IP Library Granted Patent US 12,287,851
Granted Patent B1
US 12,287,851 · App. 19/022,045 · Granted Apr 29, 2025

Systems and methods of sensor data fusion

Inventor: Armando Montalvo (Winter Garden, FL)
Assignee: Digital Global Systems, Inc.
G06F18/2431B60R19/483B60W10/18B60W30/085B60W30/09B60W60/00B60W60/0018B60W60/00186G01C3/00G01C21/1652G01C21/3804G01C21/3811G01C21/3848G01C22/00G01S5/14G01S7/4808G01S13/08G01S13/103G01S15/08G01S17/08G06F16/24G06F16/245G06F16/2455G06F16/903G06F16/90335G06F16/9035G06F18/25G06N5/04G06N20/00G06T7/521G06V10/764G06V10/80G06V20/56G08G1/0133G08G1/04G08G1/042H04W4/38B60W2050/0052B60W2420/00B60W2420/40B60W2420/50B60W2510/069B60W2510/18B60W2520/04B60W2540/12B60W2556/35B60W2710/18G01S2013/93185G05D2101/15G05D2111/50G05D2111/67G06T2207/20024
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,287,851
App. No.
19/022,045
Granted
Apr 29, 2025
Kind
B1
Abstract

Systems and methods of sensor data fusion including sensor data capture, curation, linking, fusion, inference, and validation. The systems and methods described herein reduce computational demand and processing time by curating data and calculating conditional entropy. The system is operable to fuse data from a plurality of sensor types. A computer processor optionally stores fused sensor data that the system validates above a mathematical threshold.

Claims (67)

1. A system for sensor data fusion for sensor management and utilization in autonomous transportation comprising:

at least one computer processor including a memory;

at least one curation engine, at least one link engine, at least one fusion engine, at least one inference engine, and at least one validation engine;

at least one first distance sensor operable to capture a first distance measurement from a vehicle to at least one object; and

at least one second distance sensor operable to capture a second distance measurement from the vehicle to the at least one object;

wherein the at least one computer processor is operable to analyze the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement;

wherein the at least one computer processor is operable to receive at least one query;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to curate the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement, the at least one link engine is operable to link the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement, the at least one fusion engine is operable to fuse the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement, the at least one inference engine is operable to determine at least one inference from the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement, and the at least one validation engine is operable to validate the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to curate the first distance measurement by categorizing the first distance measurement into at least one first distance property and/or at least one first distance sub-property;

wherein the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property includes at least one first data point of the vehicle;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to curate the second distance measurement by categorizing the second distance measurement into at least one second distance property and/or at least one second distance sub-property;

wherein the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property includes the at least one first data point of the vehicle and/or at least one second data point of the vehicle;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to filter the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement based in part on the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property and the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to calculate a degree of certainty that the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property is correlated to the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property;

wherein the at least one fusion engine is operable to fuse the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement;

wherein the at least one fusion engine creates at least one new data set; and

wherein the at least one computer processor is operable to instruct the vehicle to brake based on the at least one new data set.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property and the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property includes a timestamp and/or a measurement over a common period of time.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one curation engine is further operable to curate the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement based in part on the timestamp and/or measurement over the common period of time.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to use artificial intelligence to automatically categorize the first distance measurement into the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property and the second distance measurement into the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property based in part on historical accuracy of previous categorizations by an artificial intelligence engine.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to curate heterogeneous, partially heterogeneous, or homogeneous properties and/or sub-properties.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one computer processor is located on or in a machine, an edge device, at least one server, and/or a cloud.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first distance sensor and/or the at least one second distance sensor is operable to include a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor, a radar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a visible spectrum camera, a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, an infrared sensor, and/or a depth camera.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property is operable to include distance between the vehicle and the at least one object and/or a three-dimensional point map of an environment surrounding the vehicle, wherein the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property is operable to include the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object, a speed of the vehicle, and a speed of the at least one object.

9. A method for sensor data fusion for sensor management and utilization in autonomous transportation comprising:

providing at least one computer processor including a memory;

providing at least one curation engine, at least one link engine, at least one fusion engine, at least one inference engine, and at least one validation engine;

at least one first distance sensor capturing a first distance measurement from a vehicle to at least one object;

at least one second distance sensor capturing a second distance measurement from the vehicle to the at least one object;

analyzing by the at least one computer processor the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement;

receiving by the at least one computer processor at least one query;

curating by the at least one curation engine the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement, linking by the at least one link engine the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement, fusing by the at least one fusion engine the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement, determining by the at least one inference engine at least one inference from the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement, and validating by the at least one validation engine the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement;

curating by the at least one curation engine the first distance measurement by categorizing the first distance measurement into at least one first distance property and/or at least one first distance sub-property;

wherein the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property includes at least one first data point of the vehicle;

curating by the at least one curation engine the second distance measurement by categorizing the second distance measurement into at least one second distance property and/or at least one second distance sub-property;

wherein the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property includes the at least one first data point of the vehicle and/or at least one second data point of the vehicle;

filtering by the at least one curation engine the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement based in part on the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property and the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property;

calculating by the at least one curation engine a degree of certainty that the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property is correlated to the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property;

fusing by the at least one fusion engine the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement;

creating by the at least one fusion engine at least one new data set; and

instructing by the at least one computer processor the vehicle to brake based on the at least one new data set.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one first distance sensor and/or the at least one second distance sensor is operable to include a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor, a radar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a visible spectrum camera, a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, an infrared sensor, and/or a depth camera.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising categorizing via the at least one curation engine using artificial intelligence the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property and the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property based in part on historical accuracy of previous categorizations by the at least one curation engine.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising curating the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement in real-time.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property and the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property includes a timestamp and/or a measurement over a common period of time.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising curating the first distance measurement and the second distance measurement based in part on the timestamp and/or measurement over the common period of time.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property and/or the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property is not associated with time.

16. The method of claim 9 , further comprising curating heterogeneous, partially heterogeneous, or homogeneous properties and/or sub-properties.

17. A system for sensor data fusion for sensor management and utilization in autonomous transportation comprising:

at least one computer processor including a memory;

at least one curation engine, at least one link engine, at least one fusion engine, at least one inference engine, and at least one validation engine; and

at least two sensors, each of the at least two sensors operable to measure a first distance from a vehicle to at least one object and a second distance from the vehicle to the at least one object;

wherein the at least one computer processor is operable to analyze the first distance and the second distance;

wherein the at least one computer processor is operable to receive at least one query;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to curate the first distance and the second distance, the at least one link engine is operable to link the first distance and the second distance, the at least one fusion engine is operable to fuse the first distance and the second distance, the at least one inference engine is operable to determine at least one inference from the first distance and the second distance, and the at least one validation engine is operable to validate the first distance and the second distance;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to curate the first distance by categorizing the first distance into at least one first distance property and/or at least one first distance sub-property based in part on the at least one query;

wherein the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property includes at least one first data point of the vehicle;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to curate the second distance by categorizing the second distance into at least one second distance property and/or at least one second distance sub-property based in part on the at least one query;

wherein the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property includes the at least one additional data point of the vehicle and/or at least one second data point of the vehicle;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to filter the first distance and the second distance based in part on the at least one query;

wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to calculate a degree of certainty that the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property is correlated to the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property;

wherein the at least one fusion engine is operable to fuse the first distance and the second distance;

wherein the at least one fusion engine creates at least one new data set; and

wherein the at least one computer processor is operable to instruct the vehicle to brake based on the at least one new data set.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one curation engine is further operable to curate the first distance and the second distance based in part on a timestamp and/or a measurement over a common period of time.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to curate heterogeneous, partially heterogeneous, or homogeneous properties and/or sub-properties.

20. The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one curation engine is operable to use artificial intelligence to automatically categorize the first distance into the at least one first distance property and/or the at least one first distance sub-property and the second distance into the at least one second distance property and/or the at least one second distance sub-property based in part on historical accuracy of previous categorizations by an artificial intelligence engine.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 13, 2025
From: MONTALVO, ARMANDO
To: DIGITAL GLOBAL SYSTEMS, INC.
Reel/Frame 070214/0056 →
Continuity (1)
Continuation 18988120 · Dec 19, 2024
References Cited (17)
US 9367683B2 · Kolacinski et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 10748075B2 · Chowdhary et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 11037320B1 · Ebrahimi Afrouzi et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11586865B2 · Brahma et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20210150230A1 · Smolyanskiy · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20220179056A1 · Braley · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 20230110027A1 · Bajpayee · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 20230112441A1 · Tang et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230342944A1 · Sullivan et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20240289930A1 · Yang et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240289981A1 · Kuo et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240296044A1 · Day et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240312219A1 · Choi et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240324838A1 · Ebrahimi Afrouzi · 2024 [cited by examiner]
US 20240331403A1 · Shen et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240378412A1 · Schrader · 2024 [cited by applicant]
Yeong, D. J., Velasco-Hernandez, G., Barry, J., & Walsh, J. (2021). Sensor and sensor fusion technology in autonomous vehicles: A review. Sensors, 21(6), 2140. (Year: 2021). [cited by applicant]
Cited By (41)
US 12,386,916 US 12,386,922 US 12,393,647 US 12,393,648 US 12,411,912 US 12,430,405 US 12,430,406 US 12,449,773 US 12,450,317 US 12,455,940 US 12,461,997 US 12,479,105 US 12,487,564 US 12,488,066 US 12,488,067 US 12,499,182 US 12,505,173 US 12,505,175 US 12,535,779 US 12,541,574 US 12,541,575 US 12,554,232 US 12,554,801 US 12,554,803 US 12,554,804 US 12,561,405 US 12,561,406 US 12,576,534 US 12,579,221 US 12,579,222 US 12,579,223 US 12,579,224 US 12,585,732 US 12,585,733 US 12,596,336 US 12,596,769 US 12,664,236 US 12,682,016 US 12,682,017 US 12,688,259 US 12,688,260