF sensor array;

stitch together the plurality of lateral distance measurements based at least in part on inter-TOF sensor spacing of the second TOF sensor array; and

generate the 3-D map to include a side-view based at least in part on the stitching together of the plurality of lateral distance measurements.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the 3-D map is a top view of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system, a side view of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system, or a bottom view of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the 3-D map displays heights associated with the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:

generate a subsequent 3-D map;

compare the subsequent 3-D map with the 3-D map; and

output data representative of a difference between the subsequent 3-D map and the 3-D map for determining whether an object of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system was displaced.

10. A method, comprising:

measuring, by a first time-of-flight (TOF) sensor of a plurality of first TOF sensors of a first TOF sensor array, a distance between the first TOF sensor and one or more objects positioned in a transportation system and in a field of view of the first TOF sensor;

outputting, by a first TOF sensor, data representative of the distance measurement;

receiving, by a controller communicatively coupled to the first TOF sensor array, a plurality of distance measurements made by the plurality of first TOF sensors, respectively;

generating, by the controller, a three-dimensional (3-D) map of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system based on the plurality of distance measurements;

outputting, by the controller, the 3-D map;

receiving, by a display communicatively coupled to the controller, the 3-D map;

displaying, by the display, the 3-D map; and

measuring, by a second TOF sensor of a plurality of second TOF sensors of a second TOF sensor array, a lateral distance between the second TOF sensor and the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system and outputting the lateral distance measurement.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein generating the 3-D map includes:

retrieving, by the controller, information representative of inter-TOF sensor spacing within the first TOF sensor array from memory;

stitching together, by the controller, the plurality of distance measurements based at least in part on the inter-TOF sensor spacing; and

generating the 3-D map based at least in part on the stitching together of the plurality of distance measurements.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein generating the 3-D map includes:

retrieving, by the controller, information representative of a height at which the plurality of first TOF sensors are mounted in the transportation system from the memory; and

generating the 3-D map based at least in part on the height at which the plurality of first TOF sensors are mounted in the transportation system.

13. The method of claim 10 , comprising:

generating, by the controller, a subsequent 3-D map;

comparing, by the controller, the subsequent 3-D map with the 3-D map; and

outputting, by the controller, data representative of a difference between the subsequent 3-D map and the 3-D map for determining whether an object of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system was displaced.

14. The method of claim 10 , comprising:

receiving, by the controller, a plurality of lateral distance measurements made by the plurality of second TOF sensors of the second TOF sensor array;

stitching together the plurality of lateral distance measurements based at least in part on inter-TOF sensor spacing of the second TOF sensor array; and

generating the 3-D map to include a side-view based at least in part on the stitching together of the plurality of lateral distance measurements.

15. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

receive a plurality of distance measurements made by a plurality of first time-of-flight (TOF) sensors, respectively, of a first TOF sensor array, the first TOF sensor array being mounted in a transportation system, and a distance measurement of the plurality of distance measurements being between a respective first TOF sensor of the plurality of first TOF sensors and one or more objects positioned in the transportation system;

receive a plurality of lateral distance measurements made by a plurality of second TOF sensors, respectively, of a second TOF sensor array, the second TOF sensor array being mounted on a side wall of the transportation system, and a lateral distance measurement of the plurality of lateral distance measurements being between a respective second TOF sensor of the plurality of second TOF sensors and the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system;

generate a three-dimensional (3-D) map of one or more objects positioned in the transportation system based on the plurality of distance measurements and the plurality of lateral distance measurements; and

output the 3-D map for display by a display.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the executable instructions cause the processor to generate the 3-D map by at least:

retrieving from memory information representative of inter-TOF sensor spacing within the first TOF sensor array;

stitching together the plurality of distance measurements based at least in part on the inter-TOF sensor spacing; and

generating the 3-D map based at least in part on the stitching together of the plurality of distance measurements.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the executable instructions cause the processor to:

generate a subsequent 3-D map;

compare the subsequent 3-D map with the 3-D map; and

output data representative of a difference between the subsequent 3-D map and the 3-D map for determining whether an object of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system was displaced.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the 3-D map is a top view of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system, a side view of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system, or a bottom view of the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system, and wherein the 3-D map displays heights associated with the one or more objects positioned in the transportation system.