System and method for detecting a presence or absence of objects in a trailer

1. A method for detecting a presence or absence of objects in a trailer, comprising:

capturing a three-dimensional image, the three-dimensional image comprising three-dimensional point data having a plurality of points, and the three-dimensional image defining: (1) a portion of a wall of the trailer, (2) a portion of a floor of the trailer, and (3) a top portion of the trailer;

analyzing the plurality of points to determine a first sub-plurality of points associated with the portion of the wall of the trailer, to determine a second sub-plurality of points associated with the portion of the floor of the trailer, and to determine a third sub-plurality of points associated with the top portion of the trailer;

removing the first sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points;

removing the second sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points;

removing the third sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points to obtain a modified plurality of points, wherein the modified plurality of points represents a modified three-dimensional image;

segmenting the modified three-dimensional image into a plurality of bins;

analyzing one or more of the plurality of bins to determine one or more points-bin values; and

providing at least one of: (1) a first communication representative of the presence of objects in the trailer when at least one of the one or more points-bin values exceeds a threshold value, or (2) providing a second communication representative of the absence of objects in the trailer when none of the one or more points-bin values exceeds the threshold value

wherein

determining the first sub-plurality of points comprises:

determining initial values of a set of parameters; and

based on the initial values of the set of parameters, performing a plurality of iterations of an iterative algorithm to identify the first sub-plurality of points corresponding to a first wall and a second wall.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the iterative algorithm comprises a random sample consensus (RANSAC) segmentation analysis algorithm, and wherein the plurality of iterations includes two iterations.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the trailer is a drop-frame configuration or a straight-rail configuration.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein

determining the second sub-plurality of points comprises:

determining initial values of a set of parameters; and

based on the initial values of the set of parameters, performing a plurality of iterations of an iterative algorithm to identify the second sub-plurality of points corresponding to the one or more floors of the trailer.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the iterative algorithm comprises a random sample consensus (RANSAC) segmentation analysis algorithm, and wherein the plurality of iterations includes up to four iterations.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold is based on the length of the trailer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the segmentation operation of the modified three-dimensional image into a plurality of bins is based on the length of the trailer, and wherein each of the plurality of bins corresponds to about 1′ of length of the trailer.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first communication includes a physical location of at least one object in the trailer, the physical location corresponding to a respective bin of the plurality of bins where the at least one object is located.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more points-bin values each define a respective plurality of points, and wherein the respective plurality of points is a subset of the plurality of points.

10. A system for detecting a presence or absence of objects in a trailer, comprising:

a user interface;

a trailer monitoring unit (TMU) mounted proximate a loading bay and communicatively connected with the user interface, the TMU including:

a housing; and

an imaging assembly at least partially within the housing and configured to capture a three-dimensional image, the three-dimensional image comprising three-dimensional point data having a plurality of points, and the three-dimensional image defining: (1) a portion of a wall of the trailer, (2) a portion of a floor of the trailer, and (3) a top portion of the trailer;

wherein the TMU is configured to:

analyze the plurality of points to determine a first sub-plurality of points associated with the portion of the wall of the trailer, to determine a second sub-plurality of points associated with the portion of the floor of the trailer, and to determine a third sub-plurality of points associated with the top portion of the trailer;

remove the first sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points;

remove the second sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points;

remove the third sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points to obtain a modified plurality of points, wherein the modified plurality of points represent a modified three-dimensional image;

segment the modified three-dimensional image into a plurality of bins; and

provide a primary communication representative of the modified three-dimensional image segmented into a plurality of bins; and

a server communicatively connected to the TMU and user interface, the server configured to:

receive the primary communication from the TMU;

analyze one or more of the plurality of bins to determine one or more points-bin values; and

provide at least one of: (1) a first communication to a client device representative of the presence of objects in the trailer when at least one of the one or more points-bin values exceeds a threshold value, or (2) providing a second communication to a client device representative of the absence of objects in the trailer when none of the one or more points-bin values exceeds the threshold value, wherein the client device is communicatively coupled to the server.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein

determining the first sub-plurality of points comprises:

determining initial values of a set of parameters; and

based on the initial values of the set of parameters, performing a plurality of iterations of an iterative algorithm to identify the first sub-plurality of points corresponding to a first wall and a second wall.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the iterative algorithm comprises a random sample consensus (RANSAC) segmentation analysis algorithm, and wherein the plurality of iterations includes two iterations.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the trailer is a drop-frame configuration or a straight-rail configuration.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein

determining the second sub-plurality of points comprises:

determining initial values of a set of parameters; and

based on the initial values of the set of parameters, performing a plurality of iterations of an iterative algorithm to identify the second sub-plurality of points corresponding to the one or more floors of the trailer.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the iterative algorithm comprises a random sample consensus (RANSAC) segmentation analysis algorithm, and wherein the plurality of iterations includes up to four iterations.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the threshold is based on the length of the trailer.

17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the segmentation operation of the modified three-dimensional image into a plurality of bins is based on the length of the trailer, and wherein each of the plurality of bins corresponds to about 1′ of length of the trailer.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the first communication includes a physical location of at least one object in the trailer, the physical location corresponding to a respective bin of the plurality of bins where the at least one object is located.

19. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more points-bin values each define a respective plurality of points, and wherein the respective plurality of points is a subset of the plurality of points.

20. A method for detecting a presence or absence of objects in a trailer, comprising:

capturing a three-dimensional image, the three-dimensional image comprising three-dimensional point data having a plurality of points, and the three-dimensional image defining: (1) a portion of a wall of the trailer, (2) a portion of a floor of the trailer, and (3) a top portion of the trailer;

analyzing the plurality of points to determine a first sub-plurality of points associated with the portion of the wall of the trailer, to determine a second sub-plurality of points associated with the portion of the floor of the trailer, and to determine a third sub-plurality of points associated with the top portion of the trailer;

removing the first sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points;

removing the second sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points;

removing the third sub-plurality of points from the plurality of points to obtain a modified plurality of points, wherein the modified plurality of points represents a modified three-dimensional image;

segmenting the modified three-dimensional image into a plurality of bins;

analyzing one or more of the plurality of bins to determine one or more points-bin values; and

providing at least one of: (1) a first communication representative of the presence of objects in the trailer when at least one of the one or more points-bin values exceeds a threshold value, or (2) providing a second communication representative of the absence of objects in the trailer when none of the one or more points-bin values exceeds the threshold value,

wherein the threshold is based on the length of the trailer.