7623 results about "Distance sensors" patented technology

One embodiment of an alignment apparatus for aligning an object, such as a tool or other implement, perpendicular with respect to a horizontal or a vertical target surface, comprises a three-axis accelerometer and at least two forward-facing distance sensors and a projection display comprising four addressable laser projectors. The accelerometer and distance sensor outputs are mapped to a predefined graphic symbol representing the orientation of the tool relative to the target surface, in particular when the tool is perpendicular to the target surface. The projection display projects the predefined symbol onto the target surface where it may be easily viewed by the tool operator allowing the operator to make any necessary corrections to the tool position.

An object detector, an object detecting method and a robot can reduce diction errors of detecting wrong objects without increasing the volume of the computational operation to be performed to detect the right object. A face detector 101 comprises a face detecting section 110 that operates like a conventional face detecting section and is adapted to roughly select face candidates from an input image by template matching and detect face candidates by means of a support vector machine for face recognition, a non-face judging section 120 that detects non-face candidates that are judged to be non-faces and removes them from the face candidates selected by the face detecting section 110 and a skin tracker section 114 for tracking a face region after the non-face judgment. When the assumed distance between the face detector and the face as computed from the input image and the measured distance as measured by a distance sensor show a large difference, when the color variance of the face candidate is small, when the occupancy ratio of the skin color region is large and when the change in the size of the face region is large after the elapse of a predetermined time, the non-face judging section 120 judges such face candidates as non-faces and removes them from the face candidates.

The invention provides a smart sensor in the form of an adhesive bandage. The sensor may be used in many applications such as within sports, the shipping industry and medical and health industries. The sensor sticks to people and objects and wirelessly communicates with remote receivers. Internal detectors sense conditions associated with movement and / or the environment of the sensor. In one example, an accelerometer detects impact and drop distance of a package in transit; the sensor is either within a label or attached to a product within the package. The sensor may also prevent theft and assist in tracking package disposition so as to reduce lost packages. The sensors of the invention may also be used in fitness and health, such as to monitor body functions of heart rate and respiration; these sensors also may initiate immediate wireless warnings for improper functions so that persons may obtain immediate assistance. Sensors of the invention are also useful for sports media broadcasts; multiple sensors may attach to athletes so that wireless performance data is made available, in near real time, to audiences and media observers. Data from sensors of the invention may also change the computer gaming community; that is, certain sensors tracking real performance data may relay information used within gaming so as to govern computer gaming motions. Typically, sensors of the invention communicate by an RF transmitter or transceiver. Groups of sensors may be combined within a common canister that imparts date and time information and “power on” when dispensed.

The present invention relates to a self-propelled working robot, including a first distance sensor 4a and a second distance sensor 4b (4c) for measuring the distance to an obstacle W in front of the robot. The robot includes first determination means for comparing a first measured distance Dc to the obstacle obtained by the first distance sensor 4a with a predetermined first threshold value to determine the proximity to the obstacle W, second determination means for comparing a second measured distance Dr (DL) to the obstacle W obtained by the second distance sensor 4b (4c) with a predetermined second threshold value to determine the proximity to the obstacle, and changing means for changing the first or second threshold value based on information regarding an inclination angle of the obstacle W obtained from the first and second measured distances.

The present invention relates to a self-propelled working robot, including a first distance sensor 4a and a second distance sensor 4b (4c) for measuring the distance to an obstacle W in front of the robot. The robot includes first determination means for comparing a first measured distance Dc to the obstacle obtained by the first distance sensor 4a with a predetermined first threshold value to determine the proximity to the obstacle W, second determination means for comparing a second measured distance Dr (DL) to the obstacle W obtained by the second distance sensor 4b (4c) with a predetermined second threshold value to determine the proximity to the obstacle, and changing means for changing the first or second threshold value based on information regarding an inclination angle of the obstacle W obtained from the first and second measured distances.

A lower cost range-finding image sensor based upon measurement of reflection time of light with reduced fabrication processes compared to standard CMOS manufacturing procedures. An oxide film is formed on a silicon substrate, and two photo-gate electrodes for charge-transfer are provided on the oxide film. Floating diffusion layers for taking charges out from a photodetector layer are provided at the ends of the oxide film, and on the outside thereof are provided a gate electrode for resetting and a diffusion layer for providing a reset voltage.

A temperature sensing device for remotely detecting the temperature of a subject having an identifying feature and a target zone in a fixed relationship to the identifying feature comprising: a distance sensor which measures the distance between the subject and the distance sensor; a temperature sensor for measuring a temperature difference in a sensing zone; a digital image capture device for capturing a digital image of the subject; a means of tilting at least the temperature sensor along at least one axis, and preferably tilting and panning along two axes; a controller that actuates the tilting means; and a support for supporting the distance sensor, the temperature sensor and the digital image capture device; wherein the controller tilts the distance sensor using the tilting means to reduce the distance between the target zone and the sensing zone; and a temperature sensor that measures a temperature difference proximate to the target zone, to detect elevated temperature illness in humans or animals.

A method of using a directional sensor for the purposes of detecting the presence of a vehicle or an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting a microwave transmit pulse of less than 5 feet; radiating the transmitted pulse by a directional antenna system; receiving received pulses by an adjustable receive window; integrating or combining signals from multiple received pulses; amplifying and filtering the integrated receive signal; digitizing the combined signal; comparing the digitized signal to at least one preset or dynamically computed threshold values to determine the presence or absence of an object in the field of view of the sensor; and providing at least one pulse generator with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each and capable of generating pulses less than 10 ns in duration.

Several methods of controlling a vacuum cleaner (10) using various types of sensors (94, 96, 97, 98) are provided. One method is based on a differential pressure between a suction airflow path and ambient air and includes: detecting the differential pressure, comparing the detected differential pressure to a predetermined threshold, and, when the detected differential pressure is less than the predetermined threshold, initiating a predetermined control procedure. A status indicator (164) is updated based on the detected differential pressure. Another method is based on a level of electrical current flowing through a brush motor (100). Still another method is based on a type or condition of the floor being traversed. Yet another method is based on a distance to a surface of a floor over which the vacuum cleaner is advancing. In another aspect of the invention, a vacuum cleaner is provided. In various combinations, the vacuum cleaner includes a vacuum source (36, 38), a brush motor (100), a drive motor (104), a controller processor (74), a sensor processor (90), an overcurrent sensor (98), a suction airflow sensor (94), a floor type sensor (97), and a floor distance sensor (96).

A method, device, framework, and system provide the ability to control an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to avoid obstacle collision. Range data of a real-world scene is acquired using range sensors (that provide depth data to visible objects). The range data is combined into an egospace representation (consisting of pixels in egospace). An apparent size of each of the visible objects is expanded based on a dimension of the UAV. An assigned destination in the real world scene based on world space is received and transformed into egospace coordinates in egospace. A trackable path from the UAV to the assigned destination through egospace that avoids collision with the visible objects (based on the expanded apparent sizes of each of the visible objects) is generated. Inputs that control the UAV to follow the trackable path are identified.

An integrated proximity and light sensor includes an indicating light-emitting device (“ILD”), a projecting light-emitting device (“PLD”), and a light sensing integrated circuit (“LSIC”) configured as a single package. The LSIC controls each of the ILD and the PLD to emit light therefrom and the LSIC is configured to detect an ambient light level and also to detect a reflection of the light projected by the PLD from a surface for proximity detection.

The present invention provides a method for a changing safety signaling system. The safety signaling system can change as a result of changing driving conditions that stem from changes in the weather or changes in vehicle velocity. As a vehicle brakes, coasts, turns, or accelerates, front-facing, side-facing, top-facing, and / or rear facing indicators can communicate vehicular acceleration, coasting, and braking to a pedestrian or other vehicles. A distance sensor can be used to trigger a signal to alert a second vehicle that the first vehicle is braking hard and slowing fast or can be used to warn the operator of the first car that a collision may be imminent and can be used to warn the operator of a second car that measures can be taken to avoid a collision or minimize damage from a collision. The instant invention can be utilized by either a first car or a second car.

Systems and methods are provided to improve the gait performance of subjects with neurodegenerative disease neurodegenerative disease movement disorders, injuries, surgical wounds, athletic performance objectives, or combinations thereof through feedback-enhanced training. A subject walks, jogs or runs on a surface with the use of an assistive walking device such as a walker, cane, rollator or railings. Attached to the assistive walking device is a distance sensor and processing unit that detects, measures, and evaluates certain gait characteristics and delivers feedback to the subject. The subject is trained to exhibit desirable gait characteristics such as stride length, heel-toe motion, cadence, pace and the like.

Disclosed are a moving distance sensing apparatus for a robot cleaner and a method therefor capable of determining a precise moving distance with respect to the robot cleaner by setting a long distance sensor and a short distance sensor having respectively different sensing method from each other on the same sensing line in the robot cleaner to sense the long distance and the short distance for the same direction, and then by determining coherency to each moving distance on the basis of information provided by the two different sensors, the moving distance sensing apparatus comprising: a long distance sensor for sensing a moving distance with respect to a long distance; a short distance sensor mounted on the same sensing line in one-to-one correspondence with the long distance sensor, for sensing a moving distance with respect to a short distance; and a micro computer for determining a moving distance error on the basis of moving distance information with respect to the same direction provided by the long distance sensor and the short distance sensor.

Disclosed are cooking devices having inspection systems including: a distance sensor and a digital optical recognition device. The distance sensor detects the position of the food product placed in the cooking device and the digital optical recognition device captures a series of images for the purpose of food product recognition. Once the food product is recognized, the operator is provided with the correct cooking cycle / program for the position and type of food product placed in the cooking device. The inspection systems also ensure that the food product has been properly cooked at the end of the cooking cycle / program. The inspection systems ensure: (1) the food product is correctly recognized; (2) the cooking cycle / program is correctly selected; (3) the correct cooking cycle / program is followed to completion and (4) the quality of the cooked food product meets expected standards.

A vehicle-useful, high-resolution 3D-detection of the environment of a street vehicle with environment scanning sensors is not possible today. Depending on application the first commercially available vehicle integrated systems may be a comprise between resolution of the sensors and size of the sampled area. With the inventive two dimensional distance resolution sensor device it becomes possible, in contrast to those which are known, to produce a system which, installed in a street vehicle, detects and preferably processes complex dynamics scenarios such for example street traffic, from the prospective of the active dynamic moving vehicle. Therein a three dimensional image of the environment is produced using a distance sensor, which produces a two dimensional distance profile (depth profile), and on the other hand, using a data processing and a storage unit, which process and store sequential distance profiles and sequence a series of distance profiles into the three dimensional image of the environment.

A Micro Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) which is based on MEMS accelerometers and gyro sensors is developed for real-time recognition of human hand motions, especially as used in the context of writing on a surface. Motion is recorded by a rate gyro and an accellerometer and communicated to a Bluetooth module, possibly to a computer which may be 20 to 30 feet or more from the sensor. The motion information generated and communicated is combined with appropriate filtering and transformation algorithms to facilitate a complete Digital Writing System that can be used to record handwriting on any surface, or on no surface at all. The overall size of an IMU can be less than 26 mm×20 mm×20 mm, and may include micro sensors, a processor, and wireless interface components. The Kalman filtering algorithm is preferably used to filter the noise of sensors to allow successful transformance of hand motions into recognizable and recordable English characters. The immediate advantage is the facilitation of a digital interface with both PC and mobile computing devices and perhaps to enable wireless sensing.

The invention relates to the technical field of smartphones, and particularly relates to a full-screen mobile phone. The full-screen mobile phone comprises a mobile phone body, the mobile phone body comprises a shell, a touch screen and a controller, and the shell and the touch screen are combined together to form a totally enclosed structure; a chute is arranged in the shell behind the upper part of the touch screen, a lifting panel is arranged in the chute in an up and down sliding manner, a distance sensor, a telephone receiver and a camera device are arranged on the lifting panel from left to right in sequence, the camera device comprises a camera and a flashlight, and a light sensor is arranged at the top of the lifting panel above the distance sensor; a microphone, a loudspeaker and an interface are arranged at the bottom of the shell from left to right in sequence; side keys are arranged at the upper part of one side of the shell; and the distance sensor, the telephone receiver, the camera device, the light sensor, the microphone, the loudspeaker, the interface and the side keys are electrically connected with the controller. The full-screen mobile phone is reasonable in structure, convenient and practical and is flexible to operate, and the screen occupation ratio is higher than 95%.

The terminal executor of fruit and vegetable picking robot consists of an executing device, a sensing system and a power system. The executing device consists of a vacuum chuck mechanism, a holding finger mechanism and a cutting laser mechanism; the sensing system consists of a servo motor coder, a near distance sensor, a long distance approach sensor, a finger force sensor, a wrist force sensor and a pressure sensor installed in different parts of the executing device; and the power system powers the devices and elements in the terminal executor with high energy lithium battery and through voltage conversion. By means of the information sensing of the sensors, the present invention can adsorb, grab and separate to realize the intelligent picking of fruits in high quality.

The invention discloses a floor sweeping robot controlled by a smart phone. The floor sweeping robot comprises a core control system, a wireless charging device, a wireless communication device, a power moving mechanism, a sweeping mechanism, an environment monitoring module, a vision system, a voice system and a humidifying system; wherein the vision system comprises an infrared sensor, a distance sensor and a photographing system. The floor sweeping robot is wirelessly charged through a charging pile. A user can set the operation mode of the floor sweeping robot by means of a smart phone control system, and furthermore can transmit an instruction through speech. In the sweeping process, the robot can determine whether to humidify the environment. All information which comprises analog three-dimensional pictures, real-time cleaning video pictures and indoor environment information is transmitted to the smart phone for viewing by the user. The floor sweeping robot according to the invention has advantages of reducing potential safety hazard, realizing more convenient and quicker user operation and improving user experience.

A system for displaying a wide field of view video image of a location. A series of location cameras disposed at the location captures the wide filed of view video image as a series of individual video images covering the desired field of view. A distance sensor unit senses distances of closest objects in one or more overlap areas between field of views of the location cameras from the two or more location cameras covering each respective overlap area. A display unit displays the series of individual video images to a user for creating a visual experience of the location. A processor unit determines a horizontal span of each individual video image displayed by the display unit based on the sensed distances of the closest objects.

Disclosed are a robot, a robot hand, and a method of controlling the robot hand, in which the robot hand rapidly and correctly approaches an object to be gripped and safely grips the object regardless of the shape and material of the object. The method of controlling a robot hand, which has a palm, and a plurality of fingers, each having a plurality of segments, connected to the palm, includes causing the palm to approach an object using at least one first distance sensor installed on the palm; causing the plurality of fingers to approach the object using at least one second distance sensor installed on the plurality of fingers; and causing the palm and the plurality of fingers to come into contact the object to grip the object.

The invention discloses a wearing state detection method and device of wearable equipment. The method comprises that an accelerometer is used to detect the acceleration of the wearable equipment, and when the acceleration of the wearable equipment changes, wearing state detection for the wearable equipment is started; a near-distance sensor detects the distance between the wearable equipment and an neighbor object, a heart rate sensor and a temperature sensor are started when the distance is lower than a set distance threshold, and wearable equipment is determined to be in the wearing state when data detected by the heart rate sensor satisfies the set heart rate condition and the surface temperature, detected by the temperature sensor, of the neighbor object satisfies the set temperature condition. According to the invention, the accelerometer is used to start wearing state detection for the wearable equipment, power consumption of the wearable equipment can be effectively reduced, and during wearing state detection, different types of sensor are used comprehensively to detect the wearing state of the wearable equipment accurately.

Infrared (IR) camera systems for and a method of obtaining infrared images of target subjects are provided. In one embodiment, an IR camera system (10) includes a lens (12), a number of IR pass filters (14), an optical detector (16), a processor (18) mounted on a circuit board (20), a distance sensor (22), a visible light sensor (24), an IR light sensor (26), an IR illuminator (28), and a number of video outputs (30), all of which may be disposed within an appropriately configured housing (32). The filters (14) are mounted on a juke-box like rack system (34) also included within the housing (32). The processor (18) determines which pass filter is needed in order to optimize the image and sends an electronic signal to the rack system (34) directing the rack system (34) to move the appropriate filter (14) into the optical pathway between the lens (12) and the optical detector (16) and pull all of the other IR filters (14) out of the optical pathway between the lens (12) and the optical detector (16).

Disclosed is a capsule type endoscope control system which can move to any position, rotate or stop the capsule type endoscope in a human body by a remote control system outside the human body. There is provided a capsule type endoscope control system comprising: a medical capsule equipped with at least one permanent magnet, comprising a wireless transmission circuit for transmitting a series of signals to outside of the body; 2-DOF rotary joint unit for rotating an external permanent magnet in at least two directions, the external permanent magnet applying magnetic magnet forces to the permanent magnets provided in the capsule; a distance sensor for measuring a distance between the external permanent magnet and a surface of the human body; a cartesian coordinate robot for moving the external permanent magnet; a bed for supporting the human body, the bed being able to roll within a certain degree; and a remote control unit outside the human body for controlling operations of the 2-DOF rotary joint unit, the bed and the cartesian coordinate robot.

A hand-operated cart constructed for carrying luggage or packages includes a frame including a cargo area, and cart wheels connected to the frame and connected to a handrail arranged for manually displacing the cart. The cart also includes a distance sensor constructed and arranged to measure a travel distance of the cart, an interface unit and a processor constructed to receive travel distance data from the distance sensor.

The invention discloses a blind guiding cell phone, which comprises a baseband processing module and a voice output module, a range sensor and a camera shooting module, wherein the range sensor is used to detect barriers in the front and send the detecting results to the baseband processing module, the camera shooting module is used to collect the image data of the barriers in the front and transmit to the baseband processing module, the baseband processing module is used to gain the range information according to the detecting results and conduct the image matching identification for the barriers according to the image data and a local object mold base, and transmit the type and the range information of the barriers which are identified to the voice output module, and the voice output module is used to provide the type and the range information of the barriers to users through the voice way. The blind guiding cell phone and the process of the invention can provide specific information of the barriers for users, which is convenient for the action of users under the condition of paropsia.

The invention relates to a road and obstacle detecting method based on remotely piloted vehicles. The method includes adopting a four-wire laser radar as a distance sensor and calculating slope information of roads in a driving area according to the relative position correspondence of pavement data points on different scanning layers; fitting left and right road edges by the COBWEB algorithm and the least square fit improved on the basis of Euclidean distance according to characteristics of road edge data points, enhancing anti-jamming capability, accuracy and stability of road edge detection; applying DST (Dempster-Shafer theory) evidence theory to establish a raster map for the environment ahead of the remotely piloted vehicles, and estimating positions of each raster before integrating prior- and posterior-frame maps. Consequently, the problem of integration of prior and posterior raster cells in the local map is solved. Finally, dynamic faults can be detected by means of conflict coefficient in a driving area, and the dynamical obstacles can be clustered and information thereof can be extracted by the improved eight-neighborhood zone marker algorithm. The road and obstacle detecting method can stably and accurately detect road and obstacle information.