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SonyGranted patentRobots & automationInterest 6/10

Sony patents drone control that adjusts 3D scanning for sloped ground

Sony has been granted a patent for a control system that improves the accuracy of 3D mapping when scanning uneven terrain. The system uses a camera to estimate the angle of the ground and then adjusts the laser sensing equipment to account for that slope.

Why it mattersThis technology could make aerial surveying more precise for construction, agriculture, or disaster assessment where flat-ground assumptions usually lead to errors.

In the filing’s own words

Accuracy of three-dimensional surveying is increased in a case where a zone to be surveyed includes a slope. A control apparatus according to the present technology includes a point cloud generation section that generates a three-dimensional point cloud indicating a three-dimensional structure of a target zone on the basis of sensing information obtained by sensing a ground side from the air, an estimation section that estimates an orientation of the ground on the basis of a captured image obtained by imaging the ground side from the air, and a control section that performs control related to sensing for generation of the three-dimensional point cloud of the target zone on the basis of information regarding the orientation of the ground estimated by the estimation section.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A control apparatus, comprising: a point cloud generation section that generates a three-dimensional point cloud indicating a three-dimensional structure of a target zone on a basis of sensing information obtained by sensing a ground side from the air; an estimation section that estimates an orientation of the ground on a basis of a captured image obtained by imaging the ground side from the air; and a control section that performs control related to sensing for the generation of the three-dimensional point cloud of the target zone on a basis of information regarding the orientation of the ground estimated by the estimation section.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
Official title
Control apparatus and control method
Patent number
US12724154B2
Application number
18847944
Filed
Mar 15, 2023
Granted
Sep 1, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
15

Classified under

G01S 17/894 Physics & computingG01C 7/04 Physics & computingG01S 17/89 Physics & computingG06T 7/50 Physics & computingG06T 7/70 Physics & computingG06T 2207/10028 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.