IP Library Granted Patent US 11,258,987
Granted Patent B2
US 11,258,987 · App. 16/570,689 · Granted Feb 22, 2022

Anti-collision and motion control systems and methods

Inventors: Andrew James Pratt (Houston, TX); Monil Dinesh Morar (Houston, TX); Nolan Grant Moore (Houston, TX); Mark Alan Foresman (Houston, TX)
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
H04N7/181G01S7/4802G01S17/86G01S17/93G06K9/00805G06K9/6267H04N5/247
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,258,987
App. No.
16/570,689
Granted
Feb 22, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods presented herein include an anti-collision and motion monitoring system includes one or more light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems configured to detect locations of one or more objects in an environment. The anti-collision and motion monitoring system also includes one or more camera systems configured to capture images of the one or more objects in the environment that are detected by the one or more LiDAR systems. The anti-collision and motion monitoring system further includes processing circuitry configured to coordinate operation of the one or more LiDAR systems and the one or more camera systems, to receive inputs from the one or more LiDAR systems and the one or more camera systems relating to the one or more objects in the environment, to process the inputs received from the one or more LiDAR systems and the one or more camera systems to determine outputs relating to control of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment, and to communicate the outputs to a central coordinator to control one or more operating parameters of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment based at least in part on the inputs received from the one or more LiDAR systems and the one or more camera systems.

Claims (47)

1. An anti-collision and motion monitoring device, comprising:

a common housing;

one or more light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems integrated within the common housing and configured to detect locations of one or more objects in an environment;

one or more camera modules integrated within the common housing and configured to capture images of the one or more objects in the environment that are detected by the one or more LiDAR modules; and

a processing circuitry integrated within the common housing, configured to:

coordinate operation of the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules integrated within the common housing,

receive input data from the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules relating to the one or more objects in the environment,

process the input data to determine output data relating to control of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment,

communicate with other anti-collision and motion monitoring devices in a non-hierarchical manner in real-time such that each anti-collision and motion monitoring device has access to the input data and output data, wherein the one or more objects in the environment are objects other than the other anti-collision and motion monitoring devices, and

communicate the output data to a central coordinator to control one or more operating parameters of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment based at least in part on the input data received from the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules.

2. The anti-collision and motion monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform static zoning of the locations of the one or more objects in the environment detected by the one or more LiDAR modules.

3. The anti-collision and motion monitoring device of claim 2 , wherein the static zoning of the locations of the one or more objects in the environment comprises motion filtering, light filtering, point cloud filtering, or some combination thereof.

4. The anti-collision and motion monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform dynamic zoning of the locations of the one or more objects in the environment detected by the one or more LiDAR modules.

5. The anti-collision and motion monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to identify properties of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment.

6. The anti-collision and motion monitoring device of claim 5 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to classify at least one of the one or more objects in the environment.

7. The anti-collision and motion monitoring device of claim 6 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to track location, orientation, or motion of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment.

8. The anti-collision and motion monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to wirelessly communicate the output data to the central coordinator.

9. The anti-collision and motion monitoring device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to store data relating to the input data received from the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules in storage media of the anti-collision and motion monitoring device.

10. An anti-collision and motion control system, comprising:

a plurality of anti-collision and motion monitoring devices, each anti-collision and motion monitoring device comprising:

a common housing;

one or more light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems integrated within the common housing and configured to detect locations of one or more objects in an environment;

one or more camera modules integrated within the common housing and configured to capture images of the one or more objects in the environment that are detected by the one or more LiDAR modules;

a processing circuitry integrated within the common housing and configured to coordinate operation of the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules integrated within the common housing, to receive input data from the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules relating to the one or more objects in the environment, to process the input data received from the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules to determine output data relating to control of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment, and to communicate with other anti-collision and motion monitoring devices in a non-hierarchical manner in real-time such that each anti-collision and motion monitoring device has access to the input data and output data; and

a central coordinator configured to receive the output data from the processing circuitry of the plurality of anti-collision and motion monitoring devices, and to control one or more operating parameters of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment based at least in part on the output data received from the processing circuitry of the plurality of anti-collision and motion monitoring devices.

11. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to wirelessly receive the output data from the processing circuitry of the plurality of anti-collision and motion monitoring devices.

12. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to communicate with one or more industrial control systems to control the one or more operating parameters.

13. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to control one or more operating parameters of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment based at least in part on acceleration vectors relating to at least one of the objects in the environment.

14. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to control one or more operating parameters of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment based at least in part on collision vectors relating to at least one of the objects in the environment.

15. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to control one or more operating parameters of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment based at least in part on exact coordinates of at least one of the objects in the environment.

16. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to control one or more operating parameters of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment based at least in part on conflict resolution relating to at least one of the objects in the environment.

17. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to provide visualization of the environment to a user interface communicatively coupled to the central coordinator.

18. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to communicate software updates to the processing circuitry of the plurality of anti-collision and motion monitoring devices.

19. The anti-collision and motion control system of claim 10 , wherein the central coordinator is configured to store data relating to the output data received from the processing circuitry of the plurality of anti-collision and motion monitoring devices in storage media of the central coordinator.

20. An anti-collision and motion monitoring device, comprising:

a common housing;

one or more light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems integrated within the common housing and configured to detect locations of one or more objects in an environment;

one or more camera modules integrated within the common housing and configured to capture images of the one or more objects in the environment that are detected by the one or more LiDAR modules; and

a processing circuitry integrated within the common housing, configured to:

coordinate operation of the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules integrated within the common housing,

receive input data from the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules relating to the one or more objects in the environment,

process the input data to determine output data relating to control of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment,

communicate with other anti-collision and motion monitoring devices in a non-hierarchical manner in real-time such that each anti-collision and motion monitoring device has access to the input data and output data,

communicate the output data to a central coordinator to control one or more operating parameters of at least one of the one or more objects in the environment based at least in part on the input data received from the one or more LiDAR modules and the one or more camera modules,

perform dynamic zoning of the locations of the one or more objects in the environment detected by the one or more LiDAR modules,

determine which zones of a plurality of zones of the environment are active, and

perform the dynamic zoning of the locations of the one or more objects in the environment detected by the one or more LiDAR modules based at least in part on the determination of the active zones.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 19, 2021
From: THE MARSDEN GROUP
To: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Reel/Frame 058165/0126 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2019
From: PRATT, ANDREW JAMES; MORAR, MONIL DINESH; MOORE, NOLAN GRANT; FORESMAN, MARK ALAN
To: THE MARSDEN GROUP
Reel/Frame 050373/0632 →
Continuity (3)
Provisional Application 62859533 · Jun 10, 2019
Provisional Application 62734458 · Sep 21, 2018
Related Publication 20200099893A1 · Mar 26, 2020