IP Library Granted Patent US 12687520
Granted Patent B2
US 12687520 · App. 18/115,803 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

Information processing device and information processing method

Inventor: Justinas Miseikis (Stuttgart, DE)
Assignee: Sony Group Corporation
G01N29/07G01N29/14G01N29/4481G01N2291/0232G01N2291/0258
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12687520
App. No.
18/115,803
Granted
Jul 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An information processing device, comprising circuitry configured to: obtain sound data representing a sound of an environment of a recording device; and classify, based on the sound data, a ground surface of the environment.

Claims (23)

1 . An information processing device, comprising circuitry configured to:

obtain sound data representing a sound generated by interaction between a contact object and a ground surface of an environment of a recording device,

obtain sensor data representing at least one of a movement and vibration of the recording device,

classify, based on the sound data and the sensor data, the ground surface of the environment using an artificial neural network trained using a plurality of ground-truth sound data portions, each ground-truth sound data portion acquired during a known movement state on a ground surface having known physical characteristics, the artificial neural network being trained to distinguish between different ground surface types, conditions, and damages based on audio properties of the sound data, wherein the artificial neural network is adaptable to different contact object materials using transfer learning,

obtain location data representing a location of the recording device,

associate a classification result of the ground surface with the location, and

provide the associated location and classification result as side information in a digital map to enabling route planning that considers ground surface conditions based on physical properties of the ground surface that are determinable from the sound generated by the interaction between the contact object and the ground surface.

2 . The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein classifying the ground surface includes determining a type of the ground surface.

3 . The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein classifying the ground surface includes determining a roughness of the ground surface.

4 . The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein classifying the ground surface includes determining a condition of the ground surface.

5 . The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein classifying the ground surface includes determining a damage of the ground surface.

6 . The information processing device according to claim 1 , comprising the recording device configured to acquire the sound data.

7 . An information processing method, comprising:

obtaining sound data representing a sound generated by interaction between a contact object and a ground surface of an environment of a recording device;

classifying, based on the sound data and the sensor data, the ground surface of the environment using an artificial neural network trained using a plurality of ground-truth sound data portions, each ground-truth sound data portion acquired during a known movement state on a ground surface having known physical characteristics, the artificial neural network being trained to distinguish between different ground surface types, conditions, and damages based on audio properties of the sound data, wherein the artificial neural network is adaptable to different contact object materials using transfer learning;

obtaining location data representing a location of the recording device;

associating a classification result of the ground surface with the location; and

providing the associated location and classification result as side information in a digital map to enabling route planning that considers ground surface conditions based on physical properties of the ground surface that are determinable from the sound generated by the interaction between the contact object and the ground surface.

8 . The information processing method according to claim 7 , wherein classifying the ground surface includes determining a type of the ground surface.

9 . The information processing method according to claim 7 , wherein classifying the ground surface includes determining a roughness of the ground surface.

10 . The information processing method according to claim 7 , wherein classifying the ground surface includes determining a condition of the ground surface.

11 . The information processing method according to claim 7 , wherein classifying the ground surface includes determining a damage of the ground surface.

12 . The information processing method according to claim 7 , comprising: acquiring the sound data with the recording device.